During World War 2, could bomber planes fly at much higher elevations than

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Domenic

New member
fighter planes? If they did was it possible a bomber plane could completely avoid being shot down by flying at high elevation?
 
Hmmm.........

All planes have different service ceilings. Some fighters like the p-40 or Zero were built the operate at low altitude. Others like the Ta 154 were designed for high altitude intercept. Could you climb to escape attack? Yes. Does it work all the time? No. Bombers tend to be slow climbers. So the fighter will nail you before you get too high.
 
Allied strategic bombing was usually done from high altitude, regardless. The B-17 and B-24 had greater range at higher altitudes.

Unfortunately, Axis fighter aircraft such as the M-109 and FW-110 were able to reach the same altitudes. For that matter, the German 88mm anti-aircraft gun could put a cloud of flak up that high in the sky.

In the aircraft of that era, service ceiling was largely limited by the engine air intake. Put a supercharger on the engine and you can climb higher. American fighter aircraft were late to the supercharger game: We didn't have a good high-altitude fighter until the British put their magnificent Rolls-Royce Merlin engine into North American Aviation's P-51 Mustang. The result was magic...
 
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