The music was of all things written by English composer Ron Goodwin for the film "The Battle of Britain" and the track is called "Aces High" I like it.
we all have something we are naturaly good at. For instance america is famed mostly for its snipers and sharpshooters coz they invented it. Britain is historicaly renowned for its naval victories coz they invented naval warfare. Germany are historicaly the best at ariel combat coz guess what.... they invented it. Remember the "Dicta Boelke" any one?
There is something about the German fighter aces, they have always had a fascination for me. Maybe because my old Pop was a WOP/AG on Lancasters.
I had the good fortune of working in Germany and visited the museum named to 'Jochen' Marseilles at Uetersen. Also visiting the supposed crash site of Gunther Lutzow near the MBB plant at Donauworth.
They don't get the recognition deserved. No tours of 25 or 30 trips for bombers or ops for fighters, just go for it 'til you die!
Beautiful Film!!! Wer wirklich über Jagdflieger mitreden möchte, muß "Das waren die deutschen Jagdflieger-Asse 1939-1945" von Raymond F. Toliver und Trevor J. Constable gelesen haben – ein wahrer "innerer Vorbeimarsch"!!! Hartmann, Galland, Mölders, Nowotny, Marseille usw. werden und dürfen wir NIE vergessen!!! .....+++.....Unbedingt DER NATIONALE DOPPELROMAN (einfach googeln) von Andreas J. Voigt lesen!
A great video! There were atleast 100 german experten who scored 100 or more victories. The video shows a fraction of them. Not to mention pilots who were aces by western standard with 5 kills!
Great job. A fine presentation of the best of the best...but 3 omissions which you probably already know but I will mention in case you ever edit this fine vid. Gunther Rall, Josef Preis, and Walter Krupinski are the 3 that come to mind. I love "Dolfo" Galland. On his plane he had a pic of Mickey Mouse with a cigar on his lower lip and brandishing a pistol and a hatchet. Search Galland maus and you will see it.
This a dignified and worthy tribute to some very brave men. My father served in the RAF during the war and had nothing but praise for the basic decency of Luftwaffe aircrew. Excellent video.
The Luftwaffe pilots were the best and bravest of WWII. Sadly, these people can never receive the same respect and honor that their Allied counterparts did because of the Holocaust and other attrocities. People forget that not all Germans were Nazis (especially after 1942) including many of these pilots. I don't believe the legacy of the German people should be based on one horrible deed.
Few facts. The Germans had 105 pilots with over 100 kills. The most successfull non-german pilot was a finn, Eino Juutilainen (94 kills), afterwhich comes the japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa with 87. The best Allied was a Soviet, not american, Ivan Kozhedub with 62. The best american was Richard Bong with 40 kills, and even a croatian and a romanian ace have that killcount beaten.
One reason for this is the simple fact that not as many aces from these countries survived the war in comparison with their former foes. This is especially true among the Japanese aces, among whose ranks attrition rates were horrendous from late 1943 on, as the new generation Allied fighter designs decisively wrested air superiority from the Zeros and Hayabusas that had earlier ruled the skies over the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
@AvatarAlphaOmega Agreed, the only episode which ever talked about any aces outside of allied forces was the one about WWI which they atleast mentioned famous aces like Richthofen and Voss, though they gave Voss one heck of a glorious moment in that episode since he was involved in one of the most famous dog fights in history vs a flight of SE5as.
Great pilots!! Dolfi Galland was a good man. He actually mutinied against Goering. He was tired and frustrated with Goering's incompetence. He just about lost his life because of it.
The German aces were great, but you have to remember that most of them started in the Spanish Civil War, where opposition was poor, at best. U.S. pilots, although lower scoring, were the best trained of any. The Tuskeegee Airmen only had one ace, but they are one of the most renowned groups of WWII.
@Magi192 Marseille was a great fighter, and his tactic worked well against defensive circle that the Brits used mainly because their planes were not as good as the Bf 109. Most Marseilles victories were p-40s and hurricanes, which both were obsolete models and no match to bf 109 f. But still when Jochen sat in the cockpit, his plane and him became one. He mastered his machine perfectly and was able to fly it the way that was nearly impossible to be repeated by any other pilot.
great video tribute, i loved it. Indeed they were all soldiers, no matter what side they were on. Hope to see another such video, if you're willing to make one.
and what about Walter "graf" Krupinski? 197 kills if I remember correctly ... his ancestors were Polish so I think he should have fought for us, but still, politics aside, one of the best German pilots
Also amazing is how they kept going for over 1000+ sorties without losing the plot or burning out physically, as a result of the Luftwaffe " Fly till you die" no rotation policy!
Isn't it interesting that the leading German ace of WW2 shot down more than 4 times the number of the leading German ace of WW1, and the leading Allied ace of WW2 shot down LESS than the leading allied ace of WW1? lol
Did you know that, Walter "Nowi" Nowonty was the first leader of a jet fighter group? The fighter group flew the new Me 262 jet fighter, and his plane had a white #8 on it. Unfortunatly, he was shot down while landing.
Don´t forget for whom they fought....their deeds made the atrocities on nthe ground and behind the lines possible. Sure, they achieved astonishing records, but they fought for the devil himself and most of them knew it. They weren´t stupid.
you do know you dont hawe a clue what you are talking about, they fought for youre country not hitler.. ok my parents knowed eric hartmann and he was no nazi. ok. he wasent in the ss devisions in luftwaffe,., and many other german pilots did the same as him.. they fought for there country.. got mit ons. from sweden-
Would anyone like to see the History Channel do a series of their DOG FIGHTS series of Dog Fights of the AXIS and show some of Adolf Galland wins in a Me-262?????
According to an interview with WW2 magazine's Colin Heaton, Adolf Galland admitted to flying shirtless and in swimming trunks while flying in Spain.
WWII: Is it true you often flew in swimming trunks and shirtless?
