In the interest of fairness, I present te Condor Legion's leading ace - Werner Mölders. (Leading aces who were true Spanish citizens will come later.)
Werner MöldersIn 1936, the Germans sent a Luftwaffe force, the Condor Legion, to assist the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. Mölders volunteered for service, and arrived by sea in Cadiz on 14 April 1938. He was assigned to the 3rd squadron of Jagdgruppe 88 (J 88) commanded by Oberleutnant Adolf Galland. The unit, stationed at the Valencia–Ebro front, was equipped with the Heinkel He 51, but later switched to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 B-2.[Note 1] Mölders assumed command of the squadron on 24 May 1938, when Galland returned to Germany.[9] He claimed his first aerial victory, shooting down a Polikarpov I-15 "Chato" ("Curtiss" to the Germans) near Algar, on 15 July 1938.[10] Over the remaining months of the year, Mölders became the leading ace of the Condor Legion, shooting down 15 aircraft in Spain: two I-15 "Curtiss", 12 I-16 "Rata" and one Tupolev SB (one "Rata" claimed on 23 September 1938 was not confirmed).[11]
The flight paths of four aircraft traveling in an asymmetrical V formation: the leading aircraft at the tip of the V-shape is aircraft 1, followed by aircraft 2 on its left, and aircraft 3 and 4 on its right. For the entire formation to execute a 90-degree right-hand turn, aircraft 2 is the first aircraft to make the turn, rising and passing over the flight paths of aircraft 1, 3 and 4. The flight path of aircraft 1 is next to curve right, passing over the flight paths of aircraft 3 and 4. Then the flight path of aircraft 3 curves right at a 90° angle, passing over the path of aircraft 4, which is the last to turn right. Once all four aircraft have completed the turn, aircraft 2 is to the right of aircraft 1, which has aircraft 3 on its left, followed by aircraft 4 on the far left of the formation.
Schwarm formation and cross-over turn[12]
In recognition of his exceptional performance as a commander and fighter pilot, Mölders was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) on 18 October 1938, effective as of 1 October 1938. He claimed his 14th and final confirmed aerial victory of the conflict by downing a Polikarpov I-16 "Rata" near Mola on 3 November 1938[13] and returned to Germany on 5 December 1938.[14] From 6 December 1938 until March 1939, Mölders was a member of the 1st group of Jagdgeschwader 133 (JG 133) and held a staff position with the Inspector of Fighters at the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Imperial Air Ministry) in Berlin. His task was to devise new fighter pilot tactics. In March 1939 he was given command as Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 133, taking over command from Oberleutnant Hubertus von Bonin. JG 133 was later renamed Jagdgeschwader 53 Pik As (Ace of Spades).[15][16][Note 2]
For his achievements in Spain, Mölders was honoured with the Spanish Medalla de la Campaña and Medalla Militar on 4 May 1939 and the German Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords and Diamonds (Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern und Brillanten) on 6 June 1939.[17] The Condor Legion officially returned to Germany on 6 June 1939 and troops marched through Berlin to the Lustgarten, where the fallen were honoured. A formal state banquet for the most highly decorated soldiers was held in the marble gallery of the Reich Chancellery. Mölders was seated at table 1, with General der Flieger Hugo Sperrle, General Don Antonio Aranda, General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano, Oberst Walter Warlimont, Oberstleutnant von Donat, Leutnant Reinhard Seiler and Oberfeldwebel Ignatz Prestele.[18]
With other airmen in Spain, Mölders developed the formation known as the "finger-four".[19] This improved the all-round field of vision and combat flexibility of a flight (Schwarm), enhanced mutual protection, and encouraged pilot initiative. In the "finger-four", the aircraft assumed positions corresponding to the fingertips of an outstretched hand. The fighters flew in two elements (Rotten) of two aircraft each; two Rotten (four aircraft) made up a Schwarm (swarm).[19]
Mölders is often credited with inventing the cross-over turn.[19] An early version of the manoeuvre, as used by a "Vic" of five aircraft (a tight formation forming the letter "V"), appeared in the Royal Air Force (RAF) Training Manual of 1922, and the manoeuvre may even date back to 1918. However, it had fallen into disuse due to the difficulty of performing it in a multi-aircraft formation with the contemporary spacing of less than 100 feet (30 m) between aircraft. The wide lateral separation of 1,800 feet (550 m) introduced by J 88 both necessitated such a turning manoeuvre, to enable a Schwarm to turn as a unit, and minimised the risk of midair collisions previously associated with it.[19]
In World War II, he lost two wingmen in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain, but shot down 53 enemy aircraft. With his tally standing at 68 victories, Mölders and his unit, the Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51), were transferred to the Eastern Front in June 1941 for the opening of Operation Barbarossa. By the end of 22 June 1941, the first day of Barbarossa, he had added another four victories to his tally and a week later, Mölders surpassed Manfred von Richthofen's 1918 record of 80 victories. By mid-July, he had 100 World War II victories.
Prevented from flying further combat missions for propaganda reasons, at the age of 28 Mölders was promoted to Oberst, and appointed Inspector General of Fighters. He was inspecting the Luftwaffe units in the Crimea when he was ordered to Berlin to attend the state funeral of Ernst Udet, the World War I flying ace. On the flight to Berlin, the Heinkel He 111 in which he was traveling as a passenger encountered a heavy thunderstorm during which one of the aircraft's engines failed. While attempting to land, the Heinkel crashed at Breslau, killing Mölders and two others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_M%C3%B6lders
