Two of the Best Aces of Luftwaffe

張貼日期：Dec 21, 2010 1:56:30 PM

Two of the Best Aces of Luftwaffe

Syou Chiou

      Hans-Joachim Marseille and Erich Hartmann are two of the best pilots in WWII. Their marvelous exploits can be found in every combat. Even though they fought at the different war zones, they both created amazing records. Why could they become two of the best pilots in WWII? We can find the answer in their nicknames, fighting techniques, and their last missions in WWII.

      Their nicknames show their exploits. Hans-Joachim Marseille was nicknamed “The Star of Africa” by Luftwaffe. He was transferred to his new unit JG27 as a punishment because of his insubordination. His new unit was relocated to the desert of North Africa in April 1941 when his amazing ability was revealed. On September 1st , 1942, he shot down seventeen enemy aircrafts in one day and eight of these pilots were shot down in only ten minutes. In just one month, he destroyed fifty-four enemy aircrafts. Marseille continued creating his score until Sept. 26. He made a total of 158 victories and the record was also the highest in the Western Front. Thus, he became the best ace of the Western Front.

      Erich Hartmann was nicknamed “The Black Devil of South” by his Soviet enemies. There was a black tulip painting on Hartmann’s pilot. When they saw the painting on Hartmann’s Bf-109s, they only had one choice, running. For this reason, Hartmann could not fight for a long time until he changed his aircraft with his wingman. Since then he continued scoring his highest record.

      Both of Hartmann and Marseille had unique fighting techniques to fight against their enemies, but the ways they used were extremely different. Hans-Joachim Marseille’s unique attack tactic was high angle deflection shooting, which made him never lose any battles. Because of the low flight visibility in the desert, he preferred to fight alone with only one wingman keeping a distance from him. He also created a training program for himself to solve the disadvantages in the desert. The training program made him have the excellent observation ability at battles, shooting skill, aerobatics and the most unique fighting tactic, the high angle deflection shooting. The high angle deflection shooting was to predict the position of the enemy aircraft. Then, he made unbelievable sharp turns to be close to his enemy aircraft’s front and shot at the side. Because of his amazing tactic, he could create the highest record in the Western Front and never lost any aerial combat.

      Erich Hartmann used a special tactic "See-Decide-Attack- Disengage," which was not the popular fighting way for the Luftwaffe at that time. The tactic consists of four steps. First, find the enemies as quickly as possible. Second, be close to them before they noticed you. Third, launch a surprise attack on the enemies with the MG 151 cannon equipped on the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Fourth, escape as soon as possible. In spite of lots of victories, he decided not to attack at the time when he felt the danger of the action. This tactic made 80% of Hartmann’s enemies whom he shot down have no idea what hit them. In addition, it made Hartmann get 352 victories and never lose his wingman.

      Their last missions led them to different futures. Hartmann was still alive after the war; Marseille was killed in a fatal accident on 30, September, 1942 when he was just 22 years old. In Hartmann’s last mission, he shot down a Yak-1 and achieved his 352 victories on 8, May, 1945. At the end of the war, he took an order to fly back to Germany directly to avoid the Soviet enemies; however, Hartmann did not want to leave their people. Finally, he decided to surrender to the American army for protecting his unit. According to the pact between America and Soviet Union, Hartmann was captured by the Soviet Union when he was 23-year-old. He became a prisoner and faced lots of unfair charges, but he never gave up the hope. He spent 10 years in the labor camp. In 1955, he finally returned to his hometown.

      Marseille’s last mission was totally a tragic mistake. He did not meet any enemy aircraft with his unit and turned back to their base. He flew in the latest Bf-109G2, which had some technical problems. The engine burned suddenly, and the cockpit was filled with the smoke. He had no choice, so he decided to bail out. Unfortunately, he was hit by the vertical stabilizer and lost consciousness. He did not open his parachute and fell down to the desert.

      Marseille and Hartmann’s differences made them become two types of heroes in Luftwaffe. Their nicknames, fighting techniques, and careers are still talked about nowadays. Even though Nazi did a lot of terrible things in WWII, the stories that Marseille and Hartmann left still intrigue many people till now.