Galland: Yes, I flew over 300 missions as a leader, and due to the great heat of the Spanish summer we often flew with hardly any clothes on. That was another innovation we created.
i think the victories are also related to the system and involvement of the air force you are in. Germany seems to have a lot of aces for the reason that they are in the war longer (coz they started it) and they let their pilot fly till they are killed, unlike the US that the pilots are in rotation to teach the younger greener pilots and they found action later in the war
Nice vid! Some Information about Erich Rudorffer:"He scored seven victories in seven minutes on 11 October1943, including his 100th, but his finest achievement occurred on 6 November when in the course of 17 minutes, 13 Russian aircraft fell to his guns! "
Yes - the fighter pilots had honour amongst themselves. No matter which side they were on. You can still hear the respect in their voices. Even British/US pilots versus German & Japanese pilots. All did the job that was asked of them by their country at the time.
They all had their job to do - the brilliant and lucky survived - the lesser perished. No matter which way you look at it - they all had balls. Big ones. That kind of respect rarely transcends international borders. Hats off to you.
There's lots of stories of mutual respect between fighter pilots on the two sides. Then again theirs is a game of more finesse than the savagery that is required in close combat infantry war.
BEUTIFUL. im definately adding this song to my IPOD. Respect to the pilots who have won ACE titels. I promise I will go to all of these aces graves when im odler. Especially Erich Hartmann's .
Man I just read the interview of Adolf Galland he sounds likes a really good man and some one you would want to chat with, its amazing what he went through and lived to such an old age. I suggest you take the 10 min to read that article
basicly that goes for almost any soldier. just because someone is on the other side, doesn't mean that he's a bad person. look at what german pilots did with shot down RAF pilots that survived: they took them to their Offizierkasino (officer casino, a sort of pub just for officers) and they were chatting with them. i read that in an english book about ww2 planes and the title for the picture was "still a gentleman's war". many soldiers could have been friends if they would not have been enemies
Germans started training very young teenage boys (12-14yrs)the sport of gliders during the mid 20s'.Private glider clubs were actually secretly funded by the military.Flight schools were disguised as commuter flight businesses and only the top candidates made it this far. After, prospective pilots went to further,in classroom flight school, followed by a year in practical military service.The top students went to flight academy. all this was coordinated perfectly to the outbreak of war.
bah, no one knows of any of these pilots, every1 likes the guys who 'won' the war, annd they know of is all these british aces, i ask em, u kno adolf galland? and they say no, but his a nazi i think. ffs they dont teach much in school anymore
@korgond You have to know that they flew on a variety of fronts and or engaged in hundreds of combats and upwards of 1000 missons. Most also were someone elses victory sometimes several times over and survived to fight again. It also helped that we kept throwing thousands of planes (targets!?!) at them. Truly they do command respect even if they were on the other side of the fence.
Hitler was a bad dude, but it's not like Stalin was any better. Right or wrong, personal bravery in battle must be respected, the men/pilot portrayed here didnt run and hid from a fight; unlike GW Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Paul Wolfowitz etc etc.
If you all really want to know about the experten of the luftwaffe.. read the book by Osprey - JG 52 - The experten!!
Osprey has a great introduction about how to measure a combat units effectiveness..
The book claims the Russians lost over 45,000 planes in WW2. This unit shot down over 10,000 planes. The pilots in this unit - alot of them are in this great video. Hartman, etc...
If you do any research on this unit my respect for the units combat effectiveness goes up another notch.
Am betting one of the reasons Eric Hartman didnt follow the course of similar aces like tank ace Michael Whitman and surviving the war was because of hes great backup.
It was probably sound of him not to join the ME262 program. You need good backup to stay alive for those situations when you do the tactical sound thing, but that fails because a unique situation happens. No matter how good you are, at some point in time, it will happen.
"I was warned that I had several (P51's) on my tail .., a swarm of eight Americans behind me. That is a very uncomfortable feeling I can tell you! .. I had to bail out. I was certain that this one pilot was lining me up for a strafe, but he banked away and looked at me, waving. . That day we lost half our aircraft; we were too outnumbered and many of the young pilots were inexperienced."
Only Erich Rudorffer is still alive, the remainder deceased during the following years: Josef Priller in 1961 / Hans Hahn in 1982 / Werner Molders in 1941 / Anton Hackl in 1984 / Helmut Lipfert in 1990 / Anton Hafner in 1944 (KIA)/ Herman Graf in 1988 / Heinz Pritzel in 1957 / Wilhem Batz in 1988 / Walter Nowotny in 1944 (KIA)/ Gerhard Barkhorn in 1983 / Erich Hartmann in 1993 / Marseille in 1942 (KIA) / Gunther Lutzow in 1945 (MIA)/ Johannes Steinhoff in 1994 and Adolf Galland in 1996.
i agree, i HATE war. it is the worst side of humans. i hate the causes and effects of war and those responsible.
But, for some reason, I admire the fighter pilots. something chivalrous? history tells us not all the time. skill? definately, yet history tells us luck plays a huge part. man and machine? ask Saburo Sakai the same question. the romantic notion of defying both gravity and bullets? i think......
And Most of Them they only wanted to shoot down planes not the pilots. Well there were some that shoot guys in parachutes. But most of them i think in all the gun cam i seen they let them bail. I might be wrong but if i was there i will do it let them get out. ;-)
damn! the numbers of aerial victories these guys one was awesome. You dont here about these guys much....only about the US aces and some of its allies. Makes you think.
The hell you talking about? Hartmann had over 300 kills and no one is talking killing pilots he knocked out 352 planes. Those are the kills. Why Oh Why do people come to these great sites to pay tribute to the WORLDS BEST fighters and then turn it into a Nazi thing. Go worry whats happening in Iraq today and how many innocent civilians the americans rape and kill and stand NO TRIAL for this, stop worrying about the Nazis. They are gone and the wanna be's can't do crap
All these guys are 'heros'. They stood up for their country - most times when the chips were down. And at times with inferior equipment, and against insurmountable odds. They had balls. They may have fought for the 'losing' side, but they never gave up. Kudos to them. Anyone that tries to denigrate that has no soul. There's and honour amongst 'airmen' that stands to this day. The elite of the elite, the best of the best. German, Brit, US, or any other. Respect, dude...
Great vid. And nice to see brave men get honoured for what they did under their Country's flag. Right, or wrong. Pilots have a deep respect for others that excel in their field. Again, right or wrong, these guys did what they did in the name of their country. At times far outnumbered. At times with inferior equipment. But they never gave up. Swap the Swastika for the USofA or British 'roundel', and you would call them hero's. They did what they did because they believed. End of story....
