Quote Originally Posted by Landloper View Post
There may have been chivalric actions carried out by individual pilots, but in the main the air war was ruthless, and was so right from the start. Sorties on enemy airfields timed to meet returning bomber streams were standard practice for both the Luftwaffe and the RAF during WW2. These were known as intruder missons by the RAF, who typically deployed Mosquitos and Beaufighters to engage German bombers they came into land after night sorties. The Luftwaffe used intruder raiding againt the RAF and the USAAF right up until the end of the war: while the RAF intruders, having practically no German bombers deal with anymore, intruded the intruders.
Yes that's a fair point, they were all at it. The bomber/air defence war was pursued with different values to the earlier campaigns like the Battle of Britain.