Best fighter pilot of the War?

Harri · #61

You are right Barrett.

If several "odd factors" are taken into accound then the number one man perhaps in the whole world is Finnish top ace and double Knight of the Mannerheim Cross WO I. Juutilainen (94 confirmed kills during 437 combat sorties). He was never hit by any Soviet pilots and he didn't destroy any own planes during the war. Juutilainen forced landed twice but after minor repairs plane was in working condition again. Once the reason was enemy or friendly bullet shot from the ground.

He had at least one serious accident before the war but he survived. According to other Finnish fighter pilots Lt. K. Karhila and Lt. V. Pokela (both Flight Leaders during the war) "Illu" Juutilainen was excellent fighter pilot and he kept always "the last card" in his sleeve for the enemy. He was never surprised by the enemy either. Everyone who knew him have told that although he was all the time joking and was never serious in job that all was wiped away and he was like a different man. He also developed Finnish fighter tactics and teached new pilots so that they really remembered his lessons.

I think it was Lt.(later Capt.) Pokela who told a few years ago that in 1944 actually the new Finnish pilots were much better trained than they had self been earlier. That is quite opposite to the development in Germany.

Barrett · #62

It's seldom noted that, apart from the US Navy and Marine Corps, the Finnish AF was the only one that regularly practiced wide-angle aerial gunnery. They studied what other air arms were doing in Europe and the US during the 30s and decided they needed to maximize their assets, and certainly succeeded. Pound for pound, the Finns may have been the best small air force in the world.

red devil · #63

So many different opinions about so many great and clever pilots, Adolph Galland would come to my mind first, followed by Bader etc. BUT, to my way of thinking, the best fighter pilots of world war 2 were without doubt,

the one's who survived.

Barrett · #64

Skill often has little or nothing to do with who survives. Hartmann was shot down 17 times--was he the best? He may have been the luckiest, since any of the rounds that perforated his airframe could have perforated him! Rall and Galland both said Marseille was The Best, but HJM was killed. So....who's the best?

Everybody has favorites, and that's fine. But "the best" is unknowable until such as time as we can all access The Great Celestial Computer.

krichter33 · #65

Marseille followed by Heinz Baer.

Aufklarung · #66

IMHO, among the best are:

-Guenther Scheel (70 Missions= 71 Victories)
or
-Emil Lang (18 kills in one day)
or
-Erich Rudorffer (13 kills in one Sortie)
or
-Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (121 night kills)
or
-Iwamoto Tetsuzo (leader, tactician, and relative unknown)
or
-Buzz Beurling (Canada's highest scorer- *patriotic entry*)

Take your pick.

Over all I'd like to say that Gunther Rall is my personal favourite for no reasons that fit this thread.

http://home.monet.no/~oddbass/pilots.html

regards
A

Grendel-B · #67

Topspeed wrote: Here is an other answer:

Finnish bomber pilot Laus Dei Saxell got a mission to bomb the wooden monastery in Kizhi Island in Russian-Karelia. It was supposed to be used for observation by the enemy. Laus Dei ( Mercy of God by the name ! ) did not follow the order, but instead dumbed the bombs elsewhere. Now there is a very attractive tourist resort in KIZHI Island. It is UN-world wide heritage site as well.

I think that makes him a supreme bomber pilot of all times. [/b][/i]"

Except there was never such order and Saxell's mission on that day was to bomb Soviet shipping, which he did.

Look for an article about this non-event on our site soon

Topspeed · #68

What....Laus Dei made up the whole thing is that what you are saying ? In his memoirs he is bullshitting everyone ?

Topspeed · #69

I just called Laus Dei Saxell. He has been dead for 5 years by now. His widow said he was a wonderful man and earnest. Very good man either way you looked at him said the widow. I doubt he was lieing about things in his book. Honestly do you think anyone who has been given oral instructions to bomb something and does not do it would write about the Gizhi bombing in a logbook or his superior in the mission diary ?

Juha Tompuri · #70

Grendel-B wrote:Look for an article about this non-event on our site soon

http://www.virtualpilots.fi/hist/WW2His ... irkot.html

Regards, Juha

Topspeed · #71

Really strange.

I understood before reading the story that Pilvenveikot wanted to straighten out the misconception that FAF HQ and Martiala would have given an order to bomb Gizhi monastery. Saxell said he had done it on early days of December 1941 and indeed he had flown twice then...apparently totally unsignificant flights.

This question remains a mystery...Saxell died a year or two after his memoirs were published.

I personally believe Laus Dei " LASSE " Saxell. My relative ( Hyrkki ) was assigned to fly in a snowstorm with a Fokker CX after the war and he died...plane did not have a radio. I also know several other FAF operations during WW II that officially never happened.....this Saxell incident would not have been the first one.

I think FAF brotherhood is in crisis when a testimony of living pilot is less important than the honour of the dead ones. I also remember the captain Hans Wind testimony of having shot down Spitfires....and Karhila shooting Mustangs...being totally screwed up by finnish historians along with russian historians as being impossible. I personally talked about the matter with Hans Wind as he was still alive.

best regards,

Juke T ( of the FAF reserv )