Luftwaffe fighter emblems. Luftwaffe aces!! (historical photos)

Organizational structure of the Luftwaffe

In order to make it easier to navigate the subsequent sections, a few words should be said about the organizational structure of German military aviation, its units and formations, as well as the military ranks used in it.

Commander-in-Chief of the German Air Force ( Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe) was G. Goering, who at the same time headed the Reich Ministry of Aviation. The latter managed the aviation industry, civil aviation and aviation sports organizations. Initially, two leadership headquarters were created in the Luftwaffe: the general headquarters (Generalstabes der Luft waffe) and the main headquarters (Luftwaffenfuhrungsstabes). In the spring of 1942 they were united into the Luftwaffe High Command (Oberkommando der Luftwaffe - OKL).

In the pre-war years, Germany was divided into air districts (Luftkreiskommando), the commanders of which were responsible for all air force units on their territory. Since 1939, the air fleet (Luftflotte) has become the highest operational unit in the Luftwaffe. By this time, an organizational structure had been established that remained throughout the Second World War. The fleet consisted of corps (Fliegerkorps) and divisions (Flieger-division). The main combat units in the Luftwaffe were the squadron (Geschwader), group (Gruppe) and squadron (Staffel). Each squadron included a headquarters unit and three or more groups (from 100 to 120 aircraft in total). It was assigned a number from Arabic numerals, for example, JG 51 - Jagdgeschwader (fighter squadron) 51. The squadron was commanded by Geschwaderkommodore (short designation - Kdre.).

In documents, the squadrons were designated by abbreviations:

fighter (Jagdgeschwader)-JG;

night fighters (Nachtjagdgeschwader) - NJG;

heavy fighters (Zerstorgeschwader) - ZG;

attack aircraft (Schlachtgeschwader) -SG (from 1943) or Sch .G (until 1943);

night attack aircraft (Nachtschlachtgeschwader) - NSG;

bomber (Kampfgeschwader) -KG;

high-speed bombers (Schnellkampfgeschwader) - SKG;

dive bombers (Sturzkampfgeschwader, Stukageschwader)-St.G;

transport aviation (Transport-geschwader) - KGzbV (until 1943) or TG (since 1943);

combat training (Lehrgeschwader) - LG.

The group, which had 40-50 aircraft, consisted of a headquarters unit and three or more squadrons. She was commanded by the Gruppenkommandeur (abbreviated -Kdr.). The group number was written in Roman numerals, with the squadron designation given through a slash. If the squadron was mixed, its purpose was indicated in parentheses after the group number. For example:

I/JG 27 - I Group of the 27th Fighter Squadron;

II /KG 40 - II group of the 40th bomber squadron;

I (J)/ LG 2 - I group of light fighters of the 2nd combat training squadron;

V (Z)/LG 1 - V group of heavy fighters of the 1st combat training squadron.

Reconnaissance and naval aviation did not have squadrons (there were no structural units above the group) and were divided directly into groups in accordance with their purpose:

close (front-line) reconnaissance (Nahaufklarungsgruppe) - IMA .Gr;

long-range reconnaissance officers (Fernaufklarungs-gruppe) - FA .Gr;

naval reconnaissance officers (Seeaufklarungs-gruppe) - SA .Gr;

night scouts (Nachtaufklarungs-gruppe) - A.Gr.Nacht;

naval aviation (Bordflieger-gruppe) - B.FI.Gr;

coastal aviation (Kustenflieger-gruppe) - Ku.FI.Gr.

There were also special forces groups:

testing (Erprobungsgruppe) - Er. Gr or Erpr.Gr;

preparation of replenishments (Erganzungs -gruppe) - Erg.Gr;

glider (Schleppgruppe);

intelligence of the Luftwaffe High Command (strategic intelligence) - Aufkl .Gr. Ob .d .L ;

The squadron consisted of 12 to 16 aircraft. Its number was written in Arabic numerals. The numbering of squadrons in the squadron was continuous: Group I included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd squadrons, Group II included the 4th, 5th and 6th, etc. The number, separated by a fraction, was followed by the designation of the squadron or group (if the group was not part of the squadron). The purpose of the squadron could be specified in parentheses. For example:

1 ./JG 27 - 1st squadron (as part of I group) of the 27th fighter squadron;

7./KG 76 - 7th squadron (as part of III group) of the 76th bomber squadron;

10.(Jabo)/JG 2 - 10th (fighter-bomber) squadron of the 2nd fighter squadron;

5.(H)/Aufkl.Gr 13 - 5th (short-range reconnaissance) squadron of the 13th reconnaissance group; sometimes there is an abbreviated spelling - 5./(N) 13;

3.(F)/Aufkl.Gr 22 - 3rd (long-range reconnaissance) squadron of the 22nd reconnaissance group; shortened version -3./(F )22;

1./Aufkl .Gr Ob .d .L . - 1st squadron of the reconnaissance group, directly subordinate to the Luftwaffe high command;

1./KGr 106 - 1st Squadron, 106th Bomb Group;

2./Ku.FI.Gr 406 - 2nd Squadron of the 406th Coastal Aviation Group;

2./Erpr .Gr 210 - 2nd squadron of the 210th test group.

The squadrons, in turn, were divided into units. In most branches of aviation they included three aircraft and were called Kette in German. The fighter units had links of four aircraft (Schwarm), further divided into pairs (Rotte).

