WW2 - Major Erich Hartmann - Greatest Fighter Ace
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- Erich Hartmann was the most successful fighter pilot of the Second World War, with 352 victories to his credit.
Only 20 years old when he joined the 9th squadron of the 52nd Fighter Wing in the Ukraine, by July 1944, Hartmann had gained the Knights Cross with Oak-Leaves, Swords and Diamonds.
Hartman' s technique was to approach to within 150 yards of his target before opening fire. It was an extremely hazardous tactic, but by August 1944, Hartmann had won 301 victories.
In February 1945, Hartmann took command of the 52nd Fighter Wing. On May 8th 1945, the day of Germany's surrender, Hartmann shot down a Soviet fighter for his 352nd kill. He was the last Luftwaffe pilot of World War 2 to claim a victory.
en.wikipedia.or...
352... That's more planes than some air forces had at that time..
Enduring through 1,404 combat missions...
That's about the same number of planes that attacked Pearl Harbor
@@chpman2013 exactly:)
Especially the Luftwaffe at that time
@@chpman2013 almost
it was 353 planes that attacked pearl harbor
The Ace of Aces!
And of course, there is no movie !
+Elvis Guerra because he wasn't american.
same with the south african at battle for britain !! he was the top scorer
Because he is german...and Hans-Joachim Marseille too.
Hollywood is controlled by Liberals. They will never do a movie about WWII German ace. Sadly....
Elvis Guerra - No, it doesn't fit their narrative.
Even more impressive than his number of victories is possibly that he managed to survive the war - despite constant battle participation.
There were so many aces in this war of which so many have fallen and considering that the germans were participating from the very beginning of this war to the very end when the tables turned even worse against germanys favor, air superiority wise, it's incredibly remarkable that he still managed on a daily basis to fight another day.
+CoIdHeat
He actually began his combat career quite late in terms of the duration of the war -- October 1943 from memory. And he never flew at high altitude against close formations of heavily armed and escorted American heavy bombers - the B-17 and B-24. If he did his career would have been much shorter, than it was. Attacking these formations and avoiding thousands of .50 calibre machine guns and debris from crippled aircraft, crewmen in parachutes etc etc was a lot different from attacking low flying ground attack aircraft without the enemy even suspecting your presence,
Hartmann himself makes two salient points. The first - most of them never knew I was there and the second "I never hit the silk". He force landed several times and always flew at low altitudes. Bailing out at 15,000 feet or so is a whole different ball game.
slimchancetoo It was 42 if I remember correct and being mostly stationed on the eastern front it was normal to fight at much lower altitude than on the western front, which was also much more risky. He was a perfect Boom and Zoom energy fighter pilot with great situational awareness and thus perfect for that front. Regarding bomber formations: Gunners were not ineffective but neither effective. That's why they were reliant on escort fighters like the Mustang. What happens if you don't have such escorts can be seen at the second Schweinfurt raid.
Sorry -- I was relying on some of the commentary attached to the vid which mentioned 1944.
I also once thought that Hartmann was the best of the very best until I read several critiques of his claims - and those of Marseille.
Seems he first entered combat in October 1942 - at a time when Stalingrad was well and truly shaping into the climactic battle of the war to date. And yes the air war in the Ukraine was very different in than in the West - for both sides. It was basically the Luftwaffe trying their best to disrupt the infantry support efforts of the Red Air Force.
But I stand by my claims that the pilots such as Knoke were much more skilled, brave and talented pilots than as you say this Boom and Zoom exponent. They went in against targets ready and waiting for them and often went round for a second go at a plane they had damaged.
The official 8th AF site claims in excess of 30 gunners as accredited aces.
Both the first and second Schweinfurt raids were disasters - as were all deep unescorted raids - which is the true reason why the 8th quietly switched from unescorted precision bombing to escorted daylight carpet bombing with the aim of drawing the Luftwaffe Reich Defence into a battle of attrition only the 8th could win.
