Group: soc.history.war.world-war-ii
From: Bill Shatzer
Date: Friday, February 29, 2008 6:41 PM
Subject: Re: Does top speed make a difference in a bomber?

Bombardier wrote:

> Bombers need range to get to the targert. We flew our B-26 Marauders
> at 180mph indicated to get max range. Top speed was not relevant since
> it burned too mush fuel to complete the mission. So comparing top
> speeds of bombers to determine which is best has no merit whatever.

Well, greater speed complicates the interception problem for opposing
fighter-interceptors and reduces the exposure time to anti-aircraft fire.

So all other things being equal, greater speed is better than lesser speed.

But, as you note, all other things are seldom equal.

Cheers,