Luftwaffe's Finest: Who Were Nazi Germany's Elite Fighter Aces? | Fighter Aces | Timeline

This channel is part of the historic success Network the Great War for the first time in history the major industrial nations are locked in a Mortal Combat two men facing the awesome power of gas mast artillery and machine guns the difference between life and death Death seems little more than chance Courage and resistance seem to count for nothing Even acts of great heroism seem somehow Anonymous lost in the magnitude of the carnage in 1915 The contending armies are immobilized in the stalemate of the trenches the onslaught of the cavalry charge is now a thing of the past for these hero-hungry civilian populations of Europe The trenches have little to offer, but a new form of combat is already taking shape that will produce the most famous heroes of this war and of the coming wars almost from their beginning.

The exploits of the Flyers far above the misery of the trenches capture the popular imagination of the many roles played by those who fight in the air. One will acquire a glamorous status above all others. He is the

fighter

pilot. The best will be known as Aces of the Germans. air service when the Red Baron is shot down in 1918 he will have won 80 victories his large formations of foka triplanes are so bright and varied in color that they are known as the Richtofen Flying Circus Captain Albert Ball of the Royal Flying Corps an individualist determined to who loves to hunt only for his death in 1917 ball would have had 44 victories James McCutton was awarded the Victoria Cross for his 57th victory and his squadron's 250th victory he will die in 1918 crashing his plane on take off Captain Mick Manuk who swore revenge for the death by James McCutton once a prominent strategist blind hatred for his enemies leads him to pursue his quarry to ensure victory he is inevitably hit by ground fire with 73 victories manik receives a posthumous Victoria Cross Billy Bishop a Canadian in one of the greatest

aces

of the first war Bishop is a reckless loner, but he will still survive with 72 victories.

It is the French who coined the term Ace to describe a pilot who has shot down five enemy aircraft at the end of the Great War, many Aces would have had. destroyed more than 40 and some more than 70. But the most lasting contribution of the great Aces will not be their individual victories, but will lie in the tactical knowledge they leave behind. It is the German Ace Oswald, the wholesaler, who, above all others, will leave the greatest. Legacy in 1916, Bulker has scored more than 40 victories, 20 of them in the space of two months, but what is much more significant is that he is the first aviator to study air combat tactics. 1918, the German armies, deprived of raw materials, begin to crumble.

Well-equipped Americans join the military. Allies in a series of major advances, the German defense is tired and morale is about to collapse, yet the German air service continues to fight, now commanding the Flying Service, until recently led by Rich, is often the highly decorated young German captain Hermann Goering. and with 20 victories under his belt, Goering would prove to be an incapable and decisive leader in the final weeks of the Great War. German losses of pilots and aircraft have been enormous, the strength of Guring's Richtofen group has been reduced from 50 pilots to 11. On the Allied side cooperation between the Ground and Air Forces has improved dramatically.

Telegraph equipment has now been installed on reconnaissance aircraft, allowing

fighter

squadrons to be diverted to attack targets on the ground and in the air, and the already close cooperation between fighters and tanks has proven its value. powerful combination that will go a long way to forcing the final collapse of the German armies November 1918 the end of the Great War the victorious allies impose harsh conditions on the defeated and demoralized Germany the intention is to ensure that Germany can never go to war again the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles reduce the once powerful German army to barely 100,000 men the possession of an air force is prohibited in the years after the Great War flying and everything that has to do with flight takes over the imagination of the world the technical advances brought about by War quickly adapts to civilian aircraft pilots, veterans use their skills for flight demonstrations and the pursuit of records.

The lure of large sums in prize money produces a wave of attempts to set new records for speed, altitude and endurance. In May 1919, two Englishmen John Alcock and Arthur Brown achieved what would have seemed impossible just a few years before with a non-stop flight to across the Atlantic the journey takes only 16 hours a few months later the world's first daily commercial air service begins connecting London and Paris in November 1923 an Italian Francesco J. Pinedo flies from Italy to Australia and Tokyo a distance of 33,000 miles, although the Treaty of Versailles prohibits Germany from possessing an Air Force; is allowed to develop and manage a civil airline;

In 1925 the Lufthansa company was founded. Lufthansa will be the training ground for a new generation of German fighter racing in 1931 Adolf Gallant is accepted for pilot training at Lufthansa, then 19-year-old Gallant is destined to become one of the great fighter racing and leader Galant other new Lufthansa trainees are once offered pl

aces

on a secret training course for fighter pilots, except soon the new arrivals are transferred to Italy to train with Mussolini's Air Force at the end of The 1920s and early 1930s. Italian aviators are constantly in the news capturing a number of speed and endurance records.

