Quote:
Originally Posted by Rjel
I just love how U.S. pilots (actually all Allied pilots) contributions in WWII are continually trivialized by those fans of the Luftwaffe. Tell me, what was the better strategy? Flying high scoring Aces until they dropped or continually turning over your forces so you had combat trained instructors teaching those who followed? It obviously wasn't just loads of pilots and planes that turned the tide for the Allies. Remember the Russians had scads of both in 1941. It didn't do them much good, did it?
When the Americans first started combat over Europe, the Luftwaffe still enjoyed local air superiority most days. Also, there weren't a thousand P-51s concentrated in one area of Germany at any given time. By most accounts I've read, all the USAAF fighter groups were staggered while they performed their escort duties. One group would escort a given part of a bomber stream until relieved by a fresher group. So the idea that a mere 100 Germans stood in the face of a thousand P-51s is BS. They might have faced a 1000 bombers in any given mission, but those were also strung out of a 100 mile long line.
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Well said, but you won't convince the goofs on this forum. More Luftwaffe Aces were lost to western allies than the east, in fact the Luftwaffe suffered more losses in total to the west. In addition, the Luftwaffe fought over the own territory for nearly the whole western conflict. Once the Luftwaffe had to face superior aircraft and better pilots of the west, they were exposed .
The best pilots of the war were in the pacific. Fighting in much more difficult weather conditions over far larger distances, most of it being water( any one who has actually piloted a small craft over nothing but water can imagine the difficulty faced by pilots who were engaged in combat,disoreinted, low on fuel maybe wounded and needed to find your aircraft carrier with the navigational equipment used in the 1940's) . Landing and taking off of a carrier in good weather during daylight hours takes more skill than anything the Luftwaffe ever faced. Than try it in poor weather at night with little or no fuel as was the case for the USN in a number of engagements. This is to say nothing of the navigational skill needed a bit more challenging than flying barely past the border of your own country. Where if you bailed out there was a good chance you would rejoin your own unit by morning. In the Pacific , if you left your aircraft you more than likely were not seen from again.
10-28-2011, 01:31 AM
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