Originally posted by Nath-BDP:
Heh, preddy was only in combat in the pacific for 2 months and got 2 assists iirc, August to early October 1942 in which he was most likely flying F4Fs. As for Landers, he was an ace in the Pac, thats not successfull enough for you?
To be flying F4Fs, Preddy would have had to be in the Navy or Marine Corps. Since he was in the AAF, we can discount Wildcats. Preddy was assigned to the 49th Fighter Group. You remember the 49th, they shot down 668 enemy aircraft, the third highest total for any Fighter Group in any theater. Preddy scored exactly zero while he was with the the 9th Fighter Squadron. He was seriously injured when he dove into John Sauber's P-40, killing Sauber. Preddy was with the squadron for 5 months prior to his accident.
John Landers scored 6 kills (two of which are disputed to this day) while with the 49th FG. Coming to the ETO he claimed another 8.5 and 20 claimed destroyed on the ground, which do not count towards his total.
Widewing, you are so American-biased, and your webpage makes it much more obvious.
If that means that I don't have any material about the Nazi Luftwaffe, you're right. I have not, nor ever intend to include articles that glorify Luftwaffe. Why? Because there is more than enough on the web already. As I said, there is an entire cult dedicated to apologizing for the failure of the Luftwaffe and the Nazi leadership to defend Germany from the Allied horde. Indeed, the apologia runs deep, with countless books in print, and more being added every year. I see no useful reason to jump on that bandwagon.
What we write about are the aircraft and pilots. We have published historical pieces on the Soviets and Italians, both of which get scant coverage, especially the Italians.
More importantly, we talk to the men who flew the aircraft. In this respect, we work hard to debunk much of the misinformation that already crowds the internet. We don't rely on some author's research, we do our own, and make every effort to talk to the men who were there.
Now, as to your whining about being out-numbered. You ignore the fact that there were just two fighter groups which flew all of the missions into Germany between October 1943 and the end of the year. These units flew the P-38H and J, and every mission found them, frequently with less than 40 total fighters, engaging as many as 300 German fighters. It was not the Luftwaffe who was out-numbered in those days. Moreover, the Luftwaffe did not ignore the P-38s. On the contrary, they did everything possible to disrupt their formations. Arthur Heiden has said that he cannot recall a single mission in where his squadron was not bounced by German fighters. That is until Doolittle authorized Kepner to go after the Luftwaffe, rather than defend the bombers. It was at this point that the Luftwaffe's fate was sealed.
The whole argument about the Luftwaffe being overwhelmed by sheer numbers is a red herring. The Luftwaffe was overwhelmed by technology, traing and tactics. This technology created fighter aircraft with the range to cover every airfield in Germany, from bases 500 miles away. This technology produced a whole host of fighter aircraft that were equal or superior to what Germany was able to field. This technology produced the bombers that pounded German industry and cities into ruin.
Training provided the Allies with pilots who entered combat with the skills required to defeat their German counterparts. The tactics employed pinned the Luftwaffe inside Germany, and then pinned them to their airfields.
Where was German technology? Wasted on weapons that were useless within the scope of the war. Why is it that Germany could not train enough pilots? Why is it that the obsolecent Bf 109 continued in production long after it had reached the limits of development? We could go on ad nauseum.
As I said before, the three Ts were the key to defeating Germany in the west. Technology, Training and Tactics.
My regards,
Widewing
