The ones on the list seem to be the ones that are most noticable. But the best of the best are on that list.
The Greatest Fighter Pilot of WWII... Finalized....
- Thread starter lesofprimus
- Start date
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FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
From what I read about Finucane, he was a tremendous pilot, I think his early demise has kept his identity from being well recognized by many WW2 enthusiasts.
stonewall23
Airman
- 71
- Dec 2, 2006
Yes , it's a shame but your right FlyboyJ.His short career belies his skills.He does remain largely unrecognized. A real shame.
DIOGENIS
Airman
is it true that while in Soviet captivity he gave up on his fellow comrades? I think some problems with the rest german prisoners occured
Not sure on that, sorry.
DIOGENIS
Airman
I'll do further research on that Adler, thx though.
May be a bit off topic, but i can't help mentioning one of the most inspiring pilots to me:
Hans Ulrich Rudel who eventually flew in a fw 190 and succeeded a few kills (so technically he is an ace) , he was more of a soldier in a flying tank rather a fighter pilot.
The following text is copied from a fine site :Achtung Panzer!
During his career, Rudel flew over 2530 (around 400 of his sorties were flown in a Focke-Wulf 190 fighter plane during whichhe was credit with 11 air victories) missions and destroyed around 150 various artillery pieces, 519 tanks, around 1000 various vehicles, 70 landing crafts, 2 Lavochkin La-3 fighters, Il-2 Stormovik and sunk Battleship "Marat", 2 Cruisers and a Destroyer. Rudel was responsible for such huge damages to the Red Army that Joseph Stalin himself put a price of 100.000 rubles on his head.He flew more than 600.000km and used more than 5.000.000 liters of fuel. Hans Rudel dropped over 1.000.000kg of bombs, fired over 1.000.000 of machine gun rounds, over 150.000 20mm rounds and over 5000 37mm rounds. Rudel thought that the Lend-Lease American tanks were easier to kill than the Soviet T-34s, but he hated their machine guns, because once he was shotdown by one. Rudel was an outstanding pilot with experience,who loved to fly and destroy.He hated to take homeleave or sickleave and even when he got his leg amputatedhe was not depressed since he couldstill do what he loved - fly and destroy.During his career, Hans Rudel showed remarkable power, toughness, fearlessness, unparalleled determination and arrogance but none of his photos show any impact of the hardship of war on his face. His personal bravery was beyond belief and his place in the annals of military history thoroughly deserved, although it is important to remember the words of an American Protocol-Officer, who absolutely correctly named Rudel "the typical Nazi Officer". Rudel's famous quotation was "Verloren ist nur, wer sich selbst aufgibt" ("Lost are only those, who abandon themselves").
May be a bit off topic, but i can't help mentioning one of the most inspiring pilots to me:
Hans Ulrich Rudel who eventually flew in a fw 190 and succeeded a few kills (so technically he is an ace) , he was more of a soldier in a flying tank rather a fighter pilot.
The following text is copied from a fine site :Achtung Panzer!
During his career, Rudel flew over 2530 (around 400 of his sorties were flown in a Focke-Wulf 190 fighter plane during whichhe was credit with 11 air victories) missions and destroyed around 150 various artillery pieces, 519 tanks, around 1000 various vehicles, 70 landing crafts, 2 Lavochkin La-3 fighters, Il-2 Stormovik and sunk Battleship "Marat", 2 Cruisers and a Destroyer. Rudel was responsible for such huge damages to the Red Army that Joseph Stalin himself put a price of 100.000 rubles on his head.He flew more than 600.000km and used more than 5.000.000 liters of fuel. Hans Rudel dropped over 1.000.000kg of bombs, fired over 1.000.000 of machine gun rounds, over 150.000 20mm rounds and over 5000 37mm rounds. Rudel thought that the Lend-Lease American tanks were easier to kill than the Soviet T-34s, but he hated their machine guns, because once he was shotdown by one. Rudel was an outstanding pilot with experience,who loved to fly and destroy.He hated to take homeleave or sickleave and even when he got his leg amputatedhe was not depressed since he couldstill do what he loved - fly and destroy.During his career, Hans Rudel showed remarkable power, toughness, fearlessness, unparalleled determination and arrogance but none of his photos show any impact of the hardship of war on his face. His personal bravery was beyond belief and his place in the annals of military history thoroughly deserved, although it is important to remember the words of an American Protocol-Officer, who absolutely correctly named Rudel "the typical Nazi Officer". Rudel's famous quotation was "Verloren ist nur, wer sich selbst aufgibt" ("Lost are only those, who abandon themselves").
- Thread starter
- #227
lesofprimus
Brigadier General
All of his numbers are subject to heavy criticism due to his propaganda pose.... However, even halved, his numbers are still unreal...
Either way he is by far the utmost skilled tank buster and the ace of all tank busters.
