Why did the German Aces have so many Air Kills?

Why did the Germans aces have so many Air kills in World War 2? What are the reasons for this? For this we look at the statements from Günther Rall.
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» SOURCES «
Overy, Richard: The Battle of Britain - The Myth and the Reality
Jones, David R.: From Disaster to Recovery: Russia’s Air Forces in the Two World Wars. In: Higham & Harris: Why Air Forces Fail
Interview with Günther Rall:
• Bf109 Ace Günther Rall...
/ why_did_german_fighter...
--Song---
Ethan Meixsell - Demilitarized Zone (the Irony :D)
#AxisAces #Aces #why

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

If you like balanced, nuanced and well-sourced Military History, consider supporting me on Patreon: patreon.com/mhv/ Remember every single dollar helps.

[@brianwogan6222]

Military History Visualized n

[@jakob1793]

Bist du Deutscher?

[@JohnDoe-pt8gs]

I really wish you would not reduce the importance and impact nationalism has on effective war fighting

[@cecilmiller7662]

​@@brianwogan6222😊 3:49

[@Ola_Uteligger]

They were using speedhacks, and aimbots.

[@Winniuh]

God damn rammers

[@Xerieh]

I think they were wall hacking too.

[@splorpdingulon2015]

Paid for premium?

[@hybridtacos4301]

I think that they were using a mod menu to make enemy planes explode at will.

[@jamesdown4952]

they used console commands, to noclip round the back oof the map and shoot from behind

[@bradschaeffer5736]

Said Gunther Rall: "You either got the Iron Cross or the wooden cross!"

[@eliharman]

When you're riding the tiger, don't get off.

[@fritzcallam830]

He himself had 275 kills by the way (3rd place in the luftwaffe)

[@Leadblast]

Sadly most settled for the wooden cross.

[@firstduckofwellington6889]

@@Leadblast Why settle for one? Why not both?

[@youmaus]

An excellent presentation sir. I once taught at a simulated training school on MS Combat Flight Simulator. I specialized in teaching WW2 German aircraft and became fascinated with the history. Axis pilots were simply overworked. Familiarity with the aircraft can and did often outweigh points of technical advantage. I was most impressed with the Finnish Illiomat. One of my favourite anecdotes regarded a training exercise that the Finns did. They learned airial gunnery on towed targets and were instructed not to open fire until they could read a slogan painted on it (what the slogan said was a point of honour secret). It read "YOU ARE IN FINNISH AIRSPACE EVERY ROUND THAT MISSES WOUNDS FINNLAND"

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

LOL

[@rabbit6845]

Finland*

[@edlenorgaeron8003]

Well, Japanese WW2 ace, Saburo Sakai becomes friends with an SB2C rear gunner who shot him in the face. So...

[@edlenorgaeron8003]

***** I guess History Channel was wrong. Again...

[@Di3cy]

google franz stigler ^^

[@101jir]

+Nick Bana I remember that episode of Dogfights. I was sure they had said SBD, not SB2C.

[@bitfreakazoid]

I remember reading a story of a German fighter pilot escorting a wounded American B-17 back to safety. Ended up finding each other many years later and became friends.

[@Di3cy]

bitfreakazoid u mean franz stigler ^^

[@TheZansibar]

Great channel, unbiased, uses souces, and draws rational conclusions with a good message.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you!

[@GAME4WAR]

Unbiased my ass

[@johnn8795]

Yea... Every video I've seen from this guy is licking the boots of Germany... Definitely Unbiased...

[@MrVinnyable1]

ur channel too

[@etwas013]

He draws conclusions from sources, right or wrong but completely acceptable. If you disagree, It would be nice if you present some arguments of the contrary.

[@oliversnow]

Thanks for putting these videos together, they look great and the content is very detailed. I especially appreciate your mention of opposing pilots who later became friends. A classic story of this which I'm sure you know is the case of Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown. The story is told in Adam Makos' book A Higher Call. One thing I would like to mention with regard to these friendships is your use of the term "kill" instead of "victory", especially in the context of Luftwaffe pilots. In A Higher Call Stigler tells the story of his Luftwaffe instructors telling the students that the black cross on their planes is an homage to the German Teutonic Knights and told the students "you are their descendants". Many of the instructors were WWI pilots who were referred to as "the old knights". The instructors talked of a battle code of honor and chivalry that was unspoken and unwritten because it could only be witnessed and embodied. When Stigler scored his first victory he returned to base and told his commanding officer "I got my first kill". The commanding officer frowned and explained that "You score victories, not kills" because "you are shooting at a machine, not a man". This is an important turning point in the story and has a lot to do with Stigler's later decision to spare the Brown's B-17.

[@sovietsniper2279]

Because the German Aces eat carrots!

[@TheCrazyFinn]

I thought it was the British bomber crews ;)

[@interestingcommentbut....7378]

The British made up that rumor that carrots improve your eyesight, did the Germans really fall for that? 😂

[@tesstickle7267]

british bomb at night so the Germans really did belive it,arcuate fast and low bombing in pitch black you'd of thought they had night vision indeed 😂

[@MrPizzamoe]

acurate?? you're kidding aren't you? the british and american air Force used carpet bombing strategies... yea they flew at night but No, they weren't nearly as acurate as Daylightbombers or dive Bombers. i actually live in Germany and the nearest Town from me over here got bombed by mistake, because the Bombers missed their target by more than 5 km.

[@MrPizzamoe]

And the carrot Thing... nobody honestly believes that -.- it's sth you tell children, so that they eat All that healthy stuff you know? because have you ever seen a rabbit with glasses? No? (it's because they only eat carrots O.o). yikes.

[@Skringly]

"Real pride has no need for a comparison. It comes from within and not from an outside measuring stick." So well said. Excellent video!

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you!

[@NicerDicerSmart]

+Military History Visualized it is really sad that this attitude towards (national) pride is found so seldom...

[@MarcusBurkenhare]

I agree wholeheartedly. It is something that seems sadly lacking in some people these days.

[@paulsawczyc5019]

Pride in what? - killing others

[@julianmhall]

I agree in regard to /personal/ pride in oneself, but /national/ pride by definition has to come from outside. How is one supposed to have national pride without anything in which to have pride?

