Good point Christoph. And what about the many test pilots? They were the elite of all pilots although didn't necessarily shot down any enemy planes. For example Soviet test pilot Vladimir K. Kokkinaki had an amazingly long career. I think there was also another one, his brother?Christoph Awender wrote:Wouldn´t the best pilots be teachers in the various schools? Just a thought.
A little about V. Kokkinaki see:
http://www.armymuseum.ru/airspace/acad2.html
Katajainen crashed too many planes to get that title. That does not mean he wouldn't have been good pilot. In addition he was also a bomber pilot for a while after crashing too many times...Topspeed wrote:I'd say for the effort in summer of 1944 Captain Hans Wind and Master Sergeant Nils Katajainen were the most outstanding fighting couple ever existed. Give me a two week period ( 15 days to be correct ) of any pilot and his wingman who scored 49 aeroplanes in 15 days.
I think we should think wider and bring new less known names into light instead of arguing if someone was "the best" only based on opinions. Personally I think the number of kills don't necessarily make the best pilot.Christoph Awender wrote:Don´t you think this also depended on the type of aircraft shot down and the circumstances? If for example a pilot chatches and unescorted flight of Ju-87 and shoots down 5 of them is not as difficult as shooting down 5 P-51.
So again... a endless discussion with no real factual value. Just pure guesswork as nobody knows all pilots of all countries during WW2.
To me bombers are of greater value than fighters. Bombers had also bigger invaluable crew so killing a bombers is certainly more important than killing a fighter.
So, more suggestions, please.