ORIGINAL: Misconduct
Does anyone have actual accounts of Japanese Pilots taking down huge numbers of B-17's and B-24s?
Define "huge". You know, 4Es were not nearly that numerous in RL Pacific, as they are in AE, right? But just to avoid citing numerous examples from CBI theatre, look at this episode, which included lost B-24s:
http://www.j-aircraft.org/smf/index.php?topic=8176.0
ORIGINAL: Misconduct
I mean I never remember hearing any after action reports on american sides suggesting the japanese had any success at any part of the war in taking down 4 engine bombers.
Yet they clearly had. You know when Allies sent unescorted Liberators against Rabaul at the first time? 9 March of 1944. As late as January of 1944 Allies lost 8 B-24s per 263 sorties over Rabaul area (note, that in RL 1 loss per 33 sorties is a rather high figure). As about the battles where Allies didn't have overwhelming material superiority, their air offensive against Rangoon from 11/25 to 12/6 of 1943 resulted in loss of 12 B-24s and 3 Wellingtons out of 222 bomber sorties.
ORIGINAL: Misconduct
Some creditable claims I have read that further disprove every Japanese Fan boy here, are aces like Saburo Sakai who sat behind an F4F and put almost 1,000 rounds of 7.7mm into it and the plane wouldn't drop, were talking F4F here not a B-17.
Flukes happen, assumed that episode was even remembered correctly. Also, if you stop reading Sakai selectively, you'll find, for example, that a Zero can keep even in level flight chase with Airacobra, so he is probably not a source you want to bring up as a proof that Japanese planes sucked.
ORIGINAL: Misconduct
The ki-43's in Burma, what level of success were they having? How many were being brought down 1-2? or typical japanese over-excelled combat reports with hundreds of "B24's shot down".
Significant level of success. Combats of small bomber groups raiding at night, at high altitude or against outlying bases, against even smaller intercepting fighter groups involved about 1:1 loss ratio, with results getting better for Japanese when Allied tried to press on their attack and met massed CAP, as described above.
ORIGINAL: Misconduct
My biggest problem with the whole "American 4 Engines are overpowering" argument is fact I don't see proof Japan had any success.
Even the most cursory examination of actual combat episodes reveals that unescorted 4E raids against major and active Japanese bases weren't even contemplated until the advent of B-29s. Yet in AE you can get away with this regularly.
