Aces

[cheddar cheese]

and what would that be, oh knowledgable one

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

no planes obviously................

 

[Lightning Guy]

Good choice. A very survivable choice.

 

[plan_D]

You choose that now, but I imagine a lot of people seeking glory would have gone for the other one, many planes.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i think i would rather see none, after all, what's the point in being a hero if everyone you know is dead...............

 

[plan_D]

Self-satisfaction? Plus the fact your whole country won't be dead, and you might even be remembered in history by name.

You also have to remember with German aces a lot flew in the Spanish Civil War against inferior pilots and planes, then flew on the Eastern front if they survived the BoB.

 

[Lightning Guy]

All of the top scoring Germans (except Marseille) earned their kills on the Eastern Front and the Soviet VVS was only begining to match the Western air forces at the end of the war. The scored of the Germans fighting against the Americans and the British were not nearly as high.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

not when we had planes like the spit and stang...........

(sorry to have to pick really cliche planes (i know there should be a 'lil thing above the e but i don't knw how to get that up))

 

[Lightning Guy]

And, in general, a better quality of pilots.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i wouldn't say that..............

 

[plan_D]

Early war 1939-1940 I'd say the Germans and British were matched in skill. Overall spreading out through the war, I think the Western Allies had the better quality, then the Germans, then the Russians.
If you look at the combat records, the Germans had their best scores on the East, but the Western Allies were scoring high against Germans or Japanese which aren't exactly poor pilots.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

we had better pilots in general, but the good german pilots were one hell of allot better than our best pilots............

 

[Lightning Guy]

There's no way objective way to make a comment like that. The Germans had higher scores but we've already discussed why. By the end of the war, the average Allied pilot was better than the average German pilot because of the superior training the Allies were receiving.

 

[plan_D]

Yes, because the Germans didn't really have the time to trains theres. In 1939-1940, I'd still say the Germans were the superior obviously only matched by the British.

 

[Lightning Guy]

And probably the Japanese naval pilots. Of course that's a difficult judgement to make, but the training they went through was insane.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

the japs sure gave the americans a suprise, they didn't expect the japs to be that good.............

 

[plan_D]

Yes, plus the planes gave them a huge advantage.

 

[Lightning Guy]

It wasn't just us they surprised. The British Hurricanes and Buffallos got their own nasty shock when they tried to engage Japanese pilots early in the war.

 

[plan_D]

Yes, but we'd already had air experience against other air forces. They were the first you met....

 

[Lightning Guy]

So what's your excuse for your poor showing against the Japanese early on ?