The Second World War: The Fighter Aces

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(solemn instrumental music) (triumphant instrumental music) - [Narrator] Germany's fighter pilots did not create World War II, but they were caught up from the very first day to the last in its remorseless struggle, as were many pilots of other nations. Most of the top scoring aces came from the pre-war Luftwaffe as professional soldiers. But the vast majority of the aces were not professionals. They were volunteers drawn to the adventure of flying, as were their predecessors in World War I. Modern war opens the expensive and highly complex aviation field to these men. Without war, it was a line of work to which they would not have had access. Had the war not intervened, most of them would've been school teachers, bank clerks, managers, lawyers or chemists, to which occupations many returned to after surviving the war. Germany's fighter aces must be credited with outstanding and often astonishing achievements in the air. (engine revving) With the years now past in our current climate of peacetime and political correctness, history should now recognize that the German airman was a brave and fair opponent whose professionalism should be admired by all nationalities and generations of fighter pilots. The damaging bombardment of wartime propaganda and deliberate misinformation to incite hatred on all sides only deserves to be forgotten. Like their Allied counterparts, Germany's air aces left behind families, wives and loved ones when they went to war. Like all Germans of their generation, they suffered the same anguish as the consequences of the Hitler period consumed their fatherland. In their devotion to their country and the air, and in their seemingly unquenchable courage, tenacity and skill in the face of overwhelming Allied power, Germany's aces stand equal alongside any other great warriors in history. They flew against the enemy to the final hour of the final day. Their historical misfortune was nevertheless to be endlessly blamed for losing the air war by their very own supreme commander. This was a war they had not conceived, but in the prosecution of which they had held themselves relentlessly to the limits of human endurance. They began the war with everything in their favor: experience, superior tactics, an excelled combat leadership, well-tested weapons and a substantial lead in jet fighter development. Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, their supreme commander, was convinced they were invincible. This led to overcommitment. Thus the end of the war six years later, heroically but vainly battling a blizzard of Allied aircraft while their fatherland fell into a blazing ruin below. But Luftwaffe produced the most successful and highest scoring individual fighter pilots of all time, and yet their formations were driven from the skies. Defeat, terror and suffering swept in on the Reich from the air. (explosions) In a few short years, the Luftwaffe fighter arm was reduced from dazzling ascendancy to a hunted and desperate collection of units struggling to get a handful of machines airborne. Behind this dramatic change of fortune lies an almost incredible story of courageous airmen repeatedly failed by their High Command and by Germany's political leaders. The careers of Germany's greatest aces cannot be outlined accurately or understood without highlighting this backdrop to the struggle in the skies. The frequent failures of significant personalities upon whom the fighter pilots depended for the backing of their efforts were unprecedented at that time in military history. The do or die valor of the Luftwaffe fighter pilots, and especially the leading aces, never lost its quality right to the end. This is a crown of glory shared by all German fighter pilots alike. The fact that Goering, no doubt frustrated by his own failure, accused them of cowardice once the early easy victories had passed, should not detract us all from the historic achievement, for had those flying warriors been properly backed, the history of this century might've very well been different. By far the best known of Germany World War II fighter pilots and air leaders was lieutenant general Adolf Galland. He became one of the most remarkable men to reach high rank on either side during the conflict. And, as a fighter pilot, he also earned his place as one of the immortal aces. Shrewd, perceptive, courageous and far sighted, Galland was exposed to the burdens of high command while still in his early 30s. He was appointed inspector of the fighter arm before reaching the age of 30. Despite the demands made on him by this role and also against the orders of Hitler, he continued to fly fighter combat throughout the war. (chatter) He ended his war career still fighting, in command of a squadron of Me 262 jets. Galland was always the most realistic of air generals. He would ask his pilots to do nothing that he had not done himself, and history has verified the accuracy with which he analyzed the major trends of the air war. A brilliant combat pilot, exceptional marksman and ingenious tactician, Galland was able to incorporate all of those battle talents into an inborn