S! HiTech
My posting was not particularly about the lethality of the bombers weapons. Although I am very suprised to hear that bombers .50's are not tweaked. I have been regularly hit by bombers at 1.0 distance while flying parellel to the bomber in question. In that kind of situation (when aircraft are side by side) lag should not be question since range is not closing or opening, so I wouldn't expect that the bomber was seeing me as closer.
My posting was focused on the climb rates, speed and maneuverability of bombers at high altitude. It seems to me those should be looked at.
I will do some tests with the B17 and other bombers to check their ceiling. As mentioned, the bomber I was chasing was at 38,000 or 39,000 feet, which is 3500+ ft over the generally listed figure for B17 ceiling. The bomber as mentioned was also out performing my fighter in regards to maintenance of altitude during maneuvers.