Bomber Aces

[Jim Oxley]

Read any book on the history of RAF Bomber Command or the Luftwaffe's Kampfgerschwader and it will be as much about the aircrews as it is about the missions, campaigns, results etc.

One aspect that is evident in Bomber Command histories are the number of crew that flew two or more tours. Up until mid 1941 RAF Bomber Command did not have a set policy of rotation. Crews often flew until the Station Commander decided that a particular crew deserved transfer to an OTU. Group Commanders also set there own mission limits. For example in No.2 Group A.V.M. Stevenson set the mission total at 45. For No.5 Group it was set at 35. After 1941 a 'tour' was officially set at 30 missions, or 200 flying hours. Anything over that was to be by volunteer only.Even with this limit set many crew fly more than the one tour. Potential 'pathfinders' for example had to complete a normal tour before even being considered for No.8 Group. Within the confines of the Bomber Command personnel there was an unofficial 'ace' status, applied to any pilot or crew member who flew more than two tours. Almost two thousand individuals met that criteria, with a small very select group even exceeding the 100 mission mark eg Cheshire, Palmer, Harrison, Gibson, Tait, Martin, Staton and Donaldson; to name just a few.

Within the Kampfgerschwader things were quite different. Although there was a rotation system in place, it was very rudimentary and always resulted in a pilot/crew returning to combat after a short period. So crews literally flew till they dropped. The only sure way to avoid that fate was to land a desk job, which very few managed to do. Consequently mission totals amongst the Kampfgerschwader were extremely high (if they lived long enough), 100-200 mission not being at all uncommon. Yet even within that organisation the bomber pilots had their own 'ace' criteria. Those pilots who reached the amazing total of 250 missions or more. Some notable pilots in this category were: Batcher (682), Muller (680), Antrup (500), Hogeback (486), Helbig (480), Wittmann (467), Schafer (420), Roewar (305), Kindler (230).

In stark contrast are the histories that deal with the US 8th and 9th Air Force Bomber Commands. Almost invariably the emphasis is on the organisation, rarely on the individual. And when it does focus on an individual it is usually a person of significant rank. Consequently there is almost no information available on pilots/crew that flew more than one tour in the European Theatre. As such no personalities come to mind that can rank as 'bomber aces' comparable to the RAF and Luftwaffe.