Great video honoring men of tremendous skill.I agree wholeheartedly with Quokka57. Let honor be bestowed on the honerable. The men and their exploits must not be forgotten no matter which side they fought on.
Isnt it crazy?? one man like Hartmann shooting down over 300 planes. (this doesnt mean 300 kills, alot of pilots survived, ex: battle of britian, a british piolet was shot down 6 times!!)
we really had good fighters... too bad we didnt have any morally correct leaders... just fucking nazis.... (not all of em, like von Staufenberg who tried to kill hitler)
Victories not Kills. Some odd reason the term kills has taken over the term Victories. I like Air Combat Victories more than just saying the short word, "Kills" it doesn't mean you killed the pilot, only that you shot down the plane.
First rate job! Great video, wonderful music. The Nazis were horrible, but these men served their nation as best they could, asking only to do their duty.
Thought it was just 1 leg? I do remember when he was shot down and captured the Germans respected him enough to ask the British to ship over his leg(legs) as he couldn't use them in his plane, so when captured he couldn't walk at all.
I was fortunate enough to meet Adolph Galland at a seminar, "The Battle of Britain, 40 Years Later" and obtain his signature. What a gentleman he was! He, along with Bob Stanford-Tuck and several others, agave vivid accounts of the actual flying, the things both good and bad with their aircraft and tactics, and so forth. Sadly, most all of these men are gone but their memories will survive. Best regards,
That Adolf Galland flew in his trunks is a rumor, I have also heard that he was the only pilot to wear his real diamonds (to his Ritterkreutz) into battle because he said he would never be killed in action. By the way this tribute is great but I felt you should have included the night fighter aces like Schnaufer, Lent, von Wittgenstein, etc.
What about when Galland was flying over to Priller's B-day party and decided to "nip over" to England on the way, and shot down 2 Spitfires. He had Champaign and Lobsters in the Fuselage! He landed at the party with Drink, good eats and two new kills!!!
Günther Lützow is my favorite ace of the WWII. Gentleman in the air as on the ground. Great tactician, the early Luftwaffe fighter formations used after the Spanish Civil War were his inventions, sadly he never got any credit for it. Never flew Nazi party in mind, but because he loved flying from kid. Wasnt seeking publicity, quite opposite, hated publicity. And lastly, very good commander towards his pilots & ground crew. Sadly, he was never found and couldnt get proper funeral.
my friend,there were a lot of gentlemen in the LUFTWAFFE,my own uncle flew STUKAS against the RUSSIANS,and he had the manners of an ANCIENT EUROPEAN COUNT
The best non-german ace ever is Warrant Officer Ilmari Juutilainen of Finish Air Force with 94 confirmed air combat victories in 437 sorties. 12 of them with Fokker D 21, 28 with Brewster Buffalo and 54 with Bf-109 G. Juutilainen finished the war without a single hit to his plane from enemy fighter airplanes and never lost a wingman in combat. He was titled as "The Nightmare of Red Air Forces".
The information is quite correct, but there might still be 2 Japanese, Tetsuzo Iwamoto and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, who probably scored more kills. Unfortunately, the Japanese confirmation method of aerial victories was very unreliable, so probably we will never know.
Technically the highest "field rank" was Colonel but note that many of those soldiers were still in their early 20's. For example, Marseille was promoted to Captain when he was 22 and remains the youngest ever German soldier attaining that rank. Galland later served in the Bundeswehr where he regularly rose to 3 Star rank.
Practically, the highest field rank was held by Galland as Generalmajor and commander of JV 44 at the end of the war. He was 28 at that time. Hartmann was just 23 at the end of the war, holding the rank of Major and commanding one Gruppe of the JG 52, the top score air fighting unit ever.
Thanks. A wonderful collection of the Great Knights of the Third Reich. They ruled the skies over Europe and Afrika and their records can never ever be broken in any future conflicts. Is this piece of music 'Ron Goodwyn's theme song from Battle of Britain'?
I truly admire the german fighter pilots of WWI and WWII. pressed into duty, tirelessly fighting a desperate and losing struggle against a vastly numerically superior adversary. To compare them to American pilots is a little unfair given the different circumstances involved in their respective campaigns. There is no doubt however, the great aces of the Luftwaffe were second to none in their dedication to duty and their skill.
It's easy to tell why the German fighters had so many kills in their profile, these brave German pilots flew mission after mission until they got shot down, while the American pilots did a number of missions in which they became aces and they had a break and started to train new pilots.
that way in the German air space there always were American bombers and fighters pilots until the end of the Luftwaffe.
Finland used very odd system. Their best aces were put later on reconnaissance missions or special missions, cause "shooting down russian bombers was too easy job" for these superb pilots. Even medium level aces shut down 25-40 aircrafts.
Juutilainen shut down 92 enemy aircrafts. Hans Wind i guess 78. And there were quite many more who pass the 50 mark.
The music was of all things written by English composer Ron Goodwin for the film "The Battle of Britain" and the track is called "Aces High" I like it.
Reichenback09 1 year ago
R.I.P
Dodi9914 1 year ago 6
Strike Witches made me research a lot on WWII Air pilots :P
And yes Erich Hartmann is probably the top ace in the war no doubt about it but Hans-Joachim Marseille couldve topped him if he didn't die early :/
CynicalAutumn 1 year ago 2
You dont must be a Nazi,to see what these brave men deserve,respect and glory.
They fight for their country,because they loved it and even as they knew the war is lost,they do their job and risked their lives.
Respect to all fighter pilots and all soldiers,i think we dont can imagine what it means to face the death,day by day
SuperTimebandit 1 year ago 9
Could someone please tell me which song is used in this video?
HerrWagnerfreund 1 year ago
The video clip is very interesting I must say and Iam also very much in to the history of the L uftwaffe pilots.
But I have one question for you.... Where is Gunther Rall? He placed 3
rd place with 275
kills and made it in the 300 kill list with Hartmann and Barkhorn 1
st and 2
nd place.
HauptmannGlenn 1 year ago 4
You really have to wonder how these guys lost the war against the rest of the world. They surely knew that their cause was wrong, and yet ...
and now some scrawnographic bitch from the so-called Free World, with a serious irony deficiency, is going to tell me what I should know ....
where were any of us in 1945?
