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Originally Posted by Hagen
The WW2 record I find most astonishing is Erich Hartmanns 352 aerial victories. I know that the Soviet planes and pilots weren't always the best but 352 is still an incredible tally.
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1404 combat missions. A good pilot can do some damage.
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Originally Posted by sniper1shot
You are all forgetting that Hartman started his climb when it was well into the middle of the war. Imagine what it would of been had he been fighting from the start.
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The turkey shoot was over. Hartmann crashed landed on his first combat sortie. He was shot down/crashed 14 times, and was even once captured and escaped.
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Let us not forget Hans Ulrich Rudel, the Stuka Pilot with over 500 tanks and a couple of ships to his credit too. That is not mentioning the light vehicles or anti-tank guns either.
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Funny thing is Hartmann on the way to his first assignment was to ferry a Ju-87. He ended up crashing it into the Operations shack and was later transported himself by Ju-52.
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The fact the both Hartman and Rudel survived the war is incredible too.
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Hartmann spent 10 years in a Soviet prison and later joined the Bundesluftwaffe.
Rudel flew 2530 missions, a record that no other ever approached. He is the most decorated of all German combatants in WWII. Sadly he had too much attachment to the Nazi party.
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Originally Posted by Tom Houlihan
Not to disparage Hartmann's record, but remember too that the Germans counted planes killed on the ground as well. Not all of his victories were air-to-air combat.
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None of Hartmann's victories were on the ground. Of his tally, 260 were fighters, another leader.