Luftwaffe shared victories (was: Hartmann ....352 victories or 80?)

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Dénes Bernád

Germany didn't loose the war because of its combat pilots. Blaming the airmen for the failure of the leadership and command is not exactly beneficial.

But I didn't blame the airmen, did I? I'm perfectly clear that Germany's governing ideology led the country to ruin and defeat.

The point I had hoped to make was that having "better" pilots (in the sense of a very few who who pursued and achieved huge scores) didn't stop Germany losing the war. In fact, I'm persuaded by Stephen Bungay's argument that the regime's cult of the "warrior-hero" undermined the effectiveness of the force as a whole.