Bless the brave young men and fuck their leaders!
chrisburchardt 1 year ago 6
we all have something we are naturaly good at. For instance america is famed mostly for its snipers and sharpshooters coz they invented it. Britain is historicaly renowned for its naval victories coz they invented naval warfare. Germany are historicaly the best at ariel combat coz guess what.... they invented it. Remember the "Dicta Boelke" any one?
g
shadorising 1 year ago
these aces had amazing records . . . not to mention just surviving
roaringwaterbay 1 year ago
Cracking set up.
There is something about the German fighter aces, they have always had a fascination for me. Maybe because my old Pop was a WOP/AG on Lancasters.
I had the good fortune of working in Germany and visited the museum named to 'Jochen' Marseilles at Uetersen. Also visiting the supposed crash site of Gunther Lutzow near the MBB plant at Donauworth.
They don't get the recognition deserved. No tours of 25 or 30 trips for bombers or ops for fighters, just go for it 'til you die!
L33JONNO 1 year ago
Beautiful Film!!! Wer wirklich über Jagdflieger mitreden möchte, muß "Das waren die deutschen Jagdflieger-Asse 1939-1945" von Raymond F. Toliver und Trevor J. Constable gelesen haben – ein wahrer "innerer Vorbeimarsch"!!! Hartmann, Galland, Mölders, Nowotny, Marseille usw. werden und dürfen wir NIE vergessen!!! .....+++.....Unbedingt DER NATIONALE DOPPELROMAN (einfach googeln) von Andreas J. Voigt lesen!
Hyperboreer88 1 year ago
"Bubi" Hartmann...there will never be a greater ace ever again! *bows*
HeidenMichel 1 year ago
Thx, for Uploading
Br3Ak3r19 1 year ago
A great video! There were atleast 100 german experten who scored 100 or more victories. The video shows a fraction of them. Not to mention pilots who were aces by western standard with 5 kills!
Antonetzcu 1 year ago
Great job. A fine presentation of the best of the best...but 3 omissions which you probably already know but I will mention in case you ever edit this fine vid. Gunther Rall, Josef Preis, and Walter Krupinski are the 3 that come to mind. I love "Dolfo" Galland. On his plane he had a pic of Mickey Mouse with a cigar on his lower lip and brandishing a pistol and a hatchet. Search Galland maus and you will see it.
raybay30 1 year ago
Guther Rall said it best, " [During World War 2] you got the wooden cross or the Iron Cross." There was no respite for the Luftwaffe pilots.
stewiefg2005 1 year ago
10 stars here great video
games4u2ube 1 year ago
completely right, but finnish pilots were very good aso, the most succesful finnish ace got more than 250 air kills
condoritohuevoduro 1 year ago
Klasse.........
KoschiMK 1 year ago
This a dignified and worthy tribute to some very brave men. My father served in the RAF during the war and had nothing but praise for the basic decency of Luftwaffe aircrew. Excellent video.
CrEaSoTe1 1 year ago
The Luftwaffe pilots were the best and bravest of WWII. Sadly, these people can never receive the same respect and honor that their Allied counterparts did because of the Holocaust and other attrocities. People forget that not all Germans were Nazis (especially after 1942) including many of these pilots. I don't believe the legacy of the German people should be based on one horrible deed.
DonTheCritic 1 year ago 3
Wunderbar! -- Vielen Dank!
Oloapje 1 year ago
the wehrmacht had a lot of aces
goldyn12345 2 years ago
anyone heard of karl schlosstein and rolf ebhardt?apparently they are luftwaffe aces, i will meet them at a memorabillia fair soon!!
goldyn12345 2 years ago
Few facts. The Germans had 105 pilots with over 100 kills. The most successfull non-german pilot was a finn, Eino Juutilainen (94 kills), afterwhich comes the japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa with 87. The best Allied was a Soviet, not american, Ivan Kozhedub with 62. The best american was Richard Bong with 40 kills, and even a croatian and a romanian ace have that killcount beaten.
aaKonda 2 years ago
Comment removed
lordvayder2 2 years ago
music is great!
lordvayder2 2 years ago 10
The "History" Channel's series Dogfights praises almost only American air aces and entirely ignores german and Japanese air aces.
Shameful and disgusting.
AvatarAlphaOmega 2 years ago 285
Of course, "History" channel is an American production. What do you expect?
HorizonsUnlimited 2 years ago
I agree . WTF ? Maybee the time alloted
for a "DogFights" episode could not do justice to a single one of these ACES ? EH ?
88Thyra 2 years ago
@AvatarAlphaOmega no doubt true, i have noticed that also,
wlh1us 2 years ago
@AvatarAlphaOmega @AvatarAlphaOmega
One reason for this is the simple fact that not as many aces from these countries survived the war in comparison with their former foes. This is especially true among the Japanese aces, among whose ranks attrition rates were horrendous from late 1943 on, as the new generation Allied fighter designs decisively wrested air superiority from the Zeros and Hayabusas that had earlier ruled the skies over the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
ChopstickBrando 1 year ago
@AvatarAlphaOmega You can say that twice.
1889SSWolf 1 year ago
@AvatarAlphaOmega Look like there some people thinks like me,nice to know
TheHauptman 1 year ago
@AvatarAlphaOmega Agreed, the only episode which ever talked about any aces outside of allied forces was the one about WWI which they atleast mentioned famous aces like Richthofen and Voss, though they gave Voss one heck of a glorious moment in that episode since he was involved in one of the most famous dog fights in history vs a flight of SE5as.
Luminahawke 1 year ago
german´s got the best fihgter aces of the 2 ww
i think so
lordvayder2 2 years ago 44
Great pilots!! Dolfi Galland was a good man. He actually mutinied against Goering. He was tired and frustrated with Goering's incompetence. He just about lost his life because of it.
The German aces were great, but you have to remember that most of them started in the Spanish Civil War, where opposition was poor, at best. U.S. pilots, although lower scoring, were the best trained of any. The Tuskeegee Airmen only had one ace, but they are one of the most renowned groups of WWII.
urrybr 2 years ago
@urrybr that was true, they were good pilots, but so were every other that flew, plus they had more photo opps and newspaper stories,
wlh1us 2 years ago
@urrybr Also remember german pilots flew constant, american pilots were rotated out on a regular basis.
beechcroft161 1 year ago
you forgot Krupinsky,Rall,Mayer,Udet,Oesau and many more
strarscreamtheking 2 years ago
352!!! And he's just a boy!!! Deutschland Über Alles.