strategic sense for the overall picture of air warfare. As a fighter pilot, he scored 103 confirmed victories. Compared to many other aces who scored a great deal more, and in some cases over 300, Galland's score may seem insignificant by comparison. But he scored his entire total against the British and American pilots on the Western Front, something that only a small handful of men lived long enough to achieve. Furthermore, Galland will be as long remembered for his battles on the ground as an advocate for fighter pilots as he will be for his efforts as a fighter pilot in the air. (engine revving) (explosions) Lieutenant general Galland first flew in combat in Spain in 1937. This interview was recorded in the USA in the early 1980s. - I flew the Heinkel 51 biplane. It was at the time already an obsolete fighter. Therefore, we used it only for target support, strafing and bombing. - [Narrator] The Spanish Civil War marks the end of the biplane era and the introduction of a new design in fighters. Cantilever monoplanes with retractable landing gear and enclosed cockpits. These innovations were not entirely well-received at the time. - A fighter pilot in a closed cockpit is an impossible thing because you should smell the enemy. You could smell them because of the oil they were burning. - [Narrator] One of these new fighters was the Messerschmitt Me 109. The impact of these new aircraft was surprising. - Very surprising, especially in Messerschmitt 109, even in the first version, were superior to anything that flew in Spain. - [Narrator] Galland was desperate to fly one of these new fighters. During the invasion of Poland, unable to break free of his involvement with close support aviation, he was a squadron commander. His squadron was equipped with the obsolescent Henschel 123, the biplane Stuka. For his efforts in this campaign, he was awarded the Iron Cross second class. It was during the campaign in Belgium that he first flew the new Me 109. On the 12th of May 1940, he scored his first aerial victory, followed by two more on the same day, all three were British Hurricanes. On the 18th of July, he was promoted to major and took part in the crucial stages of the Battle of Britain. By September, having already earned the Knight's Cross, he had scored 40 aerial victories, making him one of Germany's leading aces. Later that month, he was awarded the much coveted oak leaves to go with the Knight's Cross. He received this decoration personally from Hitler. After his 50th victory in November, he was promoted once again. This time to lieutenant colonel and commodore of JG 26. Galland was a chivalrous soldier. He believed passionately in fair play, which governed his actions towards his foe in the air. When friend and rival air ace Werner Molders was killed, Galland was given his post. At only 29 years of age, he was promoted to general of the fighter arm, dramatic changes ensued in Galland's life. He was first and foremost a fighter, yet for the next three years, he was involved in a running fight against bureaucracy and the misdirection of the Luftwaffe. His finest hour as a general was perhaps Operation Thunderbolt, when his flawless handling of his fighters contributed to the amazing breakout of the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Throughout the war, Galland fought hard in the air and on the ground. He loathed the high level stupidity that wasted so many young fighter pilots' lives. Through many endless directives, despite overwhelming differences from the German High Command, he proved himself time and time again not only as an ace, but also as a master tactician of aerial warfare. The Luftwaffe introduced a major breakthrough in aircraft design when they put the new jet propelled Messerschmitt Me 262 into service, the first operational aircraft of its kind. - The performance and the flight characteristics were so overwhelming, the impression of jet flight first in a pilot's life is something extraordinary. But when Hitler saw this aircraft first time presented, he asked Messerschmitt, I was present at this time, "Is this aircraft able to carry bombs?" And Messerschmitt said, "Yes," and Hitler asked, "How many kilos does it? "Perhaps if I found that (mumbles) "for sure a 250 kilo bomb." And Hitler said, "This is the blitz bomber," as he called it, "The dive bomber, the fighter bomber "which I'm requesting since years. "With this aircraft, I can fight the invasion, "the coming invasion." And this was the sentence to death for this aircraft being used as fighter, as interceptor. But it really was. - [Narrator] Galland was bitterly opposed to using the 262 as a bomber, so much so that Hitler eventually relieved him of his command of the fighter force and gave him instead command of a handful of 262s to use as fighters. - We have built a total of about 1,250 of this aircraft. But only 50 were allowed to be used as fighters, as interceptors. And out of this 50, there are never more than 25 operational. If we would have the 262 to our disposal, we could've had, in 44, at least 300 operationally. With this, we would have stopped the American D-Day offensive, it is for sure. Of course, the outcome of the war would not have been changed. The