[Flag_This]

"I'm afraid I really don't know. I know the RAF was doing a lot of ground-attack missions (tactical air support) in the middle years of the war, and the USAF was doing top cover for the bombers with its Mustangs. Perhaps that made a difference?"

I know the RAF was handling night bombing operations - did they even have fighter support for those missions? That alone would make a huge difference, I would think.

[Vanders9]

No fighter support for night bombers. Perhaps some escort over the channel on the way there at dusk and on the way back at dawn, but unlikely to bump into german fighters there.