[@slayy_lyvia888]

i guess the desperate situation of being outnumbered and do or die so each man must win each encounter didn't count for shit, huh? use of numbers can't take away what skill and spirit german pilots had, sure you had ten targets to your self but those ten targets were trying to kill you. this video like others make it look like the german numbers were not earned, the allied pilots were handed over to the germans already dead...in boxes by the dozen.

[@Nikagor]

The argument itself doesn't even make much sense, yes for each german plane the allied forces had more planes, so each individual ace could have more planes to shoot, however this also meant that they were vastly outnumbered, which meant it was much harder for them to actually shoot down someone else or be turned into a siev by a hail of enemy returnfire. Obviously they were superior figthers, they were outnumbered, outgunned and had to kill or die, figthing a war of attrition, its kinda insulting to those people, because lets just take away the idioloigy they died for and just compare them on skill itself, that they "only" jad more kills because they had more enemys to shoot.

[@RonOnTheWay]

don't take offense, the Germans just had a situation that boosted kill counts. Pretty sure everyone was do or die.

[@adamkhan4451]

He is actually arguing in favor of german pilots being more skilled. just not in the way you think. they started out with more experience -Spanish civil war 2:35 - enabling them to shoot down new allied pilots more easily thereby gaining more experience. so few germans, most allied pilots never had the opportunity to gain experience, so they stayed rookies, and the no rotation policy that the germans had means while an allied pilot was taking a break, the german pilot was still gaining vast experience fighting and when you are that much more experienced than enemy, being out numbered really does just mean more targets for you. in contest of skill, skill matters, not numbers. so yes he is proving that germans were more skilled, but only because they started out more experience, they never could take breaks enabling them to gain more, and allies couldn't gain experience because so few german pilots. so when a highly experience german came into contact with allied pilots, they probably sucked compared to the german, which meant easy kills.

[@Knightlyfrog]

I didn't say skill wasn't a factor. Only that it isn't enough of one to account for top German Aces high scores proportionate to allied aces all on its own.

[@honeybadger2111]

I don't think he made these points to take away from the skill of German pilots, as they have been some of the must skillful throughout history. But instead, he was simply saying that the were put into the right opportunity to achieve such high kill counts while allied pilots were not.

[@itsainsley1072]

The German Aces got aimbot from a rare supply drop.

[@fleetadmiralchompa]

Great video, especially when you changed focus to the bigger aspects of war that people to can overlook. War cannot be summed by the incredible actions of an individual, but the overall operation of the forces that cooperate to accomplish strategic goals. Your last points too were very important, speaking of the respect and sometimes friendship of old enemies per their service. Great vid, subscribed, and keep up the good work!

[@owo5869]

japan 202 german 357 and italy 26 :D

[@bobskywalker2707]

352 close enough

[@pierluigiadreani2159]

I want to point out that those 26 shot down by Visconti were really big XD

[@alphadawg81]

Don't pick in the Italians, they could see it off the plane.😅

[@TheOkin90]

lol tankettes, we were a country not prepared at all for the war. too poor and too little industrialization.

[@pierluigiadreani2159]

FuckMotheringVampire the concept of tankettes was not bad...if would have been a good manuvrable anti infrantry unit...the problem is that the WW2 was a war of friction that often saw the introductionof heavy armored vehicles.

[@KingPeaceus]

I like the Warthunder reference at 0:55

[@KILLERMEXICAN210]

how?

[@striv4215]

When an enemy team loses all of its vehicles (or no one on the enemy team picks one), the message "Enemy team lost all their vehicles" is displayed.

[@KingPeaceus]

KILLERMEXICAN210 ^ What he said, and you win the game by default.

[@KILLERMEXICAN210]

ah okay took me a while to get. thanks for explaining guys

[@Mark-lc9ce]

R

[@boci_levu]

Why do Germans sound so apologetic about the war? There's nothing to be ashamed of now. It ended 70 years ago.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

not sure where you are from, but if you are from the US try the Vietnam war, which just a small incident in comparison, starting and losing two world wars in row + holocaust, well, it obviously will have a lasting effect for several generations and believe me I am not really affected in comparison to most people I know. I can make ww2 jokes all the time, where most Germans just look in other shock, even when Polish people next to them laugh out loud about the same joke.

[@fenrir1585]

They were badasses.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

well, in both cases they put Austrians in charge directly or indirectly... that maybe just negligence, but well. Also Austrians back then considered themselves as Germans too. (see how the Austrian Republic called itself after WW1, until it was forced to take the name "German" out of it by Versailles.)

[@markpassehl6341]

because they still live in an occupied country? and have been raised/educated with the interests of the occupying powers as the paramount yardstick ?

[@issstari954]

maby they fell bad about it . it was one of the biggest wars in history .it also might be people made fun of and mocked Germans after the war

[@Canaris3]

Because they were flying incredible amount of hours compared to Allied pilots who could go home after two tours.

[@msullivan92]

American pilots had to fly 25 missions in order to complete their tour of duty. Almost none did. Look up the story of the Memphis Belle. A true underdog tale.

[@pickeljarsforhillary102]

Also, German pilots would often fly 2-3 times a day on bomber interception missions over Western Europe.

[@R4V3-0N]

Matt I thought that was western allies general tour for bombers.

[@msullivan92]

@REV Bomber escorts that were attached to those units as well.

[@melchiorvonsternberg844]

That`s not true! The sub- crews lost 75% of their men. The fighter pilots lost 95% of their men. That`s for sure!

[@Yusuf1187]

This was excellent. Very well presented and reasonable. Subscribed!

[@whynot-tomorrow_1945]

People are commenting factors mentioned in the video. I am certain that they did not watch the video.

[@battlerock8792]

Very interesting information. Great Job!

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you!

[@battlerock8792]

You're very much welcome my good sir!

[@StrideRunner68]

did they count nations like Poland who's tech wouldn't be on the same level or France were they spent it on a giant wall instead of an army... Lots of kills on the Russian front the unholy allies.. The Usa always fights very different from the Euro nations ... Beaver Wars an all and the invasion of 1812 made them think differently so did the civil war 1860"s pick a target fund it with {greed/corruption} or deprive and destroy it in numbers

[@mscarrick]

Beaver Wars?

