Go to curiositystream.thld.co/worldwartwo_0123 and use code WORLDWARTWO to save 25% off today. Thanks to Curiosity Stream for sponsoring today’s video.
Best sponsor integration and presentation of the past year. quite short, entertaining and pretty good fit to the topic which made me really curious. Well done - hope you will find other specials that do fit as well into the video and with a real link to what they have to offer. I do not like ads nor sponsors but this time I found it very well balanced and not too long. I know it is tricky task or challenge but I like it as it is being a part of the game to pay for such videos / the efforts spend for. Usually I would be on the opposite side but this time I was really blown away and just want to let you know cause a lot might start to complain regardless how well made it has been made. Good luck for future episodes and sponsors.
I'm already a Curiositystream member and I can say that I've enjoyed it Immensely ! The subscription price is very reasonable for the content you get. Thanks for the show!
It was 15 German aces with over 100 kills (not 200) and that is VERY impressive. Until you look at over-all ratios. German aces got that high in part because they were not rotated to the rear to be instructors to teach the next batch, as Bong was. "Fly till you die" may as well have been their motto.... because they pretty much DID.
I mean, I respect that. The best pilot is nothing without a functioning plane and a runway to start it from. It is the engineers, the truck drivers, the ground crews and the logistical operators who keep the war machine fueled and armed, and they deserve as much recognition for their jobs as any soldier.
Don't forget that those Aces had teams of mechanics who did their best to keep those planes flying. Or, in the Pacfic theatre, to assemble the planes properly in the first place.
G'day, I'm curious.... Why do you IMAGINE that ANYBODY requires input from YOU to retain awareness that NO Regular PILOT or AIRCREW assigned to Any Squadron or Unit in the History of Warfare, EVER Maintained, or Assembled their own Sky-Chariots....? No Paratrooper ever raised Silkworms to spin the Thread, weave the Fabric and sew the Gores together into a Canopy, either... And Prissydunce JF Kennedy..., he didn't fell and mill the Timber to peel for the Veneers to glue and press into the Plywood..., which he then didn't ever cut up and glue and screw together into the Patrol-Torpedo Boat with which he bravely made his remarkably novel Night Ram-Attack, Beam-on, directly onto the sharp steel Bow of an IJN Destroyer....; before the Plywood broke, his Boat bifurcated, and the bits floated away, burned, and sank.... Would he have been a less disastrous Tactical PT-Boat Commander, if he'd built and maintained his own Boat ? Would Von Richtofen or Captain Bigglesworth have foiled more Foemen among the dark stormy Clouds of their Battle-torn Skies..., if they'd both wanked the Spanners and cleaned and gapped all their own Sparkplugs - before taking off to climb up into the Wild Blue Yonder and fly every Dawn Patrol ? Because NOBODY had Ever forgotten that Engine Fitters and Airframe Riggers and Armourers and Instrument Mechanics and Radio Technicians and Cooks, Cleaners and Boot-polishing Batmen..., were ALL VITALLY NECCESSARY.... ALL before any Waaauughhh(!)-Plane EVER took off on it's "Mission", To pursue and chastise the Designated Enemies (Any Me's ...?) Of the Politicians, Calling the Shots, on the Day... So..., Therefore Thus & Because, I completely fail to comprehend quite why, in a Thread discussion regarding "Ace" or "Killer" Fighter Pilots...; you would find it somehow neccessary to interject with what amounts to being an outburst of "Me Tooo-ism...!" On behalf of the Maintainers....(?). Are ye, perhaps, descended from the "Unsung Heroes who Kept 'Em "Flying...!" ? That would, perhaps, Account for it...(?). If maybe you were Raised, being Suckled on a deep Sense of anonymous Grievance...(?). But, yeah mate.... In the real World, nobody had ever forgotten that Ace Fighter-Pilots don't fill their own Fueltanks, re-arm their own Guns, or wipe their own Windscreens... But..., they do win Medals for sneaking up behind Strangers and shooting them in the back of the Head, and that's considered to be "patriotjcally exciting" - so that's what Books are written around, published, and Movies are made about....(!). WelKom..., To durrr Commercialisation ; of Waaauughhh(!). Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !
@@lordgarion514 G'day, Exactly. Precisely. Prezactically, In fact. I, too, Entered my Corrective Onto the Thread. You might enjoy it (?). Have a good one, Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !
Axis pilots flew until they were killed or the war ended. Not so with the Allies, who flew a set number of missions and were then rotated home for the duration. Sometimes, if they had enough pull and were addicted enough to the thrill of aerial combat, they could get another tour of duty but not very often. Also, some Axis aces got shot down multiple times but were over their own territory and thus not taken prisoner. This makes a big difference in grand totals but made for the grim reality that you were likely to die in the war. That is a terribly stressful life and sometimes in their memoirs they admitted that they just did not know how they survived.
Good point--I'd expect that a lot of those Allied pilots were turn into instructors, which probably increased the overall quality of Allied aviation more than a single ace could.
This is true for British/Commonwealth and American pilots. For countries that got invaded hard like France or China, a lot of those guys did the "fly until death" thing like the axis.
@@FalseNomen That is true. There was a RCAF ace named 'Wally' McLeod who flew in Malta and racked up a big score in his Spitfire V. Eventually he was sent back to Canada but was too addicted to combat and hated military discipline and the comparative boredom of instructing newbies. So he misbehaved until he was given an ultimatum by his superiors. He still refused to behave but cleaned up his act enough that they at length granted him his wish and back to Britain he went. He was joined to Johnny Johnson's Canadian wing as commander of 443 "Hornet" Squadron, and was compared to a gunslinger in the old Westerns by Johnson himself, who thought he had cold deadly eyes and was the best shot he ever saw. In any event, McLeod shot down more Axis pilots, often with an impressively small number of canon rounds, on one occasion downing two FW-190s over Normandy with only 17 rounds! But he was eventually killed in action during the Arnhem offensive in September 1944. He had about 22 victories and probably more. Johnson said on one mission where he was late returning, they could hear him on their radios cursing a German pilot and saying "Take that you !@#$%!!!" But he did not return on this mission, and another pilot in that fight said he saw McLeod climbing after a Luftwaffe fighter into a bank of clouds. It was his last attack. They found him in the wreckage of his Spitfire IX five years later in September 1949.
@@FalseNomen It was normal in RAF Bomber Command for crews, especially pilots, bomb aimers and navigators, to spend time instructing if they survived a tour of 30 operations (a big if). Then they might go on a second tour. I don't know if RAF fighter pilots did the same.
Should be an honourable mention for George "Buzz" Beurling, the "Falcon of Malta" 27 Axis planes shot down in 14 days over Malta and 31 overall. His story of becoming a RCAF pilot in it's self is a story.
One of his nicknames was screwball, notorious by his commanders and the enemy. Still some claim for what he did he was the greatest Allied fighter pilot of the Second World War.
I was waiting for the video to mention him, I Idolized him as a kid and read up his biography, his perseverance towards becoming a pilot had an impact on me becoming one as well
I remember Pat Pattle from Roald Dahl's autobiography 'Going Solo'. That book was actually a bit of a gateway for me into World War 2 specifically - I'd long been a fan of his children's fiction, so I read first Boy (about his childhood), then 'Going Solo', which has a brief, but intense description of the air battle over the Piraeus in Athens. That made me so excited, I sought out books about the Battle of Britain, and more and more about the war, ending with reading Gordon Prange's Miracle at Midway and At Dawn We Slept in 5th grade (about 10 years old), and a lifelong passion for history. Anyway, thank you for highlighting Pattle and his (mostly forgotten) ace status.
Was going to mention Dahl but I’m glad someone else did. Going Solo also was profound for me as a kid, and opened up WW2 history for me too. The way the story begins with him in Tanzania, and his servant who decapitated a random German farmer who lived down the war after Dahl told them were at war, really captivated me
Hopefully we can get some others mentioned, like Clive Caldwell, Australia's top ace. 28.5 kills, plus 6 probables and 15 damaged. That includes German, Italian and Japanese planes, which would put him in a rare group of those with kills against the three major axis powers. Amongst his victims were 3 German aces, with another driven off heavily damaged. And he was also an ace in a day.
Richard Bong was immortalized in southern Wisconsin with the namesake park Bong recreation area. Stoners decorated countless basements with stolen signs for decades after.
3 other aces from the Normandy-Niemen were also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Jacques André (20 victories), Roland de la Poype (16 victories) and Marcel Lefèvre (14 victories).
I built models as a kid and my favorite was Bong's P-38 along with Frances Gabreski's P-47. Actually met 2 of Gabreski's flight mates back in 1988 tending bar. Pretty cool experience.
@@kudukilla wow. Been a long time for me. My half completed B-29 is still in my closet of my old bedroom. It was the last model I touched before I stopped.
Plus the RAF used to "split" their kills so you have pilots with fractional kills and assists so it's harder to determine definite kill scores. The Luftwaffe used a simpler "one pilot-one kill" system but they were thorough in verifying kills, requiring ground reports of the plane itself going down.
