WWII flying aces

[Bleipriester]

What is a plane worth without the pilot who flies it? However, a good pilot needs a good aircraft.
Top ace of all time is Erich Hartmann with 352 victories.

List of World War II flying aces - Wikipedia

 

[fncceo]

In the jet age ... the Ace of All Aces is Giora Epstein of the IAF ... 17 confirmed kills.

 

[westwall]

I used to hang out with Gunther Rall when he would come for a visit with Zemke. He was an incredibly nice guy. Funny as hell too!

 

[Daryl Hunt]

What is a plane worth without the pilot who flies it? However, a good pilot needs a good aircraft.
Top ace of all time is Erich Hartmann with 352 victories.

List of World War II flying aces - Wikipedia

Hartman was not just a GOOD Pilot. He was one of the best that ever lived. I conversed with a person that talked with him. Hartman had no social graces, and his eyes were pure evil. He was a killer, plain and simple. He even had air to air kills in a Stuka and that is really hard to do. Using him as a measuring stick to make the 109 look like the best WWII Fighter is stupid. BTW, most of his kills were against ground attack fighters that flew straight and level. He had only 7 kills (not an easy thing to do either) when he moved from the eastern front to the western front. UP until 1944 (late) the Russians didn't even have gun sites on their fighters unless it was US made. The Russian Pilots of 1943 and back were easy, easy kills. But when he moved to the Western Front, he had competition big time. Getting 7 kills is still pretty hard to do with the experienced pilots that the US had by then.

Like many, I rate the FW190 as a better fighter than the 109.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

I used to hang out with Gunther Rall when he would come for a visit with Zemke. He was an incredibly nice guy. Funny as hell too!

If you had spent time with Hartmann I am sure you would wanted to shoot him. Rall was a patriot and that was the driving factor. Hartmann was a cold blooded killer.

 

[Bleipriester]

What is a plane worth without the pilot who flies it? However, a good pilot needs a good aircraft.
Top ace of all time is Erich Hartmann with 352 victories.

List of World War II flying aces - Wikipedia

Hartman was not just a GOOD Pilot. He was one of the best that ever lived. I conversed with a person that talked with him. Hartman had no social graces, and his eyes were pure evil. He was a killer, plain and simple. He even had air to air kills in a Stuka and that is really hard to do. Using him as a measuring stick to make the 109 look like the best WWII Fighter is stupid. BTW, most of his kills were against ground attack fighters that flew straight and level. He had only 7 kills (not an easy thing to do either) when he moved from the eastern front to the western front. UP until 1944 (late) the Russians didn't even have gun sites on their fighters unless it was US made. The Russian Pilots of 1943 and back were easy, easy kills. But when he moved to the Western Front, he had competition big time. Getting 7 kills is still pretty hard to do with the experienced pilots that the US had by then.

Like many, I rate the FW190 as a better fighter than the 109.

Nice fairy tails. Of course, the Russian fighters had Russian guns.

Yakovlev Yak-1 - Wikipedia

However, the list aces does not only include Hartmann but is almost exclusively German.

 

[Bleipriester]

In the jet age ... the Ace of All Aces is Giora Epstein of the IAF ... 17 confirmed kills.

According to the list above, Kurt Walter had at least 20 victories in a jet fighter.

 

[Bleipriester]

I used to hang out with Gunther Rall when he would come for a visit with Zemke. He was an incredibly nice guy. Funny as hell too!

Those guys were completely different from what we think today. Those veterans from all the countries gathered often and were friends.

 

[JoeB131]

What is a plane worth without the pilot who flies it? However, a good pilot needs a good aircraft.
Top ace of all time is Erich Hartmann with 352 victories.

Couple things about German "Aces".

1) Half their "victories" were usually either slow transport planes or planes on the ground.

2) Unlike Allied Aces, when they got shot down, they got shot down over friendly territory and were just given a new plane.

 

[fncceo]

In the jet age ... the Ace of All Aces is Giora Epstein of the IAF ... 17 confirmed kills.

According to the list above, Kurt Walter had at least 20 victories in a jet fighter.

Jet on jet ... not Jet on propeller-driven bomber.