[@robertgibson6687]

+Matthew Carrick wars instigated by European demand for pelts among the Natives.

[@Irishdrivingbloopers]

One thing I always find notable is how the fighter pilots on both sides had mutual respect for each other during the war. I've watched a few other videos on here and one was where a BF109 pilot decided to escort a badly damaged allied bomber back to the UK after he saw it was mangled from gunfire, rather than shoot it down. 40 or so years later, the 2 pilots found each other and were friends until they died. There's more than that example but I doubt you would see anything like that between ground forces. Different circumstances I suppose.

[@ramimax6130]

Nicely phrased. Respect is indeed very important. Great work, and thank you for the time and effort you have spent to make these videos. Awesome.

[@tomriley5790]

Not sure where you get the idea that the RAF and Luftwaffe had comparable numbers in the battle of britain File AIR 40/1207 (available in the Ticom folder) gives for the LW on 29 June 1,464 single and twin engine fighters versus the RAF’s 816. SE fighters we have LW - 1,107 vs RAF - 672. A superiority of 1.65 to 1.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

well, I was referring to single engine fighters only, since you only mention the single engine fighters of the RAF too. My numbers are from Overy' Battle of Britain, more here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jX6aaZKBpsilibs

[@denniskitainik5501]

Because the Me-110 was useless against the Spitfire!

[@tomriley5790]

Fair enough but even your own video on the Battle of Britain doesn't credit the RAF with 1000 fighters:-) (700 in that link)

[@Iamename]

Great, informative and unbiased video once again! I'd love to see a video on something like a survival rate of a german 1939 soldier and the deterioration of soldier training. I remember my grandfather telling me by the time of their surrender he could probably count on one hand the men in his battalion who were part of the original siebte flieger division. Of course by this time they had been spread out to form the cores of several new divisions, it's still mind boggling though.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you! I don't think I have data for survival rates, but I have a video with some notes why "everything went to the shitters after Stalingrad" as one user mentioned/asked.

[@danielmuratore]

I think u made an awesome very, and I may add so far the only person I have ever come a cross who has explained this properly with an open, mind, when talking about this side of the air war, a side that many people failed to understand, tank you for fantastic video.

[@ageeau]

Thanks for posting this, definitely puts a very interesting perspective on what I have read so far.

[@RC1191217]

Not to be critical of these fine videos, but you missed a point. British and American aces were often pulled from combat and put to work as instructors. It was part of a trend you noted in this video, that of the importance both Britain and the USA put on pilot training during the war. Keep up the good work.

[@paireon639]

Well, he did mention they were rotated out, but I admit mentioning that particular aspect was very important. From what I've read, the Japanese shot themselves in the foot by not doing that rotation in the early days of the conflict, when it could have made a difference. Pretty sure they would have lost anyway, but they could have put up a rather harder fight. Of course, by the time the battle of Midway ended, it was just a matter of time.

[@demukazz]

Fiercer Japan = more nukes on it ;)

[@Hellhound23691]

+paireon Even if they had rotated pilots, it wouldn't have mattered. Allied planes were just way beyond what the Japanese had after 1942. American aircraft like the Corsair and Hellcat would beat up Japanese planes on the regular.

[@toaojackson7447]

German pilots were also rotated.

[@GeorgiaBoy1961]

It negatively impacted their kill totals, but the Allied policy of rotating experienced pilots back to train new men - paid big dividends during the war. The Germans and Japanese both recognized the mistake and made belated changes to their training programs, but - unfortunately for their cause - to late to change the outcome of the war.

[@OliverJWeber]

Why do we make such a big fuss about this? It breaks down to very simple points, which especially in combination led to some aces scoring very high kill numbers. Here are some: 1) different concepts of rotations, tenure etc. 2) survivor bias 3) target rich environment 4) relatively small number of highly experienced pilots who knew which fights to take, and which fights to avoid 5) duplicate kill reports (esp. against bomber planes)

[@kricklin]

Very interesting video, and the philosophical points made at the end of the video were spot on. Nicely done.

[@nobodyknowsimgay]

First video of yours that I've watched and I have to say it was really excellent. I'll be watching some more in my downtime. Oh and you definitely have a new subscriber.

[@kirk001]

I love how you ended this video. Thank you, sir!

[@foxnoodles2458]

Amazingly worded video! It's all about respect in the end!

[@maurogonzalez5511]

wow your animations are insane man!!. Keep the good job!!

[@vancetan6610]

This is one of the best videos so far! This question really bother me, thanks for clarifying and keep up the good work! :)

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you!

[@marksargeant1019]

This channel is a nice find.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you and welcome!

[@Telsion]

+Military History Visualized I found your channel today. you have so many good videos!

[@shaneardinger2214]

At 2:09 do you say technical or tactical victories? I'm sorry yo usually I can understand your accent but this one got me

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

tactical

[@shaneardinger2214]

Military History Visualized thanks for letting me know, now it makes more sence, i appreciate the speedy answer. keep up the good work, i love your Chanel man

[@thorny6021]

T

[@ZombieZoey]

*channel

[@ZombieZoey]

shane ardinger *That

[@kabiruddin5831]

that was well done and very insightful made me re-think some bias i might of had. Thank you.

[@Toiked1]

Thank you for your well researched channel; and for your expression of true human values when possible in the context.

[@AcesWild5049]

The fact that the Luftwaffe counted planes destroyed on the ground as "kills" being left out of this video is suspect. This would be the primary driver for the disparity. Even an mild amateur of WWII aviation would know this... ? ?

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

can you give a source on that, I read it quite a few times on the Internet, yet never in a proper book.

[@Maarxman]

I was told the disparity was due to something he mentioned but didn't expand on during the video; the fact that allied pilots were rotated out. Allied Aces (or so I've been told) were often rotated out to train newer pilots, while the Germans deployed their aces more often due to a) a different philosophy about experience and b)like he said, lack of pilots. ^ This is hearsay, I've no source but I have read it in a few different places. I'll try and find sources.