war was lost perhaps when it was started. - [Narrator] Those who lived through those tumultuous days will never forget Galland's immortal image. Huge sunglasses and thick black hair under a battered and crushed cap that any ordinary general would've recalled from wearing, and always the big cigar. He came and went like a whirlwind, leaving inspiration in his wake. Forthright, upright and gifted, he was a man of destiny, and the Luftwaffe would not have been the same without him. Galland had a rival, Werner Molders. Molders was considered by Hitler to be one of the two best leaders in the Luftwaffe. He was the first pilot to score 100 victories in aerial combat. He was appointed general of the fighters at the age of 28, but on the 22nd of November 1941, before reaching 29, he was killed in an air crash. In the history of the Luftwaffe, Galland was his only equal. It was possibly just as well for the Allies that he was removed from the war, because undoubtedly, he was the most feared and respected fighter pilot and leader in Germany. Molders scored a total of 115 victories, both of the Western and Eastern Fronts, before his untimely death. And he remains, to this days, one of the most famous aces of the war. Although less famous than either Galland or Molders, a special place among the tutors and leaders of the Luftwaffe must be accorded to Johannes "Macky" Steinhoff. With a varied and colorful combat career and 176 victories to his credit, he's the 22nd ranked ace of Germany and the world. He was on active service as one of the elite first to last aces from 1939 until 1945, and survived a horrific jet fighter crash at the end of the war. He was one of the brains behind the new postwar Bundesluftwaffe and went on to become commander in chief of Germany's new air force. Steinhoff was a pioneer of the night fighter and a founding member of NJG 1. He saw active service in all major theaters of the war, on the Eastern and Western fronts, in the Mediterranean and in North Africa. Steinhoff was one of the old school who believed in chivalry and the fact that an officer's word was his bond. (gunfire) (explosion) This respect amongst officers was perhaps epitomized when he shot down an American P-38. He found the pilot and took him to his own tent to recover. Refusing to have the American shackled or tied up, he simply accepted the fellow officer's word that he would not try to escape. If Hans-Joachim Marseille had lived on the Earth before the advent of gunpowder, he would've certainly found the romantic era of knights, fair ladies and chivalrous fighting a comfortable environment. Thrust instead into the highly technical fast moving world war as part of a highly disciplined fighting force, he found his romantic spirit cramped. Despite the modern structures of warfare, Marseilles rose by old-fashioned valor to earn his place amongst the immortal knights of the air. Enlisting in the Luftwaffe at 18 years of age, he was dead at 22 with a multitude of spectacular achievements behind him. He died whilst bailing out of a stricken aircraft. In the final year of his life, he not only won Germany's highest decoration, the diamonds to his Knight's Cross, but also became one of his country's eternal heroes. (gunfire) He was considered to be the best aerial marksman in the Luftwaffe, and on one day alone, flying three sorties, he scored no less than 17 victories. He was possibly the most unmilitary of all Germany's aces, but he compensated for his informal attitude by his formal achievements. At the time of his death, he had scored 158 victories and was the top scoring ace in North Africa. As a fitting tribute in later years, former members of his squadron erected a memorial to Marseilles at Sidi Abdel Rahman near El Alamein. One of the most exclusive clubs in the world has only two members. Probability is that nobody else will ever qualify to join. (engine revving) The two exclusive members are Gerhard Barkhorn and Erich Hartmann. The only two fighter pilots in history to down more than a staggering 300 aircraft in aerial combat. Barkhorn's 301 victories were all Soviet-flow aircraft downed on the Eastern Fronts. He did fly in the Battle of Britain later on the Western Front, but was unable to confirm a victory against the Western Allies. Erich Hartmann, the world's top scoring ace ever, scored 352 confirmed aerial victories, including seven American-flown Mustangs. Hartmann was a great tactician and also a great believer in quantity of aircraft in combat rather than quality. He once summed up this theory as too many hounds are the death of the hare. - He said, one dog never catch a rabbit. But if lots of dogs are behind one rabbit, then they got him. - [Narrator] In World War II, Hartmann flew over 1,400 combat sorties, had entered battle 825 times. Of his confirmed 352 kills, 260 were enemy fighter planes. All of his victories were made on the Eastern Fronts and all whilst flying the Messerschmitt 109. How did he achieve so many victories? - We have no gloves, I have to no gloves, but I had to get in the sun, start from the sun new attack, through the clouds, then I tried to go downstairs for that sphere in the sky and through clouds and tried to get exactly