Cheers and do keep up the good work,
He got ONLY 4 mustangs in 1 engagement?? He had 8 on him and shot down HALF of them with no hits on his aircraft! That's bloody INCREDIBLE! I'd like to see ANY allied pilot go head to head with 8 fighters, shoot half of them down and fly home
The germans were The greatest Fighters of all Time,that s it!!
no, they just kept them in the war and ran them ragged until they were themselves killed or captured.
They flew until they died and to survive with numerically superior enemies you must be highly skilled that is how Germany deserved their ace status
add ww1 Manfred von Richthofen a.k.a. The red Baron Damn GERMANS were really superior
Asutosh Das Politics aside their Fighter pilots truly were the best the world has ever seen
@@DandSCreations Brits and Russians , Polish etc had pilots that flew from day 1 till the end, but they also had rotation.
The best there ever was.
Together with Hans-Ulrich Rudel. Those guys were made of legends
"Bubi" Hartmann was one amazing individual. He stood up to anyone and everyone with whom he disagreed, including Hitler and his Russian captors. I strongly recommend that anyone interested in WWII read a biography of this man.
certainly outspoken, he offended many American bosses at NATO he did not get anywhere in the new german airforce, unlike many of his lesser fellow aces.
theoriginalbadbob
Poor old Hartmann - He killed at least 352 people working as Hitler's tool.
How would you like to go to bed every night knowing you killed so many people supporting the Nazi regime.
theoriginalbadbob herr douchebag - he was just a nazi tool helping the Nazis succeed.
Tell me this is not true and you are a liar.
theoriginalbadbob Little boy you just lied again. Shame on you little Nazi.
theoriginalbadbob
Someone told me that you liked shit sandwiches but everyone knows you don't like bread.
By May 8, 1945, Adolf Hitler had been dead for more than a week. Germany was in the act of formally surrendering to the Soviets and the Western Allies, so occupying Red Army troops in the eastern German town of Brunn were not expecting to witness what may have been World War II’s last dogfight over Europe.
They were watching entranced as a Red Air Force pilot entertained them with a one-plane air show. He expertly put his Yakovlev Yak-9 single-engine fighter through a series of intricate rolls, climbs, dives, and stalls while the infantrymen below applauded. Suddenly, a lone German Messerschmitt Me-109 dove on the unsuspecting Russian, riddling his Yak with machine-gun bullets and 20mm cannon shells and sending it spinning toward the German countryside. As the stunned soldiers gathered around the oily bonfire that seconds earlier had been a lethal flying machine, the Luftwaffe pilot banked westward toward his final landing. Erich Hartmann, aerial warfare’s supreme ace, had just scored his last kill-number 352.
German engineering and pilots - nothing comes close!
+MsRomantiker Stubborn Russian resistance seems to prevail though !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+slimchancetoo Yes, and a couple more million men.
+SS-Soldier You don't "take a knife to a gunfight"
+MsRomantiker The p 47 and the P 51 were better than anything the germans had that was reliable.
Cw Tbird, I agree, that the P51 had a really good performance and much more fuel capacity. P 51 had a laminar airfoil which was really successfull but your Country succeeded because you had much more planes and much more pilots and soldiers and airmen and at the most much more bombs. You had no Messerschmitt 262!
352 confirmed, we can only imagine the one that wasn't confirmed or the claims
One word "LEGEND" simply amazing.RIP.
I knew General Hartmann in 1970 when he was visiting the USAMMCS in Ala. where West German Air Force personnel were being trained. I was one of the Instructors. He had Beck Beer flown in from Germany since it was not yet available in the US. He also had a love for Kahlua with Can Milk on top. He was very intellegent and talked a lot about things, however, he never discussed the War or his stay in Russia.
He's A Legend In Aviation. 352 Air Kill! Are You Kidding Me?!!!
Erich "Bubi" Hartmann. Grand master of the sky. LEGEND in the land of legends. RIP.