Four-engine bombers, especially American ones which were quite sturdy, often fell victim to a combination of reasons. Flak might damage a bomber so it fell out of formation, then several German fighters might attack it, perhaps more than once. Eventually it might drop low enough that it was ultimately brought down by 20mm flak fire. Who was responsible for the shoot-down was not always easy to determine.
The main reason Axis aces racked up higher kill totals was because they were allowed to remain in combat roles throughout the war. By contrast, Allied aces were transferred from combat squadrons into training roles in order to pass on their skills and knowledge to new pilots.
@@gedeon2696 But I read in two long comments in this thread that German pilots got two kills for a two-engine plane and three for a four-engine plane. Also, they were given partial kills for damaging a plane. (And maybe for planes shot up on the ground??)
I'm gonna go ahead and up my time ghost membership today. Hopefully the community can fund more episodes like this. Thanks however to curiosity stream anyhow for bringing more history content.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you! The TimeGhost Army always has, and always will, be the core of what makes our channel possible. Means a lot to us to read feedback like this.
Honorable mention for Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, who had 22 confirmed kills whilst flying Spitfires with 2 artificial legs. Shot down over St Omer in August 1941, he became a POW ending up at Colditz after attempting many escapes.
Bader's fellow POWs did not like him. He made fun of their escape attempts and laughed at them when they were caught. That is a glaring piece of bad character!
@@ToddSauve It's what I have heard. Perhaps his abrasiveness was the other side of the personal drive that allowed him to overcome his injuries. He also played a role in backing Leigh-Mallory against Dowding after the Battle of Britain, after which the latter was sidelined.
Great special here Indy & team. It often seems exciting to follow the stories and tactics of these flying aces. Now I can't wait to see the Axis side of this special as well too!
No need for them, iam watching their war on humanity Tbh I don't have any interest in German aces or military to me they are all criminals . Never forget
@@metinabay6884 German pilots had a saying "You flew until you got either the Iron Cross or the wooden cross". Allied pilots could be rotated out of frontline service if they'd served a number of tours, the Germans couldn't. This is also the reason for the disparity in total scores.
@@WorldWarTwo I don’t envy your task! You could take the most well known five aces - Molders, Galland, Marseille, Hartman and Rall, whilst having a side scroll of the other pilots next to Indy. Each section on the list would be arranged by number so for example 50-100, 100-200, 200-300+. You’d never get them all in obviously but you could get enough to get the point across…
There were several poles that became aces in 303 squadron during the Battle of Britain. Jan Zumbach is the one I remember by name but there were others. Several Czech pilots also became aces in the RAF.
Stanisław Skalski, the top Polish Ace, is credited with 18.91 kills. This score is possible since the RAF gave fractional credit for planes shot down by multiple pilots.
For what I get from this channel, ads don't bother me in the least. Thank you for consistantly presenting what could, and often are, dreary subjects in a captivating way. Kudos.
If you haven't already, how about a spot about John Thach: the great American air tactician who developed great air fighter manoeuvres like the Thach Weave that helped equal the odds against the Japanese Zeroes, and the Big Blue Blanket, which was an effective defence against the kamikaze attacks?
SPOILER I had a chance encounter with a very old man in a Dortmund bookstore some years ago. Totally out of the blue, he said he had been a Luftwaffe fighter pilot in early 1945. He was fighting the Red Air Force in the Danzig area. He described it as "hell". I don't know if he ever wrote memoirs.
As Johnnie Johnson's mates would state during his episode of "This is your life", what set him apart was that he was an excellent shot. He had been hunting quail since he was a boy and could place his bullets exactly where he knew the enemy aircraft would be. Likewise George Buerling (top Canadian ace) and Hans-Joachim Marseille (top German ace in North Africa and possible Germany's greatest pilot of all, had he not been killed in an accident) were experts at deflection shooting. This is what really set many aces apart and really would allow them to score a kill when an average pilot would have no chance of hitting what he was aiming at, unless he got in very close. Improved Allied gunsights with lead calculation that would appear in the second half of 1944 would actually improve the scores of many average Allied pilots, but many aces stuck with non-computing gunsights as they could perform better without them. The other type of ace were those that excelled at stalk and ambush tactics and energy management, (such as Dick Bong and Erich Hartmann, all-time aces of aces) picking the right time to attack from above and usually with the sun behind them, they would kill their prey without being seen and then disappear again in a zoom climb. In fact most pilots then and even during the jet age would be shot down by an enemy they had never even seen. Johnnie Johnson would talk about the strain on his neck and muscles he developed there as his head was constantly on a swivel.
My father was in the 1089th signal company 5th Army Airforce who serviced Bong's P38 radio. Bong was nearly killed on one mission when a 30mm shell went through his canopy barely missing his head.
On note on the designation of Soviet aircraft. The Lavochkin La-5 is NOT an "Ell- eh" 5, but rather said as Lah-5, the Petlyakov Pe-2 is a "pee 2". The exception is the Polikarov I-16, 15, 153 family which, having a pre 1938 introduction to VVS (Red Air Force) service were designated as the "E-16" (Russian pronunciation of "I" in the Cryrillic alphabet) etc. Yet the biplane Polilarpov Po-2 ( Pooh 2) was originally a civil plane and continued to use that designation in service despite being assigned an "I" number. Tupplev was " Too", and yakovlev obviously was "Yak" as Ya was too close to both "Ja" (German) and to the Russian "Da" when heard over radios. The Luftwaffe overheard the word "Yak" so frequently that "Yak" became their equivalent call to "Bandits!", a general sighting of the enemy of any kind...
Pe-2 is pronounced "pyeh 2" Po is said more like "PAh"(British) or "POgh" (American) I in I-16 and earlier comes from истребитель - fighter, it is not referring to a brand or design bureau. Yak ( як ) is two letters in Cyrillic
You'd think that the pronounciation of La-5 or Pe-2 would be obvious. There's a reason why only the first letter is capitalised. It does get confusing with MiG (Mikoyan-Gurevich) or LaGG (Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov). But reading doesn't seem to be the strongest suite of most people nowadays, especially on the internet.
What Johnnie Johnson proposed, Poles proposed already in 1940 because they flew similarly, drawing conclusions from the lessons of 1939. This is one of the many factors that have helped them become so successful.
@@MandalorV7---Yes I heard about one that managed both. I just can't remember his name. But for any Italian to score any kind of victory in WWII is pretty remarkable. Messes around with the image that the Italian military was just one big loser. Thanks for responding.
Other notable Allied aces were Clive "Killer" Caldwell, RAAF 28 1/2 kills, George "Buzz" Beurling (Canadian) 31 kills, Pierre Clostermann 33 kills. One French ace fought under three flags- Marcel Albert. 23 kills.
One American ace worth noting is Joe Foss. He had the same number of kills as Rickenbacker before Rickenbacker's record was surpassed. For football fans who are interested, Foss was the first commissioner of the AFL (American Football League; rival to the NFL before they merged in 1970) for a little over half of the 60s. New Years Day was the 20th anniversary of Foss' death. He died 3 and a half weeks before my grandfather died. My grandfather was in the Army Air Corps, arrived a few weeks after D-Day, and did bombing missions over Germany.
Awwww . How sad that Richard Bong died just after the war . He deserved a long and happy life with his wife after his heroic fights in WW2 . Rest in peace Mr Bong , you are a hero sir
Vernon Crompton Woodward, who flew with Pat Pattle is a distant relative of mine. His Grandmother was my Great-Great Grandfather's sister, making him my 2nd Cousin, Twice Removed. He was born in Canada, but ended up serving in the RAF due to the RCAF wanting it's pilots to have graduated from university. He served in No.33 Squadron and claimed 18 victories and 4 shared victories, mostly against Italian pilots. His last victory was against a Ju 88 in July of 1941. He then spent the rest of the war training pilots in Rhodesia and doing various staff duties in the Africa and the Middle East. By the end of the war he commanded the Mediterranean Middle East Communications Squadron. He stayed in the RAF until 1963 and moved to Australia, before returning to Canada. He died in the year 2000 at the age of 83 and his 18+4 victories and a couple of unconfirmed/probable makes him Canada's 2nd or 3rd highest scoring Ace of WWII. During the war he was awarded the DFC and Bar. In the photo at 3:35 Vernon can be seen 2nd from the left, wearing his flight Jacket and googles. Here's a well written website if you'd like to learn more about him. surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/commonwealth_woodward.htm
Bong also studied the gun sight when at home and added to his count when he returned to combat. Said if he had know this on his first tour his score would have been much higher
Done that looking for downed aircraft stuff. In Sarawak next to Borneo and Brunei. Was stationed in Brunei att with a flight of helicopters. It was a request from Shell who had a large presence there. They had heard of a downed Dutch aircraft from the 2nd WW. So we got diplomatic permission and started. We lifted off early morning, flew into Sarawak. I was then hoisted down through the canopy with a chainsaw and a jerrycan of petrol thrown after me. My job...cut a safe LZ for the other team members to land. So team arrived, found a group of local Ibans and with a mixture of Dutch, English and hand signs managed to get our message across. They went off and came back with an old man who knew approximately where it came down. As with anything that lands up in a tropical rain forest it eventually sinks. But we were armed with our 2m proders. Long story short: after many sweaty hours we got a clunk. Started to excavate, hit the cockpit with the pilot still inside so stopped immediately. Marked the place as best we could with our proders and black and yellow tape. Evac back to Brunei, informed Shell who got onto the Dutch government who, in turn, got permission to exhume the body and ship it back to Holland for a military funeral. Even made the papers.
