Best fighter pilot of ww2?

[Viggen]

Yes, these oldtimers are a special breed.  Think it´s important that we remember them and honor them for not just all the kills, but for being pioneers of the the jetage. 

[alyster]

As part of the West German Air Force he was choosen as a test pilot or something of the sort for the Kestrel, the for runner to the Harrier. During a test flight to hover the aircraft, at NAS Oceana, he crashed, after which he hopped out of the aircraft and shout "HAA HAA 353 allied aircraft destroyed!!!"

That wasn't Harmann,  it was Gerhard Barkhorn. And he said"Drei hundert und zwei" (he's ww2 score was 301). BTW he didn't shout it after hoping out of the plane, he mubled it while others helped him get out of the plane.

[Goose]

Ok, thanks for correcting me. I was throughly confused there then.

[Zeke]

I notice that Ulrich Rudel wasn't on the list? The only man to get the Oak leaves and Swords with Diamonds in Gold to go with his Knights Cross. he not only flew the Ju87 but also the Fw190D and scored 8 aerial victories in that...so he was no slouch.

I voted for Hatmann by the way, but I still can't belive that the Americans handed him over to the Russians at the end of the war...how dishonerable was that?!...
He was jailed for war crimes because the Russians said that some of the shells fired from his aircraft MUST have killed civilians!

Let's hope we never have to go through that kind of war again... :'(

[alyster]

I didn't add him to the list, cause he didn't get the highest Knight Cross cause of his 8(9) kills. In Luftwaffe, getting so 8 kills wasn't anything big.

[Zeke]

Fair comment, but by all accounts Rudel was a truly exceptional pilot.
This is a good poll anyway because it's forced people to look at the bare statistics and try and separate a lot of the rubbish we here out of it all. 352 kills for any single pilot is astonishing in anyones book.

[wwj6392]

Uh Adolf Galland scored 6 victories in the Eastern front. He flew a FW-190 A1

[alyster]

These kills were unofficial.

[Raptor]

Excuse me??? The 100s of kills we're made against useless planes and pilots! Except ONE. And where is Douglas Bader? Marmaduke Thomas St. John 'Pat' Pattle?
'

[Cobra2]

I voted Richard Bong...he was a very good pilot.

[Raptor]

I don't LIKE Mr. Bong. Adolf Galland. He's a more European theatre than Russian, where the planes can be shot down by any pilot for the Lufftwaffe, USAAF, RAF, or any other place for that matter.

[Foxhound21]

Excuse me??? The 100s of kills we're made against useless planes and pilots! Except ONE. And where is Douglas Bader? Marmaduke Thomas St. John 'Pat' Pattle?
'

man there is no such thing as useless pilots