OK here is detailed statistics of his shot downs:
Lagg 3,5: 206 shot downs
P39: 81 shot downs
Yak 3,7,9: 30 shot downs
IL2: 14 shot downs
Pe2: 6 shot downs
Boston3: 3
Mustang P51: 2
La5: 3
Mig1: 1
I16: 1
R5: 1
U2: 1
B26: 1
E/a: 1
+vit matyas
The IL 2 Shturmovik claim does of course include the 3 other aircraft in the low flying formation that collided with debris coming from their damaged lead aircraft.
If Hartmann can claim these then every pilot whose stricken aitcraft debris caused Hartmann to force land can also claim HIM as a VICTORY.
No, the guys put themselves in harm's way in order to bring down The Greatest Ace of All Time -- well at least he claimed the highest number of victories --- very few of which were verified by anyone other than Hartmann or his doting wing men.
And anyway -- what sort of clown shoots himself down and destroys a valuable piece of equipment in doing so.
Hartmann was Goering's poster boy and whatever he claimed was accepted as true the same way that claims by his predecessor Hans-Joachim Marseille of North African campaign fame was. The latter claimed 16 RAF Desert Air Force aircraft destroyed in a single day ( I think from memory in a single engagement)
Problem is surviving RAF records do not support his claim.
No such number of aircraft were lost on the day he made his outrageous claim or on any other day and no requests for replacement aircraft or pilots logged with those who would process such requests.
No letters went out to next of kin for any such number of pilots on the day in question or on any other day for that matter.
In short -- PURE FANTASY drummed up to please Goering and the German public.
Geez What Is Wrong With That Lagg Aircraft
What is an E/a
Just imagine how many unconfirmed kills he must have.
If this weren't in the history books, I'd say this man never existed. Simply unbelievable!
Marselille was said to be a true genius at deflection shooting. When he would return from missions with multiple kills, his black shirts would marvel at the small quantities of ammo he expended. Died attempting a bail - out after his engine failed.
Imagine a Aviation army with 352 Hartmann’s
Give him the highest honor.
not just WWII, he still to this day holds the record
@ericvdp1994 the legendary fighter ace, Major. Hartmann survived the war and was reunited with his family. He managed to served in Federal Luftwaffe in West Germany during the late 1950s and early 70s. The Major died in 1993, at 71.. one of my favorite aviation pilots.
Little did I know at the time, but in 2008 I drove within 5 kilometers of Hartmann's grave during my annual motorcycle tour in Europe and the Alps. This was a run from Sonthofen to Stuttgart via country roads just using my GPS to head NW (no particular route).
At least I came across the Porsche test track and development center in Weissach, just west of Stuttgart...all by accident as I wasn't following any maps. In 2009, my 42 year dream of owning a Porsche Carrera came true.
Brave german airman!
60 Russians just got butthurt
россияне разгромили Гитлера и Наполеона. Так что лучше молчи! Пей пиво мирно.У нас слишком много воин было, что бы научить нас многому.
Germany still holds the records, like having the first Jetfighter ace.
No matter what side you fight for, he was a truly extraordinary and skilled man.
The Germans have always had the best technology and the best pilots.
Look the aces from the first world war, since Germany that measure of all things was.
They have only lost because they were mostly alone against the whole world were.
Im friends with his great grandson
My great grandfather said that immigration dropped the second n when he immigrated from Germany saying you don't need the second N here in America. I know the chances are remote, but I wonder if I could be related to Eric Hartmann. Naw!
+Hartcore11
Hartmann is a very common name in Germany.
Which one?
Great grandson? It feels like he was a young one not even that long ago... where does time go... but if you’re telling the truth, you better be a good one
@@Hartcore11 ancestry research
Congratulations on your 100th birthday, Mr. Hugo Broch! 06.01.22 . He is the best fighter Pilot alive with 81 victorys. All the best and health! Or as we aviators say „Hals und Beinbruch " ! As far as I know, you are the last living fighter pilot with a knight's cross.
"Marseille was the unrivalled virtuoso among the fighter pilots of World War 2. His achievements had previously been regarded as impossible and they were never excelled by anyone after his death."
Adolf Galland, German fighter ace with 104 air victories
Actually the Germans scored their victory's according to the pilot who did shoot the plane down.
Western Allies awarded one kill to everyone who took part in the action.
