Which WWII Axis nation produced most dangerous pilots?

ToughOmbre · Aug 9, 2007

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:
Yes in that respect you are correct.

And here's a tribute to my two favorite fighter pilots, hanging on my living room wall (much to the chagrin of my wife). Brillanten am Himmel (Diamonds in the Sky) by Heinz Krebs with the original sigs of Hartmann and Galland.

DerAdlerIstGelandet · Aug 9, 2007

That is very nice. I would love to have that as well.

Soundbreaker Welch? · Aug 11, 2007

Was that a specific mission the artist drew of the two Aces?

ToughOmbre · Aug 11, 2007

Soundbreaker Welch? said:
Was that a specific mission the artist drew of the two Aces?

Not a specific mission, but a great representation of two of only 27 men (ten pilots) to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Oberst Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the only recipient of the Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds).

Best part is having Hartmann's and Galland's original signitures.

TO

Soundbreaker Welch? · Aug 11, 2007

Pretty cool.

TenGunTerror · Jun 30, 2009

The Indian foot soldiers defending Kong Kong were absolutely terrifying more than any other soldier...if only they had planes... Otherwise it would be the Russians! They were absolutely fearless and would ram opponents with the propellor when the ammo ran dry. Plus they were defending the dreaded Motherland.

DerAdlerIstGelandet · Jul 1, 2009

TenGunTerror said:
The Indian foot soldiers defending Kong Kong were absolutely terrifying more than any other soldier...if only they had planes... Otherwise it would be the Russians! They were absolutely fearless and would ram opponents with the propellor when the ammo ran dry. Plus they were defending the dreaded Motherland.

The Russians were not Axis pilots...

diddyriddick · Jul 1, 2009

I'm gonna go out on a limb here. Anybody willing to crash their plane into their enemy is the most dangerous pilot, IMHO. Kamikaze.

vikingBerserker · Jul 1, 2009

Yea I have to agree with you on this one.

Soren · Jul 1, 2009

Hmm... problem is that a Kamikaze pilot isn't necessarily a skilled pilot.

Skilled pilots who operate their a/c well are the most dangerous to their foes, pure and simple. You can't win a war with Kamikazes.

TenGunTerror · Jul 1, 2009

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:
The Russians were not Axis pilots...

I feel really dumb not reading the title correctly, my bad

DerAdlerIstGelandet · Jul 2, 2009

Its alright, easy mistake...

David Fred · Jul 12, 2018

Chiron said:
I heard someone said that US pilots, who participate in both European and Pacific theatures, believed Japanese were the most fearsome opponents in comparison with their German counterparts.

I'd have to say the Soviets. Early in the war, with obsolete aircraft, they fought on, and frewuenyl rammed opponents

XBe02Drvr · Jul 14, 2018

David Fred said:
I'd have to say the Soviets. Early in the war, with obsolete aircraft, they fought on, and frewuenyl rammed opponents

Yes, but were they AXIS pilots?? I suppose you could claim they were briefly, when they co-operated with Hitler in deconstructing Poland.
Cheers,
Wes

MIflyer · Jul 14, 2018

A famous US WWII fighter leader was fond of saying, "A second Lieutenant with a map is the most dangerous thing in the world."

So the answer would be: all countries that handed maps to Second Lt's.

swampyankee · Jul 14, 2018

Soren said:
Hmm... problem is that a Kamikaze pilot isn't necessarily a skilled pilot.

Skilled pilots who operate their a/c well are the most dangerous to their foes, pure and simple. You can't win a war with Kamikazes.

Even some of the aces weren't great pilots, but great tacticians and great shots.

GregP · Jul 14, 2018

It wasn't lack of fuel alone that prevented training. There was also lack of aircraft, lack of propellers, and most important, lack of instructors, who were put into cockpits to fight. A few escaped combat, particularly the pilots who flew for the factories, but many were conscripted to fight as attrition took its toll.

Much the same in Japan, who always had fewer aircraft than anyone else. They lost much of their cadre of well-trained pilots (but not all, by any means) by late 1943, and soldiered on with whatever they could train and throw out there.

drgondog · Jul 14, 2018

LW pilots were in constant engagement from 1939 through mid 1945 against the most dangerous pilots of at least 10 different nations, often outnumbered, yet carved out great numbers of Allied crews during day and night - average skill levels dropped through attrition, but many Experten survived the war.

The Japanese and Finns and Italians had some great pilots but Collectively they were no match for LW.

swampyankee · Jul 14, 2018

Hunter368 said:
100% agree, most German soldiers never even knew what was going on in their homeland behind those gates in those camps.

I'm not sure that's true; German troops were notorious for reprisals against any kind of resistance, like killing everybody in a village suspected of harboring resistance fighters, although that's a bit of a different story. German Army personnel on occupation duty would certainly know about rounding up Jews, Rom, and others and the associated pillaging. Japanese troops in China may well have been worse.

David Fred · Jul 14, 2018

XBe02Drvr said:
Yes, but were they AXIS pilots?? I suppose you could claim they were briefly, when they co-operated with Hitler in deconstructing Poland.
Cheers,
Wes

You're right. I'm brain dead. But given the total lack of cooperation in ANY meaningful way between Japan and Germany, was there even such a thing as an "Axis" pilot, or Japanese and German pilots, who just happened to have common enemies, but never common battles?

Which WWII Axis nation produced most dangerous pilots?

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