1. Did he fear any model of enemy a/c- ie hated 190's.
A: I feared them all, or at least I was very wary and respectful of them because one never knew the ability of the opposing pilot. The FW 190 certainly had the RAF worried in 1941 and 1942. However, once combat was initiated it became apparent very early whether or not the opponent was expert and experienced. In my book it was a very calculating affair which decided one’s tactics. Incidentally our particular role was “command of the air” which required us to achieve ascendancy over the enemy air force. This meant mostly fighter against fighter conflicts.
2. What was the attitude towards enemy pilots in each theatre - hated Germans more than Japanese? Feared Japanese more than
Germans if captured? Which pilots seemed to have the better training?
A: We respected the German opposition. They were the enemy and our job was to kill them and they us, but I never felt hate. In the case of the Japanese we were fed lots of horror tales about their behaviour and were lectured by those who had had personal experience of their atrocities. We thoroughly disliked the Japs. and we adopted a no-holds-barred attitude to our combat. We would have shot them down in their parachutes but I never saw a Jap bail out.
3. How well informed did he feel regarding his adversaries plane performance?
A: We thought that we were quite well informed through supplied technical and test data, and our own experience, but upon reading books after the war I find that we had some distinctly wrong impressions.
Next.... The Spitfire...