But Hartmann did shoot down 8 Mustangs over Romania singlehanded
gave me goosebumps
I totally agree with you! This man's life was like a living Hollywood action movie! For example, that one time when he was forced down behind enemy lines and managed to escape by knocking down one of the guards while taking cover in a field full of giant sunflowers while the soviets fired a hail of bullets at him.
Hartmann was amazing.Tenacious and brave are words that come to mind.
Almost all of the kills that were shown in this video were of German fighters getting shot down.. what was that all about?
That's a british video I guess. Not so suprising then...
Mostly fw 190's kinda strange lol !
Propaganda
Erich, a great ace!!!
Imagine this guy was 23... at the end of the war.
It honours you that you tell the truth about this time.
Even in Germany, most people believe more in Hollywood-Movies than in historical facts.
Agreed, The Germans kicked ass in the air and the Allies knew it. ;)
Funny, how little boys are discussing here tapping their chests to tell us that their country was the best instead of acknowledge and respecting what this man did. In fact it's hard to stand for them that Hartmann was just the best. Of course they come up with "faked figures". Hartmann did his duty very well - like many other soldiers, too. Childish behaviour here.
+Charlene Brown Yes Charley he did but he was certainly not as good as Goering and his propagandists would like us to believe. He fought a different war than was fought in the West - at very low level where he could attack unsuspecting targets. He quite often crash landed himself rather than bailing out in the middle of an air battle. I have much greater respect for the likes of Heinz Knoke "King of the Four Engined Slayers" who finished the war with a lowly score of 54 (52 in his own reckoning) - mostly B-17's and B-24's shot down from high altitude. Knoke was hospitalised several times and went up against the first American raid on Berlin on March 6th 1944 several times.
Old glory
Was he a Nazi? I know he didn't like Hitler
Oh they all say that.
Only ever read the memoirs of one Ace who thought Hitler was the 'bees knees' and a savior of Western Civilization --at least as he understood it. That was the memoir of Heinz Knoke - The King of The Four Engine Slayers - who wrote I Flew For The Fuhrer.
He flew against the USAAF for 3 years or so on and off when he was not in hospital recovering from wounds..
He did not change his views much post-war and sat in the West German Parliament as a representative of a party so far to the right that it only just managed registration.
And of all the interviews I have read and watched of SS veterans of the Eastern Front, where about 13,000,000 civilians were killed one way or another, only half a dozen or so do not claim to have deliberately shot wide - above, below or to the side of the prisoner/hostage being executed.
And of those I can remember only one who openly stated that the people of the East got what they deserved.
even manfred didn't like his majesty(Red baron ww1), what is up with
german aces not liking their rulers.
respect to any fighter pilot or anyone else in ww2
That's awesome! He was a great role model and definitely someone to be very proud of!
Everyone want to know something creepy? Hartmans killstreak number represents the unit division number of the beast of omaha
both are 352
the 352 pilots hartmann killed is the number that represents the 352nd division the beast of omaha came from who made 1000 casualties.
***** nope but now you understand and thats what counts XD
@@pauljackowacko552 actually he shot down 352 aircraft there is no way of knowing how many pilots died or survived. If you check his history, he himself was shot down numerous times and even knocked himself out of the air more than once . But he was always able to bail out or land in German territory , and return to action .
So much for the theme americans are the best pilots, all just great bragging.
Should yet be said, this shit wrong americans have "Erich Hartmann" delivered to the Russians.
He was 10 years in the Gulag and was tortured.
What did you expect? They were good allies and the Russians wanted their revenge
I have to say now that I grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and my older brother flew a Jenny biplane in the late 1930s, so I learned the basics of flying even before joining the Army. So we're all heading back to Italy when, all of a sudden, a dozen or so Me109's bounce us. Fromone moment it's a clear blue sky, next moment there are dozens' of tracers passing my cockpit.I'm hit several times and I roll over to the rig ht, and below me is an P-51, heading for the deck,with an Me109 chasing him
I share my birthday with this awesome dude.
