Rank on all time kills list.

[Dundradal]

I was merely commenting on how top aces were not standard practice to become leading figures...nothing to do with what was the cause and effect...most top aces going on to other roles besides leadership...mostly retirement and test piloting...

 

[Starkey]

I always thought it was weird for Maniac to have less kills than Blair, because Blair spent 10 years behind a desk. That´s a lot of time not killing kats.... Maniac is not as good as Blair, but the difference between their skills wouldn´t allow Blair to stay ahead of Maniac in the kill count with 10 years less of flying time, IMHO.

 

[Death]

Maniac wasn't always flying on the front lines, either. For several months he was in the WC equivalent of a padded room, for psychological problems arising from accidentally killing a transport (IIRC a heatseeker targeted on a kat lost lock and the missile reacquired lock on the transport) and the 16 people aboard.

Also, according the WCP Official Guide's bio on Maniac, he alternated between test piloting and combat piloting during during the last decade of the war, as well as afterwards during the peace seperating the end of the Kat war from the events of WC4.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

EDIT: I think a major fault of the Luftwaffe would ultimately crontribute to German's defeat. It was the lack of a long range strategic bombing capacity. The fact is, the Russians had a big territory and simply could move the factories outside the reach of the germans. Germans, on the other hand, were continuously bombed by Allied strategic bombers.

I disagree. One thing we don't like to admit at this point is that the United States Strategic Bombing Survey did a thorough investigation of the air war following the conflict... and decided that strategic bombing was fairly ineffectual.

 

[Quarto]

I disagree. One thing we don't like to admit at this point is that the United States Strategic Bombing Survey did a thorough investigation of the air war following the conflict... and decided that strategic bombing was fairly ineffectual.

Indeed. And that's presumably why, around 1943, something like 60% of the Luftwaffe's fighter wings were busy fighting Allied strategic bombers over Germany instead of making themselves useful by helping to win the war against Russia.

Strategic bombing is ineffectual when it comes to bringing down the enemy industry - but no nation in the world could ever reasonably be expected to ignore an enemy campaign that aims to destroy its major cities. As such, strategic bombing is an incredibly powerful weapon, in the sense that it forces the enemy to divert enormous amounts of resources towards stopping the bombing.

 

[Howard Day]

I disagree. One thing we don't like to admit at this point is that the United States Strategic Bombing Survey did a thorough investigation of the air war following the conflict... and decided that strategic bombing was fairly ineffectual.

Link to the report in question: http://www.anesi.com/ussbs02.htm
It doesn't say that the bombing was ineffectual - It says in hindsight, the air forces could have be used in a more effectual way. That however, doesn't matter, because the air victories were so totally complete that the strategic bombings didn't need to be any more effective. For those that don't want read though the whole thing:

CONCLUSION

The foregoing pages tell of the results achieved by Allied air power, in each of its several roles in the war in Europe. It remains to look at the results as a whole and to seek such signposts as may be of guidance to the future.

Allied air power was decisive in the war in Western Europe. Hindsight inevitably suggests that it might have been employed differently or better in some respects. Nevertheless, it was decisive. In the air, its victory was complete. At sea, its contribution, combined with naval power, brought an end to the enemy's greatest naval threat -- the U-boat; on land, it helped turn the tide overwhelmingly in favor of Allied ground forces. Its power and superiority made possible the success of the invasion. It brought the economy which sustained the enemy's armed forces to virtual collapse, although the full effects of this collapse had not reached the enemy's front lines when they were overrun by Allied forces. It brought home to the German people the full impact of modern war with all its horror and suffering. Its imprint on the German nation will be lasting.

Anyhow, LOAF - You got me curious. I thought I'd go see if I could track down that report.

 

[Delance]

Well, yes, and the Russians were able to divert all their war effort into building a massive army to destroy the germans on a tank rush, just like a RTS game. I agree that it's pretty much innefective into bringing down the industry, since the german war production didn't decrease that much until the very end of the war. It didn't go up, however.

EDIT: Another thing is that bombing cities was considered then, and still is now, an atrocious thing to do. It's quite surprising the western allies got away with that. The opposition to it was supressed, but we still know it was there. Tolkien, I believe, was very disapointed by the notion the RAF was carpet-bombing cities.

Maybe that was not a major fault of the Luftwaffe, but I still thinkg some long range bombing missions to attack the factories of an enemy might do some good, but it wouldn't win a war. Perahps just make their lives more difficult a bit.