In battle of britian the German bomber formations would break up and scatter. American formations would stay in formations to increase mutual protection. Some article I read said that 2/3 of confirmed fighter shoot downs were by bomber defensive gunners. Of course American bombers were armed to the teeth Germans not so much. But would have defensive formation flying increased their survival and fire power. I know that the ju88s were more faster and agile than the he111 and so splitting off was more advantageous.
It was never wise to break out of the formation. In fact, either in the BoB or later over Germany, going alone was practically committing suicide. Once broken off, a bomber was easy meat! Packed together they have combined firepower plus an attacking fighter has to also be wary of colliding with a bomber. A JU-88 may have been more agile than a HE-111 but it wasn't more agile than a British fighter! Moreover, the JU-88's crew was packed into the nose so one good burst would kill and wound the whole crew! When German formations broke ranks it was a breach of discipline! or cowardice if you prefer. German bombers were woefully under-gunned. By the summer of '41 the German bombers should have been carrying 13mm MG 131s.
Yeah I always thought how undergunned they were compared to most allied bombers even most of our mediums were better armed. And yes the caliber, didn't they start using the 13 mm more but later in the war when it didn't make much of a difference. I think my he111 book mentioned that but not all gun positions. Not like the b17 and,b24 all 50 Cal 12.7 mm.
Air defense was revolutionized by the invention of radar and - just as important - integrated air defense networks. Before that, "the bomber will always get through" was the truth. Interception would be haphazard, and bomber formations would have a much better chance of fending off whatever fighters did manage to bump into them. In pre-radar days, speed was considered as important as firepower for bombers like the Ju-88, Blenheim, or the early B-17s. Even if they could not literally outrun enemy fighters, speed would make it difficult for the enemy to intercept, or to intercept in sufficient numbers to threaten the bomber formation. The only combat experience was that of WWI, when a gunner with a single or twin MG could match the firepower of a fighter. Mainly by chance, WWII broke out as fighters were becoming significantly more powerful. I agree that .50-calibers or equivalent were good defensive weapons, but experience showed that even the heavily armed B-17s could not function in an air defense environment without fighter escort. Experience also showed that "escort" did not necessarily mean "close escort", although that might make the bomber crews more comfortable. Getting back to the BOB, Goring's insistence on close escort made it harder for his fighters to keep the Spitfires and Hurricanes away from the bombers. Conversely, 8th Air Force's campaign against the German fighter force took off when the fighters were cut loose to seek out their opponents.
