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there were many pilots the equal of on both sides its just circumstances decided who got the most opportunity to rack up scores, also in the LW you flew until you dropped as opposed to the Allied pilots being on tours using either hours or missions to limit their exposure to deathread all of part I thoroughly, and there was only 2 mentions of Werner Mölders.
Nor anything for that matter about Heinze Knoke, Friedrich Eberle, Herwig Zuzic, Alfred Miksch, Klaus Quaet-Faslem, Horst Petzschler, Kurt Brändle, Franz Ruhl, Joachim Kirschner, Karl-Heinz Langer, Wilhelm Lemke, Wilhelm Moritz, Ernst laube, Ernst Scheufele, Theodor Weissenberger, Günther Specht, Hans-Gerd Wennekers, Hermann Hintzen, Herbert Christmann, Ludwig Franzisket, Willy Kientsch, Dr.Peter Werfft, Otto Meyer, Alfred Grislawski, Alfred Hammer, Herbert Rollwage, Günther Landt, Wilhelm Schilling, Fritz Ungar, Hauptmann Menzel, Heinrich Hackler, Eberhard Gzik, Willi Reschke.
all of whom had better tactical flying skills the Bubi. Bär on the other hand.. he was a hellofa pilot. So was Günther Rall Werner Mölders. I don't think any one particular pilot was the best, but as a whole, the LUFTWAFFE had the best pilots in the world at that or any time.
read all of part I thoroughly, and there was only 2 mentions of Werner Mölders.
Nor anything for that matter about Heinze Knoke, Friedrich Eberle, Herwig Zuzic, Alfred Miksch, Klaus Quaet-Faslem, Horst Petzschler, Kurt Brändle, Franz Ruhl, Joachim Kirschner, Karl-Heinz Langer, Wilhelm Lemke, Wilhelm Moritz, Ernst laube, Ernst Scheufele, Theodor Weissenberger, Günther Specht, Hans-Gerd Wennekers, Hermann Hintzen, Herbert Christmann, Ludwig Franzisket, Willy Kientsch, Dr.Peter Werfft, Otto Meyer, Alfred Grislawski, Alfred Hammer, Herbert Rollwage, Günther Landt, Wilhelm Schilling, Fritz Ungar, Hauptmann Menzel, Heinrich Hackler, Eberhard Gzik, Willi Reschke.
all of whom had better tactical flying skills the Bubi. Bär on the other hand.. he was a hellofa pilot. So was Günther Rall Werner Mölders. I don't think any one particular pilot was the best, but as a whole, the LUFTWAFFE had the best pilots in the world at that or any time.
I don't think any one particular pilot was the best, but as a whole, the LUFTWAFFE had the best pilots in the world at that or any time.
Skill and luck keeps you alive until your luck runs out. As Ofw. Franz Meindl demostrated at Y-29. 1.1.45.A fighter pilots duty is to destroy enemy aircraft, not to awe us or anybody else with his skill.
thanks. perhaps next time I'll find a different way to express my opinion. I'll be mindfull of that in the future =)Apology noted, but Dude, that's not an opinion, that's a partisan, pro-german, biased statement. Note the all caps "LUFTWAFFE". Not to mention preceding that with a list of 30+ German pilots.
Look at the date on the starting post Hansie. This thread is 10 years old.So, if the poll is closed, Herr Landed Eagle, then I may not cast my vote for Chuck Yeager. How about French pilot, in a Spitfire, Pierre Clostermann? His book- "The Big Show" about the Battle of Britain, got me hooked on aviation back in HS-- The German Ace nicknamed "Bubi"- here's a WW11 trivia question based on that German term for a small boy. What other German Officer (not Luftwaffe, however) also was given that nickname, and by whom??
I did in my teens, it was a great read.Oops-my bad. Great poll however. Has anyone heard of or read the book I mentioned by Clostermann?
I don't think any one particular pilot was the best, but as a whole, the LUFTWAFFE had the best pilots in the world at that or any time.
A doctrine is only of use if you have the men and equipment to follow it. The Germans only surpassed the UK in fighter aircraft production some time in 1944 I believe and never matched it in four and twin engine bombers. That leaves all of Russian air power and about half of US production as "surplus" in machines. However the real surplus was in pilots, especially good ones.Who was best.
The western Allies had a far superior doctirne with respect to the use of their fighters than the Germans did.
Good post SC, with regard to Joachim Marseille and the LW in general, Marseille was involved in the destruction and damage of an extraordinary number of German aircraft, almost an allied ace himselfMoreover, Hans-Joachim Marseille, only had a handful of claimed bomber kills - a tiny fraction of his overall claims. In North Africa, British bombers (and fighter bombers) wreaked havoc on German forces. But Hans-Joachim Marseille sought out fighters almost exclusively. To the extent he engaged and shot down escorts, then an argument can be made that Hans-Joachim Marseille "took the bait." While the allies didn't want to lose fighters, it wanted to lose bombers less. This demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding on the part of German leadership in general and Hans-Joachim Marseille in particular of what their priorities should have been. Dancing up high in your fighter with other fighters might be glamorous, and certainly makes for good propaganda, but it doesn't win battles. Doing damage on the ground does. The allies were superior in their understanding of this. The allies did as much damage on the ground with all their warplanes, fighters included, as possible. The Germans learned the importance of using their fighters to directly support their ground forces way too late. In North Africa the Germans had the resouces to do it, and didn't. Even when they saw the British do it, they didn't.
In short, the allies used their fighters more wisely than the Germans. While Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down a whole bunch of planes, his impact would have been far greater if he had wisely targeted the right planes. And the Germans in general would have had a greater impact on the battles if they had learned to use their fighters the way the allies did when they had the resources and opportunity to do it.