under the airplane then come up with full power, and he cannot see you because he has (engine revving drowns out speaker). It makes that (engine revving drowns out speaker) and watch for the (engine revving drowns out speaker) what's going on to decide whether or not to go home. (engine revving drowns out speaker) I told to my pilots always, only if the windshield is filled up as enemies and pull the trigger. This saves you a lot of ammunition. (gunfire) - [Narrator] On the Eastern Front, new generations of fighters were being flown, including the American P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51 Mustang. Hartmann and his men fought the Mustangs over Romania. - About 15,000 feet, the Mustang was superiority. But if you get down the Mustangs below 15,000 feet, then they were (mumbles). Well, it's better than (mumbles). - [Narrator] The P-51s were superior, and not only that, they came at the Luftwaffe in large numbers. It was the Mustang that inspired his analogy of the hare and the hounds. - [Erich] They were more. We had two fighters, four and eight airplanes against a couple of hundreds. Not too much to do for us. - [Narrator] Hartmann developed his own method of attack, which he described in four steps. First, you see the enemy, then you make your decision and choose your position for the greatest surprise. Then attack, followed by the last step, reverse, get out quickly. If he spots you before you strike, then break away and wait. Never get into a turning battle with an opponent who knows you are there. It was this tactical sequence that Hartmann meticulously followed throughout his war career, and one which made him the greatest air ace of all time. Germany's number one ace and the most successful fighter pilot of all time was soon awarded his Iron Cross. This was soon followed by Hitler presenting Hartmann with the oak leaves, the swords and the diamonds. Erich Hartmann was to the people of Germany in World War II the equivalent of their national hero some three decades earlier, when baron Manfred von Richthofen ruled the skies over Europe. A master with the Me 109, Hartmann had no time for twin engine fighters. - I don't hold too much from twin engines, because if you get hit in a real combat in one engine and the one engine explodes, then normally the second engine exploded too. - [Narrator] Hartmann was a born pilot with a natural feel for flying. (engine revving) What were the characteristics of a good fighter plane for Erich Hartmann? - An airplane who climbs very high. Highest altitude as possible. Maybe today in the space. Was very maneuverable. And who has a high speed. - [Narrator] The third man in the totals of world aerial victories was a man who not only flew on the Eastern Front where higher scores were perhaps easier, but one who also flew fighters in the invasion of France, the Battle of Britain, in the Balkans over Crete, and finally, ending the war flying against the Allies on the Western Front. (engine revving) Gunther Rall scored a total of 275 victories. Rall was one of the fighter pilots who flew during one of the biggest battles of the war, the Battle of Kursk. (Gunther speaks in German language) There is one thing about the tank battle in Kursk that I clearly remember, mainly because it was important to me personally. It was my one and only midair collision with a Russian LaG-5. One day over the battle, the whole battle lasted for eight days, I was flying with my adjutant to do what we called a fighter sweep. We were flying over enemy territory. I saw two little dots on the horizon which were two fighters in the distance. I saw them against a huge white cumulous cloud. I couldn't detect their color, if they look black and we were flying from west to east. It was later afternoon. I approached them with great speed and I had both aircraft in my sights, so all I had to do was simply pull on the trigger. However, I saw that the aircraft had a star engine, and I knew that a Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf group were being transferred to my area the previous day. I had never seen one in the air, only on paper. And as far as I knew, they did not exist in Russia at that time. I wasn't sure if it was a Focke-Wulf or not, so I never pulled the trigger. I went up on the side of the aircraft and overtook it at high speed. When I looked down, I could see the dark green color and the red start, the Russians. Of course, I couldn't carry on any further, otherwise I would've been chased by them, so I flew into a right curve and dropped down onto the aircraft, and as I was very close, pulled the trigger and released a burst of fire. Because of a high speed storm, my aircraft then dropped onto the LaG-5, we collided and I hit the right side of the aircraft with my propeller. I took his wing clean off. The Russian aircraft hit my rump with his propeller and fell to the ground and crashed. My aircraft went into a spin and I had big problems. I managed to recover, but I had a lot of trouble getting down. I thought I'd lose my aircraft as the engine was vibrating badly, but I managed to land on our own territory. I had to land with great care as my aircraft was falling apart. (engine revving) It has always