Yes! I have been waiting for an episode as this. I am very interested in flying aces. How many pilots across the world fly, zip, and zoom to get a kill in the sky. Wether it be over the skies of Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia, or in the Pacific. All of these aces and many more had made their mark by having tactics they use that helped them succeed. Overall very well made video of the Allied Aces of World War Two. Hopefully we can see the top Axis Aces such as Han Joachim Marseille, the Star of Africa. Godspeed.
I'm surprised that neither South African ace, Adolph Gysbert "Sailor" Malan, serving with the RAF, or Robert Roland Stanford Tuck, among many other RAF aces with 20+ confirmed victories, weren't mentioned. Also the top scoring Polish ace, Stanisław Skalski, who was the first Allied ace, getting six kills of Luftwaffe aircraft in the September 1939 Polish campaign; he'd shoot down twelve more with the RAF.
It is worth mentioning on which aircraft (P-11c) Skalski scored 6 victories, it was an obsolete aircraft. German bombers were able to escape him. When Poles fought in England on Hurricanes, they were surprised that they could get close to the enemy so easily.
Top Canadian ace: George Beurling - 31.333 kills Top French ace is a bit trickier...Pierre Clostermann claimed and was credited with 33 kills, but modern research has his score at 11 aeriel kills, the other 22 being destroyed on the ground. Top Polish ace: Stanislaw Skalski - 22 11/12 kills, interestingly enough was the first allied ace of WW2
Another allied Ace from Australia. Clive Robertson Caldwell, DSO, DFC & Bar (28 July 1911 - 5 August 1994) was the leading Australian air ace of World War II. He is officially credited with shooting down 28.5 enemy aircraft in over 300 operational sorties, including an ace in a day. In addition to his official score, he has been ascribed six probables and 15 damaged.[1][2] Caldwell flew Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks and Kittyhawks in the North African Campaign and Supermarine Spitfires in the South West Pacific Theatre. He was the highest-scoring P-40 pilot from any air force and the highest-scoring Allied pilot in North Africa.[3] Caldwell also commanded a Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron and two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wings. His military service ended in controversy, when he resigned in protest at the misuse of Australian First Tactical Air Force's fighter units and was later court martialed and convicted for trading liquor. Source, Wikipedia.
How about the Finns? After a huge number of Luftwaffe pilots, there are two Finns, Ilmari Juutilainen and Hasse Wind, in addition to some Japanese dude. Juutilainen and Wind scored some 100 kills. The first ace in the WW II was Jorma Sarvanto, and his record of downing six Russian DB-2s in just four minutes remains the record to the date.
You missed Canada's favourite maniac Screwball Beurling, with 31.5 confimed kills and probably a couple more than that. But given its reputation I can see why! Great video, can't wait to see the Axis edition!
Bong Airbase was one of my Grandma's favorite summer nature walk areas. When i got into my teens I would giggle at the name but always enjoyed it. I didnt know the story behind the name until I was an adult. I cant help but remember summer walks thru nature when I hear about Bong, all the talk about air combat and im just picturing a pleasant field with a trail mowed thru it. fkkin weird.
Fighter pilots are the most self-reliant or self-dependent combatants. They are alone in the vehicle, which does belong to a wing, but in the end, it's all up to that single pilot in the airplane to make all the decisions during combat, apart from general orders. They are also isolated high up in the sky, an unnatural element for a human, so if the vehicle ceases to function, they'd be lucky to survive. In addition to what was said in the video, this is why the individual pilot is so emphasized.
@@RonJeremy514 It's relative what's bad and what's not, but we are talking about war time here. The airplane might be in a pretty rough shape when it ceases to function.
Highest-scoring non-German fighter pilot: Sergeant-Major Ilmari "Illu" Juutilainen of Finnish Air Force. 126 claims, 94 confirms, never lost a wingman, first radar-assisted victory by Finnish pilot and one of four double-winners of Mannerheim Cross and only once forced to land by AA-fire. Flew Fokker D.XXI, Brester Buffalo and Messerschmitt Bf-109G.
Svein Heglund DSO DFC was the top Norwegian ace in the war shooting down 16 German planes. He was awarded the Norwegian War Cross with two Swords and the British Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross.
I am just a little sad you didn't mention the French Pierre Clostermann and his 33 victories in RAF service. There are also definitely Czechs and Poles who deserve to be honoured. ❤
Thanks for compiling and sharing these incredible stories. I understand how you have to draw the line somewhere with SO MANY available stories. Hell, you could almost produce a full month of nothing but fighter pilot stories. I’m looking forward to the upcoming Axis stories and wonder if your going to profile Italian and Japanese aces in addition to the more familiar German aces. Keep up the great work! 💚
I know there end up being so many that you can't talk about all of them. My 2 favorites are O'Hare who cut his teeth in the Buffalo, and would work to change Navy Fighter tactics, and pioneer night fighting on carriers. My other is whom I believe to be the first chronological USN Ace in the Pacific, and the person whose acts would earn him the first chronological MoH in the Pacific of WW2: "Hammering Hank" Elrod. He was part of VMF 211 off Wake Island, and shot down several planes, and is credit with at least one ship kill. He was later killed defending a gun battery with a Tommy gun. He would not receive his MoH until after others, but his actions for it predate the others.
Super fan of the ""classical musical piece" when the "rational poetry" about the fusion of the human brilliance with the power of the most advanced machines... I'll vote you if i ever can, mesmerizing. That makes you legends 👏👏👏👏👏👏🤘🤘
hello guys and gals at Worls War Two. Couls you do a third episode about fighter aces from smaller countries like Finland, Czechoslavakia, Poland, France and others? Pierre Closterman (France), Pierre Le Gloan (France), Josef Frantisek (Cz), Ilmari Juutilainen(Fin), Witold Urbanowicz (Poland) are just some of the people who deserve to have their story told.
You should mention in part two that the axis aces were kept on the front to rack up big numbers, while most allied aces were pulled bak to train the massive waves of new pilots.
Australia's top ace was "Killer" Caldwell, I think. He cut his teeth in North Africa against some of the top Luftwaffe pilots and his exploits read something like Biggles. Unable to master "deflection" he developed his own method of training, firing at his plane's shadow on the desert floor and it was so effective, it was adopted as a training method. The second half of his career was in Australia, leading a squadron of spitfires, defending Darwin against the Japanese and later in Borneo. Whilst he did add to his tally which I thought was an Empire record, he did a number of things that severely detracted from his career..
Great episode, as I have long been a student of WW2 Aces. Funny story, when I was a young man in the army back in the Vietnam era, most of my commanding officers had been veterans of WW2, or the Korean war. The Major that I served under had a nickname for me. My last name was Johnson, but not John. That didn't matter as he always called my Johnny. He still had that heroes name stuck in his head long afterwards. I wore the nickname with pride!
I believe in the RAF a wing is below a group, while in the USAAF (and later USAF) a wing is above a group. This causes some confusion because a RAF wing commander is equivalent to a USAAF group commander (Lt Col) and a RAF Group Captain is equivalent to a USAAF Wing Commander (Colonel). It becomes even more confusing when you throw in Royal Navy rank where a Wing Captain equals a RAF Group Captain or USAAF Wing Commander (Colonel). Is all this clear as mud?
Just read JJ's book full circle. Great read. He states Adolf 'Sailor' Malan's and Pat Pattle's record (both South African) in the earlier years is more impressive than his due to the number, quality and relative technology levels of the Axis at that time.
If getting sponsorship means you guys make even better content, and that sponsorship comes from relevant places like Curiosity, I'm all for it ! This was a great special episode !
I recently watched a video where the author broke down the average number of missions flown per victory. The German aces often flew over a thousand missions and the author's point was that the great numbers of victories were entirely believable given the sheer numbers of missions flown. The number of missions per victory wasn't any greater than Allied aces, but flew 10 to 20 times (or more) more missions than the Allied aces.
That policy was attributable to the Luftwaffe (and a certain fat man) failing to reform itself as a wartime Air Force. They had limited recruiting and training pools and only ramped-up pilot training in 1943-1944, but by then the Allies and Soviets were producing far more planes and pilots than they ever could. This meant that they were sending waves of raw pilots and a handful of veteran pilots against swarms of well-trained Allied pilots- and why the Germans lost so many planes in 1944-1945 despite peaking production numbers.
@@petercollingwood522 When researching his book on the Hamburg air raids of summer 1943, Martin Middlebrook noted that he had trouble finding German day fighter pilots involved - the wartime attrition they suffered was so great. Night fighter pilots or crew were easier to find and interview - more of them survived the war. One day fighter pilot he did interview described flying a 109 with an experimental 30mm cannon. He approached a B17 and managed to shoot off a tailplane and it later crashed, with four of the crew killed and six taken prisoner. However, the 109 pilot had to bail out as his fighter had been hit by defensive fire. He was severely injured in the parachute landing and never flew again.