The composition of squadrons, groups and squadrons varied depending on the tasks assigned to them, the availability of aircraft and flight personnel, logistics conditions, etc. Fighter aviation was distinguished by a particularly flexible organization, in which it was common for combat operations to be carried out by groups of the same squadron (or even squadrons) located at a distance of several hundred kilometers from each other. Such units acted separately, depending on the prevailing combat situation in a given sector of the front.

Table 1. Military ranks adopted in the Luftwaffe (For comparison, the corresponding ranks adopted in the USSR Air Force, England and the US Army Air Force are given)

Abbreviation	Luftwaffe	Soviet Air Force	Royal Air Force	US Army Air Forces
Fig.	Flieger		Aircraftsman 2nd Class	Private
Gefr.	Gefreiter	Corporal	Aircraftsman 1st Class	Private 1st Class
Ogfr. (since 1944 Hgfr.)	Obergefreiter (since 1944 r. Hauptgefreiter)	Lance Sergeant	Leading Aircraftsman	No analogue
Uffz.	Unteroffizier		Corporal	Corporal
Ufw.	Unterfeldwebel	Staff Sergeant	No analogue	Sergeant
	Feldwebel	Sergeant Major	Sergeant	Technical Sergeant
Fhr.	Faehnrich (Fahnenjunker)	No analogue	No analogue	Officer Candidate
Obfw.	Oberfeldwebel	No analogue	Flight Sergeant	Master Sergeant
Obflir.	Oberfaehnrich	No analogue	No analogue	Sr. Officer Candidate
Stabsfw.	Stabsfeldwebel	No analogue	Warrant Officer	No analogue
	Leutnant	Lieutenant	Pilot Officer	2nd Lieutenant
Obit.	Oberleutnant	Senior Lieutenant	Flying Officer	Lieutenant
Hptm.	Hauptmann		Flight Lieutenant	Captain
Maj.	Major		Squadron Leader	Major
Oberstlt.	Oberstleutnant	Lieutenant colonel	Wing Commander	Lt. Colonel
Oberst	Oberst	Colonel	Group Captain	Colonel
Gen. Maj.	General Major	Major General	Air Commodore	Brigadier General
Oen.Lt.	General leutnant	Lieutenant General	Air Vice Marshal	Major General
Gen.d.Fl.	General der Flieger	Colonel General	Air Marshal	Lieutenant General
Gen.Oberst.	Generaloberst	Air Marshal	Air Chief Marshal	4-Star General
Gen. Feldm.	Generalfeldmarschall	Air Chief Marshal	Marshal of the Royal Air Force	5-Star General
	Reichsmarschall	No analogue	No analogue	No analogue

Table 2. Ranks that the commanders of a particular unit, unit or formation could have in German aviation

Name	Commander Rank
Luftwaffe	Reichsmarschall
Luftwaffe General Staff	General der Flieger, Generaloberst
Air fleet	Generalfeldmarschall. General der Fliegcr
Air Corps	General der Flieger, Generalleutnant
Air Division	General der Flieger, Generalleutnant, General Major
	General Major, Oberst, Oberstleutnant, Major
	Oberstleutnant, Major, Hauptmann
Squadron	Hauptmann, Oberleutnant
Link (Kette or Schwarm)	Oberleutnant, Leutnant, Unteroffizier

This tradition was revived by Luftwaffe pilots during the Spanish Civil War, who fought on the side of the Francoists in the Condor Legion.

Four fighter squadrons air group J.88 "Condor Legion" had their own emblems:

1./J 88- diving raven;

A camouflaged He-51 had just landed after completing a combat mission. On the side of the fuselage below the cockpit is the 1./J-88 emblem. In the Spanish heat, technicians were often limited to two pieces of clothing - a cap and shorts. In the summer of 1937, two assault staffels, armed with He-51 aircraft, played a prominent role in the failure of the Republican offensive on Brunete. In intense air battles during this period, the 3rd Staffel J-88, commanded by Adolf Galland, distinguished itself. He proposed converting the Messerschmitts' additional fuel tanks into incendiary bombs. Although Galland did not win a single victory in air combat in Spain, the emblem of the 3./J-88 from the Spanish era - Mickey Mouse - became Galand's personal emblem during the Second World War.

2./J 88- cylinder hat;

Lieutenant Ursinus from 2./J 88 and his plane. The cylinder was the emblem of the 2nd Staffel. "Barhen" is the proper name of the aircraft. The Bf.109B fighter was armed with a pair of 7.92 mm machine guns mounted above the engine and one 7.92 mm machine gun, which fired through the hollow gearbox shaft. In July 1938, a modification of the Bf.109C appeared with two fuselage and two wing machine guns and an improved engine. With the Bf.109C, Werner Mölders quickly became the best ace of the Condor Legion.

3./J 88- Mickey Mouse figure;

The first Mickey Mouse figure appeared on a He-51 in the Condor Legion in Spain, where Adolf Galland was commander (1937-May 1938) of 3./J88 Squadron. In May 1938, he was replaced by Werner Mölders, who arrived in the legion. Subsequently, the Mickey Mouse emblem (modified, Mickey Mouse with a cigar) was on all Galland aircraft.

Mickey Mouse also became the personal emblem of Horst Carganico.

Major Horst Carganico had a reputation among the fighters as a true leader. Karganiko commanded the Kirkenes fighter group, then 6./JG-5, II./JG-5 and I/JG-5. A small emblem with a Disney Mickey Mouse was his personal emblem.

