Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cwjcc!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military
From: m1b@rayssd.RAY.COM (M. Joseph Barone)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: dogfighting
Keywords: Erich Hartmann
Message-ID: <7295@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 9 Jun 89 03:28:31 GMT
References: <7022@cbnews.ATT.COM> <7128@cbnews.ATT.COM> <7210@cbnews.ATT.COM>
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From: m1b@rayssd.RAY.COM (M. Joseph Barone)

In article <7210@cbnews.ATT.COM> sun!Central!uokmax!jkmedcal@uunet.UU.NET
(Jeff K Medcalf) writes:
> 
> >Erich Hartmann avoided them at all costs --
> >and it's hard to argue with the top-scoring ace of all time, 352 confirmed
> >kills (WW2 Eastern front), never even scratched, never lost a wingman.
> 
> But remember that during WW2, German pilots also counted kills on the ground,
> rather than solely in the air.  And since 90+% of the prewar Soviet Air Force
> was destroyed on the ground, as were much of the French and Belgian Air Forces
> German fighter kills tend to be unrealistic.  I think that the top scoring ace
> of WW2 in air kills only was British, but I don't remember for sure.

Unfortunately, this statement cannot be made concerning Erich Hartmann.
Erich Hartmann's first kill was on November 5, 1942.  Another interesting
claim he holds is that his downing of a Yak 11 on May 8, 1945 was the
last known Luftwaffe aerial claim of the war.
-- 
Joe Barone ------------------------> m1b@rayssd.RAY.COM
{gatech, decuac, sun, necntc, ukma, uiucdcs}!rayssd!m1b
Occupation: Former historian, now a demon.