Most Representative Luftwaffe Pilot?

[Jim Oxley]

Why look for any "reasonableness" of actions in war?

War is the ultimate expression of human madness. Where else will you find young men TOLD to go out an kill as many of the enemy as possible. That it's a good, loyal, right thing to do?

Most humans are not natural killers. Most have to be conditioned and encouraged to do so - and that goes for all sides in a war, any war. It's a major reason why disgusting racial slurs like Nips, Huns, Towel heads, Wogs, Bolshie, Commie, Boche et al are so widespread in the Military. It de-humanises the enemy. Yet given that men are basically good why be surprised if, in amongst the madness, a man (eg Stigler) finds that he rebels. Even for a short time?

Everyone thought (or chose to) that they were in the right during WWII. Most do in any war. The French certainly thought so during the Revolutionary and Empire wars of the late 1700's and early 1800's.

All that aside my choice for a fairly typical Luftwaffe fighter pilot would be Heinz Knoke. An ardent believer in Germany and the Nazi Party (as the saviour's of a downtrodden country), Boy Scout and Hitler Youth, called up in October 1939 and who flew most of the war. Only to be injured in a mine explosion in a car in '44 outside a small Czech village.

[David N]

Originally Posted by Jim Oxley

Why look for any "reasonableness" of actions in war?

War is the ultimate expression of human madness. Where else will you find young men TOLD to go out an kill as many of the enemy as possible. That it's a good, loyal, right thing to do?

Most humans are not natural killers. Most have to be conditioned and encouraged to do so - and that goes for all sides in a war, any war. It's a major reason why disgusting racial slurs like Nips, Huns, Towel heads, Wogs, Bolshie, Commie, Boche et al are so widespread in the Military. It de-humanises the enemy. Yet given that men are basically good why be surprised if, in amongst the madness, a man (eg Stigler) finds that he rebels. Even for a short time?

Everyone thought (or chose to) that they were in the right during WWII. Most do in any war. The French certainly thought so during the Revolutionary and Empire wars of the late 1700's and early 1800's.

All that aside my choice for a fairly typical Luftwaffe fighter pilot would be Heinz Knoke. An ardent believer in Germany and the Nazi Party (as the saviour's of a downtrodden country), Boy Scout and Hitler Youth, called up in October 1939 and who flew most of the war. Only to be injured in a mine explosion in a car in '44 outside a small Czech village.

For a time, Heinz Knoke was considered to be the typical Luftwaffe fighter pilot. His book was published in the United States in 1954 a few months before Galland's "the First and The Last." I once looked up the review of "I Flew For The Fuhrer" in Time magazine. Time's reviewer indeed wrote that Knoke's book showed what the Luftwaffe's fighter pilots were like.

[FalkeEins]

..and it took a while to 're-educate' him post-war. His memoir hasn't been available in a German edition for years. No-one mention Rudel or Dahl or Herrmann yet...or too 'ugly' for sensibilities here....bomber/Schlacht fighter aces & commanders, innovators, aggressively pro-regime, etc etc, in trouble with the German authorities post-war (Rudel, Dahl at least) while Herrmann was a classically educated poet & 'ramming' advocate...
my choice as most 'representative' though; a Transport or Kampfflieger turned fighter 'ace' such as Stamp, Wischnewski, Gapp or Zorner...

[Robert Forsyth]

Originally Posted by FalkeEins

my choice as most 'representative' though; a Transport or Kampfflieger turned fighter 'ace' such as Stamp, Wischnewski, Gapp or Zorner...

August Lambert? Or August Hachtel perhaps? Both real Luftwaffe 'warriors' having transitioned from the Schlachtflieger to the Jagdwaffe and with impressive military careers.

RF