Here Mickey Mouse is already big, and the mouse now has a spare pair of shoes, as a reminder of the forced landing of Karaganiko in the summer of 1943, after which he got to the airfield on his own two feet. Major Carganico died on the tenth day after the Allied invasion of France.

During the Second World War, the Mickey Mouse emblem, in several versions of the image, was worn by fighters and attack aircraft.

4./J 88- ace of spades.

Emblem of the 1st Fighter Aviation Flight School (Jagdfliegerschule 1). The school was based in Werneuichen and was founded before the war by the talented pilot - ace of the First World War, Theodor Osterkamp.

Flight schools, as a rule, did not have their own emblem, but Jagdfliegerschule 1 was the first Luftwaffe educational institution, which trained a large number of pilots who later became real aces.

Luftwaffe fighter aircraft emblems

Jagdgeschwader (JG) - Fighter Squadron (division)

Gruppe - A group (regiment) consisted of three or four staffels and a headquarters shwarm. Indicated by a Roman numeral with a dot

Staffel - a staffel (squadron) consisted of three squadrons, and each squadron staffel had its own serial number from 1 to 9 (from mid-1943 - up to 12). The staffel was designated by an Arabic numeral with a fraction, for example: 3/JG 54.

Jagdgeschwader 1 "Oesau"

JG1, 1940-1943

In the fall of 1944, the headquarters unit of the 1st squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Philip, flew Fw-190A-5 fighters. The emblem of the headquarters even is clearly visible in the picture. Only Philip's plane and his two wingmen had this emblem.

(3./JG27)

II. Gruppe

The group's dragon emblem is clearly visible on the hood of the Fw-190A-2 fighter from II./JG-1. Each staffel had a dragon of a strictly defined color: white, red or yellow.

III. Gruppe

(3/JG11)

IV. Gruppe

IV./JG1

Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen"

The fuselages of Group III aircraft were often depicted with the head of an eagle. The same image was on the Fw-190A-4 of the commander of 2./JG-2, Oberleutnant Host Hannig

Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet"

Geschwaderstab stab/JG3

I. Group

Oberleutnant Robert Oleinik won the first official victory of the Luftwaffe in Operation Barbarossa, with which mechanic Sergeant Major Mackert congratulates him. Oleinik received the Knight's Cross after shooting down 32 Soviet aircraft. Pay attention to the dragon - the emblem of 1./JG-3, painted on the hood of the Messerschmitt engine. This emblem remained unchanged after the group was reorganized into II./JG-1

1.Staffel

2.Staffel

3.Staffel

III./JG3

Knight's Cross holder Georg Schentke poses by his plane, Pitomnik airfield, Christmas 1942. The Bf.109F-4 wears Mediterranean camouflage adapted to the conditions of the Eastern Front. The III./JG-3 emblem on the engine hood is clearly visible.

7.Staffel

8./JG3

IV. (Sturm) Group

11./JG3

Jagdgeschwader 4

Jagdgeschwader 5 "Eismeer" Arctic Ocean

I. Group (stab I./JG77 (later))

2.Staffel

II. Gruppe

5.Staffel

III. Gruppe

7.Staffel

8.Staffel

13. (Zerstoerer) Staffel 10.(z)/JG5, 13.(z)/JG5

13.(Z)/JG5

14. (Jagdbomber) Staffel

Jagdgeschwader 6" Horst Wessel"

Jagdgeschwader 7 "Nowotny"

(9/JG1)

Jagdgeschwader 20

(7./JG51)

(9./JG51)

Jagdgeschwader 21

(III./JG54)

(...)

(...)

Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter"

Personal emblem of Fritz Losigkeit

(..)

The picture shows a Bf-109E-7 fighter from 7./JG-26, sergeant major Karl Laub, before his death on December 4, 1944, he shot down seven enemy aircraft. On the engine hood there is a staffel emblem - a red heart, on the side of the cabin in front of the canopy - the emblem of the Schlageter squadron - the letter "S" (from the name of the squadron "Schlageter")

8./JG26 (4./JG26)

9./JG26

9 Squadron JG-26 is known as "Hölenhund" or "Cerberus"

Jagdgeschwader 27

The I./JG-27 emblem was designed several months before the group's arrival in North Africa. To a certain extent, the design of the emblem reflects nostalgia for the African colonies of the Kaiser's Germany.

In the fall of 1941, Group II./JG-27 received the first Bf 109F-2/Z Trop. On the hood of the Friedrach engine is the famous group emblem - “Berlin Bear”, below the cockpit canopy is the emblem of the 4th squadron. The photo was taken on September 16, 1941, when the group's aircraft were being repainted in desert colors at Doberita airfield in Germany. A week later the group left for North Africa.

(1./JG1)

An American soldier inspects a damaged Bf 109G-6/R6 Trop, o. Crete, December 1, 1943
On the side of the fuselage, the emblem of the 7th squadron is clearly visible - an apple pierced by an arrow.

Jagdgeschwader 50

Jagdgeschwader 51 "Moelders"

I. Group I./JG51

1.Staffel

3.Staffel

II. Gruppe "God Strike England"

(2./JG71)

III. Gruppe

1./JG20, 7./JG51

8.Staffel

7th aircraft of the 8th squadron of the III group JG51 "Mölders"

9.Staffel

IV. Gruppe

15. (Spanish) Staffel / "Escuadron Azul"

15./JG51 "Blauen staffel(n)"

Jagdgeschwader 52

JG52

Commander of II./JG-52 Hauptmann Johannes Steinhof in the cockpit of his Gustav, Crimea, autumn 1942. The emblem of the II Group - a winged sword - is clearly visible.

