[wmosner]

I have been reading several books by Luftwaffe pilots and they mention how the P-51 pilots routinely would machinegun the German pilots who had bailed out. They stated that as horrific the battles were on the Eastern Front, the pilots on both sides were left alone in their parachutes as were the pilots in the Battle of Britain. I also read an excerpt from a P-51 ace (can't remember the book) who was upset that he did not have time to go back and gun the German pilot he had just shot down as he opened his 'chute.

Just found these to be interesting (not judging the act) has anyone else read similar reports?

[admin]

I've heard of this, and don't have anything positive to say about it.

[Berkut76]

Originally Posted by wmosner

They stated that as horrific the battles were on the Eastern Front, the pilots on both sides were left alone in their parachutes as were the pilots in the Battle of Britain. I also read an excerpt from a P-51 ace (can't remember the book) who was upset that he did not have time to go back and gun the German pilot he had just shot down as he opened his 'chute.

Ahh, these white and fuzzy "blonde knigths". Every account of the battles on the Eastern Front that I've read mentions that it was routine practice for Luftwaffe pilots to machine gun bailed out Soviet pilots. Early in the war it was downright a sport to do so, when one pair of the German fighters would blow Soviet archaic machines out of the sky while another will deal with pilots.

Furthermore, Finnish, Croatian, and French accounts confirm that the practice was common for Luftwaffe. Finns mention that the Soviet pilots preferred to crash land their crippled aircraft rather than bail out. Croatians mention that their German counterparts told them to expect to be machine gunned by the VVS flyers because "we can kind of did this to them earlier". However, the most surprising account was by the French Normandy Neman pilots who WERE NOT SURPRISED when the Soviets told them that it's normal practice for the Luftwaffe pilots to hunt down "parachutists".

There were also some reports that Heer commanders made requests to their Luftwaffe counterparts to halt this practice because... instead of bailing out, the Soviet pilots did "kamikaze" on attacking German forces.

In short, I have no doubt in my mind that the Allied pilots machine gunned bailed out German flyers, but it was the Luftwaffe itself that set the rules of the game.

Regards,

Sergey

[Kubikali]

There's this Discovery documentary where they interview pilots. One American tells the tale of him - a fighter pilot - seeying a German fighter picking of bomber crewmen who bailed out one by one.
His reaction was to go for the German, forcing him to bail out and then shooting him up. If I recall correctly "minced meat" was the term he used to describe the state of the German after he was finished.

Both men were wrong imho. Though I probably understand both their frustration...

And I am totally aware that my armchair is awfully comfortable...

[mustangdriver]

Originally Posted by wmosner

I have been reading several books by Luftwaffe pilots and they mention how the P-51 pilots routinely would machinegun the German pilots who had bailed out. They stated that as horrific the battles were on the Eastern Front, the pilots on both sides were left alone in their parachutes as were the pilots in the Battle of Britain. I also read an excerpt from a P-51 ace (can't remember the book) who was upset that he did not have time to go back and gun the German pilot he had just shot down as he opened his 'chute.

Just found these to be interesting (not judging the act) has anyone else read similar reports?

Go talk to Bud Anderson and tell him that. If the US did that it must have been isolated events, because every account I have heard from any other source (nt just US sources) say that the Germans did that all the time.


And the story about the American pilot forcing the German to bail out that was straffing american bomber crews, well that was bud and his wingman.

[bsmith13]

Like it or not, both sides participated in this practice, and not always as a retaliation measure, either. I have heard pilots justify the act of machine gunning a parachutist with many rationales: "If he reaches the ground, he will just fight again", "He shot one of my buddies first", "I was just so angry" etc. I have never been in combat, but from all accounts, it is difficult if not impossible to turn off the human element of the killing machine once it had been started. So I can't judge.

[STARMAN 352ND]

I have heard the Germans did it and the Japanese did it at well ....But i have not heard too many US pilots doing that....
..War is hell..
JP

[Epapazian]

I have read a number of accounts of U.S. fighter pilots being told---though apparently not in writing-- to machine Luftwaffe fighter pilots who bailed out during the closing period of WW II in northern Europe. The idea was to kill off as many German aces as possible and speed up our inevitable victory. While some U.S. pilots didn't seem to mind such "orders", others were reportedly disgusted and refused to comply. Yes, we all know about the Japanese routinely engaging in this odious practice and the Luftwaffe may have done some of it on the Eastern Front, but I have not heard anything about that, nor have I ever heard of any RAF, Italian or even Soviet fighter pilots engaged in such cowardly behavior. In the latter case, however, it was not unusual for ground troops to "lynch" any Luftwaffe pilots who fell into their hands and angry German civilians often did the same to American airmen who bailed out late in the war. In fact, some of these civilians were tried for war crimes after the war and hanged. What the true facts are we will probably never know, but the idea that people in charge of our fighter arm may have encouraged the murder of German fighter pilots when they took to their parachutes still bothers me to this day.

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by mustangdriver

Go talk to Bud Anderson and tell him that. If the US did that it must have been isolated events, because every account I have heard from any other source (nt just US sources) say that the Germans did that all the time.


And the story about the American pilot forcing the German to bail out that was straffing american bomber crews, well that was bud and his wingman.

Anyone read The Blonde Knight of Germany -- not sure how accurate it is but it always struck me as a bit ridiculous that the US pilots let Hartmann parachute safely down to the ground over his own base after shooting down several mustangs at Ploesti....(and at point blank range with the pilots having little chance of survival). I mean the point really should be to take out the pilot not just the machine, as he did just get in another bird on another day and kill more allied servicemen. It may not be "gallant" but it is war. The Allies did not win air superiority by shooting down airplanes but by gradually killing the experienced pilots that the Germans could not replace... I guess it's just a "I don't want them to shoot me in my chute so I'm not going to do the same" sort of thing....

I'm sure US pilots did occassionally do this, as did pilots from all sides. But there are also stories of the exact opposite -- such as the german ace pointing the way home for a crippled B-17 he didn't have the heart to shoot down (can't remember the name).

And the bit about the Eastern Front not seeing pilots getting gunned down in their chutes I simply don't believe... I think there's also a story in the Blonde Knight about a russian pilot shooting a german plane down, which successfully landed in a field, the russian then landed jumped out of his plane and hunted the german pilot down with his pistol... Everything I've heard up until this thread was that the Eastern Front was definitely a "no quarter" front.

And what about the para-drops into Normandy on D-day are the Germans not supposed to shoot at them until they land safely and get out their guns? War is strange...

[skydriver]

I am sure this happened on both sides of the war.

But I also beleive that many pilots, both Allied and Enemy had compassion for their fellow man and would peel off from "destroying" a pilot and his aircraft when he knew that their was no hope for them, or even if their was a possibility that they could make it back to their base, recover from their wounds, and possibly fight again.