The famous Italian military aviator is Air Marshal Italo Balboa on July 1, 1933 Balbo demonstrates to an amazed world that it is possible to fly a wing of 24 aircraft across the Atlantic in formation. His arrival in the United States draws a crowd of 1 million spectators. The specialty is the coordination of complex aerial maneuvers. Many of these maneuvers would later find their place in British Air Force formations during the Battle of Britain. The controversial large fighter wings favored by some senior RAF commanders will be known as balbos. Germany in 1934. Adolf Hitler arrives in the city of Nuremberg for a large demonstration of party faithful Nazi Germany is just over a year old, long before the formation of the first Nazi government in January 1933, the German national airline Lufthansa He secretly supported Hitler's planes for his election campaigns. had been provided free of charge by Lufthansa now with Germany firmly in the clutches of the Nazis the expansion of the nascent and still secret German air force is high on the agenda a secret air ministry is created headed by Hermann, the fighter race of World War I Goering Hitler's intention is to create an Air Force of more than 4,000 aircraft, making it dangerous for any nation to risk attacking Germany.

Founded in 1934, the new force is appropriately called the Luftwaffe Venture. The Rascal offer is to include 822 bombers and 250 fighters, many of them The now obsolete Erado 65 and Heinkel 51 fighters are biplanes at a time when the monoplane is rapidly becoming the norm, but Germany is in a hurry and until better fighters can be produced, biplanes will have to suffice, such a huge accumulation of air power is no longer possible. kept secret on March 9, 1935 Germany announces the existence of the Luftwaffe to the world a week later Hitler rejects all the military restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles Adolf Gallant is an experienced fighter pilot with more than 300 hours of flight and has just been joined a new unit the Richtofen group famous for its exploits in the Great War has reformed and is based near Berlin the glory of the old days has not been forgotten and for Adolf Galant the legend of the long-dead Red Baron has not has lost none of its Magic The next few months for Adolf Gallant and his companions The pilots of the Richtofen group are a relentless round of intensive training.

No one can realize that their hard-earned skills will soon be tested in combat. July 1936 Spain breaks out into Civil War The great powers have agreed not to intervene, but Italy and Germany soon openly support Franco's Rebel Army, while the legal Republican government receives Soviet backing for the new Luftwaffe. It is the perfect opportunity to gain invaluable experience. The Luftwaffe contingent sent to Spain soon becomes a full-scale tactical air team. Force is called the Condor Legion. The Condor Legion is equipped with bombers. Ground attack and reconnaissance fighter squadrons. It has its own anti-aircraft communications and supply units.

All of them are highly mobile. The chief of staff of the Condor Legion is Wolfram fond Richthofen. Younger cousin of the famous First War aviator Von Richtofen, a veteran of the Great War and a fighter breed in his own right, he is a dedicated exponent of close ground and air cooperation more than anyone. Richtofen will be responsible for establishing the Luftwaffe's place in developing blitzkrieg tactics in late 1937 Adolf Galantis transferred to the Condor Legion in Spain Commands a Heinkel ground attack unit 51 biplanes in just over a year Gallant flies 300 missions, his plane is damaged by ground fire but sees little aerial combat.

For now, the real aerial combat falls on a new German combat monoplane, the mesh Schmidt 109. In 1938, the 109 is armed with three 7.9-millimeter machine guns, its engine 670 horsepower gives it a top speed of 300 miles per hour the 109 will be the aircraft in which the largest of the German fighter breeds will gain its reputation abroad in the summer of 1938 Adolf Gallant, now squadron leader, completes his Tour of Duty in Spain, to his intense chagrin, has just missed the arrival of the new 109. Gallant hands over his command to a 25-year-old Verna Mulders then casts as Gallant will become a legendary breed of fighter because the pilots of the Condor Legion transferred to training after five victories Mulders conceals their deaths from his superior officers will have won 14 victories before his deception is finally discovered Germany's contribution to Franco's victory in the Spanish War will be richly rewarded.