 

[gipper]

What is a plane worth without the pilot who flies it? However, a good pilot needs a good aircraft.
Top ace of all time is Erich Hartmann with 352 victories.

List of World War II flying aces - Wikipedia

Mika Brzezinski thinks John McCain was a top WWII ace.

 

[Bleipriester]

In the jet age ... the Ace of All Aces is Giora Epstein of the IAF ... 17 confirmed kills.

According to the list above, Kurt Walter had at least 20 victories in a jet fighter.

Jet on jet ... not Jet on propeller-driven bomber.

Not Germany´s problem. If the Brits were faster with the Comet, it could have been jet on jet. The jet age started with 1433 Me 262 produced.

 

[SobieskiSavedEurope]

Nazi Germany didn't rotate pilots like America did.............. Big difference.

 

[Bleipriester]

What is a plane worth without the pilot who flies it? However, a good pilot needs a good aircraft.
Top ace of all time is Erich Hartmann with 352 victories.

Couple things about German "Aces".

1) Half their "victories" were usually either slow transport planes or planes on the ground.

2) Unlike Allied Aces, when they got shot down, they got shot down over friendly territory and were just given a new plane.

You are just reacting as dishonorable as Hunt and have just stupid "explanations" like the wikipedia article.

 

[SobieskiSavedEurope]

One British pilot was killed for every 4.9 enemy planes downed. The Poles managed to notch up 10.5 enemy planes per pilot death.

Read more: Why did we humiliate the Polish aces after their Battle of Britain heroics? | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski (born Franciszek Stanisław Gabryszewski; January 28, 1919 – January 31, 2002) was a Polish-American career pilot in the United States Air Force, retiring as a colonel with 26 years of military service. He was the top American and United States Army Air Forces fighter aceover Europe in World War II and a jet fighter ace with the Air Force in the Korean War.

Although best known for his credited destruction of 34½ aircraft in aerial combat and being one of only seven U.S. combat pilots to become an ace in two wars, Gabreski was also one of the Air Force's most accomplished leaders. In addition to commanding two fighter squadrons, he had six command tours at group or wing level, including one in combat in Korea, totaling over 11 years of command and 15 overall in operational fighter assignments.

After his Air Force career, Gabreski headed the Long Island Rail Road, a commuter railroad owned by the State of New York, and struggled in his attempts to improve its service and financial condition. After two and a half years, he resigned under pressure and went into full retirement.

Gabby Gabreski - Wikipedia

 

[SobieskiSavedEurope]

Germanized Pole.

Walter Krupinski - Wikipedia

Walter Krupinski (11 November 1920 – 7 October 2000) was a German general in the Bundeswehr. During World War II, he served as a fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe, the air force of Nazi Germany. Krupinski was one of the highest-scoring pilots in the war, credited with 197 victories in 1,100 sorties. He was one of the first to fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter in combat as a member of Jagdverband 44 led by Adolf Galland.

Education and early career[edit]
Krupinski was born on 11 November 1920, in the town of Domnau in the Province of East Prussia, and grew up in Braunsberg, present-day Braniewo, Poland. He was the first son of Friedrich Wilhelm Krupinski, a Obergerichtsvollzieher (bailiff), and his wife Auguste, née Helmke

 

[Bleipriester]

One British pilot was killed for every 4.9 enemy planes downed. The Poles managed to notch up 10.5 enemy planes per pilot death.

Read more: Why did we humiliate the Polish aces after their Battle of Britain heroics? | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski (born Franciszek Stanisław Gabryszewski; January 28, 1919 – January 31, 2002) was a Polish-American career pilot in the United States Air Force, retiring as a colonel with 26 years of military service. He was the top American and United States Army Air Forces fighter aceover Europe in World War II and a jet fighter ace with the Air Force in the Korean War.

Although best known for his credited destruction of 34½ aircraft in aerial combat and being one of only seven U.S. combat pilots to become an ace in two wars, Gabreski was also one of the Air Force's most accomplished leaders. In addition to commanding two fighter squadrons, he had six command tours at group or wing level, including one in combat in Korea, totaling over 11 years of command and 15 overall in operational fighter assignments.