I get a kick out if the people that seem to still be fighting the war 75 years later lol
Yes, Americans,Brits,Russians, Allies had excellent aircraft and well trained pilots. Yes, the Germans,Japanese, Axis had excellent aircraft and pilots. No, not all Germans were Nazi, that was a political party. In the end, the Axis lost. Both sides lost millions of soldiers.
Don't forget who paid to rebuild what was destroyed, and just not repeat the horrors of war. Can we just enjoy WW2 aircraft now ? :)
By the way, a gentleman in Windsor,Ontario Canada had a 109Emil that I seen flying over the Detroit River a few years back. That thing had the coolest sound in the air! It was a yellownose. Pretty cool. One has to wonder how much longer these birds will be flying, they're getting old....
I'm related to him!
I salute you!
How are you related to him?
i want to know
+Trubbl3 He is a distant great grand uncle! My great grandpa is named Alfred Hartmann! Go look at my instagram to see pictures of a few ancestors. IG: American_Aviator_Guy_Dude_Bro
+Old glory That is awesome any stories of erich to share (if you have one)
Cheers from chile
+Trubbl3 I never met him. After the war, many families just collapsed and Germans became very distant from each other.
Erich Hartmann is a Legend.
Hartmann knew the horrors of war and the value of a trained airman and a reliable aircraft. He spoke up against the Starfighter on behalf of his airmen and his career in the new German Air Force was the casualty. However, history has borne out that he was correct in his expert evaluation. A level of insight and duty that Sokra and his father's friend will never comprehend.
From this video one may conclude Hartmann shot many German fighters down...
It's blasphemous to show an allied plane being shot down
haha!
MorningGI0ry coming from another WT player, that absolutely isnt true. you have to embrace that there were allied pilots shot down in ww2, whether russian, american or british. if we only had footage of axis planes being shot down, then that wouldn't truly allow us to understand what was happening in the skies of ww2.
The Mighty Boo I was making a joke about how American documentaries are usually all about how America kicked ass and so on. If someone was to propose a documentary today covering Marseille's victories over USAF and RAF pilots there would be a very small chance an American network would pick up on it
MorningGI0ry um, ive never seen any network pick up any ww2 footage in the US, except of course history channel, so you dont know what you're talking about. also, the usaf didnt exist until 1946, so get your facts straight.
Brian79camino, thankyou! For pointing out what everyone seems to misunderstand, the average soldier, pilot, sailor etc had no political adgenda.
Für sein Alter , ein wahrer Held. ..
Bubi..RIP
Definiere "Held"!
@Hawkscrye The german fighter planes were considered the most advanced and effective planes.
The US and Brits had to come up with p51 mustangs and Tempest airplanes to keep up with them.
Considering the German planes were designed several years before, it was quite an achievement.
Hans-Joachim Marseilles was another Bf109 fighter pilot, whose exploits over the Libyan desert in 1941 and 1942 became the stuff of legend. On being attacked by Bf109s, one tactic of the British (if they were flying the Kittyhawk, which was inferior in performance to the Bf109) was to form a defensive circle with each aircraft protecting the 6 o clock of the aircraft in front. Marseille's tactic was to fly a looping circle under and then over each aircraft in the circle, thus enabling him to dispatch each aircraft at very close quarters and with the minimum number of shots. On 3 June 1942, for example, he shot down 6 British fighter aircraft and on 17 June 1942 he shot down a further 6 aircraft within 7 minutes. On one of his sorties, he was accompanied by another German ace, Ludwig Franzisket, who remarked that, on observing Marseilles attack a formation of British aircraft, he was so spellbound that he forget to fire his own guns. (Seite 34, "Deutsche Jagdflugzeuge 1939-1945 in Farbprofilen", Claes Sundin und Christer Bergstroem).
It's not just the most successful pilot of the WWII, but the most successful pilot of ALL TIMES!
The last of his kind. In this age, there will NEVER be another ace that will even get into triple digits. Aviators and veterans of every nation should respect and admire this man. A truly staggering accomplishment. 352? Damn!