Judas666Schrader 2 years ago 18
Hans Joachim Marseille, no doubt the best of them,...who also only scored on the western front.
But of course Galland, "a fair sportsman" how Maj. Douglas Bader described him. And one of the few who survived the war.
nice Video by the way.
Magi192 2 years ago 4
@Magi192 Marseille was a great fighter, and his tactic worked well against defensive circle that the Brits used mainly because their planes were not as good as the Bf 109. Most Marseilles victories were p-40s and hurricanes, which both were obsolete models and no match to bf 109 f. But still when Jochen sat in the cockpit, his plane and him became one. He mastered his machine perfectly and was able to fly it the way that was nearly impossible to be repeated by any other pilot.
Antonetzcu 1 year ago
This is an excellent tribute to some great pilots.
UnsereLuftwaffe 2 years ago
i like erich hartmann!!!!!
SarCatiCRaCsiSt2009 2 years ago 14
R.I.P. for our brave soldiers....
much of them are died so early...
Ihr seid die Besten...
jfk87n 2 years ago 9
great video tribute, i loved it. Indeed they were all soldiers, no matter what side they were on. Hope to see another such video, if you're willing to make one.
mcbraynor 2 years ago
God Bless their souls, their are the best of best and fuck the rest, Hail to those heroes
fritzlange76 2 years ago 4
Knights of the Sky.
StartbahnWest 2 years ago 3
My favortie Lufwaffe pilot of all time is"Bubi" Erich Hartmann
chicagolugan 2 years ago
yes they were great aces.......but some were devout Nazi's .....not all but some. Rudel the great tank buster stuka pilot was an out and out nazi
Aussiephil99 2 years ago
best of the best,S!
TheMrBlackJack07 2 years ago
Beautiful!
daswurger 2 years ago
i'm very proud of them
great germans!
RoTuCeXe666 2 years ago 7
and what about Walter "graf" Krupinski? 197 kills if I remember correctly ... his ancestors were Polish so I think he should have fought for us, but still, politics aside, one of the best German pilots
CairSilverwolf 2 years ago
Brave men!
ImperialGuard9001 2 years ago 26
adolf galland was my favorite ace of ww2
TheSultan79 2 years ago 18
A bonified Ace , and leadre of Men..
88Thyra 2 years ago 3
the best pilots of WW2 that's for sure
ericssson 2 years ago 101
Definitely, no ifs and or buts.
aruprc 2 years ago
I got an autograph picture of Adolf Galland from a private estate sale for 50$ 2 years ago. He is one of the best pilots that flew in WW2.
DoResearchFirst 2 years ago 19
you joking!! you lucky .....!
TheVeneth 2 years ago
Great video mate, really fantastic! Hope to see a lot more like this one.
SSWolf80 2 years ago 8
"These pilots did incredible things that no one even today has ever surpassed"
Could it be because of the fact that there haven't been any major wars after WWII? =)
TheCrazyFinn 2 years ago
unlikely they will ever be matched
bohemianh 2 years ago 12
Also amazing is how they kept going for over 1000+ sorties without losing the plot or burning out physically, as a result of the Luftwaffe " Fly till you die" no rotation policy!
KEVWARD63 2 years ago 10
Isn't it interesting that the leading German ace of WW2 shot down more than 4 times the number of the leading German ace of WW1, and the leading Allied ace of WW2 shot down LESS than the leading allied ace of WW1? lol
Attila709 2 years ago 8
did u know that Hugo boss designed the uniforms for the german officers. thats why they looked so good and tailored.
minkajajany 2 years ago
Theres something I didn't know :O
GerbilEssences 2 years ago 7
no i did not .. but i do now!
TDuffy04 2 years ago
1.500 soviet tanks destroyed by only a man named Hans Rüdel.
telkines 2 years ago
Did you know that, Walter "Nowi" Nowonty was the first leader of a jet fighter group? The fighter group flew the new Me 262 jet fighter, and his plane had a white #8 on it. Unfortunatly, he was shot down while landing.
Andrew122122 2 years ago 2
Thats about the only way they could shoot down a Me262. While it was landing or taking off.
mauser88mm 2 years ago 4
To"Mercenary42":
Exellent job !!!
Tammigumi 2 years ago
Don´t forget for whom they fought....their deeds made the atrocities on nthe ground and behind the lines possible. Sure, they achieved astonishing records, but they fought for the devil himself and most of them knew it. They weren´t stupid.
Regards from Germany
xelado 2 years ago
They fought for their homeland, their families and everyone who needed to be protected against bombing terror and humilation.
frankwollin 2 years ago
you do know you dont hawe a clue what you are talking about, they fought for youre country not hitler.. ok my parents knowed eric hartmann and he was no nazi. ok. he wasent in the ss devisions in luftwaffe,., and many other german pilots did the same as him.. they fought for there country.. got mit ons. from sweden-
SverigeDemokratern84 2 years ago
Magic presentation, Mercenary72 - good music selection and a fine tribute to some great pilots.
But where is Gunther Rall?
aventhus 2 years ago
good job all big names
RAMBANANAJAM 2 years ago
awesome vid nice job!
RAMBANANAJAM 2 years ago
Would anyone like to see the History Channel do a series of their DOG FIGHTS series of Dog Fights of the AXIS and show some of Adolf Galland wins in a Me-262?????
kimba112104 2 years ago
Yes. But,I won't hold my breath.
Fryfish9 2 years ago
According to an interview with WW2 magazine's Colin Heaton, Adolf Galland admitted to flying shirtless and in swimming trunks while flying in Spain.
WWII: Is it true you often flew in swimming trunks and shirtless?
Galland: Yes, I flew over 300 missions as a leader, and due to the great heat of the Spanish summer we often flew with hardly any clothes on. That was another innovation we created.
That oughta settle that. ;-)
AragornDK 3 years ago
why marseilles was a good ace he invented lots of things that were be very helpfull.