been considered that it was easier to score an aerial victory on the Eastern Front against the Russians than it was on the Western Front against the Allies. (Gunther speaks in German language) In my opinion, it was always easier on the Eastern Front. When war broke out, the Russians were not as well trained as us and their weapons were not as good as ours. Their aircraft were not as modern as our 101s and 190s. Consequently, in 1941, the Russians experienced great losses at the beginning, but this changed very quickly. The Russians never lost their urge for battle, even though they experienced great losses. The real enemy we met in the Channel, the British, with its Spitfire and Hurricane, England had the best air defense concerning the technology of their aircraft, the training of their pilots, as well as their ground defense systems. That caused us a lot of difficulties and we experienced enormous losses there, but so did the British. (triumphant instrumental music) There were many good fighter pilots during World War II and some great ones, and Germany had some of the best. (Gunther speaks in German language) We did not invent the ace, it was invented by the Americans. An American became an ace when he shot down five aircraft. We wouldn't even get mentioned then. In order to shoot down many aircraft, you have to fulfill various conditions. You have to have a target in the air, we always had a target in the air as we had to fight against the majority. There were many Americans who flew 50 missions over Germany and never saw an enemy fighter, so they could not shoot one down. So one thing is, you need a target. The second point is that you have to remain at the front of the fighting. That is what we did, as we did not have anywhere near enough fighter pilots. The ones we had had to fly missions and cannot be released. The Americans flew 50 missions and they were sent back to America, the British flew several missions and returned to Britain for more training and recuperation, we could not afford this as we didn't have enough fighters. I always say that we had the choice of being awarded a wooden cross or an iron cross, and in order to fly well, the good fighter pilot has to have several characteristics. However many psychologists have attempted to typify and identify a fighter pilot, this is very difficult, as there were different kinds of people who were all good fighter pilots. Marseilles is a typical example. It is said that Marseilles was like a racing horse. With his temperament and abilities, he was a fighter pilot who was destined for success. He never got shot down and the only time he had to jump out was because of an engine failure. Rall flew approximately 800 missions between 1939 and 1945, going into aerial combat over 600 times. He was a talented pilots and marksman, and he always considered that his skill was learnt by hard work. Being at the front for five and a half years exposed to constant aerial combat was the type of hard work that he meant. Had he not suffered many injuries which dogged his career, including breaking his back and losing a thumb, Rall would've been much closer to ending the war as the top scoring ace in the world. Close behind Gunther Rall's score of 275 victories was Walter Nowotny with 258. He was one of the few elite airmen that Hitler decorated with the Knight's Cross with oak leaves, swords and diamonds. Nowotny was the first ace to score 250 victories, and like many of the aces, he'd been transformed into a national hero overnight. Wilhelm Moritz was perhaps one of the lesser known aces of Germany, but even so, he scored 44 aerial victories against the Allies in Europe and was awarded the Knight's Cross for his valor. Another ace to make his score on the Western Front against the British and Americans was lieutenant colonel Helmut Lent. Lent scored a total of 113 victories in the Messerschmitt 109 against the heavily defended Allied bomber streams and their fighter escorts. Not all the fighter aces of the Luftwaffe necessarily scored multitudes of victories, at least not in the air. Hans-Ulrich Rudel scored 11 aerial victories which, compared to the previously mentioned scores, seems insignificant by comparison. And yet Rudel was the most highly decorated German soldier of World War II. The Eagle of the Eastern Front, as he was known, was the commander of the Immelmann Stuka squadron and he was the only soldier to receive the highest German decoration for bravery, the golden oak leaves with swords and diamonds to his Knight's Cross. With 3,530 combat missions flown and his total of successes, he remains unbeaten in all times and in all nations. He stands far in front of all the world's renowned aerial aces. But his successful victory score wasn't tallied up on aircraft, for he flew in combat in a Stuka dive bomber against targets on the ground. In low level attacks, often in the heaviest defensive fire in his slow cannon bird, he destroyed a staggering 519 Soviet tanks, 17 of them on the same day. In addition to this list of scored achieved by the Stuka pilot who became a living legend, we can also add, amongst others, one battleship, one battle cruiser, one destroyer, 70 landing craft, 11 confirmed