I gained in experience with every plane shot down, and now was able to fire in a calm, deliberate manner. Each attack was made in a precise manner. Distance and deflection were carefully judged before firing. This is not something that comes by accident; only by experience can a pilot overcome feelings of panic. A thousand missions could be flown and be of no use if the pilot has not exchanged fire with the enemy. -- Major John T. Godfrey, USAAF.
As a fighter pilot I know from my own experiences how decisive surprise and luck can be for success, which in the long run comes only to the one who combines daring with cool thinking. -- Lt. General Adolph Galland, Luftwaffe.
Months of preparation, one of those few opportunities, and the judgment of a split second are what makes some pilot an ace, while others think back on what they could have done. -- Colonel Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington, USMC
We turn inside him, my wingman and I, still at long range, and he pulls around harder, passing in front of us right-to-left at an impossible angle. I want to swing in behind him but I'm going too fast, and figure I would only go skidding on past. A Mustang at speed simply can't make a square corner. And in a dogfight you don't want to surrender your airspeed. I decide to overshoot him and climb.
He reverses his turn, trying to fall in behind us. My wingman is vulnerable now. I tell Skara, "Break off!" and he peels away. The German goes after him and I go after the German, closing on his tail before he can close on my wingman. He sees me coming and dives away with me after him, then makes a climbing left turn. I go screaming by, pull up, and he's reversing his turn - man, he can fly! - and he comes crawling right up behind me, close enough that I can see him distinctly. He's bringing his nose up for a shot, and I haul back on the stick and climb even harder. I keep going up, because I'm out of alternatives . . .
So I'm looking back, almost straight down now, and I can see this 20-millimeter cannon sticking through the middle of the fighter's propeller hub. In the theater of my memory, it is enormous. An elephant gun. And that isn't far wrong. It is a gun designed to bring down a bomber, one that fires shells as long as your hand, shells that explode and tear big holes in metal. It is the single most frightening thing I have seen in my life, then and now.
But I'm too busy to be frightened . . . hanging by my propeller, going almost straight up, full emergency power, which a Mustang could do for only so long before losing speed, shuddering, stalling and falling back down; and I am thinking that if the Mustang stalls before the Messerschmitt stalls, I have had it.
I look back, and I can see that he's shuddering, on the verge of a stall. He hasn't been able to get his nose up enough, hasn't been able to bring that big gun to bear. Almost, but not quite. I'm a fallen-down-dead man almost, but not quite. His nose begins dropping just as my airplane, too, begins shuddering. He stalls a second or two before I stall, drops away before I do.
Good old Mustang.
He is falling away now, and I flop the nose over and go after him hard."-- Col. Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson 16.25 Kills
"The magical four steps were: 'See - Decide - Attack - Reverse, or Coffee Break.' In lay terms, spot the enemy, decide if he can be attacked or surprised, attack him, and break away immediately after striking; or if he spots you before you strike, take a 'coffee break' -- wait -- pull off the enemy and don't get into a turning battle with a foe who knows you are there."-- Erich Hartmann The World's Leading Ace 352 victories, WWII
Truly superior pilots are those who use their superior judgment to avoid those situations where they might have to use their superior skills. --Anon
"I always thought to go around in circles, slower and slower, was a ridiculous thing . . . It's not the way to fight. The best tactic is to make a pass, then break off and come back." Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF 13 victories, WWII 4 victories, Vietnam