Yup, and he had no ammo shortage issues ;-). He should have been sent to the west front where his teaching abilites would have made a big difference. He flew many suicidal missions and survived. He was a genius.
Lawrence Thompson meets Hartmann's G-14
".... this was my first major dogfight I had in the war, in January 1945. I was flying a P-51D and
we were supposed to meet with bombers over Romania. Well, the bombers never showed up!
And we kept circling and wasting our fuel. When we were low on fuel the squadron leader orders
us back to base, with the top group at 24,000 feet and the four bait Mustangs ordered to 15,000
feet.
He survived the War :D
Erich Hartmann was a great fighter pilot,hes strategy to surprise opponents and never give his position until the last possible moment was effective and it had a higher probability of a kill ten shooting from a distance and it also saved some ammo to. i know this may bother somebody but many people consider Walter Nowotny the greatest fighter pilot ever,because of the fact that he was the first to shoot down 250 planes in history he also achieved this huge number of kills in a very short time.
@ReggiesReply They say he probably hit the vertical stabilizer after he bailed out knocking him unconscious. With the new 109Gs the engines where unreliable and prone to overheat, if I recall he was reluctant to fly the 109G. I think what impressed me most is the 3rd hand testimonies of how impressive a shot he was pulling off long range and/or high angle deflection shots and using very little ammo. Where as bubi got in close(his learning curve was very impressive)
By jeeves we even argue here? Argue all you want, nothing changes history.
Anyhow, I reckon that Erich Hardmann deserves a movie about him!
@SuperTimebandit yeah well, who knows. many stories out there. one thing at least is a fact; he was and is still the best combat fighter of all times!!! great man!!! huge balls ^^
Hartmann said: dogfight is a wasted time...And I agree...
One point that seems to be missed here was that German and Japanese pilots were flown to their deaths, while experiences Allied pilots were rotated out to train the newer pilots. This was one of the major deciding factors in the air war.
He is my great Uncle. (Great Grandpas brother)
Wow!
The real fighter Ace...👍
guys, Erich Hartmann flew 1,404 combat missions during World War II, resulting in 825 engagements,[51] and was never shot down (according to wikipedia).
Assuming this is the truth it is impossible that he achieved all this by luck and without excellent technique ! I say give the hero his due, no matter which country he served ! Every country has its heroes !
The best of the best , weapon of choice BF109 , Rest in peace
I needed to do some research on the matter
Actually, 352 is documented by both Soviet and Nazi, and even United States documents, and it's through his prowess that he rose through the ranks to the rank of major at a young age, if he had not proven himself he would never have risen beyond private at such a young age
This guy is my idol.
From 1 February to 14 February 1945, Hartmann briefly led I./JG 53. JG 53 flew the various models of Bf-109 throughout the second world war. He never command of jet unit, he attendet jet conversation program but he declined the offer to fly jet plane. And he never fly on FW-190.
Major Erich Hartmann ... ausgezeichneter deutscher Soldat und Held
mit 352 Siegen, der erfolgreichste Jagdflieger in der Geschichte des Luftkrieges
1.404 Kampfeinsätze, 825 Luftkämpfe und 352 Siege
Several pilots have written about how the Soviet fighters throwing pennant on a German airfield. Pennant was written on the call to the knightly battle tomorrow. Most often invited to fight 1х1, sometimes 4х4. The Germans had not flown to the challenge. Only one author has a story, that the call was received. But instead of four German aircraft flew 12. And, despite this, the fight took place. While all gasoline burned, shot down one aircraft from each side and fled.
Apologies to all I've offended, it was a bloody stupid comment to make. I do not hate Germans, far from it, some of my very best friends throughout my life have been German. Erich Hartman was an incredible skilled and brave pilot who was only doing what he was ordered to do, and it is the Nazis and not the German people as a whole who take the blame for the atrocity that was WW2. Hartmann was a great man who showed the same courage and bravery as a Soviet POW as he'd shown in battle.
As I mentioned previously, the guy has an impressive tally. No wonder the Germans win at motor racing - Schumacher.
