| There has been much discussion as to what aircraft rank at the top of forum members list of favorite WWII aircraft. How about a discussion as to which WWII ace they are most interested in. I have to admit the planes are really cool, but the pilots are the ones that made them famous. The one WWII ace I find to be of most interest is Squadron Leader Marmaduke Thomas St. John "Pat" Pattle (With all that I can see why the shortened it to Pat). His war time career was fairly short, and he did all his scoring in just a nine month period. Over the years his tally of victories has been debated and depending on the source varies. I have seen it listed as high as 51, but other sources point towards a window of between 27 and 44. He does have the distinction of being the highest scoring RAF biplane ace and may very well be the highest scoring Commonwealth Ace as well. His career ended in over Athens in 1941 when he was shot down by a BF 110 while attempting to the aid one of his pilots. He scored his victories flying the Gloster Gladiator and Hawker Hurricane Mk.I. |
Great choice! Very impressive tally given the aircraft he used. He was South African too.