Kalenichtenneuker 3 years ago
i think the victories are also related to the system and involvement of the air force you are in. Germany seems to have a lot of aces for the reason that they are in the war longer (coz they started it) and they let their pilot fly till they are killed, unlike the US that the pilots are in rotation to teach the younger greener pilots and they found action later in the war
bajorjor1 3 years ago
Nice vid! Some Information about Erich Rudorffer:"He scored seven victories in seven minutes on 11 October1943, including his 100th, but his finest achievement occurred on 6 November when in the course of 17 minutes, 13 Russian aircraft fell to his guns! "
matti38 3 years ago
HORRIDO !!!! HORRIDO !!!! HORRIDO !!!! HAIL !!!!!!!! The best Pilots of History !!!! Never, can you cacht
jcfebles2081 3 years ago
"Great Canadian Aces of WWII"? Canadians got to shot down an enemy aircraft?
tomasmk 3 years ago
Rall once said "In the Luftwaffe u can only get an iron cross or a wooden cross"
Look at the number of sorties they flew, than u know why!
blacktomcat22 3 years ago
at 3:14 i am related to this man. Gunther Lutzow, my Great++ Grandfather. Dont know if anyone cares but i figured i would just share
rlutzow 3 years ago 4
SALUTE!
Atufu 3 years ago
wow, if only we had those kinds of pilots (american ww2 ace was boyingotn w.26 kills)..nothing compared to 351 hartmann's kills
iluvkara13 3 years ago
Yes - the fighter pilots had honour amongst themselves. No matter which side they were on. You can still hear the respect in their voices. Even British/US pilots versus German & Japanese pilots. All did the job that was asked of them by their country at the time.
They all had their job to do - the brilliant and lucky survived - the lesser perished. No matter which way you look at it - they all had balls. Big ones. That kind of respect rarely transcends international borders. Hats off to you.
Quokka57 3 years ago
There's lots of stories of mutual respect between fighter pilots on the two sides. Then again theirs is a game of more finesse than the savagery that is required in close combat infantry war.
backflash22 3 years ago
True heroes. God bless them!
Magyarvitez1944 3 years ago
BEUTIFUL. im definately adding this song to my IPOD. Respect to the pilots who have won ACE titels. I promise I will go to all of these aces graves when im odler. Especially Erich Hartmann's .
SALUTE!
tonyb56789 3 years ago
NICE!! Beutiful song. And beutiful pilots with Great victories. When Im odler I promise I will visit all of there graves. :)
Definately adding this song to my I-Pod
tonyb56789 3 years ago
Man I just read the interview of Adolf Galland he sounds likes a really good man and some one you would want to chat with, its amazing what he went through and lived to such an old age. I suggest you take the 10 min to read that article
warnerd14 3 years ago 20
basicly that goes for almost any soldier. just because someone is on the other side, doesn't mean that he's a bad person. look at what german pilots did with shot down RAF pilots that survived: they took them to their Offizierkasino (officer casino, a sort of pub just for officers) and they were chatting with them. i read that in an english book about ww2 planes and the title for the picture was "still a gentleman's war". many soldiers could have been friends if they would not have been enemies
Sicklehead88 3 years ago 7
Kudos Mercenary42 on a great upload!
Fantastic choice of music to honour some great pilots.
My only question is what about Gunther Rall?
aventhus 2 years ago
it's unbelievable...how can only one pilot destroy hundreds of enemy war planes ?? these guys deserve highest respect
korgond 3 years ago 120
Germans started training very young teenage boys (12-14yrs)the sport of gliders during the mid 20s'.Private glider clubs were actually secretly funded by the military.Flight schools were disguised as commuter flight businesses and only the top candidates made it this far. After, prospective pilots went to further,in classroom flight school, followed by a year in practical military service.The top students went to flight academy. all this was coordinated perfectly to the outbreak of war.
lemonite1 3 years ago
bah, no one knows of any of these pilots, every1 likes the guys who 'won' the war, annd they know of is all these british aces, i ask em, u kno adolf galland? and they say no, but his a nazi i think. ffs they dont teach much in school anymore
EvilKorbinDallas 3 years ago
@korgond
its possible because the allies has a huge superiority. But you are right - they were all brave soldiers.
jfk87n 2 years ago
but they dont get the respect
FireXtheRipper 2 years ago 9
@korgond You have to know that they flew on a variety of fronts and or engaged in hundreds of combats and upwards of 1000 missons. Most also were someone elses victory sometimes several times over and survived to fight again. It also helped that we kept throwing thousands of planes (targets!?!) at them. Truly they do command respect even if they were on the other side of the fence.
PontiusPilots2 1 year ago
Hitler was a bad dude, but it's not like Stalin was any better. Right or wrong, personal bravery in battle must be respected, the men/pilot portrayed here didnt run and hid from a fight; unlike GW Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Paul Wolfowitz etc etc.
tradercris 3 years ago
If you all really want to know about the experten of the luftwaffe.. read the book by Osprey - JG 52 - The experten!!
Osprey has a great introduction about how to measure a combat units effectiveness..
The book claims the Russians lost over 45,000 planes in WW2. This unit shot down over 10,000 planes. The pilots in this unit - alot of them are in this great video. Hartman, etc...
If you do any research on this unit my respect for the units combat effectiveness goes up another notch.
sauron808 3 years ago 10
Am betting one of the reasons Eric Hartman didnt follow the course of similar aces like tank ace Michael Whitman and surviving the war was because of hes great backup.
It was probably sound of him not to join the ME262 program. You need good backup to stay alive for those situations when you do the tactical sound thing, but that fails because a unique situation happens. No matter how good you are, at some point in time, it will happen.
Lobos222 2 years ago
No due to American Chivalry and compassion:
"I was warned that I had several (P51's) on my tail .., a swarm of eight Americans behind me. That is a very uncomfortable feeling I can tell you! .. I had to bail out. I was certain that this one pilot was lining me up for a strafe, but he banked away and looked at me, waving. . That day we lost half our aircraft; we were too outnumbered and many of the young pilots were inexperienced."
