Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!psuvax1!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: shafer@drynix (Mary Shafer)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Luftwaffe, comments, etc.
Message-ID: <10791@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 31 Oct 89 04:06:20 GMT
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Lines: 27
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: Mary Shafer <shafer@drynix>
Another element in the British success in the Battle of Britain is the
"home field advantage".

When a British airplane was shot down over Britain, the crew was
frequently saved.  It's a great deal easier to produce a new airplane
than to produce a new crew.  

When Luftwaffe airplanes were shot down over Britain, both the
airplane and the crew were lost to the Germans.

Of course, the tables were turned when the Allies started bombing
Europe.

This same effect worked to the US's disadvantage in Viet Nam.

BTW, my uncle was a B-17 navigator who was shot down over Ploesti (in
_the_ raid) and smuggled out by the Resistance.  When he rejoined the
US forces, he went back to flying almost immediately.  Air crew were
very valuable.

--
Mary Shafer   shafer@elxsi.dfrf.nasa.gov  ames!elxsi.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer
         NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
                    Of course I don't speak for NASA