[@FSCB2013]

That would be a minor disparity driver for the Germans and a bigger driver for the Allies, seeing as the Allies bombed German air fields when they pushed the Germans back to Germany. In comparison, the Germans were not able to penetrate deep into the United Kingdom and hence were not able to destroy many planes on the ground. Similar against the Soviets, and against the Americans, they were already on the back foot and hence would not have scored many ground kills. The main reason for high German counts, apart from good machinery, tactics, previous battle experiences, is obvious and explained by Why are you on youtube: The Germans kept their pilots in the air and they had to fight numerous sortie after sortie. The Allies took their aces out and got them to train new pilots. A mild amateur of WWII aviation would have known that.

[@AcesWild5049]

Allied ground pilots were rotated, yes. My point is that he mentions ground "kills" not at all in his video which is suspect. As for a source, almost any book about German air aces will mention this...or google. Simple.

[@AcesWild5049]

As for the 3rd comment in this thread, I can only recommend that you read a book about the Battle of Britain and how the Germans nearly won by smashing British airfield. That is almost entirely incoherent jibberish.

[@Howie262]

Well the bf-109 is one reason no one seems to mention.the myth that the bf-109 was obsolete is quite popular.However it was in many ways one of if not the best "dog-fighter" for most/if not all of the war.The 109 had several disadvantages, but maneuverability, climb, and guns were not.Common WWII lore says the spitfire and p-51 were much better. (Germany lost the air war, they must have had obsolete equipment......) Keep in mind many allied fighters were carborated, and the bf109 alike other German fighters were fuel injected.The bf109 was also extremely light weight compared to a p51(almost half the weight) And unless a p51 pilot was simply a better pilot a bf109 will out turn and climb a p51 every time.The bf109 was like a Lotus sports car compared to its American muscle car rivals.

[@doublem111]

What's a spitfighter?

[@liam7903]

a6m2

[@imageeknotanerd9897]

I've probably spent a combined 30 hours in War Thunder just being shot down by 109s.

[@Howie262]

Matt Marks lol you got me, Spitfire (supermarine) I think you knew what I meant though.

[@556deltawolf]

Yeah and as a history buff myself, I can't tell you how many times people have said "The Spitfire won the Battle of Britain". For one thing, the Hawker Hurricane was much more widely used in that battle than the Spitfire. The battle of Britain was won almost largely because of very dumb decisions by the German high command. One was that the high echelons in the Luftwaffe foolishly believed that the British Radar dishes were no threat when in reality, knocking them out would've crippled the British RAF's ability to detect the German night raids. The other was that the Germans thought they could beat the British through air power alone. If the Germans truly wanted to defeat the British, they should've prepared a ground invasion force and deploy better escort aircraft for their bombers.

[@ShuroP]

Loved your commentary on 4:40, nice video!

[@Elfnoble]

For a channel called Military History Visualized, the video was heavily emphasised on audio, where visualisations are only used as means to remember arguments. And not, as I hoped, to as a mostly self-explaining set of graphs and pictures with some text and audio only to saw it all together.

[@SleeveBlade]

how could you make this video without mentioning the Russian horde being a giant skeet shoot? Especially in the beginning, when their planes were inferior. You made some important points like training and fight-till-death, but that was missing imo

[@StryderK]

It would've have been an even bigger slaughter had not American quickly given the Russians their P-39 Airacobras. Now, Americans and British hated the cobras due to lack of an air supercharger. But the Russians loved it because Eastern Front air fights usually take place at low to medium altitudes, where the P-39 excels. Russians said the P-39 is superior to the FW-190 at low levels and very comparable to the ME-109 at low levels. In the hands of an expert, it can be a terror for the Germans. Russian aces like Porushkin loved it and scored most of his kills in the Airacobra. In fact, he was ostracized after the war for refusing to pilot Russian made fighters over an American model!

[@StryderK]

***** Yes. Pokryskin! I can spell Russian name worth a damn here so you have to forgive me! And yes, Russian pilots loved the Airacobra for the fact it can fill the sky with a lot of lead very quickly! Pokryskin chained the machine guns in the wings with the 37mm together on one button so he can fire all three simultaneously. He said, most German planes, fighters or bombers simply fell apart with only a short burst under such firepower! In fact, upon arriving in Russia, many Cobras had the cowling machine guns removed to save weight and the Russian felt the single 37mm + the wing machine guns were more than sufficient! Overall, until the Yaks arrived, Russian loved the Airacobras and just couldn't even get enough of them! As said, Pokryskin refused Russian aircrafts. He flew a LaGG for a bit but quickly switched to the Cobra and he got ostracized after the war for it!

[@KillaK0w]

Also, Soviet planes tended to lack radios and blind spot mirrors, which made them much more vulnerable to attack. Hartmann himself attributed the success of his method of attacking at point blank range to this vulnerability.

[@Kareszkoma]

The russians had PLANES?! They couldn't even built tanks at the mid war. I never even know they had planes.

[@AndreasConfirmed]

What a Russian horde? The most Russian planes were destroyed on the ground in the first days of war. After this they needed 2 years to get back.

[@tuskegeeace2840]

Everyone is a computer chair historian. Speak ill of the fabled German Pilots or Tankers and despite no real factual claims to back them they insist your video is largely garbage. I respect your work and find your take on factual data and the breakdown of it to the masses to be amazing. Keep it up, you give my love for history extra worth.

[@jimhormann4408]

Really like the video, the quality and objective nature of the video has earned you a sub. Nice work!

[@mechanic808]

bravo..well spoken, looking at this in an open mind w/respect is refreshing

[@Alpha_Arc]

I guess the points you made in your video also aply for ace tankers or other aces from different parts of the military...

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

This was certainly true for tank and submarine commanders. I suspect it was also true for riflemen, but it is impossible to know whose bullets created casualties and whose just created noise and kept heads down.

[@erdervv]

yes, but no, at least in some cases, like the instance where 3 KV-1 tanks stalled and entire german column for hours, or when michael wittmann destroyed 50 veichles in less than an hour, i guess that a submarine commander with enough sinked tonnellage could actually hinder the fighting capability of an army that was waiting the supplies he sank. Exceptiona indivuals can't win a war, but sure as hell they win battles, you can't realy in on them to win a war for you, but you can rely on them in helping everyone else along the way.

[@rokstoned]

The Subs also were an unstoppable force for the majority of the war that had no contest to their campaign. To a lesser extent the same's true for tanks. The German's really lost on the logistics side of things.