Nice video! One book I must suggest before the Axis video is published (so that the content remains accurate and relevant for views in the futures) is Verified Victories: Top JG 52 Aces Over Hungary 1944-45. This book deals with 4 of those '15' aces you talk about.
Interesting fact: Polish ace Witold Urbanowicz (during the Battle of Britain was the commander of the famous Polish 303 Squadron) was never hit by the enemy with even a single bullet. He was officially credited with 19 kills, but he had a different opinion. “I have been asked many times about my record of kills during the Second World War. Different sources give different numbers, so I'm presenting the facts. In the Battle of Britain I shot down 17 planes, in the Far East 11, of which 6 planes were shot down during combat, and 5 planes during attacks on Japanese airfields in China and Taiwan, at the time of take-off or landing. After returning from China in 1944, I submitted the documents to the Polish Aviation Inspectorate in London". In 1939 he was 31yo and had 1 kill before the war (russian plane)
There is another element tp the allure of the fighter pilot, and that is the cleanness of it. Fighter pilots kill fighter pilots, bomber pilots, in any case soldiers, who have something of a "fair chance". It's just less messy than the ground war, there there are always civilians about, even if one's side is trying to fight a clean war. Mind, once you look more closely, a lot of the top aces stress the same factors Richthofen did: surprise, rapid approach, firing from a short distance to ensure a kill, then getting the hell out before you need to dogfight.
Amongst the Flying Aces of World War Two there were two Spanish aviators: one on the Axis side and the other on the Allied side, both on the eastern front. On the Axis side, the Spanish flying ace was Ángel Salas Larrazábal, leader of the Escuadrilla Azul (Blue Squadron) that had been sent together with the Blue Division as "volunteers against the USSR". He scored 16 aerial victories in the Spanish Civil War, which got him promoted to Comandante (Mayor) in the Ejército del Aire, the Nationalist Airforce, and it was with this rank that he was sent as head of the Escuadrilla Azul. They were assigned to the JG-27 of Wolfram von Richstofen, whom ironically had been to Spain as leader of the Condor Legion (the air group sent from the Luftwaffe to assist the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War). His squadron had 14 confirmed kills, of which 7 were his. After WW2, he acted as military attaché in Germany and later in Portugal, and afterwards he was the first Spanish pilot to ever fly a jet plane. In 1972, he was named as chief of the "Mando de Aviación Táctica" (MATAC), which stands for "Tactical Aviation Command", and in 1991 he was given the honorific rank of Capitán General del Ejército del Aire, which is the maximum rank in the Spanish military. He died four years later. In 2016, some of his medals and condecorations were revoked due to being related to the Francoist dictatorship. On the Allied side, the Spanish flying ace was José María Bravo, whom had served in the Fuerzas Aéreas de la República Española (Republican Airforce) during the Spanish Civil War, scoring 23 aerial victories and rising from pilot (sergeant) to captain, having received training in the USSR and flying on Polikarpov I-15 (known as "Chato", "Noseless" by the Spanish soldiers) and I-16 (known as "Mosca", "Fly" by the Republicans and "Rata", "Rat" by the Nationalists). He fled Spain to France, with his final destination being Kharkhov, in the USSR. In 1941, when the Germans invaded, he tried to enlist on the Soviet Military Air Service, but was refused, so he joined a unit of marine commandos until his request was finnaly accepted in 1942. He quickly rose to the rank of squadron leader in the Soviet Airforce, and in 1943 his squadron was the one to escort Stalin's plane during the trip to the Teheran conference. After WW2, he left the Soviet Airforce and worked as a teacher of Spanish language in the USSR until 1960, year in which he was allowed back to Spain. In 1976, after Franco's death, he founded the ADAR (Asociación De Aviadores de la República - Association Of Republican Aviators), which included veterans that fought on the Republican Airforce during the SCW, which requested to be restored to their old ranks in the Airforce (now Real Ejército del Aire), which they archieved, and in fact, considering all his work and his experiences during WW2 he was given the rank of colonel in 1978. He also collaborated with the Fundación Infante de Orleans, which is a Spanish Foundation which has as objective to acquire, restore to working conditions and maintain historical aircraft. With his help, they managed to acquire and restore a Soviet I-16, which was painted with the same markings than the plane he had flown during the Spanish Civil War. He died in 2009.
In the case of the Spanish Republican, I can only imagine that mounting casualties made them more willing to use a foreigner as a combat pilot after initial reluctance. The same reluctance was initially shown towards Poles and Czechs in 1940 - there were doubts about them understanding English communications over the radio.
@@stevekaczynski3793 Given that he had previously received training in the USSR in 1936, spoke Russian and was familiar with Soviet military terminology, I doubt it, but it's plausible.
Don't forget paddy finucane at 22 the Young irishman was or is the youngest ever wing commander in the raf...had a shamrock painted on the nose of his spitfire,went down in the English Channel in 42 off the coast of France...
My Dad grew up near Dick Bong's hometown in Wisconsin and tells the story of reading the local wartime reports in the local newspaper and reading headlines of "Bong Bags Another!"
Go to curiositystream.thld.co/worldwartwo_0123 and use code WORLDWARTWO to save 25% off today. Thanks to Curiosity Stream for sponsoring today’s video.
Best sponsor integration and presentation of the past year. quite short, entertaining and pretty good fit to the topic which made me really curious.
Well done - hope you will find other specials that do fit as well into the video and with a real link to what they have to offer.
I do not like ads nor sponsors but this time I found it very well balanced and not too long. I know it is tricky task or challenge but I like it as it is being a part of the game to pay for such videos / the efforts spend for. Usually I would be on the opposite side but this time I was really blown away and just want to let you know cause a lot might start to complain regardless how well made it has been made. Good luck for future episodes and sponsors.
you didn't cover the white lily?
Not mentioning Pokryshkin and the fact, that most Soviet Aces flew P-39 - not good
I'm already a Curiositystream member and I can say that I've enjoyed it Immensely ! The subscription price is very reasonable for the content you get. Thanks for the show!
It was 15 German aces with over 100 kills (not 200) and that is VERY impressive.
Until you look at over-all ratios.
German aces got that high in part because they were not rotated to the rear to be instructors to teach the next batch, as Bong was. "Fly till you die" may as well have been their motto.... because they pretty much DID.
My dad in the 871st engineering battalion towed Dick Bong’s damaged P 38 off a runway in New Guinea. Not much to most, but my dad is still my hero.
I mean, I respect that. The best pilot is nothing without a functioning plane and a runway to start it from. It is the engineers, the truck drivers, the ground crews and the logistical operators who keep the war machine fueled and armed, and they deserve as much recognition for their jobs as any soldier.
@@TheExecutorr Thanks man, I appreciate the sentiment.
@@TheExecutorr thank you, I’m sure my dad appreciates this , wherever he may be.
Don't forget that those Aces had teams of mechanics who did their best to keep those planes flying. Or, in the Pacfic theatre, to assemble the planes properly in the first place.
G'day,
I'm curious....
Why do you IMAGINE that ANYBODY requires input from YOU to retain awareness that NO Regular
PILOT or
AIRCREW assigned to
Any Squadron or Unit in the
History of
Warfare,
EVER
Maintained, or
Assembled their own
Sky-Chariots....?
No Paratrooper ever raised Silkworms to spin the Thread, weave the Fabric and sew the Gores together into a Canopy, either...
And Prissydunce JF Kennedy..., he didn't fell and mill the Timber to peel for the Veneers to glue and press into the Plywood..., which he then didn't ever cut up and glue and screw together into the Patrol-Torpedo Boat with which he bravely made his remarkably novel Night Ram-Attack, Beam-on, directly onto the sharp steel Bow of an IJN Destroyer....; before the Plywood broke, his Boat bifurcated, and the bits floated away, burned, and sank....
Would he have been a less disastrous Tactical PT-Boat Commander, if he'd built and maintained his own Boat ?
Would Von Richtofen or Captain Bigglesworth have foiled more Foemen among the dark stormy Clouds of their Battle-torn Skies..., if they'd both wanked the Spanners and cleaned and gapped all their own Sparkplugs - before taking off to climb up into the Wild Blue Yonder and fly every Dawn Patrol ?
Because
NOBODY had
Ever forgotten that
Engine Fitters and
Airframe Riggers and
Armourers and
Instrument Mechanics and
Radio Technicians and
Cooks,
Cleaners and
Boot-polishing Batmen..., were
ALL
VITALLY
NECCESSARY....
ALL before any
Waaauughhh(!)-Plane
EVER took off on it's
"Mission",
To pursue and chastise the
Designated
Enemies (Any Me's ...?)
Of the
Politicians,
Calling the
Shots, on the
Day...
So...,
Therefore
Thus &
Because,
I completely fail to comprehend quite why, in a Thread discussion regarding "Ace" or "Killer" Fighter Pilots...; you would find it somehow neccessary to interject with what amounts to being an outburst of
"Me Tooo-ism...!"
On behalf of the
Maintainers....(?).
Are ye, perhaps, descended from the
"Unsung
Heroes who
Kept 'Em
"Flying...!" ?