I. Group

1.Staffel

2.Staffel

4./JG52

The emblem with a curved red cat can easily be confused with a very similar black one. This leads to confusion in identifying aircraft 4./JG-52 and 8./JG-51 in black and white photographs.

6.Staffel

III. Gruppe III./JG52 (early) 1940, March 1 - Formed from I./Jagdgeschwader 28

Group III, due to the running wolf emblem, was sometimes called "Timberwolf"

7.Staffel

The pierced heart was the crest of 9/JG 52, and was displayed on many of the squadron's aircraft from at least early 1942. On the heart was the inscription "Dicker Max", which Hartmann later replaced with "Ursel". By the way, the example turned out to be contagious, and many pilots of the squadron began to write the names of their lovers. And the word “Karaya-1” was the call sign of the commander of the ninth squadron (as a rule, the command vehicle had tail number “1”). Before Hartmann, all other commanders used it, for example G. Graf. Having become the group commander, Hartmann could no longer use this call sign and accordingly changed the design on board: only a heart with the inscription “Ursel”.

13. (Slowak.) Staffel/JG 52

15. (Kroat.) Staffel / JG 52

Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik As" "Ace of Spades"

Winter 1941-1942 "Friedrich" from III./JG-53 painted white

Jagdgeschwader 54 "Gruen Herz" "Green Heart"

The "Green Heart" is the coat of arms of Thuringia, where Commodore Hannes Trautloft was born. This emblem first appeared on the fighter aircraft of Lieutenant Trautloft in Spain in 1937. Hannes Trautloft commanded the 54th Green Heart Squadron from 1940 to 1943.

I. Gruppe coat of arms of Nuremberg

I./JG54

Gruppenstab

1.Staffel

2.Staffel

3.Staffel

II. Gruppe coat of arms of Aspern

III. Gruppe III./JG54 (I./JG21)

Jagdgeschwader 77 "Herz As" "Ace of Hearts"

The “Tromped Shoe” emblem was invented by the group commander, Hauptmann J. Janke, who gave it the unofficial nickname “Wanderzirkus Janke” (“Janke’s Traveling Circus”).

Hauptmann Heinrich Seitz

The tail section of Hans Troitzsch's Bf 109E with markings of three victories, two bullet holes (black dots) and the emblem of the 6th Squadron - a penguin defecating on Winston Churchill's initials.

In August 1942, III./JG-77 was re-equipped from Friedrichs to early Gustav models. In the photo on the right is the future holder of the Knight's Cross, Oberfeldwebel Johann Pichler, September 1942, Leningrad Front. The group's emblem is a wolf's head.

Jagdgeschwader 400

The vehicles that were in service with night fighter units (JG 300, JG 301, JG 302) bore an additional designation on the fuselage in the form of the letter N (Nacht - night) in black or red with a white outline located between the aircraft number and the cross.

The emblem of the night fighter squadron - a white eagle strikes England with sparkling red lightning

About personal emblems:

many pilots chose their emblems using puns in their surnames and nicknames

Hans von Hahn chose the image of a rooster as his personal emblem. The surname "hahn" means rooster.

In the photo, the Priller with tail number 13 is destroyed in black. Priller flew this Fw-190A-8 during the first days of the battle in Normandy. Priller's personal emblem is the Ace of Hearts card with his wife's name "Jutta".

Looking at the Ace of Spades painted on the side of the fighter's fuselage, it is easy to mistake its identity. In the cockpit - Oberleutnant Hans-Joachim Heinicke and 9./JG-27, but previously he served as a “spike ace” in the JG-53 squadron.

A photograph of the Messerschmitt in which Barkhorn flew. The name of the pilot’s wife, “Christy,” is written on the side of the fuselage, and the lucky tail number “5” for Barkhorn is inscribed in the chevron. The number five and his wife's name were on all of Barkhorn's planes; he considered them talismans.

Useful literature:

Luftwaffe emblems 1939-1945. Barry Ketley and Mark Rolfe. http://depositfiles.com/files/6ml73pwg3

Legion Condor. Germans in Spain, 1936-1939. NS No. 118

Luftwaffe aces. Bf-109 pilots in the Mediterranean

Luftwaffe aces. Bf-109 pilots on the Eastern Front http://depositfiles.com/files/gwe5ryj95

Luftwaffe aces. Bf-109 D/E pilots. 1939-41

Luftwaffe aces. FW-190 pilots on the Eastern Front http://depositfiles.com/files/y1a51tfqz

Luftwaffe aces. FW-190 pilots on the Western Front

Luftwaffe squadrons 1939-1945. Chris Bishop. Aircraft identification guide. http://depositfiles.com/files/kfr568gr8

...the squadron lost 80 pilots in a fairly short period of time,
of which 60 never shot down a single Russian aircraft
/Mike Speake “Luftwaffe Aces”/

The Iron Curtain collapsed with a deafening roar, and a storm of revelations of Soviet myths arose in the media of independent Russia. The theme of the Great Patriotic War became the most popular - inexperienced Soviet people were shocked by the results of German aces - tank crews, submariners and, especially, Luftwaffe pilots.
Actually, the problem is this: 104 German pilots have a record of 100 or more downed aircraft. Among them are Erich Hartmann (352 victories) and Gerhard Barkhorn (301), who showed absolutely phenomenal results. Moreover, Harmann and Barkhorn won all their victories on the Eastern Front. And they were no exception - Gunther Rall (275 victories), Otto Kittel (267), Walter Nowotny (258) - also fought on the Soviet-German front.

