Let me elaborate a little.
I have before hit B-17s, and made an engine catch on fire. When thie fire is there, it is only a matter of time beofre they loose the wing or just blow up.
What I am reporting here seemes like a bug or some sort of glitch where it appears the enemy plane has caught fire, which in turn causes me to break off the attack, thinking "OK he's down." Then, just as I am passing by and out of firing position, the fire stops and the plane, which I thought I had disabled continues to fly with no further signs of damage to engine, fuel or oil.
Just seems weird.
Now I think of it, sometimes when I shoot a plane down, all damage appears to be fixed just as the pilot bails out.
I.e. I shoot the wing off an N1K and watch as the plane spirals away. When the pilot finally decides to bail, there is a brief moment when the N1K seems to have no damage before the Icon for CHUTE is seen.