- Thread starter
- #229
lesofprimus
Brigadier General
Agreed Chris...
abhiginimav
Airman
WHHHAAAT!??!?!?! No douglas Bader?!?!? In my opinion, he was the best for having lost his legs, but never giving up on his country....so he took back into the air after the crash of his plane, in a moddified plane and continued service. True patriotism, gallantry and bravery and commitment!
- Thread starter
- #231
lesofprimus
Brigadier General
He was on one of the original polls that this one here combined... He recieved no previous votes... U are the only one out of approximatly 477 voters to think he was the best fighter pilot ever....
Better do some more reading....
Better do some more reading....
What about 'Sailor' Malan, maybe not the best, but one of? Okay, he had 'only' 27 confirmed kills, but his addition to british fighter tactics was most valuable, I think.
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
True - he was also shot down 12 or 13 times.
David E. Wells
Recruit
- 3
- Jan 23, 2007
Okay, that levels things a bit
Anyone want to talk about Lilyia (Lidiya) Lityvak or the "Night Witches"? As some say, the best pilots weren't always "aces"!
- Thread starter
- #236
lesofprimus
Brigadier General
And those women were in no way shape or form the best in anything, except maybe putting on lipstick at 10,000 feet...
That is so funny. I always thought they were the early version of 'EW'... Convincing the enemy not to shoot... and the like...
isn't it funny how things go
"THE BEST"....what defines the best and who can determine what the best is.
some here vote for the best on the number of kills
some here vote on the number of combats they survived
some here vote for the most charismatic character
and some here downgrade an individual on the basis of the aircraft they fly.
by asking for the BEST you ask for a personal opinion of those that weren't there, didn't fly with these people and most of all know nothing but facts written in a book somewhere.
a crap pilot in a crap plane will get blown out of the sky buy a good pilot in a good plane
moreover a crap pilot in an excellent plane will get done over by a veteran in a crap plane
and lastly...all though not the end note
a bloody good pilot will get done over buy a dam lucky shot...or by his own stupidity( read arrogance to some) or by his own AA fire in a heated moment.
I go back a few pages to Clive Caldwell
flew P40's in the middle east and Spitfires in SWPA
yet managed to shoot down at least 2 well known "Experten" in the Middle east with... "a piece of crap" and a total of 20 aircraft both Italian and German before being posted back to Australia to blow a further 8 Japanese out of the skies.
he also developed the techniques for deflection shooting that became standard tactics for ALL allied pilots
makes him a dam good pilot in my books...not because of his kills ...but his ability to use his equipment to the best of its ability.
Preddy flew p39's and p40's i believe in the SWPA before going to further fame in the ETO after he was downed and could no longer serve in the SWPA as per regs of the day
he then gets his hands on a P51 a great aircraft and makes a big name for himself.
does this make him one of the best?...or just a pilot with experience that learnt to use what he had at his disposal?
you cant claim...or vote on the BEST..unless all have the same equipment..the same training and the same ablities to interpret.
NO contest
their all the best at what they did...and the way they did it...for their countries
"THE BEST"....what defines the best and who can determine what the best is.
some here vote for the best on the number of kills
some here vote on the number of combats they survived
some here vote for the most charismatic character
and some here downgrade an individual on the basis of the aircraft they fly.
by asking for the BEST you ask for a personal opinion of those that weren't there, didn't fly with these people and most of all know nothing but facts written in a book somewhere.
a crap pilot in a crap plane will get blown out of the sky buy a good pilot in a good plane
moreover a crap pilot in an excellent plane will get done over by a veteran in a crap plane
and lastly...all though not the end note
a bloody good pilot will get done over buy a dam lucky shot...or by his own stupidity( read arrogance to some) or by his own AA fire in a heated moment.
I go back a few pages to Clive Caldwell
flew P40's in the middle east and Spitfires in SWPA
yet managed to shoot down at least 2 well known "Experten" in the Middle east with... "a piece of crap" and a total of 20 aircraft both Italian and German before being posted back to Australia to blow a further 8 Japanese out of the skies.
he also developed the techniques for deflection shooting that became standard tactics for ALL allied pilots
makes him a dam good pilot in my books...not because of his kills ...but his ability to use his equipment to the best of its ability.
Preddy flew p39's and p40's i believe in the SWPA before going to further fame in the ETO after he was downed and could no longer serve in the SWPA as per regs of the day
he then gets his hands on a P51 a great aircraft and makes a big name for himself.
does this make him one of the best?...or just a pilot with experience that learnt to use what he had at his disposal?
you cant claim...or vote on the BEST..unless all have the same equipment..the same training and the same ablities to interpret.
NO contest
their all the best at what they did...and the way they did it...for their countries
That I certainly agree with.
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
he does make good points but there's no way that'll stop the debate 