At the same time, the 7 best Soviet aces: Kozhedub, Pokryshkin, Gulaev, Rechkalov, Evstigneev, Vorozheikin, Glinka were able to overcome the bar of 50 enemy aircraft shot down. For example, Three-time Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozhedub destroyed 64 German aircraft in air battles (plus 2 American Mustangs shot down by mistake). Alexander Pokryshkin is a pilot about whom, according to legend, the Germans warned by radio: “Akhtung! Pokryshkin in der luft!”, chalked up “only” 59 aerial victories. The little-known Romanian ace Constantin Contacuzino has approximately the same number of victories (according to various sources, from 60 to 69). Another Romanian, Alexandru Serbanescu, shot down 47 aircraft on the Eastern Front (another 8 victories remained “unconfirmed”).

The situation is much worse for the Anglo-Saxons. The best aces were Marmaduke Pettle (about 50 victories, South Africa) and Richard Bong (40 victories, USA). In total, 19 British and American pilots managed to shoot down more than 30 enemy aircraft, while the British and Americans fought on the best fighters in the world: the inimitable P-51 Mustang, P-38 Lightning or the legendary Supermarine Spitfire! On the other hand, the best ace of the Royal Air Force did not have the opportunity to fight on such wonderful aircraft - Marmaduke Pettle won all his fifty victories, flying first on the old Gladiator biplane, and then on the clumsy Hurricane.
Against this background, the results of the Finnish fighter aces look completely paradoxical: Ilmari Yutilainen shot down 94 aircraft, and Hans Wind - 75.

What conclusion can be drawn from all these numbers? What is the secret of the incredible performance of Luftwaffe fighters? Maybe the Germans simply didn’t know how to count?
The only thing that can be stated with a high degree of confidence is that the accounts of all aces, without exception, are inflated. Extolling the successes of the best fighters is a standard practice of state propaganda, which by definition cannot be honest.

German Meresyev and his “Stuka”

As an interesting example, I propose to consider the incredible bomber pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel. This ace is less known than the legendary Erich Hartmann. Rudel practically did not participate in air battles; you will not find his name in the lists of the best fighters.
Rudel is famous for having flown 2,530 combat missions. He piloted the Junkers 87 dive bomber and at the end of the war took the helm of the Focke-Wulf 190. During his combat career, he destroyed 519 tanks, 150 self-propelled guns, 4 armored trains, 800 trucks and cars, two cruisers, a destroyer, and seriously damaged the battleship Marat. In the air he shot down two Il-2 attack aircraft and seven fighters. He landed on enemy territory six times to rescue the crews of downed Junkers. The Soviet Union placed a reward of 100,000 rubles on the head of Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Just an example of a fascist

He was shot down 32 times by return fire from the ground. In the end, Rudel's leg was torn off, but the pilot continued to fly on a crutch until the end of the war. In 1948, he fled to Argentina, where he became friends with dictator Peron and organized a mountaineering club. Climbed the highest peak of the Andes - Aconcagua (7 kilometers). In 1953 he returned to Europe and settled in Switzerland, continuing to talk nonsense about the revival of the Third Reich.
Without a doubt, this extraordinary and controversial pilot was a tough ace. But any person accustomed to thoughtfully analyzing events should have one important question: how was it established that Rudel destroyed exactly 519 tanks?

Of course, there were no photographic machine guns or cameras on the Junkers. The maximum that Rudel or his gunner-radio operator could notice: covering a column of armored vehicles, i.e. possible damage to tanks. The dive recovery speed of the Yu-87 is more than 600 km/h, the overload can reach 5g, in such conditions it is impossible to accurately see anything on the ground.
Since 1943, Rudel switched to the Yu-87G anti-tank attack aircraft. The characteristics of this “laptezhnika” are simply disgusting: max. speed in horizontal flight is 370 km/h, rate of climb is about 4 m/s. The main aircraft were two VK37 cannons (caliber 37 mm, rate of fire 160 rounds/min), with only 12 (!) rounds of ammunition per barrel. Powerful guns installed in the wings, when firing, created a large turning moment and rocked the light aircraft so much that firing in bursts was pointless - only single sniper shots.

And here is a funny report on the results of field tests of the VYa-23 aircraft gun: in 6 flights on the Il-2, the pilots of the 245th assault air regiment, with a total consumption of 435 shells, achieved 46 hits in a tank column (10.6%). We must assume that in real combat conditions, under intense anti-aircraft fire, the results will be much worse. What's a German ace with 24 shells on board a Stuka!

Further, hitting a tank does not guarantee its defeat. An armor-piercing projectile (685 grams, 770 m/s), fired from a VK37 cannon, penetrated 25 mm of armor at an angle of 30° from the normal. When using sub-caliber ammunition, armor penetration increased by 1.5 times. Also, due to the aircraft’s own speed, armor penetration in reality was approximately another 5 mm greater. On the other hand, the thickness of the armored hull of Soviet tanks was less than 30-40 mm only in some projections, and it was impossible to even dream of hitting a KV, IS or heavy self-propelled gun in the forehead or side.
In addition, breaking through armor does not always lead to the destruction of a tank. Trains with damaged armored vehicles regularly arrived in Tankograd and Nizhny Tagil, which were quickly restored and sent back to the front. And repairs to damaged rollers and chassis were carried out right on site. At this time, Hans-Ulrich Rudel drew himself another cross for the “destroyed” tank.

