who do you think is your favorite pilot or ace?
mine would be Robert E. Morgan because he flew the memphis belle with 25 bombing mission and the dauntless dotty with 50 bombing mission. and now he is still alive.
The one that lands the plane that I am on safely.
My favourite pilot is Sir Douglas Bader.Anyone who can overcome a double amputation and still fly and fight is an inspiration.
Most of the aircraft I’m interested in never had any aces!!! For example, the RNZAF Corsairs never actually found themselves in air-air combat with the Japanese, they were just used for ground support strikes, often using a Boomerang as strike leader and spotter, another aircraft with no aces!!
Have to agree about Bader though. Did having no legs make him more reistant to G-forces I wonder…?
I really have no faves, but I have a particular fascination with nightfighter pilots, especially those of the Luftwaffe and the RAF during WWII. Schnaufer, Falck and Cunningham are a few whom I’m rather interested in.
Speaking of John Cunningham, an excellent book which was reprinted for the umpteenth time about two years ago is ‘Night Fighter’ by CF Rawnsley and Robert Wright. Rawnsley spent much time as Cunningham’s Nav/AI op while he was with 604 Sqn.
The book not only covers the exploits of Rawnsley & Cunningham, but also deals somewhat with the technical development of the early AI sets (Airborne Intercept Radar) as well as their tactical employment and the difficulties encountered.
If anyone’s interested in nightfighting of WWII, this is a must read.
Fade to Black…
When I was a kid my favorite ace is the Navajo Ace, Capt. Johnny White Cloud from DC comics’ All American Men of War. But real life ace, hard to tell, maybe Boyington, McGuire,…
I would have to say at least three, Boyington, Cunningham and Yeagar, are my favorite pilots of all time. Just for what they did and what they accomplished. I have seen Duke on TV so often with the Wings Channel and Boyington’s sometimes falseified efforts from Black Sheep Squadron reruns on the History Channel and what can you say about Chuck, that hasent been said already? Good idea for a new thread. This one should get some good responses. Nice work.
I’ve been a huge Robert Johnson fan for years. He was one of the greatist fighterpilots ever He’s quoted in several Miramar textbooks, and was really on a tear throughout Europe before they sent him home. He also did us a great service in training and advising new guys to the war effort.
My number two man is Cunningham for sure. I’ve seen gun cam films of his fight with all the Migs that day and it’s truly impressive, especially when you consider he had no guns in his plane. I also like that he’s so frank about fears and feelings when he was in the seat, he never pretended to be a superman.
The pilot who did the most in training all successive pilots though, has got to be Bolke.
Back in 1976, I stood in awe while R.A. (Bob) Hoover performed his aerobatic routine in his yellow P-51… later that afternoon, I watched him fly his Shrike Commander with similar passions… then when he dead-sticked it right back to the wheel chocks on the ramp, I was a FAN for life! As his lanky frame exited the Shrike, wearing his green business suit and straw hat, he smiled and waved to his fans, then was joined by his old friend, Chuck Yeager, which brought the crowd to it’s feet! Talk about the “Right Stuff”!
Take care,
Frank
Wow, so many, too many, to list!
Boyington has always been a favorite of mine. I first read his autobiography, Baa Baa Black Sheep, in 9th grade. I bought it because I liked watching the TV show, Black Sheep Squadron.
In recent years, I’ve bought two books by Bruce Gamble that present a thorough and objective view on the Black Sheep. They’re also really good reads:
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The Black Sheep – everything there is to know about the squadron during WWII. VMF-214 did three tours, with Pappy’s in the middle.
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Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory “Pappy” Boyington
If you read Dan Ford’s book, Flying Tigers, in addition to the two by Gamble and Boyington’s own, you’ll know everything there is to know about the man. I personally admire him for doing so much while fighting the demons of alcolism.
Obviously, I really admire Raoul Lufbery. He was, by all accounts, a comsumate pilot, fighter, and teacher.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a wonderful author and apparently a fantastic pilot. Nearly everyone has read or knows about The Little Prince – a book that makes me cry every time I read it – but I highly recommend this author’s books about flying: Wind, Sand, and Stars, and Night Flight among others.
Ernest K. Gann is another consumate pilot. He has/had (I’m not sure if he’s still alive) 50-some-odd thousand hours in various types of airplanes! He’s also another fantastic author. Among other adventures, he flew C-87s (cargo version of the B-24) during WWII.
Regards,
Chuck Yeager, without a doubt. A true stick and rudder pilot. If he had been allowed to return to the air earlier after escaping France (a pilot who evaded capture with the help of the resistance wasn’t allowed to fly missions in case he was captured. This would prevent him from divulging information about the resistance) I feel he would have been in the running for all time high kills. This guy is one of the greatest aviators of all time. I guess you can tell that I admire him a little.
Lincoln Beachey Cheers! John.
Manfred von Richtofen of course!
Me, of course. [:D]
clarence “bud” anderson would be mine. thats him flying his “old crow” stang below in my signature as a 70 year old man. i have 2 1/48 tamiya stangs over there on the build pile and im doing one in the bare metal scheme below and the other in the OD green top and neutral gray bottom. later.
So many you could choose for so many rasons…
For the inspirational “Never say die” vote, thats definitely Dougls Bader, tied for that is a Soviet air force pilot from WWII who’s name escapes me that also flew with two fake legs.
Because I’m Canadian, Billy Bishop is a point of pride.
Because I like things different and a bit out of the ordinary, Lilya Litvyak.
On the other side, I have to have some admiration for Johannes Steinhoff, horribly burned as he was in an ME-262 crash late in the war, and still went on to become one of the key architects of the post war Luftwaffe. Like Bader and that Soviet fellow I can’t recall the name of, you got to admire someone that just won’t give up.
There’s many others I admire, but thats the top of my list there.
Gotta be Eric Hartmann. I mean, 352 kills is 352 kills ! A record that will never be matched. And don’t give me that stuff about Eastern front pilots not being as good as Western front. If Russian pilots were so bad, how come they had so many aces, like Litvak and Kozhedub !!
Mick Mannock
Jochaom Marsielles (I think I spelled it right)
Greg Boyington (my prior service has no bearing on this…really.)
Robin Olds (a crafty old bird if you ask me)
And like some one else said the guy flying the plane Im in.
Some tough choices. Bob Hoover I had seen many times and definitely a gentleman to boot! I saw him fly his P-51 and Shrike Commander routines, then jump in a T-33 for a few minutes, then get in one of the CAF’s 109’s, and then the P-39 all within a couple hours. Met Boyington a couple times too and no doubt he was a “fighter” pilot. Had the pleasure of talking to Frank Borman about his TF-51 “SU-SU II” and another fine fellow. Elmer Ward was with him that day in his P-51 and was another fine gentleman. Never met Chuck Yeager but he defined “the right stuff”! But my favorite pilot remains “unnamed” after a harrowing mission in Vietnam and his superb airmanship saved the whole crew not once, but twice! Sad thing I remember the Peter Pilot who almost got us killed and I eyed his nametag really good when he took off his “chicken plate”. Still trying to track down the name of the “AC” at the Reunions each year.
Lilya Litvyak.
Now I just need to make a plane with her as the nose art instead of the pilot figure.