[@FawfulDied]

The subs got quite ineffective once newer tactics and weapons were introduced. As for tanks, the 75mm M4 was more effective than the Panther, which I hope says enough for you.

[@thehistoryguy4018]

Panther had the potential, but never got to achieve it

[@spladam3845]

Great video, glad this was on my suggestions list, the algorithms work. Liked and subbed. -Edit: I loved your talk about virtue and mutual respect at the end, very nicely done sir.

[@jaysteenybuggerlastnames4249]

I'm glad this was in my recommended, subscribed.

[@SgtPattyson]

Just started watching you the other day and I really enjoy the videos, I was wondering if you could do a video about comparing the effectiveness of the mongols with armies of later time periods, Napoleonic era for example, or the time around the 30 years war? Keep up the great work!

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you. Maybe in the far future, but before I do that I will do basic videos about them first, mainly because I need a better understanding them first. I am still basically building up basic knowledge. So won't happen before 2017.

[@SgtPattyson]

Alright, that sounds pretty reasonable considering the knowledge needed to make such a comparison in a good manner. Anyways, I look forward to more videos, regardless of the topic, keep it up!

[@Spaghetter813]

Would you maybe be interested in making more videos about organization and strucutre? In 1945 many so called "divisions" were complete chaos and its hard to find a good info source about them.

[@Spaghetter813]

and great videos btw, keep up the good work!

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

I will definitely do some late war divisions, already have some sources on those, but right now I am cleaning my flat, because tomorrow I move back to Austria... 950 km trip. thank you!

[@krillissue]

Logistics is gonna be a fun topic too.

[@009013M3]

Hey, maybe all you guys who are speculating about the answer to the question, should actually watch the video. It's very informative, actually.

[@brettd2308]

Great video with a great message at the end.

[@EXTREEEEEEEEEME]

very cool video..good accent and great information. looks like lots of other good videos from you in sidebar..subbed!

[@greenman5555]

Governments start wars, not the soldiers. I believe that's why it is common for former enemies to become friendly. or at least respect each other after the fighting ends.

[@MijnAfspeellijst1234]

no sabaton song in the end? XD

[@_datapoint]

Excellent video!

[@88amona]

Got my respect. I just subscribed. Thank you.

[@ethang6735]

I dont always completely agree with all your points, but the videos are well made and im always up for a good debate, even if its against a computer screen. Its nice to see things put together intelligently to show a different point of view.

[@joshuaod80]

Somehow I got here from road rage compilations.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

well, the comment section lately resembles various rages from both "sides of the road"...

[@spladam3845]

Like what you did there.. hahaha

[@_Fiinch]

Now I'm off to watch road rage videos

[@1brushstudio]

Welcome to the nerd rage compilation.

[@chuckfinley612]

Great video, very well done!

[@thomasv-p8839]

This was a great explanation! Thank you so much!

[@Patrick-dj9dd]

I believe there is a certain mutual respect and camaraderie between pilots of all sides in the World Wars. Unlike ground fighting, there is not the same level of blood and chaos and death after failure. In air combat, I believe it really boils down to personal determination, skill, and focus-- not to mention that pilots could make a reputation for themselves, like the Red Baron or other famous aces. A pilot could spend hours fighting the same plane and after one shot the other down, I believe there would be a respect for the lost pilot. Besides, most pilots wouldn't die after their plane was disabled, and thus they had the opportunity to meet again whether in the air or after the war. I would definitely want to read a book or see a movie about that theme.

[@mickmaxtube]

Check out the Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident. A bit of chivalry from a Knight of the Air

[@Patrick-dj9dd]

M Smith I just read about that the previous evening. Very touching.

[@SkylordAh]

Except instances where japanese pilots would strafe and kill chutes and german pilots would make sure soviet pilots were dead by ripping or shooting their chutes. Or you know allthe war crimes commited by the air forces

[@mickmaxtube]

***** I hear it was very commonplace to shoot an enemy pilot under his chute in the North African campaign, both Allied and Axis. The Japanese culture of Bushido urged ruthlessness in combat as well as out of combat and woe to anyone captured by them. Most pilots captured by the Japanese were beheaded ( as a mark of 'respect' ) after the usual torture / interrogation session.

[@mickmaxtube]

***** Dresden comes to mind as the most horrific war crime by an air force, not counting the A bomb missions which could be argued as a casualty preventing action as invading Japan would put the butchers bill in the millions.

[@mirsad96]

A German speaker teaching military history.. yea that does not fin any stereotype out there :P Jokes aside, good upload mate.

[@Phantom-gu3si]

Man you really are skilled in editing these videos. Keep it up

[@Tommygunner5]

When I heard about the first factor: outnumbering the enemies, the first thought that came to my mind was a hypothetical WT situation. One side with three players vs. the opposing side with a full roster. End result the one side getting wrecked and the other side more preoccupied with KSing each other.

[@Humanhead86]

you should compare air doctrines and planes

[@martindygula4094]

one of the best German pilots Robert Hartman retired when he had 23 years old with the best record od 352 plain down. Like him we had many young plots whitout the proper training. Germany did not import pilots from other countries. All the weapons that exist now most of them have design. We were the first ones in almost every weapon. And we were robed.Germany still lives together with France. Enemies of this friendship be aware. Martin Dygula German proud citizen.

[@douglashamilton9755]

Hartmann was superlatively gifted and determined. Shot down on numerous occasions, he survived the war and 10 years of Soviet captivity to become a part of the postwar German Air Force. His extraordinary ability to survive was in part driven by never suffering fool gladly. When the US tried to get the new German Air Force to arm with a US aircraft that experienced very high rates of failure, Hartmann refused to remain silent. He was forced to retire shortly thereafter.

[@matreyes2080]

@@douglashamilton9755 WHAT!!!!!?????

[@TinyBearTim]

His name isn’t Robert

[@TinyBearTim]

And he isn’t one of the best he is the best of all time

[@samswing7889]

Very logical and believable analysis. I've subscribed.

[@dLimboStick]

Excellent analysis!

[@Marko-od7eb]

@Military History Visualized 4:40 Pilots became friends after the war becasue they never saw horrors of trenches. Pilots were shooting the plane...not the person, while infantryman saw his comrades ripped in two by shells and bullets. They saw killing and blood and casulties of soldiers and civilians. They saw murder and rape and all the other horrors of war close and personal - something pilots never did.