Another question for Rudel relates to his 2,530 combat missions. According to some reports, in the German bomber squadrons it was customary to count a difficult mission as an incentive for several combat missions. For example, captured captain Helmut Putz, commander of the 4th detachment of the 2nd group of the 27th bomber squadron, explained the following during interrogation: “... in combat conditions I managed to make 130-140 night sorties, and a number of sorties with a complex combat mission were counted towards me , like others, in 2-3 flights.” (interrogation protocol dated June 17, 1943). Although it is possible that Helmut Putz, having been captured, lied, trying to reduce his contribution to the attacks on Soviet cities.

Hartmann against everyone

There is an opinion that ace pilots filled their accounts without any restrictions and fought “on their own,” being an exception to the rule. And the main work at the front was performed by semi-qualified pilots. This is a deep misconception: in a general sense, there are no “averagely qualified” pilots. There are either aces or their prey.
For example, let’s take the legendary Normandie-Niemen air regiment, which fought on Yak-3 fighters. Of the 98 French pilots, 60 did not win a single victory, but the “selected” 17 pilots shot down 200 German aircraft in air battles (in total, the French regiment drove 273 aircraft with swastikas into the ground).
A similar picture was observed in the US 8th Air Force, where out of 5,000 fighter pilots, 2,900 did not achieve a single victory. Only 318 people recorded 5 or more downed aircraft.
American historian Mike Spike describes the same episode related to the actions of the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front: “... the squadron lost 80 pilots in a fairly short period of time, of which 60 never shot down a single Russian aircraft.”
So, we found out that ace pilots are the main strength of the Air Force. But the question remains: what is the reason for the huge gap between the performance of the Luftwaffe aces and the pilots of the Anti-Hitler Coalition? Even if we split the incredible German bills in half?

One of the legends about the inconsistency of the large accounts of German aces is associated with an unusual system for counting downed aircraft: by the number of engines. Single-engine fighter - one plane shot down. Four-engine bomber - four aircraft shot down. Indeed, for pilots who fought in the West, a parallel score was introduced, in which for the destruction of a “Flying Fortress” flying in battle formation, the pilot was credited with 4 points, for a damaged bomber that “fell out” of battle formation and became easy prey other fighters, the pilot was given 3 points, because he did the bulk of the work - breaking through the hurricane fire of the “Flying Fortresses” is much more difficult than shooting down a damaged single aircraft. And so on: depending on the degree of participation of the pilot in the destruction of the 4-engine monster, he was awarded 1 or 2 points. What happened next with these reward points? They were probably somehow converted into Reichsmarks. But all this had nothing to do with the list of downed aircraft.

The most prosaic explanation for the Luftwaffe phenomenon: the Germans had no shortage of targets. Germany fought on all fronts with a numerical superiority of the enemy. The Germans had 2 main types of fighters: Messerschmitt 109 (34 thousand were produced from 1934 to 1945) and Focke-Wulf 190 (13 thousand fighter version and 6.5 thousand attack aircraft were produced) - a total of 48 thousand fighters.
At the same time, about 70 thousand Yaks, Lavochkins, I-16s and MiG-3s passed through the Red Army Air Force during the war years (excluding 10 thousand fighters delivered under Lend-Lease).
In the Western European theater of operations, Luftwaffe fighters were opposed by about 20 thousand Spitfires and 13 thousand Hurricanes and Tempests (this is how many vehicles served in the Royal Air Force from 1939 to 1945). How many more fighters did Britain receive under Lend-Lease?
Since 1943, American fighters appeared over Europe - thousands of Mustangs, P-38s and P-47s plowed the skies of the Reich, accompanying strategic bombers during raids. In 1944, during the Normandy landings, Allied aircraft had a six-fold numerical superiority. “If there are camouflaged planes in the sky, it’s the Royal Air Force, if they’re silver, it’s the US Air Force. If there are no planes in the sky, it’s the Luftwaffe,” German soldiers joked sadly. Where could British and American pilots get large bills under such conditions?
Another example - the most popular combat aircraft in the history of aviation was the Il-2 attack aircraft. During the war years, 36,154 attack aircraft were produced, of which 33,920 Ilovs entered the army. By May 1945, the Red Army Air Force included 3,585 Il-2s and Il-10s, and another 200 Il-2s were in naval aviation.

In a word, the Luftwaffe pilots did not have any superpowers. All their achievements can only be explained by the fact that there were many enemy aircraft in the air. The Allied fighter aces, on the contrary, needed time to detect the enemy - according to statistics, even the best Soviet pilots had an average of 1 air battle per 8 sorties: they simply could not meet the enemy in the sky!
On a cloudless day, from a distance of 5 km, a World War II fighter is visible like a fly on a window pane from the far corner of the room. In the absence of radar on aircraft, air combat was more of an unexpected coincidence than a regular event.
It is more objective to count the number of downed aircraft, taking into account the number of combat sorties of pilots. Viewed from this angle, Erich Hartmann's achievement fades: 1,400 combat missions, 825 air combats and "only" 352 aircraft shot down. Walter Novotny has a much better figure: 442 sorties and 258 victories.