That would, perhaps,
Account for it...(?).
If maybe you were
Raised, being
Suckled on a deep
Sense of anonymous
Grievance...(?).
But, yeah mate....
In the real World, nobody had ever forgotten that Ace Fighter-Pilots don't fill their own Fueltanks, re-arm their own Guns, or wipe their own Windscreens...
But..., they do win Medals for sneaking up behind Strangers and shooting them in the back of the Head, and that's considered to be "patriotjcally exciting" - so that's what Books are written around, published, and Movies are made about....(!).
WelKom...,
To durrr
Commercialisation ; of
Waaauughhh(!).
Such is life,
Have a good one...
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
A pilot ain’t nothing without a good mechanic that’s for sure!
So did literally ALL the non ace pilots.
AND there was a LOT of non aces using the same mechanics as the aces.....
@@lordgarion514
G'day,
Exactly.
Precisely.
Prezactically,
In fact.
I, too,
Entered my
Corrective
Onto the
Thread.
You might enjoy it (?).
Have a good one,
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
Axis pilots flew until they were killed or the war ended. Not so with the Allies, who flew a set number of missions and were then rotated home for the duration. Sometimes, if they had enough pull and were addicted enough to the thrill of aerial combat, they could get another tour of duty but not very often. Also, some Axis aces got shot down multiple times but were over their own territory and thus not taken prisoner. This makes a big difference in grand totals but made for the grim reality that you were likely to die in the war. That is a terribly stressful life and sometimes in their memoirs they admitted that they just did not know how they survived.
Good point--I'd expect that a lot of those Allied pilots were turn into instructors, which probably increased the overall quality of Allied aviation more than a single ace could.
This is true for British/Commonwealth and American pilots. For countries that got invaded hard like France or China, a lot of those guys did the "fly until death" thing like the axis.
@@FalseNomen That is true. There was a RCAF ace named 'Wally' McLeod who flew in Malta and racked up a big score in his Spitfire V. Eventually he was sent back to Canada but was too addicted to combat and hated military discipline and the comparative boredom of instructing newbies. So he misbehaved until he was given an ultimatum by his superiors. He still refused to behave but cleaned up his act enough that they at length granted him his wish and back to Britain he went. He was joined to Johnny Johnson's Canadian wing as commander of 443 "Hornet" Squadron, and was compared to a gunslinger in the old Westerns by Johnson himself, who thought he had cold deadly eyes and was the best shot he ever saw. In any event, McLeod shot down more Axis pilots, often with an impressively small number of canon rounds, on one occasion downing two FW-190s over Normandy with only 17 rounds! But he was eventually killed in action during the Arnhem offensive in September 1944. He had about 22 victories and probably more. Johnson said on one mission where he was late returning, they could hear him on their radios cursing a German pilot and saying "Take that you !@#$%!!!" But he did not return on this mission, and another pilot in that fight said he saw McLeod climbing after a Luftwaffe fighter into a bank of clouds. It was his last attack. They found him in the wreckage of his Spitfire IX five years later in September 1949.
@@FalseNomen It was normal in RAF Bomber Command for crews, especially pilots, bomb aimers and navigators, to spend time instructing if they survived a tour of 30 operations (a big if). Then they might go on a second tour. I don't know if RAF fighter pilots did the same.
The top 100 aces of WW2 were all German. Cope more.
Should be an honourable mention for George "Buzz" Beurling, the "Falcon of Malta" 27 Axis planes shot down in 14 days over Malta and 31 overall. His story of becoming a RCAF pilot in it's self is a story.
One of his nicknames was screwball, notorious by his commanders and the enemy. Still some claim for what he did he was the greatest Allied fighter pilot of the Second World War.
Where being an ace might be confused with homicidal maniac.
Also, kicked out of battle and eventually the RCAF for having too much fun.
He shot down the exceptional pilot and ace Furio Niclot Doglio and other Regia Aeronautica aces iirc
I was waiting for the video to mention him, I Idolized him as a kid and read up his biography, his perseverance towards becoming a pilot had an impact on me becoming one as well
I remember Pat Pattle from Roald Dahl's autobiography 'Going Solo'. That book was actually a bit of a gateway for me into World War 2 specifically - I'd long been a fan of his children's fiction, so I read first Boy (about his childhood), then 'Going Solo', which has a brief, but intense description of the air battle over the Piraeus in Athens. That made me so excited, I sought out books about the Battle of Britain, and more and more about the war, ending with reading Gordon Prange's Miracle at Midway and At Dawn We Slept in 5th grade (about 10 years old), and a lifelong passion for history.
Anyway, thank you for highlighting Pattle and his (mostly forgotten) ace status.
Was going to mention Dahl but I’m glad someone else did. Going Solo also was profound for me as a kid, and opened up WW2 history for me too. The way the story begins with him in Tanzania, and his servant who decapitated a random German farmer who lived down the war after Dahl told them were at war, really captivated me
Hopefully we can get some others mentioned, like Clive Caldwell, Australia's top ace. 28.5 kills, plus 6 probables and 15 damaged. That includes German, Italian and Japanese planes, which would put him in a rare group of those with kills against the three major axis powers.
Amongst his victims were 3 German aces, with another driven off heavily damaged. And he was also an ace in a day.
While doing most of his kills in a P-40 of all things, when the Germans were getting more advanced Bf-109F models.
The Axis Trifactor, very impressive.
He’s also the pilot with the most victories in the P-40 of all time!
Richard Bong was immortalized in southern Wisconsin with the namesake park Bong recreation area. Stoners decorated countless basements with stolen signs for decades after.
Another one worthy of mention is French pilot Pierre Clostermann,
Who scored 33 kills flying the spitfire Mk IX and the Tempest Mk V with the RAF
I've read his book "The Big Show" , I'd recomend it to any one interested in 2nd WW air forces.
Was hoping to hear his name here too. Read his book as a teenager, made me want to become a fighter pilot like him.
Also worthy of mention, Marcel Albert (Normandy Niemen), 23 victories and one of the few french pilotes awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
3 other aces from the Normandy-Niemen were also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Jacques André (20 victories), Roland de la Poype (16 victories) and Marcel Lefèvre (14 victories).
@@vegirage3224 William Faulkner of this book that it was the best book to come out of WW2
I built models as a kid and my favorite was Bong's P-38 along with Frances Gabreski's P-47. Actually met 2 of Gabreski's flight mates back in 1988 tending bar. Pretty cool experience.
I’m building models again, got Gabreski’s P-47 in my queue, and looking to get Bong’s P-38: Tamiya released a new kit of Marge recently.
@@kudukilla wow. Been a long time for me. My half completed B-29 is still in my closet of my old bedroom. It was the last model I touched before I stopped.
Plus the RAF used to "split" their kills so you have pilots with fractional kills and assists so it's harder to determine definite kill scores. The Luftwaffe used a simpler "one pilot-one kill" system but they were thorough in verifying kills, requiring ground reports of the plane itself going down.
Four-engine bombers, especially American ones which were quite sturdy, often fell victim to a combination of reasons. Flak might damage a bomber so it fell out of formation, then several German fighters might attack it, perhaps more than once. Eventually it might drop low enough that it was ultimately brought down by 20mm flak fire. Who was responsible for the shoot-down was not always easy to determine.
The main reason Axis aces racked up higher kill totals was because they were allowed to remain in combat roles throughout the war. By contrast, Allied aces were transferred from combat squadrons into training roles in order to pass on their skills and knowledge to new pilots.
Another factor: I’ve read that Germany awarded two kills for shooting down a bomber or a Mosquito.
@@rogerknights857 Mossie yes, other bombers no.
@@gedeon2696 But I read in two long comments in this thread that German pilots got two kills for a two-engine plane and three for a four-engine plane. Also, they were given partial kills for damaging a plane. (And maybe for planes shot up on the ground??)
@@rogerknights857 Three points for bringing down a four-engine bomber, is what I read.
and that make them much better experience is equals to 10 years of training
I'm gonna go ahead and up my time ghost membership today. Hopefully the community can fund more episodes like this. Thanks however to curiosity stream anyhow for bringing more history content.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you! The TimeGhost Army always has, and always will, be the core of what makes our channel possible. Means a lot to us to read feedback like this.
Honorable mention for Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, who had 22 confirmed kills whilst flying Spitfires with 2 artificial legs. Shot down over St Omer in August 1941, he became a POW ending up at Colditz after attempting many escapes.
Bader's fellow POWs did not like him. He made fun of their escape attempts and laughed at them when they were caught. That is a glaring piece of bad character!
Minus points for how he helped shaft Keith Park during and after the Battle of Britain. Skilled pilot, yes, arrogant c^nt, also yes.
@@ToddSauve It's what I have heard. Perhaps his abrasiveness was the other side of the personal drive that allowed him to overcome his injuries.
He also played a role in backing Leigh-Mallory against Dowding after the Battle of Britain, after which the latter was sidelined.
Great special here Indy & team. It often seems exciting to follow the stories and tactics of these flying aces. Now I can't wait to see the Axis side of this special as well too!