[@charlestemm4870]

excellent point...

[@Marko-od7eb]

+Gordon Lawrence First of all, my conclusions came from a *Dave Grossman a Lieutenant-Colonel in the United States Army* who wrote couple of books (that is more than one in your language) about *psychology of killing.* Thanks to his studies, modern special forces exist today. Dave himself was a paratrooper in WW2. There is also documentary about his work so look it up. It is much better than all sorts of crap looking at your subscription channels. And ISOLATED examples you mentioned just proves this point he made in his books : In Faulklands war, the UK pilots wanted to "kill" the opponent because he never saw the horrors of killing. He was obviously a sociopath with inferiority complex that wanted to play tough guy. If he was shooting at pilot who ejected, he would be court-marshaled. So yea...he was full of shit. As for Polish pilots (who were the best UK squadron in WW2), they unlike any other pilots escaped from nazi occupation and saw close an personal what Nazis did to Polish people. They saw the killing and executions in the streets , and that is why they hated Germans so much and wanted to kill them. They had *MENTALITY OF INFANTRYMEN and NOT MENTALITY OF PILOTS* and that just proves my point. That is why many of them died while chasing the German planes, ignored orders and were acting suicidal shooting enemy planes under 200m. That behavior is very unconventional in history of all dogfights. What you tried is to use isolated unusual cases and implement it to general model, which is totally false and wrong.. Around 99% of pilots act opposite of the examples you mentioned....that is the main reason why the isolated examples are so well remembered.....it is totally unusual behavior for a pilot. One in every 10 000 cases does not make it a rule......so put that ego to side and use your brain for a change..... There is also a book with title *"A Higher Call"* and I suggest you to read it. A badly damaged American bomber struggles to fly over Germany and comes back to UK. Crew was badly wounded and some of them were dead. t that moment German ace Franz Stigler intercepted the bomber..... When he saw the wounded and dead, blood all over the plane....he did not wanted to pull the trigger. In fact the horror he saw, made him to ESCORT the bomber to safe air-space. Quote from a book is : "It was the encounter that would haunt both Charlie and Franz for forty years" And German pilot never mentioned for fear of facing a firing squad. And last but not least : TRENCH WAREFARE Trench warefare was very much present in modern wars yet alone the WW1 and WW2. Ever heard for Eastern Front ? Ever heard for Battle of Kursk ? Next time before you write anything...I suggets you to use arguments and provide proper sources (like I did with names and book titles) and not armchair theories spiced with teenager rage.

[@Marko-od7eb]

Gordon Lawrence Of course you are. You are 50 year old who is subscribed to Matthew Santoro videos, follows gaming channels, writes "LMAO" and misspelles the word "hell". Didn't your mother taught you manners not to lie to people ?

[@Marko-od7eb]

+Gordon Lawrence *Taught* is past tense and a past participle of word *teach.* Jessus Christ almighty....noy only I am polyglot but know your language better than you. You are probably still in highschool....aren't you ? Please stop writing, you are making it worse for yourself. If you came here to argue you are in wrong place... Learn some manners and talk with people in more civilized tone. If you have something to contribute on the subject..please do. Give your oppinion....but learn your place and learn to listen and respect other people's oppinion.

[@Kude1707]

The soldiers still did share a mutal respect for one another too, just not to the same degree for the reasons you have stated. Friendships with the otherside could not happen due to the horrors they all went through, even if they did not blame the soldiers personally there would be this hate simply due to the psychological damage and trauma caused.

[@elixir4487]

Finally, a vid that kills the "comment-section-flying-übermensch-myth". Thank you so much!! By the way, a saying of german soldiers during WWII was:" If the planes were silver, they were US, if they were green, RAF. If there weren´t any planes at all, they were LW". So it seems pretty easy to guess wich side had more target opportunities.

[@kirotheavenger60]

I always heard it as 'if the plane is silver; its American, if its blue; it british (don't forget they were blue on the bottom) and if its invisible; its ours'

[@elixir4487]

Probably you are absolutely right, thx. I´ve heard this once some long time ago and by the years my mem gets a bit fuzzy ;) But despite that sad fact I´m pretty sure that lots of spits/hurris/tiffies/mossies etc. were light grey on their bottom and green/brown/light grey camoed on their sides. But, of course, it differed by time, purpose and theater of operations.

[@tsehoyin2]

LOL i can't stop laughing after I think of the luffwaffe ground forces's infantry divisions.

[@vmx189]

also a similar saying of finnish soldiers "whoever spots a friendly fighter in the air wins a grand prize" whatever that was.

[@elixir4487]

Search and watch "Bf109 Ace Günther Rall Interview" (ca. 2 minutes). But what does an ace with 275 kills know, right?

[@Squelch133]

i feel deep reflection and wisdom here. interesring points and youend with noting respect. I am subscribing.

[@alexdempsey6525]

YOU GOT A HOLE IN YOUR LEFT WING

[@atheismisamentaldisorder1839]

Sounds like Russian biased

[@petlahk4119]

Why does it always seem to be left wing too? I can't really remember it shouting at me about my right wing. xD

[@LeaderofChickens]

nerf KV-1!!!!

[@arkady86]

I remember the right wing! The shout usually came right before it snapped away from its rightful place...

[@petlahk4119]

Yeah xD

[@junyigoh7882]

that war thunder reference.

[@hugovanrossum7829]

where

[@davidvanau3182]

"Enemy team lost all their vehicles"

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

0:51

[@MsZsc]

that was intentional?

[@theBroG]

this is amazing thank you for this knowledge!!

[@discoverynorthcarolina9824]

Always love the analytical side of your videos

[@Wolfgulfur]

Great unbiased video. I would also include however, the superiority of Deutsch fighter aircraft at the beginning of the war on the eastern front. It is reported many documentaries and Time Life historical publications and books of German pilots on the eastern front scoring hundreds of kills against outdated soviet I-15 and I-16 aircraft who often flew in formations that were easy to attack. Of course these streaks would wind down the introduction of the Lagg series and ultimately come to an end with the appearance of the La's and Yak's but the sheer number of victories claimed by Deutsch pilots before the revitalization of the Red air force were not possible in any other theater of the war.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

to a certain degree this is cover in my video about the Soviet Air Force 1941/1942: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnLJXqOEjaqco6s I usually keep the scope as focused as possible, this was also one of the videos with intentionally very little data. Unlike the video linked above.

