[Captain Eddie]

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

George Preddy was........Just the greatest fighter pilot who ever squinted through a gunsight.
He was a complete fighter pilot......Colonel John C. Meyer Deputy Commander of the 352nd.
JP

Now just WHERE have I seen this quote before???

[Captain Eddie]

Originally Posted by chiefs70

Well, I'll jump in the ring and take the first hit for admiring a Luftwaffe pilot: Erich Hartmann. After Hartmann was freed he entered the West German Air Force and, among other actions, greatly opposed the adoption of the F-104 as he felt is was an unstable and dangerous aircraft which cost him his career despite the fact he was proven correct.

So, in a nutshell, it is the honor and integrity Erich Hartmann displayed during his career which earned my utmost respect.

Very interesting. I've also admired Hartmann after reading his biography. In reading Gunther Rall's biography, however, he seemed a bit critical of Erich, especially over his view of the F104. How was Erich proven correct? (I know next to nothing about these things).

[Elmer]

Easy for me... my uncle:

Lt. Wayne H. Nelson, USAAF 1942-1945, USAF 1951-1953
B-24 Liberator Pilot
458th Bombardment Group, 754th Bombardment Squadron (Horsham St. Faith, England)
32 missions

[chiefs70]

Originally Posted by Captain Eddie

Very interesting. I've also admired Hartmann after reading his biography. In reading Gunther Rall's biography, however, he seemed a bit critical of Erich, especially over his view of the F104. How was Erich proven correct? (I know next to nothing about these things).

Eddie-

First of all, Gunther Rall is another pilot I respect a great deal but he happens to be one of the "superiors" who didn't appreciate Hartmann's outspoken nature. As far as Hartmann's opinion being vindicated I don't recall the exact numbers - without researching it - but IIRC there were over 200 crashes and 100+ deaths of West German AF pilots in the F-104. The purchase of the F-104s by the WGAF after they were rejected by the USAF was found to involve some shady dealings and is sometimes referred to as the Lockheed Scandal. Once again, I would have to do a bit of research for the particulars but I believe I have the gist of it.

As I said, I greatly respect Gunther Rall - I really wish more then the FM 109 in his livery was available ( I have mine displayed with a signed photo of the same aircraft) - but everyone has their POV. I tend to believe most of the feelings Rall has is related to their facing off on the F-104 issue but I could be wrong. I feel a bit remiss but could you PM the name of Rall's biography as I would love to read it.

[VMF115]

My Great uncle He is not an Ace but he did fly b-17 missions over Germany and Vietnam in B-52's
Made the Rank of general and got busted down for telling off the brass during Vietnam.
his name is Col. John Wollmers ret.

[skydriver]

Honestly, I admire every person who flys a plane.

But since WW2 aircraft hold a special place in my heart ( I just love those propeller driven birds ) and since I am a fan of the Corsair, I have to say I admire Marine Aviator Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, CO VMF-214 Black Sheep who personally shot down 28 enemy aircraft.

I only wish I could have flown as his wingman.

[Epapazian]

My vote goes to a bunch of guys- I don't even know their names- who flew those hopelessly outnumbered Marine F-4Fs defending Wake Island in December 1941. I'm thinking, especially of the last pilot to fly off to oblivion in the final stage of that uneven conflict, but let's also remember those who picked up rifles after their planes were written off to fight the Japs on the beaches and among the sand dunes. None of these heroes survived but I will always remember them. My second vote is along similar lines. Let's not forget the U.S. Army P-40 pilots of Bataan field circa January-April 1942.

[1948]

since he is a friend of mine I say Phil Goldstein who floew the P-38 JEWBOY out of Foggia Italy and had 15 kills

[Old Crow]

Besides Bud Anderson, whom I had the pleasure to meet, I particularly admire Butch O'Hare.

I love the story of his saving the Lexington by single-handedly shooting down several Japanese bombers and earning the Medal of Honor. Interesting side story involving his father, a prominent Chicago attorney, who turned state's evidence against Al Capone and was likely killed by Capone's goons for his trouble.

[Berkut76]

Being that the warfare on the Eastern Front is primary area of interest, it's no surprise that my most admired pilot is the Soviet Naval Aviator Georgiy Kostylev (Георгий Костылев). He is not the best known VVS Ace and not the highest scoring, heck there is no agreement on how many individual victories goes to his credit (43 by the most recent account). But what he is personifies why the Soviet Armed forces finally prevailed not just in the air, but in Great Patriotic War in general.



