drgondog
Major
I have to agree with Adler and say Heinz Bär as well.... Combat proves a pilot, and the man proved more than any other in my book....
And for the mix, how bout Jimmy Doolittle and his accomplishments???
I agree Doolitte, Dan - I mentioned him in that second tier below Crossfield/Yeager for me personally as best Pilots.
Turner, Doolittle, Mantz, Lindbergh, LaVier, Welsh, Hoover, Bob White, Kurt Tank and a host of top notch others (like Earhart, Hanna Reitsch (sp?)) linger just below those two (for me). Thes were all brave and skilled pilots beyond compare as stick and rudder types - from racing to stunts to new territories in conventional craft of the day
I rank Bar, Hartmann, Rall, and more than a few others, in the greatest fighter pilot/air warrior category but here's the difference to me.
Yeager, Crossfield, Welsh, LaVier, Bob White, etc - very top Test Pilots not only flew a lot of really dangerous ships and profiles but also managed them to precise flight parameters to maximize the test results - without benefit of tribal knowledge about the 'quirks' and vicious characteristics that existed in that bird... they had to a.) find them and b.) survive them - day after day, new bird after new bird, etc - and they did it in ships that were at the very threshold of our knowledge and limits.
This is a debate that I could never win but it explains why I believe what I do about the candidates for 'best'.. Hell my father thought HE was the best!
Regards, Bill