aircraft, plus hundreds of motor vehicles, numerous artillery, anti-tank and anti-aircraft positions, as well as armored convoys and bridges. (explosions) 12 comrades, six Stuka crews, were saved by him from capture or death. When he tried to rescue another crash landed crew from Russian territory in 1944, he was taken prisoner. He escaped and fled with a bullet in his shoulder, covering some 50 kilometers through Russian defenses to reach the safety of the German lines. (explosions) (gunfire) Shot more than 30 times by ground fire, never once by a fighter plane, wounded five times, this intrepid fighter pilot took a direct hit and lost his right leg. Just six weeks later, and despite orders not to, he was flying again in combat and remained on active duty until the last day of the war. Field marshal Ferdinand Schorner once said, "Rudel alone takes the place of a whole division." Stalin placed a price of 100,000 rubles on his head. France's most successful fighter pilot, Pierre Clostermann, bearer of Britain and France's highest awards for bravery, said of Rudel, "It was a shame he was not wearing a French uniform." (explosion) Rudel had his own motto, "You are only lost "if you give up on yourself." His extraordinary unique success exceeded human dimensions. The cost to the Allied and Russian war effort caused by this one man can only be counted in billions. He can only be described as being literally a strategic factor in the war. Now a legend, Hans-Ulrich Rudel is the outstanding combat pilot of all time. Walter Krupinski, known as the Count, scored 197 victories, 12 of them in one day alone during the Battle of Kursk. He recalls his early days before he earned his title of fighter ace. (Walter speaks in German language) The most important thing as a fighter pilot is to survive. And you have to be aware of the fact that the Americans and British sent their fighter pilots back home after they had done their tour of missions. I, by comparison, had only shot down two aircraft by my 100th mission, which shows I was perhaps a slow learner. But with experience, I soon learned how to shoot down the enemy. If you survive, then you get the chance to become an ace. General Steinhoff, who was the commander of the group at the time, wanted to get rid of me and transfer me to the Stukas, as I never hit anything. I didn't even hit anything when we were trained in the fighter pilot school. This shows that our training was very bad and everything I learnt, I had to learn through my own experience, and soon began to train myself in combat. Later, I trained pilots myself. In fact, I took them with me. And one of my fellow pilots was Hartmann, who came as my wing man. He later became one of the best pilots we had. I kept on telling him, "Get closer, get closer," until he learnt and became a great ace. Experience is very important for a fighter pilot, and when you are brave enough to get very close, then even closer still, waiting until you pull the trigger, you will succeed. This is the reason that young and inexperienced fighter pilots had problems shooting aircraft down. But of course, you must also not forget that you have to protect yourself at the same time. At the beginning, we took the young pilots with us. Normally, there were two of us, but sometimes four or eight. The young pilots had to watch and also to confirm our kills because we needed witnesses to confirm our air victories. There were quite a few senior fighter pilots who, once they had scored a number of victories, were too concerned about themselves and shot down everything themselves. I was always concerned about my junior pilots, but I always gave them the chance to shoot down their first aircraft. I hardly ever shot down a lone aircraft, I always left it for my wing man. This was how to give the young pilots self-confidence in their flying and in their shooting. This was the case when I trained Hartmann. I had experienced myself early on that a lack of confidence can be very bad for a young pilot. They have to be confident in their airplane and in their shooting. The most important thing for every fighter pilot is to have a better vision than the other and to see him before he sees you. We did not have radar in those times. Today it's a bit different. And once you had good vision, take the best position and attack from behind the enemy so that he can only see you at the very last second when it's too late, and then you have to know how to shoot. I can clearly remember when one of my fellow pilots shouted for the first time in Persia, "Spitfire!" We all turned around and said, "Where are they?" As we were quite afraid of the Spitfire because of the reports we'd heard about the battle in Britain. We thought that perhaps these aircraft were being flown by British pilots. They sent 50 or 60 Spitfires to Persia on their aircraft carrier, which then came over to Russia. But after about four to five weeks, they were all shot down. The Russians never got the hang of flying them. Once I fought almost 15 minutes against a Russian fighter who was undoubtedly an expert. It was when we retreated in 1943 and I was flying together with another pilot from my squadron. The Russian pilot had seven or eight other aircraft with him, there may have been as many as 10. All of a sudden, I lost my wing man. One minute he was there, the next I could not see him anymore and all of the other Russian aircraft disappeared as well, one after the other. So I was left alone against this one Russian fighter and we fought in a dogfight. He knew every trick that I used and, being an experienced fighter pilot who'd shot down 150 aircraft, I knew quite a few. But every trick I tried, he took defensive action and avoided being shot. And then I decided there was going to be only one solution. We had to wait until one of us was low on fuel and had to get home. We kept fighting using every maneuver we knew, waiting for one of us to return home. Then luckily, his fuel obviously ran low and he had to leave. His airfield was further away than mine, and he had to escape, and it was then that I hit him. The pilot's bailed out and parachuted to safety behind his own lines. Walter Krupinski ended the war flying the Me 262 in Galland's squadron. (Walter speaks in German language) For anybody that flew the 109 first in the West and then the 262, it soon became clear that we should've had this aircraft years earlier. With this aircraft, the air battles would've looked a little bit different. It was much faster, and the faster your aircraft, the easier it is to choose your position to attack. And this is very decisive for the fighting pilot, because if he can choose his attack position, he will be better placed than his enemy. When I went to my first mission from Munich-Riem, I was singing because I'd never seen anything like it before. This aircraft was unbelievably fast and much better at climbing than any other aircraft that any fighter pilots had flown before. It was solid in the air, even when it was traveling at high speed. All other airplanes seemed to be floating in midair like balloons when we flew past them. I was on my first mission when I heard that Innsbruck had been attacked by the Americans and their Lightnings, the American plane with two tails. As I was flying the 262, I thought I should drop by. I went there and spotted them immediately. There were about 12 Lightnings attacking the ground station. I chose one of the aircraft and went after it, but when I was just about to pull the trigger, I had already flown past it, this is how fast they were. The interesting thing is that the Americans reported that they had been attacked by a 262, which failed to open fire. They didn't report that I didn't get the chance as I was traveling too fast. It wasn't only in dogfighting where the ace could earn another victory. Apart from having to take on the fighters, the pilots were also taking on the bomber formations. This involved completely different tactics. The bomber formations were harder to surprise with their guns mounted all around and their air gunners looking out constantly for the German hunters. (engine revving) (gunfire) Yes, the operation was very different. First, you had to clear the bomber because the bomber would always have a fighter escort. They were always covered with fighters. The Russians had these as well. They covered their Il-2, and first of all, we would have to get through those escorts. One of us would take care of the fighter escort whilst the other would attack the bomber. The mighty Allied bomber streams with their lethal volumes of protective fire and hoards of escort fighters were a tough proposition for German fighter pilots on the Western Front. By 1945, the aces were no longer fighting a war of attack. For two long years, they've been fighting a war of defense. Defending their homeland from the ever increasing bomber streams which were destroying Germany city by city. (gunfire) They knew that they were fighting a lost cause, in fact, many of them had known this from an early stage in the war. (Gunther speaks in German language) Quite early and definitely by the time of Kursk, there was no offensive operations after Kursk, only retreat. People often ask, "Why did you carry on fighting?" Well, the Americans arrived and knocked out our cities, one after the other, and we tried to do everything we could to prevent them knocking out the next city. It was hopeless, but we have known for a long time that it was a lost cause. And this was very difficult for us. We were fighting knowing we had lost, but we tried to do our best possible. But knowing there would never be a final victory. (Walter speaks in German language) In 1941, I have returned home from Russia. I was born in Eastern Prussia, and my parents still lived there. On my return, I had said, "We've lost the war." They could not believe it, and this was already in 1941. I had seen how the Siberian divisions got off the train and nearly cracked our front in 1941, and that was the first sign for me. On my first mission in the West in 1944, I cried out. There was an abundance of targets to shoot, so many enemy planes for us to shoot down. But by my second mission, I myself had been shot down. I was hanging on my parachute and the sky was full of enemy aircraft. I had never seen so many aircraft at once, and this was the second sign for me that the war was lost. For when the bombers were flying underneath