The A-10 is not a dive bomber, though it can dive bomb. it was built around a 30 milimeter cannon, that can attack ground targets from significant standoff.
@jakeyclarke07 actually, he got 7 Mustangs total, but 4 in that peticular engagement. I can't believe how hard headed some of these ppl are on not accepting the German victory scores! They flew against the top allied pilots and aircraft, in the hardest conditions around, and still came out on top with the Bf-109 having the best kill/loss ratio of ANY fighter EVER built. Finland also flew the 109s against Russia with great success. :)
Erich Hartmann was a beast, all you need to know.
Hartmann frequently flew into the debris of the planes he had shot down which caused him to belly-land his damaged plane. He never bailed out.As much as I know he was never shot down by an other pilot but by anti air guns.
On 1-09-1942 Marseille claimed, and was credited with, 17 British Commonwealth fighters SHOT DOWN ---- in three sorties for the day. He may have jumped a few of them -- but the rest were claimed in an incredible series of dofights. Now that is what I call a Fighter Ace !!
No doubt the best of the best , the me109 his choice of weapon, there will never be another Hartmann.
Opening fire at close range seems to be a common nominator for the top aces. Makes sense since it makes you spend less ammo per kill and thus potentially more kills per sortie. It was also the hallmark of the top Finnish ace Ilmari Juutilainen (he is also top non-German with his 94 acv). He often opened fire at ranges such as 30-60 metres. Another Finnish ace Jorma Sarvanto used same tacktic to drop 6 DB-3 bombers in 5 minutes with a Fokker D.XXX!
What most of these comments are about, it's a never ending argument. But this guy, Hartmann, was awesome and there is no way around that.
Correction: he actually had 345. 352 was an incorrect charge from the Soviet Union that led to his imprisonment.
@LuckyBolt100 "During the course of his career, Hartmann was forced to crash-land his damaged fighter 14 times. This was due to damage received from parts of enemy aircraft he had just shot down or mechanical failure. Hartmann was never shot down or forced to land due to fire from enemy aircraft" from wikipedia and this is all i found sofar.
He was retreated from battle because he was so valuable that they couldnt afford to loose him. He was also a FW-190 pilot a plane wich was overall better than the ME-109. The fact that he was given so much importance was because of his great talent at flying more than any other pilot. Maybe if he was allowed to fight again at the front hes kill number would have been higher. He also commanded the first jet fighter unit in the world with ME-262 jet fighters.
Amen!
And when you combine good pilot with good plane you get E. Hartmann :)
OMG this whistle of his Karaya1 in section 30-38 seconds is just fantastic....
"War is a place where young people who do not know each other and do not hate each other kill each other, because of the decision of old people who know and hate each other, but do not kill each other". Erich Hartman
THE BEST forever! Forever!
And what did we learn today? Never celebrate too early.
unglaubliche tapferkeit und loyalitaet an die luftwaffe.
The P-51 had the following advantages over most 109 variants:
- considerably greater top speed
- much longer range
- superior handling at high speeds
- better dive acceleration
- better view from the cockpit (and a much more comfortable cockpit, too!)
The 109 held the following advantages over the P-51:
- superior climb rate
- better acceleration
- better low-speed handling
Yes, all things considered, I think I'd rather sit in a P-51 than in a 109.
If I did not know that my grandfather Hermann Hartmann was, I would say I am the grandson of Erich Hartmann. My name is also Hartmann and fly myself! :D
Hans Marseille had 158 victories on the western front. No one scored higher than him except Germans on the eastern front. He fought against better pilots with better aircraft. His death was early in the war because of engine failure in Sept 42. Had he lived to the end of the war he arguably could of been the greatest ace of all time.
his success is ashtonishing, you can say that german aces had an advantage because once they entered the war they would not leave it in 1 piece, while allies rotated. you can also claim that his opponents were inferior, but he still had 51 more kill than the 2nd ace of the war. his slow start and amazing record is comparable to that of the Red Baron, who was without the doubt the best pilot of WWI. it is absolutely remarkable to stay alive and stay concentrated for so long, over and over again.