"Luftwaffe inverted attack" Topic

There are countless descriptions of German aircraft attacking bomber formations flying upside down.What are the benefits other than putting wing structure in place as false armour?

I think that's basically it.

Not wanting to be hit in the cockpit by MG fire, but also able to use gravity to help with separation from the bomber unit, as you dive away inverted after an attack, which helps speed up separation.

Positive g manoeuvre to dive away by pulling through rather than negative g. Positive g is better for both pilot and airframe and a more instinctive move. Also gives better visibility because the nose does not block the downward view.

From the film footage I've seen of their historical, head-on attacks, the fighters would generally start upright, and as they closed with the bombers, roll 180 degrees to an inverted position, so as they passed underneath them they could dive away, and break contact, or get set up to the side of the bomber formations for another pass.

As above, lets you pull away far quicker after making the attack run.

It works very well for head on attacks in decent flight sims.

Less well if you try and fire stovepipes or drop bombs on the bombers while inverted:)

The FW190 bomber interceptor models committed to the air defense of the Reich were heavily armored, including belly armor. The standard disengagement tactic after completing an attack run against a bomber box was to roll inverted to put the belly armor between pilot and enemy, then dive away.

B

I think that the armour is a secondary consideration since this was a standard tactic for the Luftwaffe fighters throughout the war. From a pilot's perspective the aircraft is more responsive under positive g and it is much more comfortable than negative g. Aircraft are stressed for considerably more positive g than negative g – the piston trainers I started on were stressed +5.25 to -2. The visibility advantage would of greater benefit when attacking the large US formations since the last thing you need is to push down and find the windscreen full of B17 or B24. When you can see what is below you it is a lot easier to pick your exit

I seem to recall Oskar-Heinz Bar wrote something about this (tactical advice for new pilots?). It's just a +G roll-out. I believe you can get downstairs a heck of a lot faster inverted, (steeper angle) and as Vigilant said, +G better for pilot and airframe.

The thing about belly armour is a bit of a mythology, as far as I know. It may have come from speculation by bomber crews as to why the Germans did so.

Putting belly armour between you and the bad guy might sound like a good idea, but you then lose the ability to spot escorts diving upon you, which will only end in tears.

Also, if the 190 had the armour, how does that tie in with the same tactic being performed by 109G pilots?

The zone within a radius of about 500-600 yds around the targeted bomber box was filled with a heavy volume of more or less randomly aimed defensive heavy machine gun fire. Diving out was the fastest means of disengaging from that threat and the fastest and most efficient means of diving out was certainly to roll inverted rather than bunt down. The other reason for rolling inverted into the dive was to protect the pilot from the bomber defensive fire; there was a reason why belly armor was fitted to the FW190 bomber interceptors.

Can't speak to the Bf109 situation. Perhaps it was a weight issue after the fitting of the under-wing gun gondolas.

B