List of WW2 fighter aces

I'm pretty sure both sides rigour in claiming kills was about the same and overclaiming was roughly even. I read a comparison recently of scoring rates of a couple of Allied aces and it matched the rates of many German aces. The only difference being the amount of time they were allowed to stay in the combat arena and scoring opportunities available to them. The Allied pilots were generally rotated and rested throughout the war so had much less opportunities to score. Also, many of the German aces served on the Eastern Front where scoring opportunities were much greater and don't forget that nearly 90% of Germany's casualties occurred in the East.

Unlike the Allied pilots, the German pilots generally had to stay in combat until they dropped, so either got very, very good, or very badly injured/dead. Scoring opportunities for Allied pilots against a waning Luftwaffe also tells a story. Towards the end of the war (when the bomber crews were unofficially being used as live bait so the fighters could engage and annihilate the Luftwaffe), things changed. The experienced German aircrews could not be replaced and quality suffered and by early 1945 the Luftwaffe effectively ceased to exist.

Obviously, I wasn't "there", so I don't know.
However, as far as "resting & rotation" of Pilots is concerned, I don't know about the German side, but as far as the British side is concerned, that was not entirely true, because simply, they were running out of Pilots quicker than aircraft, so there was certainly no "rotation". Of course, as Germany gradually lost "the edge", things changed.
As far as individual losses are concerned, well in the Battle of Britain, if the German kill claim "estimates" were accurate, the R.A.F. would've been wiped out, it would've been non existant,...in fact it would've been a minus!!
Galland himself said that their "claims procedure" was a little less "thorough" than the R.A.F's.
However,..two things,.....the bravery & sacrifice, on both sides, is undoubted, and,.......I'm glad we won!
Pickles.

Pickles,

I'm glad we won too! If you get a chance, have a read of 'Air Power' by Stephen Budiansky (absolutely brilliant) and 'The Story of Air Fighting' by Johnnie Johnson. Those two books (especially Budiansky's analysis in Air Power) helped fill in a lot of blanks for me when I first read them.


Cheers,

Cripesamighty

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Originally Posted by cripesamighty

Pickles,

I'm glad we won too! If you get a chance, have a read of 'Air Power' by Stephen Budiansky (absolutely brilliant) and 'The Story of Air Fighting' by Johnnie Johnson. Those two books (especially Budiansky's analysis in Air Power) helped fill in a lot of blanks for me when I first read them.


Cheers,

Cripesamighty

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Thanks for that.
Being an "Old Pom", I grew up amongst all the "Legends" of the R.A.F.,...the Spitfires, Hurricanes, Lancasters, Mosquito's etc, and also the lives of some of the Pilots,....it was very "Boys Own" type stuff,...we were all into it, along with our Hornby Dublo electric model train sets etc,....very different times then!!
I find it amazing that the likes of Galland & Bader etc, were absolutely ruthless, in the air, "kill as many as they can" etc,....but on the ground they were absolute gentlemen and REALLY with a totally chivalrous outlook, as Bader found out when He was captured.
Amazing times, amazing men.
Pickles.

All great planes. As a child of the 1970s and 80s I spent a lot of time building airfix models of them all!

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Originally Posted by EastFreo

All great planes. As a child of the 1970s and 80s I spent a lot of time building airfix models of them all!

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"Airfix"?!!...Jeez, how long have they been going, & they're STILL going!
Pickles.

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Originally Posted by EastFreo

All great planes. As a child of the 1970s and 80s I spent a lot of time building airfix models of them all!

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You and me both, I had all these model airplanes suspended from my bedroom ceiling with fishing line.:) Except I was a child of the 50's and 60's.

I grew up not far from Biggin Hill airport. I worked not far from Croydon Airport for a while and later I lived in Caterham which was in spitting distance of Kenley , itself not all that far from Redhill where some of the Croydon and Kenly boys would fly from when their home aerodrome was badly damaged. By far the best book I've ever read on the subject is " The Most Dangerous Enemy" by Stephan Bungay. Recommended.
cheers,
D

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Originally Posted by loneranger

I read it a few times in high school, great read. He would have been an interesting man to have met.

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He was.....I had the pleasure of bringing him out to Australia in 1978 in association with Darwin Aero Club , to be the patron of the Back to Darwin 1978 Air Race.

He was not an ace and didn't like being called one.

But he was as live as his book shows him and I could imagine him standing toe to toe with german prison guards as he uttered profanities at them.

Thanks for bringing back the memories guys.

Den

[QUOTE=Dark61;2403574. By far the best book I've ever read on the subject is " The Most Dangerous Enemy" by Stephan Bungay. Recommended.
cheers,
D[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that. Just found it on Kindle. Will enjoy reading that tonight with the bottle of red I have just opened.