Interview of Erich Hartmann by Coiln Heatman.
ocolumbia 2 years ago
I still think marseille was the best because he made his kills against western allies and sadly died because engine failure
pyllywaltteri 3 years ago
any of them alive?
cessnaoneeightytwo 3 years ago
Only Erich Rudorffer is still alive, the remainder deceased during the following years: Josef Priller in 1961 / Hans Hahn in 1982 / Werner Molders in 1941 / Anton Hackl in 1984 / Helmut Lipfert in 1990 / Anton Hafner in 1944 (KIA)/ Herman Graf in 1988 / Heinz Pritzel in 1957 / Wilhem Batz in 1988 / Walter Nowotny in 1944 (KIA)/ Gerhard Barkhorn in 1983 / Erich Hartmann in 1993 / Marseille in 1942 (KIA) / Gunther Lutzow in 1945 (MIA)/ Johannes Steinhoff in 1994 and Adolf Galland in 1996.
OttoCarryUs 3 years ago
Rall and Rudorffer are still alive. Both are in their ninties.
vontrenck 3 years ago 13
Most of them survived the war, but I don't believe any are still alive now.
marklavar 3 years ago
i agree, i HATE war. it is the worst side of humans. i hate the causes and effects of war and those responsible.
But, for some reason, I admire the fighter pilots. something chivalrous? history tells us not all the time. skill? definately, yet history tells us luck plays a huge part. man and machine? ask Saburo Sakai the same question. the romantic notion of defying both gravity and bullets? i think......
lemonite1 3 years ago 16
And Most of Them they only wanted to shoot down planes not the pilots. Well there were some that shoot guys in parachutes. But most of them i think in all the gun cam i seen they let them bail. I might be wrong but if i was there i will do it let them get out. ;-)
Bester7544 2 years ago 14
damn! the numbers of aerial victories these guys one was awesome. You dont here about these guys much....only about the US aces and some of its allies. Makes you think.
zx12ryder 3 years ago 13
The people who win a war are mainly focused on, the team that looses arent mentioned much. and whoever wins writes what happens
EvilKorbinDallas 3 years ago
The hell you talking about? Hartmann had over 300 kills and no one is talking killing pilots he knocked out 352 planes. Those are the kills. Why Oh Why do people come to these great sites to pay tribute to the WORLDS BEST fighters and then turn it into a Nazi thing. Go worry whats happening in Iraq today and how many innocent civilians the americans rape and kill and stand NO TRIAL for this, stop worrying about the Nazis. They are gone and the wanna be's can't do crap
volodyyy 3 years ago
All these guys are 'heros'. They stood up for their country - most times when the chips were down. And at times with inferior equipment, and against insurmountable odds. They had balls. They may have fought for the 'losing' side, but they never gave up. Kudos to them. Anyone that tries to denigrate that has no soul. There's and honour amongst 'airmen' that stands to this day. The elite of the elite, the best of the best. German, Brit, US, or any other. Respect, dude...
Quokka57 3 years ago
Great vid. And nice to see brave men get honoured for what they did under their Country's flag. Right, or wrong. Pilots have a deep respect for others that excel in their field. Again, right or wrong, these guys did what they did in the name of their country. At times far outnumbered. At times with inferior equipment. But they never gave up. Swap the Swastika for the USofA or British 'roundel', and you would call them hero's. They did what they did because they believed. End of story....
Quokka57 3 years ago 12
They did what they did cause' that was their job. And they where the best, and they're still heroes, no matter what "insignia" was on their planes.
chuchofreeman 3 years ago 48
karlschlaussen
Great video honoring men of tremendous skill.I agree wholeheartedly with Quokka57. Let honor be bestowed on the honerable. The men and their exploits must not be forgotten no matter which side they fought on.
karlschlaussen 3 years ago 21
Excellent video. Indeed they were great pilots
and they could go home after 25 missions or 100 sorties. They flew from the beginning to
the end of the war with no break other than a
brief furlough now and then. I was stationed
in Germany with USAF 4yrs,learned the lingo, and met var wermacht and luftwaffe personnel.
A very good tour of duty there. Lots of history. Read Galland's book "Stuka Pilot"
killed many T-34 tanks w/ 37mm cannons mounted under the wings on Eastern front.
bigal1940 3 years ago
Isnt it crazy?? one man like Hartmann shooting down over 300 planes. (this doesnt mean 300 kills, alot of pilots survived, ex: battle of britian, a british piolet was shot down 6 times!!)
we really had good fighters... too bad we didnt have any morally correct leaders... just fucking nazis.... (not all of em, like von Staufenberg who tried to kill hitler)
SchwarzundWeis 3 years ago 5
Victories not Kills. Some odd reason the term kills has taken over the term Victories. I like Air Combat Victories more than just saying the short word, "Kills" it doesn't mean you killed the pilot, only that you shot down the plane.
Luminahawke 3 years ago 26
Erich Hartmann meine Liebe
rigavaldis11 3 years ago 6
very good that, lots of air kills there.
dilfax 3 years ago
First rate job! Great video, wonderful music. The Nazis were horrible, but these men served their nation as best they could, asking only to do their duty.
superhive 3 years ago 15
the bigges hero of ww2 to me is the british pilot that lost both of his legs and still flew his spitfire without them! true honour and bravery!
draculapw 3 years ago
Thought it was just 1 leg? I do remember when he was shot down and captured the Germans respected him enough to ask the British to ship over his leg(legs) as he couldn't use them in his plane, so when captured he couldn't walk at all.
Luminahawke 3 years ago 2
actually he originally lost 2 legs in 1935 and when he was shot down, as he was bailing out one of the legs was caught and left in the cockpit
wakeboardbrat 3 years ago
@drakulapw: heard something abount hans-ulrich rudel?
Krebsie1488 3 years ago
I was fortunate enough to meet Adolph Galland at a seminar, "The Battle of Britain, 40 Years Later" and obtain his signature. What a gentleman he was! He, along with Bob Stanford-Tuck and several others, agave vivid accounts of the actual flying, the things both good and bad with their aircraft and tactics, and so forth. Sadly, most all of these men are gone but their memories will survive. Best regards,
TrapperP
Bonzforall 4 years ago 7
SECOND TO NONE! 88
stuka33 4 years ago
Nice video
kokotenecum 4 years ago
very nice compilation of the best fighter pilots of WW2.