After his Air Force career, Gabreski headed the Long Island Rail Road, a commuter railroad owned by the State of New York, and struggled in his attempts to improve its service and financial condition. After two and a half years, he resigned under pressure and went into full retirement.

Gabby Gabreski - Wikipedia

That would mean the Poles in the RAF downed 25000 German planes. Typical pomposity...

"Some 8,400 Polish airmen were evacuated to the United Kingdom, which they now called Wyspa Ostatniej Nadziei or “The Island of Last Hope.” In November 1948, a memorial dedicated to the 2,408 Polish airmen killed during the war was unveiled at RAF Northolt."

The Polish Air Force in WWII. - WW2 Gravestone

 

[SobieskiSavedEurope]

One British pilot was killed for every 4.9 enemy planes downed. The Poles managed to notch up 10.5 enemy planes per pilot death.

Read more: Why did we humiliate the Polish aces after their Battle of Britain heroics? | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski (born Franciszek Stanisław Gabryszewski; January 28, 1919 – January 31, 2002) was a Polish-American career pilot in the United States Air Force, retiring as a colonel with 26 years of military service. He was the top American and United States Army Air Forces fighter aceover Europe in World War II and a jet fighter ace with the Air Force in the Korean War.

Although best known for his credited destruction of 34½ aircraft in aerial combat and being one of only seven U.S. combat pilots to become an ace in two wars, Gabreski was also one of the Air Force's most accomplished leaders. In addition to commanding two fighter squadrons, he had six command tours at group or wing level, including one in combat in Korea, totaling over 11 years of command and 15 overall in operational fighter assignments.

After his Air Force career, Gabreski headed the Long Island Rail Road, a commuter railroad owned by the State of New York, and struggled in his attempts to improve its service and financial condition. After two and a half years, he resigned under pressure and went into full retirement.

Gabby Gabreski - Wikipedia

That would mean the Poles in the RAF downed 25000 German planes. Typical pomposity...

"Some 8,400 Polish airmen were evacuated to the United Kingdom, which they now called Wyspa Ostatniej Nadziei or “The Island of Last Hope.” In November 1948, a memorial dedicated to the 2,408 Polish airmen killed during the war was unveiled at RAF Northolt."

The Polish Air Force in WWII. - WW2 Gravestone

Talking about only the highest scoring Squadron in the Battle of Britain, the Polish 303 Kosciuszko Squadron.

 

[SobieskiSavedEurope]

Walter Krupinski definitely looked more Polish, than German.

 

[Bleipriester]

Fairly tale of Poland being raided by the Germans...

"The Polish army of 1939 was not as backward as it is often portrayed and fielded a tank force larger than that of the contemporary US Army. The Polish cavalry was well trained, fought bravely, and may well have been a serious threat to other cavalry or even dismounted troops.

The Poles had wanted to mobilize much sooner, but delayed at the insistence of the French and British, who feared mobilization would provoke Germany. The Germans, however, did not succeed in gaining tactical surprise as some historians suggest. Poland's defeat was inevitable so long as France and Britain avoided engaging invading German forces. Even under favorable conditions, Poland could not have resisted the German threat singlehandedly. While the Polish armored forces would not compare with those of Germany or the Red Army, it was large, and in some respects, more modern than tank units in the United States at the time.

A popular myth is that Polish cavalry armed with lances charged German tanks during the September 1939 campaign. This often repeated account, first reported by Italian journalists as German propaganda, concerned an action by the Polish 18th Lancer Regiment near Chojnice. This arose from misreporting of a single clash on 1 September 1939 near Krojanty, when two squadrons of the Polish 18th Lancers armed with sabers surprised and wiped out a German infantry formation with a mounted sabre charge. Shortly after midnight the 2nd (Motorized) Division was compelled to withdraw by Polish cavalry, before the Poles were caught in the open by German armored cars. The story arose because some German armored cars appeared and gunned down 20 troopers as the cavalry escaped. Even this failed to persuade everyone to reexamine their beliefs -- there were some who thought Polish cavalry had been improperly employed in 1939."

1939 - Polish Army - World War II