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Interesting video. Thanks.

just a few stats though. BF109s are credited with about 15,000 kills in combat, while P51 is just short of 5,000. Based just on that, the BF109 was the most successful fighter of the war. There were also many German aces, with several credited with 200-300. P51 pilots never achieved near that...most averaged 15.

The BF109 had more kills simply because it was fighting for far far longer and by pilots with far more training and experience. The P51 was late to the war and was flown by many who had little training and no experience. My uncle was one of those.

edit:spelling

[This message has been edited by Hudini (edited 08-07-2018).]

quote Originally posted by Hudini: The BF109 had more kills simply because it was fighting for far far longer and by pilots with far more training and experience. The P51 was late to the war and was flown by many who had little training and no experience. My uncle was one if those.

That's the problem with stats, they can easily give the wrong idea.

quote Originally posted by Hudini: The BF109 had more kills simply because it was fighting for far far longer and by pilots with far more training and experience. The P51 was late to the war and was flown by many who had little training and no experience. My uncle was one if those.

I was thinking the same thing. But add to the mix, the Germans had air superiority which gave them a huge advantage over the allies. It is almost like comparing it to the Marianas turkey shoot. American Technology came to fruition by the end of the war, then the tables turned 180*, but the Germans ran out of aircraft before we could achieve the same numbers that they had. The same thing happened over Japan.

Agreed. For years the fighter escorts with the B-17s had to return to base because they didn't have the fuel to escort all the way to the target. The bombers were attacked relentlessly once they had no fighter cover. Every B-17 had a crew of 10.

Also, the Germans provided pilots and aircraft during the Spanish Civil War. This was free combat training in the build up to WW2.

That is a VERY cool video. I need a chalkboard and watch the video a few times to really absorb it all tho.