Friends congratulate Alexander Pokryshkin (far right) on receiving the third star of the Hero of the Soviet Union

It is very interesting to trace how ace pilots began their careers. The legendary Pokryshkin, in his first combat missions, demonstrated aerobatic skill, audacity, flight intuition and sniper shooting. And the phenomenal ace Gerhard Barkhorn did not score a single victory in his first 119 missions, but he himself was shot down twice! Although there is an opinion that not everything went smoothly for Pokryshkin either: his first plane shot down was the Soviet Su-2.
In any case, Pokryshkin has his own advantage over the best German aces. Hartman was shot down fourteen times. Barkhorn - 9 times. Pokryshkin was never shot down! Another advantage of the Russian miracle hero: he won most of his victories in 1943. In 1944-45. Pokryshkin shot down only 6 German aircraft, focusing on training young personnel and managing the 9th Guards Air Division.

In conclusion, it is worth saying that you should not be so afraid of the high bills of Luftwaffe pilots. This, on the contrary, shows what a formidable enemy the Soviet Union defeated, and why Victory has such high value.

Luftwaffe Aces of World War II

The film tells about the famous German ace pilots: Erich Hartmann (352 enemy aircraft shot down), Johan Steinhoff (176), Werner Mölders (115), Adolf Galland (103) and others. Rare footage of interviews with Hartman and Galland is presented, as well as unique newsreels of air battles.

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The title ace, in reference to military pilots, first appeared in French newspapers during the First World War. In 1915 Journalists nicknamed “aces”, and translated from French the word “as” means “ace”, pilots who shot down three or more enemy aircraft. The legendary French pilot Roland Garros was the first to be called an ace.
The most experienced and successful pilots in the Luftwaffe were called experts - “Experte”

Luftwaffe

Eric Alfred Hartman (Boobie)

Erich Hartmann (German: Erich Hartmann; April 19, 1922 - September 20, 1993) was a German ace pilot, considered the most successful fighter pilot in the history of aviation. According to German data, during the Second World War he shot down “352” enemy aircraft (of which 345 were Soviet) in 825 air battles.

Hartmann graduated from flight school in 1941 and was assigned to the 52nd Fighter Squadron on the Eastern Front in October 1942. His first commander and mentor was the famous Luftwaffe expert Walter Krupinsky.

Hartmann shot down his first plane on November 5, 1942 (an Il-2 from the 7th GShAP), but over the next three months he managed to shoot down only one plane. Hartmann gradually improved his flying skills, focusing on the effectiveness of the first attack

Oberleutnant Erich Hartmann in the cockpit of his fighter, the famous emblem of the 9th Staffel of the 52nd Squadron is clearly visible - a heart pierced by an arrow with the inscription “Karaya”, in the upper left segment of the heart the name of Hartman’s bride “Ursel” is written (the inscription is almost invisible in the picture) .

German ace Hauptmann Erich Hartmann (left) and Hungarian pilot Laszlo Pottiondy. German fighter pilot Erich Hartmann - the most successful ace of World War II

Krupinski Walter is the first commander and mentor of Erich Hartmann!!

Hauptmann Walter Krupinski commanded the 7th Staffel of the 52nd Squadron from March 1943 to March 1944. Pictured is Krupinski wearing the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, which he received on March 2, 1944 for 177 victories in air combat. Shortly after this photograph was taken, Krupinski was transferred to the West, where he served with 7(7-5, JG-11 and JG-26), ending the war in an Me-262 with J V-44.

In the photo from March 1944, from left to right: commander of 8./JG-52 Lieutenant Friedrich Obleser, commander of 9./JG-52 Lieutenant Erich Hartmann. Lieutenant Karl Gritz.

Wedding of Luftwaffe ace Erich Hartmann (1922 - 1993) and Ursula Paetsch. To the left of the couple is Hartmann's commander, Gerhard Barkhorn (1919 - 1983). On the right is Hauptmann Wilhelm Batz (1916 - 1988).

Bf. 109G-6 Hauptmann Erich Hartmann, Buders, Hungary, November 1944.

Barkhorn Gerhard "Gerd"

Major Barkhorn Gerhard

He began flying with JG2 and was transferred to JG52 in the fall of 1940. From January 16, 1945 to April 1, 1945 he commanded JG6. He ended the war in the “squadron of aces” JV 44, when on 04/21/1945 his Me 262 was shot down while landing by American fighters. He was seriously wounded and was held captive by the Allies for four months.

Number of victories - 301. All victories on the Eastern Front.

Hauptmann Erich Hartmann (04/19/1922 - 09/20/1993) with his commander Major Gerhard Barkhorn (05/20/1919 - 01/08/1983) studying the map. II./JG52 (2nd group of the 52nd fighter squadron). E. Hartmann and G. Barkhorn are the most successful pilots of the Second World War, having 352 and 301 aerial victories, respectively. In the lower left corner of the photo is E. Hartmann’s autograph.

The Soviet fighter LaGG-3, destroyed by German aircraft while still on the railway platform.

The snow melted faster than the white winter color was washed off the Bf 109. The fighter takes off right through the spring puddles.)!.

Captured Soviet airfield: I-16 stands next to Bf109F from II./JG-54.

In tight formation, a Ju-87D bomber from StG-2 “Immelmann” and “Friedrich” from I./JG-51 are carrying out a combat mission. At the end of the summer of 1942, the pilots of I./JG-51 switched to FW-190 fighters.