No need for them, iam watching their war on humanity
Tbh I don't have any interest in German aces or military to me they are all criminals .
Never forget
german aces had insanely high kill counts
@@metinabay6884 German pilots had a saying "You flew until you got either the Iron Cross or the wooden cross". Allied pilots could be rotated out of frontline service if they'd served a number of tours, the Germans couldn't. This is also the reason for the disparity in total scores.
Cheers! Seems like a part 2 is being highly requested, so that might get put on our schedule ;)
@@WorldWarTwo I don’t envy your task! You could take the most well known five aces - Molders, Galland, Marseille, Hartman and Rall, whilst having a side scroll of the other pilots next to Indy. Each section on the list would be arranged by number so for example 50-100, 100-200, 200-300+. You’d never get them all in obviously but you could get enough to get the point across…
Didn't the Polish airman, fighting for Britain also have some pretty impressive Aces in the Battle of Britain ?
There were several poles that became aces in 303 squadron during the Battle of Britain. Jan Zumbach is the one I remember by name but there were others. Several Czech pilots also became aces in the RAF.
They limited themselves to the us, UK, and ussr.
I think most of the allied powers had a few aces.
Stanisław Skalski, the top Polish Ace, is credited with 18.91 kills. This score is possible since the RAF gave fractional credit for planes shot down by multiple pilots.
In the skies above the isles, aces in exile prevails.
Josef Frantisek (Czech) scored 17 confirmed kills in only 4 weeks during the Battle of Britain.
For what I get from this channel, ads don't bother me in the least. Thank you for consistantly presenting what could, and often are, dreary subjects in a captivating way. Kudos.
If you haven't already, how about a spot about John Thach: the great American air tactician who developed great air fighter manoeuvres like the Thach Weave that helped equal the odds against the Japanese Zeroes, and the Big Blue Blanket, which was an effective defence against the kamikaze attacks?
I hope you guyscan back with special episodes. Like who did what, about units like Brazilian Exp Force or the Black Panther Battalion. Great job!
We're working on expanding the amount of specials we do quite significantly, the occasional sponsor will enable us to pump up the output!
SPOILER
I had a chance encounter with a very old man in a Dortmund bookstore some years ago. Totally out of the blue, he said he had been a Luftwaffe fighter pilot in early 1945. He was fighting the Red Air Force in the Danzig area. He described it as "hell". I don't know if he ever wrote memoirs.
As Johnnie Johnson's mates would state during his episode of "This is your life", what set him apart was that he was an excellent shot. He had been hunting quail since he was a boy and could place his bullets exactly where he knew the enemy aircraft would be. Likewise George Buerling (top Canadian ace) and Hans-Joachim Marseille (top German ace in North Africa and possible Germany's greatest pilot of all, had he not been killed in an accident) were experts at deflection shooting. This is what really set many aces apart and really would allow them to score a kill when an average pilot would have no chance of hitting what he was aiming at, unless he got in very close. Improved Allied gunsights with lead calculation that would appear in the second half of 1944 would actually improve the scores of many average Allied pilots, but many aces stuck with non-computing gunsights as they could perform better without them.
The other type of ace were those that excelled at stalk and ambush tactics and energy management, (such as Dick Bong and Erich Hartmann, all-time aces of aces) picking the right time to attack from above and usually with the sun behind them, they would kill their prey without being seen and then disappear again in a zoom climb.
In fact most pilots then and even during the jet age would be shot down by an enemy they had never even seen. Johnnie Johnson would talk about the strain on his neck and muscles he developed there as his head was constantly on a swivel.
I’m happy you guys are getting some extra support from curiosity!
My father was in the 1089th signal company 5th Army Airforce who serviced Bong's P38 radio. Bong was nearly killed on one mission when a 30mm shell went through his canopy barely missing his head.
Gifted storyteller - animated, sincere, and compelling delivery. Well done!!!
On note on the designation of Soviet aircraft. The Lavochkin La-5 is NOT an "Ell- eh" 5, but rather said as Lah-5, the Petlyakov Pe-2 is a "pee 2". The exception is the Polikarov I-16, 15, 153 family which, having a pre 1938 introduction to VVS (Red Air Force) service were designated as the "E-16" (Russian pronunciation of "I" in the Cryrillic alphabet) etc. Yet the biplane Polilarpov Po-2 ( Pooh 2) was originally a civil plane and continued to use that designation in service despite being assigned an "I" number. Tupplev was " Too", and yakovlev obviously was "Yak" as Ya was too close to both "Ja" (German) and to the Russian "Da" when heard over radios. The Luftwaffe overheard the word "Yak" so frequently that "Yak" became their equivalent call to "Bandits!", a general sighting of the enemy of any kind...
Delightful! I love to learn little tidbits like this.
Pe-2 is pronounced "pyeh 2"
Po is said more like "PAh"(British) or "POgh" (American)
I in I-16 and earlier comes from истребитель - fighter, it is not referring to a brand or design bureau.
Yak ( як ) is two letters in Cyrillic
Round two question: Me 109 or Bf 109?
You'd think that the pronounciation of La-5 or Pe-2 would be obvious. There's a reason why only the first letter is capitalised. It does get confusing with MiG (Mikoyan-Gurevich) or LaGG (Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov). But reading doesn't seem to be the strongest suite of most people nowadays, especially on the internet.
In another category of Ally Aces need to highlight Richard Halsey Best, who scored two aircraft carriers in one battle. Quite an impact
Appreciated the curiosity stream sponsorship
What Johnnie Johnson proposed, Poles proposed already in 1940 because they flew similarly, drawing conclusions from the lessons of 1939. This is one of the many factors that have helped them become so successful.
This video was very nice. Can't wait to hear about Axis flying Aces. Including the Italian ones. Because their was at least one.
I remember hearing there were some Italian pilots that scored Allied and Axis kills. Wonder if that will be mentioned at all.
@@MandalorV7---Yes I heard about one that managed both. I just can't remember his name. But for any Italian to score any kind of victory in WWII is pretty remarkable. Messes around with the image that the Italian military was just one big loser. Thanks for responding.
I would think there would be several Finnish and Romanian aces also.
@@Gooseneck41---That wouldn't surprise me at all. I hope they get mentioned in a future video. Thanks.
Other notable Allied aces were Clive "Killer" Caldwell, RAAF 28 1/2 kills, George "Buzz" Beurling (Canadian) 31 kills, Pierre Clostermann 33 kills. One French ace fought under three flags- Marcel Albert. 23 kills.
One American ace worth noting is Joe Foss. He had the same number of kills as Rickenbacker before Rickenbacker's record was surpassed.
For football fans who are interested, Foss was the first commissioner of the AFL (American Football League; rival to the NFL before they merged in 1970) for a little over half of the 60s.
New Years Day was the 20th anniversary of Foss' death. He died 3 and a half weeks before my grandfather died. My grandfather was in the Army Air Corps, arrived a few weeks after D-Day, and did bombing missions over Germany.
Also former governor of South Dakota and the answer to a question on a famous 1950s game show when a young Tom Brokaw was a contestant.
8:15 The Name “Dick Bong,” is now burned into my memory.
Thanks, guys.
Who doesn't love a good Dick Bong
Story
Awwww . How sad that Richard Bong died just after the war . He deserved a long and happy life with his wife after his heroic fights in WW2 .
Rest in peace Mr Bong , you are a hero sir
Vernon Crompton Woodward, who flew with Pat Pattle is a distant relative of mine. His Grandmother was my Great-Great Grandfather's sister, making him my 2nd Cousin, Twice Removed. He was born in Canada, but ended up serving in the RAF due to the RCAF wanting it's pilots to have graduated from university. He served in No.33 Squadron and claimed 18 victories and 4 shared victories, mostly against Italian pilots. His last victory was against a Ju 88 in July of 1941. He then spent the rest of the war training pilots in Rhodesia and doing various staff duties in the Africa and the Middle East. By the end of the war he commanded the Mediterranean Middle East Communications Squadron. He stayed in the RAF until 1963 and moved to Australia, before returning to Canada. He died in the year 2000 at the age of 83 and his 18+4 victories and a couple of unconfirmed/probable makes him Canada's 2nd or 3rd highest scoring Ace of WWII. During the war he was awarded the DFC and Bar.
In the photo at 3:35 Vernon can be seen 2nd from the left, wearing his flight Jacket and googles.
Here's a well written website if you'd like to learn more about him. surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/commonwealth_woodward.htm
Bong also studied the gun sight when at home and added to his count when he returned to combat. Said if he had know this on his first tour his score would have been much higher
Done that looking for downed aircraft stuff. In Sarawak next to Borneo and Brunei. Was stationed in Brunei att with a flight of helicopters.
It was a request from Shell who had a large presence there. They had heard of a downed Dutch aircraft from the 2nd WW.
So we got diplomatic permission and started. We lifted off early morning, flew into Sarawak. I was then hoisted down through the canopy with a chainsaw and a jerrycan of petrol thrown after me. My job...cut a safe LZ for the other team members to land.
So team arrived, found a group of local Ibans and with a mixture of Dutch, English and hand signs managed to get our message across. They went off and came back with an old man who knew approximately where it came down.
