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The Luftwaffe introduced a point system in 1943 which accounted for the difficulties in shooting down a heavy bomber. Although a single heavy bomber shot down or damaged still counted as one aerial victory, the accumulated points earned a fighter pilot awards, medals and promotions. The point system worked as follows: [168]
Erich Rudorffer (1 November 1917 – 8 April 2016) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace who was one of a handful who served with the Luftwaffe through the whole of World War II. He was one of the most successful fighter pilots in the history of air warfare, with 222 victories claimed.
Hugo Broch (born 6 January 1922) is the last living German Luftwaffe flying ace of the Second World War. He is credited with 81 victories in 324 missions, all on the Eastern Front . He is a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross , and is one of two living recipients of the award. [ 1 ]
During World War II, hundreds of German Luftwaffe fighter pilots achieved this feat flying contemporary piston engine fighter aircraft. [1] However, only 28 pilots are credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft while flying a jet-powered aircraft.
Fighter aces in World War II had tremendously varying kill scores, affected as they were by many factors: the pilot's skill level, the performance of the airplane the pilot flew and the planes they flew against, how long they served, their opportunity to meet the enemy in the air (Allied to Axis disproportion), whether they were the formation's leader or a wingman, the standards their air ...
In the Luftwaffe, Stigler became an instructor pilot. [1] One of his students was Gerhard Barkhorn, who went on to down over 300 planes in combat. [1] Stigler himself flew 487 combat missions, downing 28 planes while himself being shot down 17 times (he bailed out six times and landed in a damaged plane 11 times). [1]
Adolf Josef Ferdinand Galland (19 March 1912 – 9 February 1996) [2] was a German Luftwaffe general and flying ace who served throughout the Second World War in Europe. He flew 705 combat missions and fought on the Western Front and in the Defence of the Reich.
According to Obermaier, 103 Luftwaffe pilots were credited with more than 100 aerial victories. [3] Further more, the US historian David T. Zabecki states that 105 Luftwaffe pilots were credited with more than 100 aerial victories, [4] adding Friedrich Wachowiak with 140 aerial victories, [5] and Paul-Heinrich Dähne with 100 aerial victories, who were not listed by Obermaier.