Now there ARE stories of planes catching fire, and still making it home, I believe it was Memphis Belle? (correct me if I'm wrong) who caught fire, put it in a dive and used the high air speed to put the flames out? As well as the P47 who got jumped by 190's and flamed? The flames went out and he made it home eventually... I think it would be interesting to change the fire dynamic so as they are unpredictable, some will explode you or rip wings off, others might take seconds or a minute or 2 to kill you, others may just go out, of have the ability to be put out by high speeds? Maybe?
Oh, and just in case I am totally wrong
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You've been watching too many movies
There were occasions where bombers tried to dive to put out fires. It might work or it would have the opposite result in increasing the intensity of the fire and the wing burning off faster. One of the things you come across often in stories of the bombers both RAF and USAAF is that many times planes came home short of crewmen as with the first damage guys would bail out before it was too late. For gunners in the rear of the plane, there was often no knowing if the pilots were ok if there was a hit up front.
Using the example of the B24 crew I got to know. Both pilots were killed by the flak shell in the cockpit. Of the guys behind the bomb bay, only two made it out of the five back there. One of the gunners, the youngest guy on the crew was last seen with his chute on, trying to contact the pilots to get permission to bail. He wouldn't leave without it despite the effort of the two guys who did survive.
Images from "The Mighty Eighth" by Roger Freeman
First is a 17 that dove to put the fire out. Pilot came home alone as the rest of the crew bailed.
I think the hard thing to understand for us cartoon pilots is we never face dying. I imagine the will to survive is pretty strong under the circumstance. The fire is spreading quick on this 17 and you gotta believe they are racing to get out.