A number of valuable military lessons have been learned. The close cooperation between the Ground and Air Forces has been spectacularly successful. The merits of the Luftwaffe aircraft have been evaluated under battlefield conditions and Germany has won. More than 200 experienced bomber and fighter crews in the war that will soon come. Six Condor Legion pilots will become Aces with more than 100 kills. September 1, 1939. The Blitzkrieg breaks out in Poland as the great masses of German armor begin to launch Luftwaffe attacks into the depths. In the heart of Poland, the targets of German bombers are airfields and industrial centers. Fighters cover the relentless advance of armored columns while Stuka dive bombers crush road and rail connections.

The fighters attack the ground, including a unit led by Adolf Gallant, sweeping the countryside gasping for anything that The ground support operations commanded by Wolfram Von Richtofen, former leader of the Condor Legion, are once again extremely successful each time. a column of German tanks meets Polish resistance. Richtofen applies the techniques that he has developed in Spain almost from the first day of the war. The Luftwaffe is free. To fly the skies of Poland at will, the Polish Air Force has dispersed to airfields throughout the country in an attempt to save it from destruction, many of these primitive airfields do not even have a telephone without Communications the possibility of meeting the Luftwaffe in force has been lost for Poland the consequences will be fatal the conquest of Poland with its one million strong army has taken only one month it is the first time in history that an independent Air Force has played a decisive role in the great campaign Hermann Goering's Air Force has achieved a great victory, it is clear that from now on every major offensive undertaken by Germany will be led by Luftwaffe pilots while the German campaign in Poland was still developing.

Hitler expressly prohibited the Luftwaffe from attacking targets in France, but on May 10, 1940, the order was given for more than 300 German bombers to take off. Their objective was to destroy 22 airfields in France, Belgium and Holland in one day, the Belgian and Dutch air forces. are practically destroyed the French air force suffers serious damage the next day it is the turn of the British airfields in France the afternoon of May 11 the Luftwaffe intelligence services estimate that a thousand British and French aircraft have been destroyed on May 12 the RAF and French units in northern France have lost half ofits bombers and fighters The French reaction to the impact of sudden and heavy losses is to withdraw from its front-line airfields with its planes scattered throughout central France.

Any hope of containing the German arm and its attacks with concentrated air power fades as the Blitzkrieg sweeps through the Netherlands and into the front lines. Fighter pilots from four nations face an experienced and battle-hardened enemy. Adolf Gallant is flying the long-coveted Mercer Schmidt 109, but when he shoots down three Belgian Hurricanes he is not very impressed by his first victories. it has been too easy Gallant writes that we surpass them in rate of climb Armament and above all in flight experience and training the superiority of the Luftwaffe over the Allied air forces is due above all to the tactics of its fighter pilots Verna murders has devised a new type of combat formation the

luftwaffe

calls it the Swarm the Swarm consists of two pairs of Fighters flying in a finger four formations each pair is made up of a leader and his fellow protector while the Swarm allows maximum view of the sky above and rearward can be quickly divided into fast and flexible pairs in 10 days swarms of 109 have destroyed 200 RAF fighters on May 20 a wedge of German armor has reached the channel coast of France the British Expeditionary Force and the best divisions of the French army are surrounded, confused, they retreat to the port of Dunkirk, the only hope is evacuation by sea before May 22, the German armored vehicles are moving towards Dunkirk, preparing to destroy the trapped Allied divisions, but to the astonishment of the German generals, under orders of Hitler, are well aware of the danger that the swampy area around Dunkirk represents for their tanks.

