[Ruy Horta]

To the OP and his latest theory.

Until now the accepted line of thinking revolves around a couple of variables:

In the Jagdwaffe there wasn't a tour system like the Anglo-American AF. German pilots generally flew until exhausted, with some short home leave in between. Only higher command, recovery from wounds or exhaustion were their route out of combat. Recovering pilots might wind up with training duties. The other way out was death or captivity.

Combine this with opportunity. Just compare the target rich environment of the German Jagdwaffe with that of their Allied counterparts. In many cases Allied pilots flew entire tours with practically no enemy encounters. The mediocre might have enough time to build the experience needed when they finally did encounter the enemy. The Jagdwaffe was a hard school, as the war progressed their pilots received less and less operational training before being exposed to combat. Those who survived long enough were both lucky and good. They didn't call them Alte Hasen (or old Hares) for nothing.

That old hare having flown hundreds of missions knew his a/c and his own abilities through and through, now compare that with an pilot on his first tour and first mission with enemy contact (or at best after a couple of earlier encounters). Even with a lot of operational training on the side of the Allied fighter pilot there is bound to be a gap. If the tactical situation was anywhere equal and their aircraft of relatively similar performance, I'd know where I'd put my money.

Like I wrote earlier the Luftwaffe isn't about the Jagdwaffe, and the Jagdwaffe isn't about Hartmann. Even if you ignore the top third of high scoring Jagdwaffe Experten, you are still left with a lot of high scores.

Franek made a point that multiple kills don't necessarily mean a successful mission. OTOH in terms of the battle of attrition it is all about kills. If the main target is heavies, but you manage to take steady heavy toll of the escorting fighters, you will influence the effectivity and efficiency of the escorts. One major mistake by the Luftwaffe leadership was its insistence on getting at the heavy bombers and neglecting the escorts. This removed one element of initiative from the defenders. Even in defence the fighter must always attack.

PS. I don't believe in Uebermenschen nor that the Jagdwaffe Top Experten were a breed apart, just that they experienced a unique set of circumstances that enabled them to achieve such high scores. Putting a guy like Chuck Yeager or even our own Art Fiedler in that place might have resulted Experten-like numbers, or their demise.