Marseille is my favourite. Most of them just had a natural flair for flying, really remarkable.
DerTreb 4 years ago
whos gonna break this record? I think never..
SharkOoOo 4 years ago
Beautiful work of historic sky warriors...
Want to know more about their planes and bases. look forward for next project of your...
deafmutearthur 4 years ago
Ja,General der Flieger,Adolph Galland is my mascot :)
GerrieJohan 4 years ago
Wasn't Galland the one who flew in swimming trunks?
CountArtha 4 years ago
Well, I do not know about the swimming trunks, but I do know that Galland had an ashtray installed in his Me-109s cockpit.
KrautGoesWild 4 years ago 2
That Adolf Galland flew in his trunks is a rumor, I have also heard that he was the only pilot to wear his real diamonds (to his Ritterkreutz) into battle because he said he would never be killed in action. By the way this tribute is great but I felt you should have included the night fighter aces like Schnaufer, Lent, von Wittgenstein, etc.
GermanOperaSinger 3 years ago 3
What about when Galland was flying over to Priller's B-day party and decided to "nip over" to England on the way, and shot down 2 Spitfires. He had Champaign and Lobsters in the Fuselage! He landed at the party with Drink, good eats and two new kills!!!
what a pilot!
jdoernte 3 years ago 9
Günther Lützow is my favorite ace of the WWII. Gentleman in the air as on the ground. Great tactician, the early Luftwaffe fighter formations used after the Spanish Civil War were his inventions, sadly he never got any credit for it. Never flew Nazi party in mind, but because he loved flying from kid. Wasnt seeking publicity, quite opposite, hated publicity. And lastly, very good commander towards his pilots & ground crew. Sadly, he was never found and couldnt get proper funeral.
Dowly 4 years ago
my friend,there were a lot of gentlemen in the LUFTWAFFE,my own uncle flew STUKAS against the RUSSIANS,and he had the manners of an ANCIENT EUROPEAN COUNT
luismarinaperu 4 years ago 4
admirable, en todos los teatros, este y oeste, y nocturno.
merecido el reconocimiento a Galland al que le debemos mucho de la doctrina moderna y en general a aquellos que inventaron las formaciones actuales.
itzun 4 years ago
The best non-german ace ever is Warrant Officer Ilmari Juutilainen of Finish Air Force with 94 confirmed air combat victories in 437 sorties. 12 of them with Fokker D 21, 28 with Brewster Buffalo and 54 with Bf-109 G. Juutilainen finished the war without a single hit to his plane from enemy fighter airplanes and never lost a wingman in combat. He was titled as "The Nightmare of Red Air Forces".
timo1595 4 years ago 3
The information is quite correct, but there might still be 2 Japanese, Tetsuzo Iwamoto and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, who probably scored more kills. Unfortunately, the Japanese confirmation method of aerial victories was very unreliable, so probably we will never know.
wngcdr1 4 years ago
why were so many of them majors? was major the highest rank you could get and still remain a fighter pilot?
CureForRoadRage 4 years ago
Technically the highest "field rank" was Colonel but note that many of those soldiers were still in their early 20's. For example, Marseille was promoted to Captain when he was 22 and remains the youngest ever German soldier attaining that rank. Galland later served in the Bundeswehr where he regularly rose to 3 Star rank.
Corbon440 4 years ago
Sorry, but Galland did't serve in the Bundeswehr, he was offered General Inspector of Air Force but then General Kammhuber got this occupation.
Galland then became an important advisor in private aviation.
Hartmann served in the Bundesluftwaffe, as did Steinhoff, Krupinski an lots of others!
dandylike 4 years ago
true, besides Galland's dream was to become a commercial plane pilot ever since being a child. Good man...
BillyJimmyLee 3 years ago
Practically, the highest field rank was held by Galland as Generalmajor and commander of JV 44 at the end of the war. He was 28 at that time. Hartmann was just 23 at the end of the war, holding the rank of Major and commanding one Gruppe of the JG 52, the top score air fighting unit ever.
wngcdr1 4 years ago 3
No of course you could get promoted to higher ranks, like oberstleutnant or oberst, like galland, rudel etc.
dandylike 4 years ago
I would like to add that Heinz Bär was the recipiant of the Ritterkreutz mit eichenlaub und zwertern! And that Steinhoffs nickname was
"Mäcky" or Macki!
1339LARS 4 years ago
Thanks. A wonderful collection of the Great Knights of the Third Reich. They ruled the skies over Europe and Afrika and their records can never ever be broken in any future conflicts. Is this piece of music 'Ron Goodwyn's theme song from Battle of Britain'?
drittenreichlieber 4 years ago
I truly admire the german fighter pilots of WWI and WWII. pressed into duty, tirelessly fighting a desperate and losing struggle against a vastly numerically superior adversary. To compare them to American pilots is a little unfair given the different circumstances involved in their respective campaigns. There is no doubt however, the great aces of the Luftwaffe were second to none in their dedication to duty and their skill.
allrighttokyo 4 years ago 8
It's easy to tell why the German fighters had so many kills in their profile, these brave German pilots flew mission after mission until they got shot down, while the American pilots did a number of missions in which they became aces and they had a break and started to train new pilots.
that way in the German air space there always were American bombers and fighters pilots until the end of the Luftwaffe.
Eurofighter19 4 years ago
Finland used very odd system. Their best aces were put later on reconnaissance missions or special missions, cause "shooting down russian bombers was too easy job" for these superb pilots. Even medium level aces shut down 25-40 aircrafts.
Juutilainen shut down 92 enemy aircrafts. Hans Wind i guess 78. And there were quite many more who pass the 50 mark.
timo1595 4 years ago
the best ww2 pilot Erich Hartmann
died in 1993 so he didnt died in an doogfight :)
11SeriousG11 4 years ago 4
kann mich strabax nur anschliesen sehr gutes video klasse
nevada66 4 years ago
Well done!
vstoyanov12 4 years ago
Best fighter pilots in the world history. My father personally was trained by Guhnter Lutzow.Thanks,
vstoyanov12 4 years ago 4
Superb !!!!!!
Panzertruppen1 4 years ago 3
These wre the BEST Number 1 in the world and till today
nodarnfool 4 years ago
They count to the best Pilots at this Time.!