Hitler accepts Guring's promise that the Luftwaffe can finish the job. The air assault on Dunkirk will be carried out with a force of 300 bombers and 500 fighters each. The day begins with tactical reconnaissance planes searching for promising targets, shortly after clouds of stukas follow, their objective is to destroy the ships of the British evacuation fleet. After the stukas come the bombers and fighter-bombers while the few breaks in the air assault are filled. The Foreign German Artillery Shelfar, although numerically powerful, faces no easy task, its pilots have been in action continuously for two weeks and its aircraft are in urgent need of repair, furthermore, for the first time the Luftwaffe faces a serious opposition in the In the air, the RAF has committed its newest and best fighter, the Spitfire, to the fight for Dunkirk, despite being able to spend only 15 minutes over the battle zone at combat speeds.

Spitfires from bases in southern England soon inflict heavy losses on the German bombers, however against fighters the British are faring poorly. The standard RAF fighter unit is a compact Vic formation of three aircraft, unlike the German swarm, which can easily split into two independent pairs. The Vic is extremely difficult to maneuver quickly. Inevitably, one fighter will become separated and an easy target for an enemy working in pairs. Werner Moulders leading the 109's overdunkirk swarm soon has the measure of RAF tactics. He quickly learns that Spitfires who concentrate on keeping their formations tight are easily taken by surprise, although the RAF's tactics are inadequate.

Mulders discovers that individual British pilots can fight with skill and determination. The spitfar is inferior to the 109 in both climb and descent speed, but it can, as German pilots find their turn against a German mark in close combat, the Spitfire is the top fighter on June 1, the Luftwaffe makes a last desperate attempt. To stop the Dunkirk evacuation in one day three ships were sunk and 11 seriously damaged but under constant attack the Navy continues to cross the channel on June 4, the last day of the evacuation 338,000 British and French soldiers have landed on English soil and Hermann Goering Not only did he fail to destroy the British Expeditionary Force but he lost more than 300 airmen in the process.

I am in person the surrender of the French armies and the signing of the Armistice on June 22, 1940 marks the most spectacular end. campaign in military history now the commanders of the German Armed Forces reap their rewards despite Guring's failure to destroy the Allies at Dunkirk he and his Luftwaffe are the heroes of Germany he becomes Reich Marshal the highest military rank created In German history he is also a recipient of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, the Reich's highest decoration. Wolfram Von Richtofen, the man responsible for the Luftwaffe's ground support operations, is awarded the Knight's Cross and named general of the Flyers.

Luftwaffe fighter races receive their share of the honors. Verner Motors with 25 victories. and Adolf Gallant with 17 were awarded the Knight's Cross and promoted Luftwaffe morale at the highest point in its history. The Luftwaffe's euphoria contrasts sharply with the mood among RAF pilots and commanders since the outbreak of the War. : More than 1,000 British aircraft have been destroyed, half of them fighters, 435 pilots have been killed. With the deaths of so many, a great deal of experience has been irretrievably lost, the result being that, on the eve of the Battle of Britain, RAF fighter tactics are equally inadequate. As they were on the first day of the war abroad, two weeks after the fall of France, the German plans for the invasion of Britain are already being drawn up, it is clear from the beginning that success will depend on the Luftwaffe getting the dominion of the skies over the south of England.

Hermann Goering calculates that four days of intense air operations is all that is needed to destroy the air defenses of southern Britain. It will take another four weeks to destroy what remains of British air power along the Channel coast. The Luftwaffe fighter squadrons are assembling. two complete air fleets, a third based in Denmark and Norway, can muster 2,800 fighter aircraft. Eagle Day, scheduled for early August, heralds the start of the great offensive five weeks later, the armored divisions will cross the channel, preparations for Eagle Day will take several weeks but Gering decides that in the meantime the Luftwaffe could profitably fight limited engagements the purpose is to wear down the strength of the RAF's fighters the bait that will lure its Royal Air Force to its destruction will be a series of attacks on channel ports and convoys is the At the beginning of the Battle of Britain, the German attacks against canal shipping are intended to be, above all, a competition between fighters in an attempt to attract the Raf in formations of 300 bombers with strong fighter cover, up to four attacks per day will be carried out against convoys. passing through the Dover Strait, the head of the fighter air command, Chief Marshall, doubting that he has only 600 modern fighters in command, but he has an important asset, an asset whose potential the Luftwaffe has not been able to fully capture .

