First Luftwaffe aces to 100 kills in chronological order

[Juha]

Thanks a lot, Johannes
for your thorough and exhaustive answer!
Much of very interesting info.

One more question, a little bit off topic but how about Edmund Rossmann, he is usually credited with 92 or 93 victories?

TIA
Juha

[Johannes]

Hi Juha

Rossmann got ninety-three, but all in the East, his six Western claims were all unconfirmed!

Keep the questions coming.

Regards

Johannes

[Juha]

Johannes, Thanks a lot for your instant answer!
That was a surprise, so he has 6 more confirmed kills in the East than usually credited for him.
How exceptional it is that a 75+ kill ace has none of his first 5-6 kills confirmed? Or a Jagdfliger that had none of his 5+ 1940 claims accepted?

TIA
Juha

[Johannes]

Hi Juha

It is strange, but true. My friend Bernd Barbas has always wondered actually why JG52 had so little success in the West, only one notable pilot! These unconfirmed Western claims come from Rossmann himself, and he even stated that they were unconfirmed!

Another notable clear-up would be Friedrich Wachowaik known to have had eighty-six Eastern claims, but thought later to have added many more Russian aircraft to his total perhaps another fifty! But I can tell you now there were only three more to bring his total to eighty-nine, all in the East.

Regards

Johannes

[Juha]

Hello Johannes
thanks a lot again!
What put me wonder the issue was that Paule was at least during later war years independent minded and not always showed enough respect to higher authorities. In a military organisation with that kind of attitude one might well run into difficulties with his superiors. Much depended on those superiors, so maybe he ran into difficulties to get his claims accepted at unit level. Of course it is more probable that there just was not enough evidence to back up Rossmann’s first 6 claims. After all III./JG 52 was rather roughly handled by FC during the BoB

Juha

[Johannes]

Hi Juha

Possibly he learnt how to get his claims through. It was always more difficult in the West, later the high command sort out the crash site's and matched them up with claims. In the east most claims were behind enemy lines, so that tool for establishing actual crashes was not employed!

Regards

Johannes

[rob van den nieuwendijk]

Hello Johannes,

Thanks for your comments on Major Kurt Brändle.

Can you please also comment on Hauptmann Joachim Kirschner (RK after 51 victories), Hauptmann Werner Lucas (RK after 57 victories) and Oberleutnant Wolf Ettel (RK after 117 victories)? All were flying in II./JG 3.

Why Ettel after so many more victories? Like Gustav Frielinghaus RK (in 1944) after 74 victories.., but Franz Ruhl RK after 35 (in 1944) victories...

Thank you.

Best regards,
Rob

[Johannes]

Hi

I think the answer could be inflation! 1943-1944 you would need about 100 claims for a Ritterkreuz, unless you'd been killed i.e Dobele RK 93 claims at death! Quite a few were Ritterkreuzless with more than 60 claims, but all of these are post 1942. I believe rank also plays a part, and also the unit, and the speed at which they were claiming.

Regards

Johannes

[ANDREAS]

Hello there

I see from Johannes's list that Clausen got his 100th confirmed on 17/08/1943. I have him as a 132 victory ace until his death on October 1943. I am surprised that he had 30+ victories unconfirmed, I have always considered him to be a reliable claimer!
Any comment Johannes?
Thanks in advance

[Johannes]

Hi

It not a case of 30+ unconfirmed, I could'nt find any more on the micro films, so unless he scored with another unit during the pre-daily micro film entry's, then 100 it is, also he didn't confirm as many heavy bombers anyway...only ten(all B-17's)

With Anton Hackl his total should be 180+ as KBT documents number his last claims in March 1945 as numbers 179-180.
With Galland I would down grade to 100 as one of his two B-26's claimed on 26th April 1945 was only a probable!

Top daytime heavy specialist was Egon Mayer with twenty-seven.

Top Il-2 specialist is probably Joachim Brendel, I have eighty-seven for him, but don't have all of his claims so there were more almost certainly more, Otto Kittel had eighty-nine until the end of 1944!

Regards

Johannes