As with anything that lands up in a tropical rain forest it eventually sinks. But we were armed with our 2m proders.
Long story short: after many sweaty hours we got a clunk. Started to excavate, hit the cockpit with the pilot still inside so stopped immediately. Marked the place as best we could with our proders and black and yellow tape. Evac back to Brunei, informed Shell who got onto the Dutch government who, in turn, got permission to exhume the body and ship it back to Holland for a military funeral. Even made the papers.
Timing of this was pretty cool! I am partway through a Biography on Erich Hartmann, opening up to find this video got me excited!
Yes! I have been waiting for an episode as this. I am very interested in flying aces. How many pilots across the world fly, zip, and zoom to get a kill in the sky. Wether it be over the skies of Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia, or in the Pacific. All of these aces and many more had made their mark by having tactics they use that helped them succeed. Overall very well made video of the Allied Aces of World War Two. Hopefully we can see the top Axis Aces such as Han Joachim Marseille, the Star of Africa. Godspeed.
That would definitely need to have Ilmari Juutilainen and Saburo Sakai in them. Sakai especially had colorful live after the war.
I'm surprised that neither South African ace, Adolph Gysbert "Sailor" Malan, serving with the RAF, or Robert Roland Stanford Tuck, among many other RAF aces with 20+ confirmed victories, weren't mentioned. Also the top scoring Polish ace, Stanisław Skalski, who was the first Allied ace, getting six kills of Luftwaffe aircraft in the September 1939 Polish campaign; he'd shoot down twelve more with the RAF.
It is worth mentioning on which aircraft (P-11c) Skalski scored 6 victories, it was an obsolete aircraft. German bombers were able to escape him. When Poles fought in England on Hurricanes, they were surprised that they could get close to the enemy so easily.
I'm still catching up on The Great War... It's 1917 and the U.S. just joined. Glad to see I have something to look forward to afterwards
No spoilers then
Looking forward to the Vietnam War in 2064
@@yourstruly4817 what about the Korean War, tho
Top Canadian ace: George Beurling - 31.333 kills
Top French ace is a bit trickier...Pierre Clostermann claimed and was credited with 33 kills, but modern research has his score at 11 aeriel kills, the other 22 being destroyed on the ground.
Top Polish ace: Stanislaw Skalski - 22 11/12 kills, interestingly enough was the first allied ace of WW2
I love the Gladiator
Another allied Ace from Australia.
Clive Robertson Caldwell, DSO, DFC & Bar (28 July 1911 - 5 August 1994) was the leading Australian air ace of World War II. He is officially credited with shooting down 28.5 enemy aircraft in over 300 operational sorties, including an ace in a day. In addition to his official score, he has been ascribed six probables and 15 damaged.[1][2] Caldwell flew Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks and Kittyhawks in the North African Campaign and Supermarine Spitfires in the South West Pacific Theatre. He was the highest-scoring P-40 pilot from any air force and the highest-scoring Allied pilot in North Africa.[3] Caldwell also commanded a Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron and two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wings. His military service ended in controversy, when he resigned in protest at the misuse of Australian First Tactical Air Force's fighter units and was later court martialed and convicted for trading liquor.
Source, Wikipedia.
How about the Finns?
After a huge number of Luftwaffe pilots, there are two Finns, Ilmari Juutilainen and Hasse Wind, in addition to some Japanese dude.
Juutilainen and Wind scored some 100 kills.
The first ace in the WW II was Jorma Sarvanto, and his record of downing six Russian DB-2s in just four minutes remains the record to the date.
5:19 Watching your show I was under the impression that there had been no allied bombing over France at that time yet, only on Germany.
excellent video, sponsorship well integrated. Nice!
No guided missiles, no lasers, no computers
Just real Warriors of the Sky with their planes, guns and courage
You missed Canada's favourite maniac Screwball Beurling, with 31.5 confimed kills and probably a couple more than that. But given its reputation I can see why! Great video, can't wait to see the Axis edition!
Bong Airbase was one of my Grandma's favorite summer nature walk areas. When i got into my teens I would giggle at the name but always enjoyed it. I didnt know the story behind the name until I was an adult. I cant help but remember summer walks thru nature when I hear about Bong, all the talk about air combat and im just picturing a pleasant field with a trail mowed thru it. fkkin weird.
Fighter pilots are the most self-reliant or self-dependent combatants. They are alone in the vehicle, which does belong to a wing, but in the end, it's all up to that single pilot in the airplane to make all the decisions during combat, apart from general orders. They are also isolated high up in the sky, an unnatural element for a human, so if the vehicle ceases to function, they'd be lucky to survive. In addition to what was said in the video, this is why the individual pilot is so emphasized.
If the aircraft ceases to function It’s not that bad. An aircraft is first and foremost a glider with an engine.
@@RonJeremy514 It's relative what's bad and what's not, but we are talking about war time here. The airplane might be in a pretty rough shape when it ceases to function.
Highest-scoring non-German fighter pilot: Sergeant-Major Ilmari "Illu" Juutilainen of Finnish Air Force. 126 claims, 94 confirms, never lost a wingman, first radar-assisted victory by Finnish pilot and one of four double-winners of Mannerheim Cross and only once forced to land by AA-fire. Flew Fokker D.XXI, Brester Buffalo and Messerschmitt Bf-109G.
Svein Heglund DSO DFC was the top Norwegian ace in the war shooting down 16 German planes. He was awarded the Norwegian War Cross with two Swords and the British Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross.
Top kar han Heglund:D
I am just a little sad you didn't mention the French Pierre Clostermann and his 33 victories in RAF service.
There are also definitely Czechs and Poles who deserve to be honoured.
❤
His book is a must read and certainly questions some of the held believes concerning the declining effectiveness of the Luftwaffe.
@@nickhtk6285 Agreed. Clostermann's book very easy to pick up, and a great read all around.
Hope you do a video on several nation's aces.
Joachim Marseille and Saburo Sakai would be my personal favourites.
got a liking for the enemy?
@@grahamlowe7388 troll much?
all those night witch flyers were amazing , love their story , scaring the germans with biplanes and laughing amazing!
Thanks for compiling and sharing these incredible stories. I understand how you have to draw the line somewhere with SO MANY available stories. Hell, you could almost produce a full month of nothing but fighter pilot stories. I’m looking forward to the upcoming Axis stories and wonder if your going to profile Italian and Japanese aces in addition to the more familiar German aces. Keep up the great work! 💚
I know there end up being so many that you can't talk about all of them.
My 2 favorites are O'Hare who cut his teeth in the Buffalo, and would work to change Navy Fighter tactics, and pioneer night fighting on carriers.
My other is whom I believe to be the first chronological USN Ace in the Pacific, and the person whose acts would earn him the first chronological MoH in the Pacific of WW2: "Hammering Hank" Elrod.
He was part of VMF 211 off Wake Island, and shot down several planes, and is credit with at least one ship kill. He was later killed defending a gun battery with a Tommy gun. He would not receive his MoH until after others, but his actions for it predate the others.
These Chaps were like the Formula1 Drivers of the War
Super fan of the ""classical musical piece" when the "rational poetry" about the fusion of the human brilliance with the power of the most advanced machines... I'll vote you if i ever can, mesmerizing. That makes you legends 👏👏👏👏👏👏🤘🤘
hello guys and gals at Worls War Two. Couls you do a third episode about fighter aces from smaller countries like Finland, Czechoslavakia, Poland, France and others?
Pierre Closterman (France), Pierre Le Gloan (France), Josef Frantisek (Cz), Ilmari Juutilainen(Fin), Witold Urbanowicz (Poland) are just some of the people who deserve to have their story told.
You should mention in part two that the axis aces were kept on the front to rack up big numbers, while most allied aces were pulled bak to train the massive waves of new pilots.
They werent justt "kept there to rack up numbers" but also because they had much more missions and targets but far few avaible pilots.
Thank you for the lesson and the stories.
In the skies above the isles, aces in exile prevail
Nice to see a South African mentioned. Greetings from ZA! 🇿🇦
no one’s going to talk about how the top US ace of WW2 was called “Dick Bong”? Sounds like a south park joke.
Bong's father was a Swedish immigrant, and the name Bong can also be an Austrian or South German one.
Australia's top ace was "Killer" Caldwell, I think. He cut his teeth in North Africa against some of the top Luftwaffe pilots and his exploits read something like Biggles. Unable to master "deflection" he developed his own method of training, firing at his plane's shadow on the desert floor and it was so effective, it was adopted as a training method. The second half of his career was in Australia, leading a squadron of spitfires, defending Darwin against the Japanese and later in Borneo. Whilst he did add to his tally which I thought was an Empire record, he did a number of things that severely detracted from his career..
Erich Hartmann deserves his own episode.
Great show Indy!! Thank you for the run down on Bong...As an American, his story always fascinated me
Great episode, as I have long been a student of WW2 Aces. Funny story, when I was a young man in the army back in the Vietnam era, most of my commanding officers had been veterans of WW2, or the Korean war. The Major that I served under had a nickname for me. My last name was Johnson, but not John. That didn't matter as he always called my Johnny. He still had that heroes name stuck in his head long afterwards. I wore the nickname with pride!