Radar will no longer be necessary for the British. squadrons patrol for the enemy only to run out of fuel the moment contact is made RAF pilots, everyone flying will fly to combat, while radar allows RAF controllers to see almost 120 miles around the ones that Luftwaffe pilots encounter. Aware only of what they can see with their own eyes, Verna Moulders, who flies 109 missions daily over the channel, soon becomes painfully aware that the Spitfires attack with surprising rapidity. She also realizes that the stukas are proving to be much more vulnerable than anyone anticipated in resisting the attack. forces created by its almost vertical fall the structure of the Stuka must be exceptionally strong the result is great weight and low speed soon the stukas are suffering terrible losses in one-sided competitions RAF pilots convene Stuka groups for airmen from both sides the prospect of being shot down over the channel is daunting in response to mounting losses

luftwaffe

takes action efficient rescue service is established to maximize stranded pilots' chances of survival german airmen are given yellow caps for greater visibility and are equipped with canisters Signaling dies and shines throughout each day seaplanes and launches patrols off the French coast in search of the telltale flower or patch of colored dye at the beginning of the Battle of Britain.

RAF commanders order German rescue flying boats, whether displaying a Red Cross or not, to be shot down in place, the reasoning being that a rescued pilot can be back in action within hours, any chivalry that any once existed among enemy airmen has disappeared forever for the abandoned British pilot, there is little hope of survival, only 18 RC rescue boats patrol the entire south coast of England and The RAF pilots do not carry signaling equipment or boats for the Rescue depends mostly on luck. Four weeks into the Luftwaffe campaign, the attrition strategy is failing. The fighter command refuses to release its planes into battle in large numbers and is hesitant to keep its precious fighters. temptation, although the fighter command strategy will prove to be correct, its tactics and training are still far behind the Luftwaffe.

RAF training schools are so overloaded that they can teach pilots how to fly, but they don't have time to teach them how to fight such tactics. The knowledge British fighter pilots acquire is gleaned from anxious mess hall discussions about how best to get behind a 109. The advantages of attacking from different directions. The vulnerability of the 109 to attacks from a Stern. newcomers never fight alone August 13 Eagle Day start of big offensive aimed at bringing RAF to its knees in four days every fighter in command Airfield between Thames Estuary and Solent targeted by bombers and dive bombers of the Luftwaffe between August 13 and August 18 34 airfields and five radar stations will be attacked again and again the concentration of German attacks on airfields and sector stations The forces fight against a command to make an unpleasant decision: turn to the fighters or losing them on the ground like gorings The planned four-day assault turns into a protracted battle lasting many weeks.

The beleaguered RAF has yet to develop a clear tactical doctrine. Individual squadron commanders take the lead and abandon the three-aircraft Vic formation. Some adopt the four-fingered swarm of the Luftwaffe, but these are in the zone. Minority Tactics As one pilot comments, this appears to be the opinion of the senior officer present, for at Dunkirk, the lack of tactical sophistication does not prevent individual pilots with courage and flying skill from taking a heavy toll on the German bombers. Joseph frentic will be the highest scoring raface in the Battle of Britain trained in the Czech Air Force frontichek fought in Poland and France a determined loner with little interest in tactics or discipline, yet he destroys 17 German aircraft Ginger Lacey, 23 years old and a veteran of the battle for France, he survives several times being shot down in the Battle of Britain he obtains 15 victories as August turns to September the Royal Air Force, far from weakening, is inflicting more and more casualties on the Luftwaffe bombers while the bombers approach for their attacks between 11 and 18,000 feet the practice The objective of the escort fighters is to fly four thousand feet higher and one mile behind.

British fighter pilots soon learned to exploit the gap that time and again fell on the bombers before the German fighters could intervene. The RAF's successes against German bombers sow the seeds of a conflict within the Luftwaffe that will profoundly influence the outcome of the Battle of Britain when the bomber lost its Mount. Bitterness over what the German bomber crew sees as the fighter's failures grows in response to Goring's endless complaints about the fighter. German fighter pilots are dismayed that their maneuverability will be compromised and they will no longer enjoy the tactical advantage of higher altitude as the Luftwaffe expands its range of targets to include In London and major British cities, problems flying closely escorting the bombers they multiply as they try to overcome the city's anti-aircraft defenses.