[@Wolfgulfur]

@BekGrou PRIMUS as high as the western front scores were, the eastern front pilots scored much higher, many over 200+. A simple explanation being german pilots having experience from Spain, France, and England, while Red airforce pilots had experience from Spain but not a terrible lot of combat following that. The other being the lack of a soviet answer to german fighters until nearly halfway into 1942, nearly a year into the invasion. By which point red airforce pilots have probably learned what they needed to do to give themselves a fighting chance with their Polikarpovs, Migs, and LaGGs against german fighters but none of those were terribly comparable in capabilities to german aircraft at that time. Though the pilots skills make the most difference Cheers 🍻

[@kennethbillings614]

I like your style of getting information across.

[@SatochiCraft]

Tanks for the video, really nice info and presentation! Can you start to do videos of modem conflicts? for example, I want to know how is that in Syria conflict the Daesh infantry have been so successful against a fully equipped armies. Since that conflict started I don't find WWII as relevant as before, I used to read a lot about that war, but History is being written today as we speak and it would be really cool to have this info in your format.

[@PS-nf3xw]

mutual respect is the true virtue of a hero agreed. wish if the world learnt it a bit earlier...or even now.

[@TheIzroda]

They had so many kills, cause they were better.

[@patsmith8523]

One point you overlooked. The Luftwaffe training planes were used during active campaigns (such as Barbarossa) as were the instructors. This crippled the training programs.

[@LeaderofChickens]

on the last part about pilots being friends, that reminded me of when this West German guard at the Berlin wall would talk with a guard from the other side. when the wall came down they soon became friends... oh how war can still create friendships

[@lekesssak]

it was a good video with a life lesson :)

[@tobiaspreuss8061]

You should have mentioned Hans Joachim Marseille as he is considered to be the best fighter pilot of all time.

[@GeneralG1810]

Chuck Yaeger baby

[@slayy_lyvia888]

of course the baron is on the bottom of the list because he's german.,

[@theblytonian3906]

Re Marsaiiles. Clearly not. His 'luck' ran out. Fighter pilot maxim. "I'd rather be lucky than good". Things could have ended similarly for others, e.g. Hartmann and Rudel both who were shot down on several occasions and captured behind Soviet lines. Read Rudel's personal maxim about 'never being lost'. An outstanding role model, and highest decorated member of die Wehrmacht. Deservedly so, the sole recipient of Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten.

[@slowhand6562]

I have mentioned him in about 3 posts, Tobias. Great pilot, good man.

[@slowhand6562]

Well, Rudel was definitely a brave and determined Stuka pilot. He was also a Nazi psychopath who escaped to S America and helped fellow fun lovers such as Dr 'Sadistic Pervert' Mengele escape justice. He bloody well made sure he surrendered to the Yanks and not the Russians, too.

[@eopatcjo]

Wonderfully concise video that is as potent as it is digestible. Thank you very much for this top quality video!

[@jpstenino]

Excellent video thank you

[@kingbaldwiniv5409]

Excellent video again! Often, people will commit the error of assigning "superman" status to people that rack up big numbers without understanding how the numbers are generated. This is not to say that those German aces were not exceptional, but instead took advantage of the circumstances and produced favorable numbers, serving to obscure a dangerous situation for German Air power.

[@stonechurch92]

0:28 answer the kwäschtn....XD

[@gamiezion]

loved your video. do want to give you a tip though: the ph in emphasis is pronounced f.

[@johnthomas7517]

This is high quality content, well done.

[@potsandpansonly]

"visualized"

[@barthill9578]

All bs aside the Germans and Japanese kicked ass.

[@JJ-pm4ob]

+John Smith 15/90 wtf?

[@Fishfingers232]

How? They did pretty well in the beginning but they spent the last 3 years of the war getting buttraped by the Allies.

[@jo53ha]

Germans demolished french army with their panzers in just a cuple of hours.

[@wybojones9896]

The Italians did have respectable ships and aircraft (excluding bombers). Ex. the Mc. 202

[@jdsol1938]

well done, a fine presentation

[@LyvingWyld]

Hey i really like your videos and was wondering if you thought of implementing video game and other footage into your videos as it would help to visualize better.

[@Kreismaker]

holy crap, you sound like arnold xD i love it xD

[@henryaung596]

GET TO THE CHOPPERRRR!!!!

[@Kreismaker]

I'll be back!

[@xXxBladeStormxXx]

Hasta la vista, baby.

[@draconisthewyvern3664]

something does not make sense..superior training yet lack of emphasis on training from germany....that does not make sense to me....the other part of them not having quantity made sense but the other part made no sense what so ever.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

initial one time training is something different then a proper training infrastructure, e.g., the Germans used their training personnel and planes to fly supplies into Stalingrad... I doubt that the British nor US used their training staff and planes to drop their paratroopers in Normandy.

[@Warmaker01]

Shortage of pilots as the war dragged on and the opposing air forces got stronger and stronger. As it's been mentioned in the video and other places, Luftwaffe Experten flew until they were KIA, MIA, or no longer fit to fly. There were no rotations like what for example the USAAF had. Another factor that rapidly deteriorated German AND Japanese pilot training and replacement programs? Fuel. So if they were getting personnel, there wasn't enough fuel to get a thorough training program. This then snowballs as the Allies and Soviet Union had more and more planes, more and more pilots with ample training. Then you had on top of all that the pilots they already had that were still flying and still alive, fit to fly, constantly accruing valuable flight hours, experience in flying in combat conditions. Compare this to the new German or Japanese pilot of 1944 that was lucky to get training that was cut short due to fuel issues and time (they needed pilots at the front... NOW). You had these young, poorly trained pilots going against very strong air forces that had new planes flown by pilots that on average, had way more experience, training, flight time. There was also the manpower shortage that Germany acutely felt, especially with so many huge fronts sucking away personnel. You can regularly find stories about German ground formations that in name is a "Division" but in reality, only had maybe a "Regiment's" worth of men, if even that. This was especially so by 1944 and got worse and worse. The Luftwaffe was the same way.

