Author Topic: Question To All You WWII Buffs (Read 572 times)

Furball · « **Reply #15 on:** June 19, 2003, 06:59:24 AM »

hows this? 39 victories as a gunner! Charles Gass

Don · « **Reply #16 on:** June 19, 2003, 06:53:57 PM »

German pilits were required to fly a lot more sorties in a day than their allied counter parts. When the war became desperate for them, they flew even more. Also, many German pilits were assigned to the Eastern front where the nme were plentiful, and less skilled, and flying less advanced a/c. Once the Russians began to produce more advanced a/c and trained their pilits better, the Luftwaffe began to lose a lot of pilits, many of whom were their best.
Early in the war, the Germans had one of the most formidable a/c, and allied a/c were simply no match for the a/c they put up.
The air war in Europe was as much a technology race as it was a fighting war. There were certainly exceptions though, and Germany had some very talented fighter pilots.

empty · « **Reply #17 on:** June 19, 2003, 10:25:45 PM »

Several issues come to play with the Luftwaffe. The 352-kills belong to Eric Hartmann, if I recall from his biography he flew 1400 missions. Another notable fact is that during these 1400 missions he only had 1-wingman shotdown. The wingy's fault for not doing as he was instructed, his own admission. I know of no Allied combat pilot that flew near this number. Rudel had approx. 2500+ missions in a Stuka of all things.

A lot of the Allied pilots who started early in the war possibly could have scored similar numbers had they been allowed to. The same system which allowed the Germans to score so high was also self defeating.

Allied pilots were rotated back to training assignments and other duties where their names and skills would better support the war effort. German pilots fought for the duration. Any training by the experienced "old hands" took place once they were at their unit.

Most of the German pilots really accelerated their kill rate when the German army was on the defensive. The density of enemy aircraft was a lot higher and the Germans were focused on defense, i.e., shooting them down.

Thunder · « **Reply #18 on:** June 19, 2003, 11:08:31 PM »

One other thought.... When the War shifted the German pilots where fighting a defensive war. They were scrambling sometimes three and four times a day to meet and fight Allied attacks. The Allied Bombers and escorts would fly one long mission compared to the daily German multiple sorties. The German pilots had a higher percentage of engagements and became extremely proficient.