German bombers fly at high altitudes, up to 22,000 feet, with very low power for such altitude and loaded with tethers. Their speed is cut dramatically. Not only does the fighter command have more time to react, but to stay with the bombers the fast 109s must fly on a zigzagging course. Once again, the bomber pilots complained, thinking that their escorts were leaving them behind. mercy of theBritish, Goering's response is: He orders that the weaving of fighters be put to an end, and he also orders that the high-flying escorts with superior cover must not abandon the bombers under any circumstances, even if they see British fighters in the distance.

Adolf Garland Werner Moulders and other leading German fighter pilots are enraged to realize that their fighters will never be able to operate effectively under such restrictions. The Superior Spitfires in the tight turns of close combat will have every advantage but Guring's orders must be obeyed the cost will be the lives of many German fighter pilots in November 1940 daytime attacks on Britain have been virtually abandoned Hitler has indefinitely postponed his invasion plans, instead British morale will be affected by bombing massive under the cover of darkness, because night bombers do not need escorts, the German fighter breeds can at least relax for a while and enjoy the fame of their exploits.

British fighter pilots have rarely come close to the level of skill of the Luftwaffe or the number of kills carried out by their Aces. The war in Spain, Poland and France had produced hundreds of battle-hardened veterans for the Luftwaffe, unlike the Luftwaffe's hastily trained pilots. The RAF has also received intensive and cautious training in the skills of air warfare, while the first combat missions of new Luftwaffe pilots have been restricted to close raids accompanied by an experienced leader. The new RAF Flyers have been thrown into the heat of battle despite the German failure to win the Battle of Britain the morale of the Luftwaffe fighter pilots is high in their eyes the leadership of the campaign has been thinking that the responsibility of their task had been simply to fight they have no doubt that they have performed magnificently with the highest score The germination of the Battle of Britain has been Helmet Wick with 56 victories the following week is his former teacher Verna Mulders Mulders has already made history by becoming the first World War II pilot to score 20 kills at the end of the Battle of Britain.

Adolf Gallant's great rival Mulder has obtained 54 victories in the race to become the top ace of the Luftwaffe. He has obtained 52 victories and has been promoted to commander of the 26th Fighter Wing. His best-known feat is having been shot down twice in a day and June 22, 1941 was the first day of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union once again. The offensive follows the classic Blitzkrieg pattern in the initial phase of Barbarossa, more than a thousand Luftwaffe bombers and 920 fighters were unleashed against the ground and air forces of the The Soviet Union, compared to the Luftwaffe, has the most powerful Air Force in the world. world, more than 8,000 fighter aircraft in 23 divisions, but despite intelligence warnings that the invasion is imminent, the Red Air Force has not taken defensive precautions on the first day of the German offensive. forward airfields are attacked more than 1,400 aircraft are destroyed on the ground and 322 in the air the cost of the luftwaffe is only 36 aircraft while the german air assault continues 24 hours a day it is clear that the soviet fighter pilots are poorly trained They are not rivals.

For the veterans of the Luftwaffe nor the Red Air Force, they have a fighter that can face the Mercer Schmidt 109 on equal terms. By the end of the first week of the campaign, more than 4,000 Soviet aircraft had been destroyed and 179 German losses. The competition between German fighters. runs to be the first to shoot down 100 planes grows up in tennis on July 15, 1941 wins the race moldus achieves his 33rd victory in the Soviet Union and 101st in World War II to commemorate his success mulders is promoted to become In Germany, the first fighter general in November will be dead in a plane crash.

