Up there the world is divided into bastards and suckers. Make your choice. -- Derek Robinson, 'Piece of Cake.
In nearly all cases where machines have been downed, it was during a fight which had been very short, and the successful burst of fire had occurred within the space of a minute after the beginning of actual hostilities. -- Lt. Colonel W. A. 'Billy' Bishop, RAF.
I fly close to my man, aim well and then of course he falls down. -- Captain Oswald Boelcke, probably the world's first ace.
I had no system of shooting as such. It is definitely more in the feeling side of things that these skills develop. I was at the front five and a half years, and you just got a feeling for the right amount of lead. -- Lt. General Guenther Rall, GAF.
Go in close, and when you think you are too close, go in closer. -- Major Thomas B. 'Tommy' McGuire, USAAF.
I opened fire when the whole windshield was black with the enemy . . . at minimum range . . . it doesn't matter what your angle is to him or whether you are in a turn or any other maneuver. -- Colonel Erich 'Bubi' Hartmann, GAF.
The Yo-Yo is very difficult to explain. It was first perfected by the well-known Chinese fighter pilot Yo-Yo Noritake. He also found it difficult to explain, being quite devoid of English. -- Squadron Leader K. G. Holland, RAF.
Fighting spirit one must have. Even if a man lacks some of the other qualifications, he can often make up for it in fighting spirit. -- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.
Aggressiveness was a fundamental to success in air-to-air combat and if you ever caught a fighter pilot in a defensive mood you had him licked before you started shooting. -- Captain David McCampbell, USN, leading U.S. Navy ace in W.W.II.
A good fighter pilot, like a good boxer, should have a knockout punch . . . You will find one attack you prefer to all others. Work on it till you can do it to perfection . . . then use it whenever possible. -- Captain Reade Tilley, USAAF.
The first rule of all air combat is to see the opponent first. Like the hunter who stalks his prey and maneuvers himself unnoticed into the most favourable position for the kill, the fighter in the opening of a dogfight must detect the opponent as early as possible in order to attain a superior position for the attack. -- Lt. General Adolph Galand, Luftwaffe
'We were stripped down, even the turrets were removed. You were light and real fast, though. Our 12th squadron motto was 'Alone Unarmed Unafraid.' As you can imagine, this actually translated into something more like, 'Alone Unarmed and Scared Shitless.' -- Theodore R. 'Dick' Newell, Korean War pilot, 12th TAC Reconnaissance Squadron, on flying the reconnaissance version of the B-26.
' No guts, no glory. If you are going to shoot him down, you have to get in there and mix it up with him. -- General Frederick C. 'Boots' Blesse, USAF
If you're in a fair fight, you didn't plan it properly. -- Nick Lappos, Chief R&D Pilot, Sikorsky Aircraft.
The aggressive spirit, the offensive, is the chief thing everywhere in war, and the air is no exception. -- Baron Manfred von Richthofen
Good flying never killed [an enemy] yet. -- Major Edward 'Mick' Mannock, RAF