[@Anlushac11]

By Sept 1st 1939 Germany had fighter pilots who gained operational and combat experience flying in the Spanish Civil War. Those pilots used their experience to develop new theories and tactics. That made German fighter pilots very skilled and capable at start of war. Germany never planned for a war of attrition. Germany had no system to train large numbers of pilots to replace combat losses. Further most German combat pilots were kept at the front while Allied pilots were rotated back to training squadrons to teach new pilots what the veteran pilots had learned. Germany had plenty of Me-109's but never enough pilots to replace losses or gasoline to allow adequate flight training.

[@marcusb9213]

It makes sense if you study the development throughout the war. Germany was in superiour position at the beginning of the war due to the fact that politicians and the military put more focus on development of modern airforce and thus creating a very well-trained cadre of pilots. Also, Luftwaffe drew many useful conclusions from their experiences in Spanish Civil War, 'finger four'-formation being perhaps the most well-known consequence. This superiour position allowed them to increase that 'lead' for already existsting pilot cadre in early years of the war. But as the war progressed and and slowly turned into a game of numbers, this 'starting pool' of trained and experienced pilots was steadily chipped at. Failure of German training program now came into play - it failed to provide the Luftwaffe with enough new pilots with solid foundation training which would give them reasonable chance to survive to gain operational experience which in turn would allow them to be on pair with pilots from the pre-war/early war era. Perhaps the best way to see the gradual corrosion of Luftwaffe's training programme is by studying the length of training course and number of training hours a trainee pilot received before 1942 and after 1942. This process led Luftwaffe into a leathal spiral where new pilots with inadeqauate training were forced into operational flying too soon, leadining to even larger number of casualties, which in turn put even larger strain on already inadequate training programme. And yes, it did break in the end, by February 1945, Luftwaffe's training units were in complete shambles and aircraft production was much higher than number of pilots who could even land them safely. Lack of adequately trained pilots forced Luftwaffe to keep their 'experten' operational for duration, as mentioned in the clip. This ment not only that they were flying until they became casualties, but also that the training staff of Luftwaffe was less experienced than that of allies. Allied fighter pilots, once being rotated out of operational units, were moved to training units and had a chance to transfer their practical experience to new pilots. This aspect of training was denied German trainiees until they reached the absolutely last phase of their training. Japanese suffered even greater problems of same character - they regarded their pilot cadre as a true elite force, with extremly high rate of dropouts throughout the training phase as a consequence already before 1942. Once casualties started to mount, their training programme was able to provide only a fraction of required replacement crews. Forced expansion of their training programme produced only rudimentally trained personnel, with events such as Marianas Turkey Shoot being the consequence.

[@philipbana461]

if you actually watched the video, you'd know he stated the Germans had better training early on from the Spanish Civil War, however the axis lacked good training during the actual second world war

[@TotalRookie_LV]

I've heard this statement/complain from Russians - Soviets counted only confirmed kills, while Germans supposedly counted _claimed_ kills. There is sort of a meme about German ace claiming several kills, which couldn't be confirmed or checked by anyone else, because "all planes fell into lake Ladoga".

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

well, the Russians faced a Luftwaffe that went through Poland, France and the Battle of Britain, etc. some even fought in the Spanish Civil War. The Soviet Air Force also had quite some losses against the inferior (in terms of equipment) Finnish Air Force, so I would say they had plenty of opportunities to rack up that many kills and skills (beforehand). I don't know the number of missions that Soviet pilots flew, but those of German aces are extremely high numbers, thus the kill count is not so much off.

[@TotalRookie_LV]

Military History Visualized Soviets also fought in Spain, I'm not a guru in the field, but I guess the later stages of Spanish Civil war when Me-109 arrived showed that Soviet Air Force has run into trouble and is about to face a technically superior aircraft.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

I know they provided equipment, maybe pilots too, I will probably cover it when I read up on the Civil War, but I assume that the Germans tried to get everything out of their experiences, after all the Luftwaffe was just 1 year old in 1935 and before 1933 the Germans had strong restrictions, thus their 100 000 men army consisted of the best of the best. Legion Condor was the guy in class sitting in the middle right at the front in college and reading books too, whereas the Soviet Air Force probably was more like, oh, well, let's take a look. Also due to the purges (see my video on the Soviet Air Force 1941/1942) everybody that survived wasn't really in a mood to change/touch anything.

[@TotalRookie_LV]

Military History Visualized Hmm, since you mentioned it, I think I should look it up too, as Soviets certainly provided ":volunteer" tank crews, but, perhaps, there were no Soviet pilots.

[@Ryan-jd6wq]

Germany actually had one of the strictest rules around claiming kills for both snipers and pilots. For snipers, the kill had to be confirmed by a witness, then brought to the battalion level. As for pilots, without a witness, a Luftwaffe fighter pilot had no chance to have his victory claim confirmed. Such a claim, even if filed, would not pass beyond group level, and the final destruction or explosion of an enemy aircraft in the air, or bail-out of the pilot, had to be observed either on gun-camera film or by at least one other human witness. The witness could be the German pilot's wingman, another in the squadron, or an observer on the ground. Erich Hartmann was the best ace of all time, had at one time have Dimitri Khazanov claim that he had not scored 352 victories, but he was heavily criticised for faulty research.

[@1293ST]

Super Kanal! Suche schon lange video mit solchen Informationen.

[@karnevalsjeck1984]

The best fighter pilot of all time was Hans Joachim Marseille. Even his enemies admitted that.

[@82luft49]

Least we forget Aldof Galland.

[@oddballsok]

you didn't pay attention to this video....

[@karnevalsjeck1984]

James Lochard Jup, i have read the book "Die ersten und die Letzten" (Adolf Galland). In this book he discribes H. J.Marseilles skills as godlike and unreachable.

[@Wombat1916]

karnevalsjeck1984 I recall reading once that he shot down 3, or was it 5, P-40s in the desert on a day that the Desert Air Force did not lose any aircraft!

[@karnevalsjeck1984]

Terry Shulky On his best day he shot down 17 allied fighters. After that he was called "The star of africa". Unfortunately he died with only 22 years.