and bombing our cities, I knew for sure that from that time, that the war was lost. With the real life drama of the war now approaching its final curtain, most of the leading characters of the Luftwaffe had already left the stage or were about to do so. Adolf Galland lay in hospital, his two fighter pilot brothers were dead. Barkhorn was also seriously injured after a crash landing in an Me 262. Steinhoff lay at death's door, his face badly disfigured forever by horrific burns. Hartmann was a prisoner of war and Rudel had lost a leg. Molders and Marseilles were both dead, joining the countless other aces and thousands of young German pilots who've been killed before achieving even one victory. From the first to their last fight for the fatherland, the German fighter pilots were heroes, even if they were not accorded this recognition at the time. Goering had endlessly blamed the fighter pilots for Germany's ill fortunes, using them as scapegoats for his own miscalculations, errors of judgment and lack of professional leadership. The definition of a hero is one who acts with great courage, and nobody can deny the aces of Germany that accolade. (gunfire) (engine revving) (triumphant instrumental music) Testimonies to their chivalry and fair-mindedness are well-documented from the records of the Allied pilots who flew against them. Pilots who had been shot down were taken as fellow officers to the Luftwaffe messes where they left their counterparts, many of them becoming lifelong friends ever since. The soldierly conduct of German aces in wartime, as the history book shows, stands untarnished. There was no shame or dishonor, they lost the war but they never lost their souls. Many of them went on to help build a better Germany. (engine revving) (Gunther speaks in German language) The war was very hard for us, and I'm sure it had effects on my personality. I went to war at the age of 21. I was a young lieutenant with no political views and I wanted to support my fatherland, which was in trouble. Why it was in trouble, I did not know. We were needed as soldiers and officers, and we fought the war to the bitter end. We lost a great many friends, got injured and came into captivity, but we endured it to the very end. And when we returned home, there was nothing. We had to digest this, and it left a mark on us. There was no doubt that our views changed regarding ones conception of the world, and we all became more distant. It was also very difficult for us to come to terms with what we learned in captivity. We found out there what happened because of us, the Germans, and we did not know about it before. Nobody believes us now that we did not know, but we didn't, this is what it was like. In captivity, the Americans threw their newspapers over the fences and I saw pictures of a concentration camp for the first time. At first, I thought it was propaganda, we just couldn't believe it. But we had to believe it, and later, we did believe it. And this threw all of us into a very deep depression. (Walter speaks in German language) You became a man and grew up. You experienced the war because you had to handle dangerous situations all of the time and master them. It was a growing up process. On the other hand, we were so full of life that we tried to cover up the bad things that were happening to us. I found it very difficult to see all these people die in the air. This was the decisive factor for me. Experiencing this marks your whole life, and when I went to the Bundeswehr as a general, I was determined to make sure something like this would never happen again. (Gunther speaks in German language) I would like to add that, when we talk about the war, as we all do as old comrades, and we don't want to glorify it, we were there and it was a pure catastrophe no matter how hard we fought. We lost so many friends, we are the remains and we are glad that we are still alive. When we meet up, we are glad that we can share a few memories of what we experienced and endured, and also of the times we are proud of. No question, as human deed. But we also thank God it is all over, the war is by no means a way to force political ambitions. (Walter speaks in German language) I hope that my grandchildren will never have to go through or do what I did. The war was a very bad business. When you're 77, you have to be thankful that you survived it. (triumphant instrumental music) (solemn instrumental music)
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Channel: Janson Media
Views: 606,973
Rating: 4.6823397 out of 5
Keywords: World War II: The Fighter Aces, World war 2: The Fighter Aces, German Fighter Aces, The Fighter Aces, WWII: The Fighter Aces, World War: The Fighter Aces, The German Fighter Aces, World War 2: The Fighter Aces, The Fighter Aces: World War 2, World War II: Documentary, World War II: Full Documentary, World War 2: Full Documentary, World War 2: Documentary, History of World War 2, World War 2 History, Documentary of World War 2, World War, Janson Media, Janson, Germany, WWII, WW2
Id: 8Fk6MoqLRwA
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 56min 10sec (3370 seconds)
Published: Tue Feb 06 2018
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