Historic footage taken from the nose-mounted camera of a German Messerschmitt BF-110G shows a lone American B-17 bomber being targeted. It gives quality insight into the Luftwaffe tactic of forcing one bomber to fall out of formation and descend.

The reason the B-17's would fall out of formation and descend when damaged is because they were no longer able to keep pace with the other bombers, and because the air was thicker lower to the ground allowing them to conserve fuel and increase lift. This improved their chances of making the return flight, but it also had the unfortunate side effect of opening them up to swarm attack from Luftwaffe fighter planes.

About the Author

Josh Brooks

Josh is an American writer and former USMC machine gunner with eight years of experience in ground combat arms throughout the GWOT. He is currently based in Texas and specializes in combat footage analysis and digital marketing.Follow Josh at OfficialJoshBrooks.com