Ju-87G Stuka

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Furio

The point is: all we know is what Rudel told about this encounter.

Maybe Rudel's gunner was like the AI Ace gunners in IL2, with immunity to G-forces and laser-like accuracy and ranging ability!

Other than that, we can debate the technical merits of the planes involved all day, but I think that ultimately the outcome of the fight can be summed up by two fighter pilot maxims:

"I'd rather be lucky than good." (And, if nothing else, Rudel had the devil's own luck.)

"It's not the plane, it's the man in the plane."

Originally Posted by Furio

Overall, Rudel’s memories defy all the rules of probability and his victory tally makes one wonder how Germany lost the war.

Agreed. I think that Rudel's victory total against ground vehicles is probably (unintentionally) overstated, like the kill claims for just every other ground attack pilot.

His total of air-to-air kills is probably fairly accurately, since all his claims had to be verified by very strict Luftwaffe kill-claiming procedures. While there was still some overclaiming under this system, I think that the odds are that Rudel is legitimately an ace pilot (i.e., 5+ aerial kills).

His sortie total is probably also fairly accurate, since his pilot's logbook could easily be verified by other sources. Of all Rudel's achievements, this is probably his most amazing feat. You don't survive over 2,000 sorties as a ground attack pilot on the Eastern front without a remarkable combination of luck and skill.

Originally Posted by Furio

Overall, Rudel’s memories defy all the rules of probability and his victory tally makes one wonder how Germany lost the war.

That's one of the tremendously depressing things about modern warfare. When there are millions of men fighting, the actions of one man on the battlefield, no matter how heroic, seldom make a difference in the overall course of the war. Instead, impersonal factors like logistics, national economic output, demographics, and weather play more of a role.