I believe in the RAF a wing is below a group, while in the USAAF (and later USAF) a wing is above a group. This causes some confusion because a RAF wing commander is equivalent to a USAAF group commander (Lt Col) and a RAF Group Captain is equivalent to a USAAF Wing Commander (Colonel). It becomes even more confusing when you throw in Royal Navy rank where a Wing Captain equals a RAF Group Captain or USAAF Wing Commander (Colonel). Is all this clear as mud?
Just read JJ's book full circle. Great read. He states Adolf 'Sailor' Malan's and Pat Pattle's record (both South African) in the earlier years is more impressive than his due to the number, quality and relative technology levels of the Axis at that time.
Great job. Love this! Can hardly wait for the next one.
Cheers! Glad to hear you enjoyed!
Thanks!
The Richard Bong Bridge connects Duluth, Minn., with Superior, Wisc., not far from his hometown of Poplar, Wisc.
Just south of Milwaukee, WI, there is a state (?) park off I-94 called “Bong Recreation Area” named after Dick Bong
There better be mention of Ilari Juutilainen, the highest scoring non-german pilot in ww2.
no mention
Definitely do the Part 2!!
If getting sponsorship means you guys make even better content, and that sponsorship comes from relevant places like Curiosity, I'm all for it ! This was a great special episode !
Please cover the "Night witches". Soviet women squadron. They were fearless and legendary.
French air force in WW1: If you shoot down 5 planes, you're officially an ace
Meanwhile BF1 players shooting down 15 planes in a single game: Amateurs
Please part 2!!!!!
You should do a special on the woman aces of the Soviet Union!
I've always been told that if they're American, it's "Saint John". If they're British/Aussie/South African, it's "Sin-jin".
I recently watched a video where the author broke down the average number of missions flown per victory. The German aces often flew over a thousand missions and the author's point was that the great numbers of victories were entirely believable given the sheer numbers of missions flown. The number of missions per victory wasn't any greater than Allied aces, but flew 10 to 20 times (or more) more missions than the Allied aces.
That was most likely Gregs Video @GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles
That's true. And far fewer of them survived the war too. Law of averages catches up.
@@SheriffsSimShack yup
That policy was attributable to the Luftwaffe (and a certain fat man) failing to reform itself as a wartime Air Force. They had limited recruiting and training pools and only ramped-up pilot training in 1943-1944, but by then the Allies and Soviets were producing far more planes and pilots than they ever could. This meant that they were sending waves of raw pilots and a handful of veteran pilots against swarms of well-trained Allied pilots- and why the Germans lost so many planes in 1944-1945 despite peaking production numbers.
@@petercollingwood522 When researching his book on the Hamburg air raids of summer 1943, Martin Middlebrook noted that he had trouble finding German day fighter pilots involved - the wartime attrition they suffered was so great. Night fighter pilots or crew were easier to find and interview - more of them survived the war. One day fighter pilot he did interview described flying a 109 with an experimental 30mm cannon. He approached a B17 and managed to shoot off a tailplane and it later crashed, with four of the crew killed and six taken prisoner. However, the 109 pilot had to bail out as his fighter had been hit by defensive fire. He was severely injured in the parachute landing and never flew again.
I'm totally cool with sponsors like this if it fits the story being told.
Excellent special TGA!! Always a class act Indy!
Cheers David!
Nice video! One book I must suggest before the Axis video is published (so that the content remains accurate and relevant for views in the futures) is Verified Victories: Top JG 52 Aces Over Hungary 1944-45. This book deals with 4 of those '15' aces you talk about.
Hi Indy
Specials are superb to watch.
Thanks.
Thank you! And thanks for your continued support!
What about France's ww2 aces such as Pierre-Henri Clostermann or Marcel Albert?
Col. Lindberg got 2 Zeros while evaluating the P-38 with the 475th Fighter Group
Interesting fact: Polish ace Witold Urbanowicz (during the Battle of Britain was the commander of the famous Polish 303 Squadron) was never hit by the enemy with even a single bullet. He was officially credited with 19 kills, but he had a different opinion. “I have been asked many times about my record of kills during the Second World War. Different sources give different numbers, so I'm presenting the facts. In the Battle of Britain I shot down 17 planes, in the Far East 11, of which 6 planes were shot down during combat, and 5 planes during attacks on Japanese airfields in China and Taiwan, at the time of take-off or landing. After returning from China in 1944, I submitted the documents to the Polish Aviation Inspectorate in London". In 1939 he was 31yo and had 1 kill before the war (russian plane)
Australia's top ace was Clive "Killer" Caldwell with 28.5 kills - he earned the nickname killer for often shooting down parachuting enemy pilots!
Yeah, he definitely broke the unwritten rules of air combat by shooting down parachuting pilots
I Can't Wait for the Video On German Flying Aces They Make Allies Aces Numbers Look Like Rookie Numbers
There is another element tp the allure of the fighter pilot, and that is the cleanness of it. Fighter pilots kill fighter pilots, bomber pilots, in any case soldiers, who have something of a "fair chance". It's just less messy than the ground war, there there are always civilians about, even if one's side is trying to fight a clean war.
Mind, once you look more closely, a lot of the top aces stress the same factors Richthofen did: surprise, rapid approach, firing from a short distance to ensure a kill, then getting the hell out before you need to dogfight.
Amongst the Flying Aces of World War Two there were two Spanish aviators: one on the Axis side and the other on the Allied side, both on the eastern front.
On the Axis side, the Spanish flying ace was Ángel Salas Larrazábal, leader of the Escuadrilla Azul (Blue Squadron) that had been sent together with the Blue Division as "volunteers against the USSR". He scored 16 aerial victories in the Spanish Civil War, which got him promoted to Comandante (Mayor) in the Ejército del Aire, the Nationalist Airforce, and it was with this rank that he was sent as head of the Escuadrilla Azul. They were assigned to the JG-27 of Wolfram von Richstofen, whom ironically had been to Spain as leader of the Condor Legion (the air group sent from the Luftwaffe to assist the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War). His squadron had 14 confirmed kills, of which 7 were his.
After WW2, he acted as military attaché in Germany and later in Portugal, and afterwards he was the first Spanish pilot to ever fly a jet plane. In 1972, he was named as chief of the "Mando de Aviación Táctica" (MATAC), which stands for "Tactical Aviation Command", and in 1991 he was given the honorific rank of Capitán General del Ejército del Aire, which is the maximum rank in the Spanish military. He died four years later. In 2016, some of his medals and condecorations were revoked due to being related to the Francoist dictatorship.
On the Allied side, the Spanish flying ace was José María Bravo, whom had served in the Fuerzas Aéreas de la República Española (Republican Airforce) during the Spanish Civil War, scoring 23 aerial victories and rising from pilot (sergeant) to captain, having received training in the USSR and flying on Polikarpov I-15 (known as "Chato", "Noseless" by the Spanish soldiers) and I-16 (known as "Mosca", "Fly" by the Republicans and "Rata", "Rat" by the Nationalists). He fled Spain to France, with his final destination being Kharkhov, in the USSR. In 1941, when the Germans invaded, he tried to enlist on the Soviet Military Air Service, but was refused, so he joined a unit of marine commandos until his request was finnaly accepted in 1942. He quickly rose to the rank of squadron leader in the Soviet Airforce, and in 1943 his squadron was the one to escort Stalin's plane during the trip to the Teheran conference. After WW2, he left the Soviet Airforce and worked as a teacher of Spanish language in the USSR until 1960, year in which he was allowed back to Spain. In 1976, after Franco's death, he founded the ADAR (Asociación De Aviadores de la República - Association Of Republican Aviators), which included veterans that fought on the Republican Airforce during the SCW, which requested to be restored to their old ranks in the Airforce (now Real Ejército del Aire), which they archieved, and in fact, considering all his work and his experiences during WW2 he was given the rank of colonel in 1978. He also collaborated with the Fundación Infante de Orleans, which is a Spanish Foundation which has as objective to acquire, restore to working conditions and maintain historical aircraft. With his help, they managed to acquire and restore a Soviet I-16, which was painted with the same markings than the plane he had flown during the Spanish Civil War. He died in 2009.
In the case of the Spanish Republican, I can only imagine that mounting casualties made them more willing to use a foreigner as a combat pilot after initial reluctance. The same reluctance was initially shown towards Poles and Czechs in 1940 - there were doubts about them understanding English communications over the radio.
@@stevekaczynski3793 Given that he had previously received training in the USSR in 1936, spoke Russian and was familiar with Soviet military terminology, I doubt it, but it's plausible.
Please do a special about tank aces as well!
Luigi gorrini 1917-2014 greatest italian ace of Second world war
Don't forget paddy finucane at 22 the Young irishman was or is the youngest ever wing commander in the raf...had a shamrock painted on the nose of his spitfire,went down in the English Channel in 42 off the coast of France...
I lived for a year in Rathmines, where Finucane was born.
Its the first add on the channel!!! After so many years!
My Dad grew up near Dick Bong's hometown in Wisconsin and tells the story of reading the local wartime reports in the local newspaper and reading headlines of "Bong Bags Another!"