Some background information, out of 70,000+ German Aircraft lost on the Eastern Front 49,000 (57,000 if you count the ones destroyed on the ground) fell to the guns of the Soviet pilots, who overall flew 125,000 combat sorties. In VVS the status of the ace was bestowed on the pilot for no less than 15 victories, but in Kostylev's case the number of victories is staggering because they were achieved between 1941 and 1943 flying I-16, LaGG-3, Hurricane, Yak-1, MiG-3, and finally La-5F. To get a kill confirmed was incredibly tough in VVS during that period, and it wasn't uncommon for pencil pushers in the HQ to demand engine plates from shot down planes as a proof of kill. Tough to accomplish when the Red Army wasn't in control of the battlefields. Furthermore, it wasn't uncommon for the seasoned pilots to chalk the kill to a rookie wingman as morale booster.

Early in the campaign, much like with their Japanese brethren the kills were counted on "communal" basis on a squadron level and up the chain. A throwback to the days of Spanish Civil war and Sino-Japanese conflicts were Soviet pilots played a significant role. However, the lessons of these campaigns were lost, since most of the Soviet advisors were either executed on trumped up charges or spent "quality time" in GULAG camps. Only the dismal showing of the Red Air force in the Winter War prompted Stalin to re-instate those men in the ranks of VVS. Although, it should be noted that very few of those pilots became competent leaders during WWII.

Kostylev's scored his first kill on July 15th, 1941 bringing down a Me-110. A week later he would score three kills a day, a couple of Ju-87 and another Me-110. By the end of the month, a couple of Ju-88s and Me-109s were added to the Kostylev's tally.

In August of 1941, Kostylev would receive the highest honor that could be bestowed to the pilot on Leningrad front, ... a modern fighter plane, LaGG-3.



The "Red 35" was Kostylev's mount until February 5th, 1942 when he was shot down for the first and last time in his career.



In April of 1942, Kostylev's score stood at 9 individual and 34 "shared" victories. When a clueless newspaper reporter asked him about such discrepancy, the irked Kostylev's replied that he is going to even the score. On October 22rd, 1942 the Germans launched a combine air and sea assault on the island of of Sukho (meaning "dry" in Russian) trying to dislodge a small garrison and an artillery battery, which covered the approaches to the "road of life" over the Lake of Ladoga. At the pivotal moment in battle, the about to be overrun garrison got a helping hand from captain Kostylev's fighters and IL-2s of Jr. Colonel Morozov. In an ensuing melee, 14 Luftwaffe planes were brought down, with the rest beating a hasty retreat. Instead of pursuing by now escort less Stukas, Kostylevs ordered his squadron to attack the German troops who made it ashore. When the naval infantry arrived to relieve the beleaguered garrison, Kostylev's and Morozov's aircraft set 17 out of 23 landing vessels ablaze. The next day, Kostylev was awarded the Hero Of The Soviet Union. This was his last award.

In early February of 1943, Kostylev's was invited to social route by a "well connected" HQ Major. Appalled by the shear volume and quality of food set against the backdrop of starvation for over a year and a half (it wasn't uncommon for the pilots on the Leningrad front to have hunger-induced blackouts sometimes with detrimental results), Kostylev's through a fit, which quickly escalated into a brawl. Long story short, the best fighter pilot of the Leningrad front was stripped of his rank and all the awards and soon found himself in a Naval infantry penal battalion which was tasked with holding Oranienbaum bridgehead. His penal battalion comrades saved his life (jumping ahead, it should be noted that Kostylev's will was to be buried at the simple military cemetery in the small town of Lomonosovo, where Naval Infantry Penal Battalion, which preserved the Oranienbaum bridgehead made it last stand) and in April of 1943 Kostylev's was back in the air... with a rank of private. By August 1943, Kostylev flying La-5 brought down 9 additional aircraft. On August 22nd 1943, Kostylev's booked a sight seeing tour of Siberia for Lt. Herbert Broendle who was credited by Luftwaffe with 58 victories. Following this engagement his orders and medals were re-instated.



In 1944 Kostylev was promoted to the rank of Major and pulled from active duty being assigned to the post of Inspector General of Baltic Fleet Fighter Units. The cushy job didn't slow Major Kostylev's fervor. On July 21st, 1944 flying La-5FN Kostylev shot down two FW-190s of the notorious Grunherz unit. However, the men who flew desks deined him these victories on the grounds that he wasn't on the roster of the 3rd Guards Fighter Regiment at a time of the engagement. However, the man who let his wingman took credit for his victories and survived the penal batallion couldn't care less.



Kostylev would serve with VVS until 1953. Georgiy Kostylev passed away at the young age of 46 in 1960 and according to his wishes buried at a modest military cemetery in a small town of Lomonosovo.

Regards,

Sergey