His successor will be Adolf Gallant, now with more than 80 victories while most of the Luftwaffe is engaged in the gigantic battle to conquer many of the Soviet Union's best units. are fighting here in North Africa, two Luftwaffe aces, above all others, will earn a lasting reputation. Hans Marseille, a Battle of Britain veteran, is known to be one of the best marksmen the Luftwatha has ever produced and the most elusive. Obtains 150 victories without his own plane was hit by enemy fire in September 1942 with 158 victories Marseille dies when the engine of his 109 bursts into flames and his parachute fails to open the second great ace of the Luftwaffe campaign in the north of Africa is its Kim Munchenberg who shot down his first enemy aircraft just weeks after the outbreak of war, Munchenberg had scored 19 victories in the Battle of Malta at the age of 23, with 103 victories, he dies in a collision with an American Spitfire In 1943, the tide of war is everywhere turning against Germany, the British won a great victory at El Alamein and began an offensive that will drive the Germans out of North Africa.

In the Soviet Union, a revitalized Red Army destroyed a 300,000-strong German army at Stalingrad in the west. The RAF and the US Army Air Force are taking the war into the heart of Germany due to a lack of long-range fighter cover. RAF bombers have suffered heavy losses on their daytime raids over Germany. Night attacks are proving much less costly. The Luftwaffe knows this. that Flack and the searchlights will never be able to defeat a determined night bombing offensive the only hope is the development of a specialized night fighter force like all other weapons of the luftwaffe night fighter units are designed for maximum flexibility fighter wings based as far away as northern Denmark can be alerted and intercepted over Germany before landing at a nearby airfield to refuel and rearm.

They can return to action in 30 minutes. German air defenses have been greatly strengthened. New Lichtenstein radar equipment can detect signals from British bomber radars. Single-engine and twin-engine night fighter units Flac Communications radar and control centers have been combined into regional divisions. Special monitoring posts have been established to listen to radio transmissions from enemy aircraft during a raid. Luftwaffe ground controllers combine information from many sources transmitted to their pilots. a running commentary directing them towards the enemy the result of these measures is a dramatic increase in British bomber casualties to nine percent Verna Stribe, the leading German Knight fighter race with over 60 victories, estimates only 10 percent of the bombers it attacks even see its black.

The fighter before being hit by the projectiles from its cannon, the success of the night for the Luftwaffe. The fighters will for a time force the Allies to restrict their raids to the fringes of the Reich, but this is the last round of the air war that the Luftwaffe will win. Since 1942, the four-engine flying fortresses of the United States Army Air Force have been playing an increasingly important role in daylight bombing raids by the Allies. The lack of an allied fighter willing to penetrate deep into Germany has forced an attempt to produce a bomber capable of defending itself as such.

The British had discovered before them, the Americans discovered that unescorted day bombers, however heavily armed, were easy pickings, but by early 1944 the deficiency had been remedied. American daylight attacks can now be escorted by the new P-51 Mustang long-range fighter once they are over. The external fuel tanks have been discarded, the Mustangs can outrun and out-dive the Messiah Schmidt 109 and the new Foka Wolf 190. For the first time in World War II, Luftwaffe fighter pilots cannot escape danger with Using their famous half-turn-and-dive tactic, Mustangs can track German fighters and destroy them just above the ground. The German response to the airstrikes is to move the main force of the Luftwaffe's fighter arm away from the Eastern Front and this is at a time when every fighter is desperately needed.

East to counter Soviet offensives on an unprecedented scale in the final year of the war. The Luftwaffe's deadly fight in the East will produce the last and greatest of the World War II fighter breeds. Eric Hartman, 23, will survive the war. He will have won more victories than any other fighter pilot in history. Hartman's technique is to get within 150 meters of his target before opening fire. It is an extraordinarily dangerous tactic, but by August 1944 Hartman had scored 301 victories. In January 1945, the Luftwaffe is on its Death Row. Hermann Goering has already tested the patience of his fighter pilots to the limit, insulting even his best aces.

He rebukes them as cowards and pretenders. I have given you too many decorations. He complains that they have made you fat and lazy. Adolf Gallant whom Gering knows to be critical of his leadership in the air war is fired from his position as Fighter Inspector during the last three months of the war. Gallant commands a squadron of Mercer Schmidt 262 fighter aircraft in what will become the last actions of the Luftwaffe in the West. Adolf Gallant will survive the war on May 8, 1945, the day of Germany's surrender. Eric Hartman shoots down a Soviet fighter in his 352nd kill.

The Ace of all Aces is the last World War II Luftwaffe pilot to claim a victory.