Bald, I'll agree with you about high 12 being a bad position, but I'll respectfully disagree on the high 6 as the best place for the escort. If the enemy comes in with E, you're still in a tail chase because you're starting out from a slower speed as a result of maintaining position on the bombers. I contend that if you're a single escort, the best position is directly overhead with a healthy altitude advantage, say 4,000 feet or more. Then, staying close to a "combat cruise" speed (for my Jug I like 200-250 IAS regardless of altitude). The key is how you maneuver to stay with the bombers...
I always ask for bomber heading and calls for when they turn to a new one. I set my flight path up with a 45 degree bearing line left and right of their heading. So basically, I'm moving in a zig-zag pattern that prevents me from overrunning the bombers, while keeping my speed up. I make my turns back across as I pass behind the formation's 3-9 line. I believe you have to react to almost all the threats initially, at least to V-ID the guy to determine what type of plane it is and assess its potential threat level. I almost always find them in a climb where they don't have nearly enough E to pose a threat. In order to not possess a singular focus, I'll give 'em a quick fake to get them to dive away which allows me to rejoin. Its a judgement call, to be sure--you don't want to have a pile of enemy that you've buzzed piling up behind the formation, but you can't really commit unless its a sure thing that will allow you to keep your speed and stay with the bombers. But speed is the key, and I personally think that since most planes do not accelerate well at altitude, its important to set up your escort to maintain and keep as much as you can.
When you have multiple aircraft, its much easier to set up a close, cover, roving, and flank defense, but when you're solo or a pair, this is how I prefer to do it.
My two cents...
Obviously, if you have more
