[LWulf]

Regarding the idea that the Luftwaffe in North Africa was dependent on a few ace pilots, I calculated that between February and 23 October 1942, the top ten Luftwaffe aces claimed 424 of the 930 victories in North Africa. To me, that indicates an over-reliance on a few pilots.

These are some of my thoughts on this:
1.The flight leaders often took the kill even if the wingman was in a good position
2.What was the total of LW fighter pilots that flew in N Africa in the mentioned period?
3.The number of kills of the top aces vs other pilots should always be high imho
4.What was the number of damaged aircraft attributed to aces and other pilots?

I think that the kill ratio should always favor aces. The difference in the score of 10 pilots vs all the others might seem huge but I think that if there were, for example, 210 pilots in all in N Africa flying in that period and that each of those would be responsible for 2+ kills you could hardly say the others were not successful or able fighter pilots. Especially if you count that they survived and scored kills in a numerically disadvantageous situation.

While I don't think the LW pilots were by themselves super pilots compared to other, allied pilots, I know they were well trained in tactics, had excellent planes and at least some could watch aces in combat from up close and learn from them on the front when they needed 'em.

Also, I think many people forget about all the 1+ kill pilots that fought and survived. One kill might seem little, but it's still one kill and in war every kill counts. In a numerically disadvantageous situtation only the best pilots can hope to rack up many kills. Still, those with fewer kills that are still able to survive in such an envoriment for a certain length of time can be hardly described as rookies.

This is, of course, only my humble opinion.

Cheers,
Wulf