Commander of the 52nd Fighter Squadron (Jagdgeschwader 52) Lieutenant Colonel Dietrich Hrabak, commander of the 2nd Group of the 52nd Fighter Squadron (II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 52) Hauptmann Gerhard Barkhorn and an unknown Luftwaffe officer with a Messerschmitt fighter Bf.109G-6 at Bagerovo airfield.

Walter Krupinski, Gerhard Barkhorn, Johannes Wiese and Erich Hartmann

The commander of the 6th Fighter Squadron (JG6) of the Luftwaffe, Major Gerhard Barkhorn, in the cockpit of his Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 fighter.

Bf 109G-6 “double black chevron” of I./JG-52 commander Hauptmann Gerhard Barkhorn, Kharkov-Yug, August 1943.

Note the aircraft's own name; Christi is the name of the wife of Barkhorn, the second most successful fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe. The picture shows the plane Barkhorn flew in when he was commander of I./JG-52, when he had not yet crossed the 200-victory mark. Barkhorn survived; in total he shot down 301 aircraft, all on the eastern front.

Gunther Rall

German ace fighter pilot Major Günther Rall (03/10/1918 - 10/04/2009). Günther Rall was the third most successful German ace of World War II. He has 275 air victories (272 on the Eastern Front) in 621 combat missions. Rall himself was shot down 8 times. On the pilot’s neck is visible the Knight’s Cross with oak leaves and swords, which he was awarded on September 12, 1943 for 200 air victories.

“Friedrich” from III./JG-52, this group in the initial phase of Operation Barbarossa covered the troops of the countries operating in the coastal zone of the Black Sea. Note the unusual angular tail number “6” and the “sine wave”. Apparently, this plane belonged to the 8th Staffel.

Spring 1943, Rall looks on approvingly as Lieutenant Josef Zwernemann drinks wine from a bottle

Günther Rall (second from left) after his 200th aerial victory. Second from right - Walter Krupinski

Shot down Bf 109 of Günter Rall

Rall in his Gustav IV

After being seriously wounded and partially paralyzed, Oberleutnant Günther Rall returned to 8./JG-52 on 28 August 1942, and two months later he became a Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. Rall ended the war, taking an honorable third place in performance among Luftwaffe fighter pilots
won 275 victories (272 on the Eastern Front); shot down 241 Soviet fighters. He flew 621 combat missions, was shot down 8 times and wounded 3 times. His Messerschmitt had the personal number "Devil's Dozen"

The commander of the 8th squadron of the 52nd fighter squadron (Staffelkapitän 8.Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 52), Oberleutnant Günther Rall (Günther Rall, 1918-2009), with the pilots of his squadron, during a break between combat missions, plays with the squadron’s mascot - a dog named “Rata” .

In the photo in the foreground from left to right: non-commissioned officer Manfred Lotzmann, non-commissioned officer Werner Höhenberg, and lieutenant Hans Funcke.

In the background, from left to right: Oberleutnant Günther Rall, Lieutenant Hans Martin Markoff, Sergeant Major Karl-Friedrich Schumacher and Oberleutnant Gerhard Luety.

The picture was taken by frontline correspondent Reissmüller on March 6, 1943 near the Kerch Strait.

photo of Rall and his wife Hertha, originally from Austria

The third in the triumvirate of the best experts of the 52nd squadron was Gunther Rall. Rall flew a black fighter with tail number “13” after his return to service on August 28, 1942 after being seriously wounded in November 1941. By this time, Rall had 36 victories to his name. Before being transferred to the West in the spring of 1944, he shot down another 235 Soviet aircraft. Pay attention to the symbols of III./JG-52 - the emblem on the front of the fuselage and the “sine wave” drawn closer to the tail.

Kittel Otto (Bruno)

Otto Kittel (Otto "Bruno" Kittel; February 21, 1917 - February 14, 1945) was a German ace pilot, fighter, and participant in World War II. He flew 583 combat missions and scored 267 victories, which is the fourth most in history. Luftwaffe record holder for the number of shot down Il-2 attack aircraft - 94. Awarded the Knight's Cross with oak leaves and swords.

in 1943, luck turned his face. On January 24, he shot down the 30th plane, and on March 15, the 47th. On the same day, his plane was seriously damaged and fell 60 km behind the front line. In thirty-degree frost on the ice of Lake Ilmen, Kittel went out to his own.
This is how Kittel Otto returned from a four-day journey!! His plane was shot down behind the front line, 60 km away!!

Otto Kittel on vacation, summer 1941. At that time, Kittel was an ordinary Luftwaffe pilot with the rank of non-commissioned officer.

Otto Kittel in the circle of comrades! (marked with a cross)

At the head of the table is "Bruno"

Otto Kittel with his wife!

Killed on February 14, 1945 during an attack by a Soviet Il-2 attack aircraft. Shot down by the gunner's return fire, Kittel's Fw 190A-8 (serial number 690 282) crashed into a swampy area near Soviet troops and exploded. The pilot did not use a parachute because he died in the air.

Two Luftwaffe officers bandage the hand of a wounded Red Army prisoner near a tent

Airplane "Bruno"

Novotny Walter (Novi)

German ace pilot of World War II, during which he flew 442 combat missions, scoring 258 air victories, including 255 on the Eastern Front and 2 over 4-engine bombers. The last 3 victories were won while flying the Me.262 jet fighter. He scored most of his victories flying the FW 190, and approximately 50 victories in the Messerschmitt Bf 109. He was the first pilot in the world to score 250 victories. Awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds