Comments by "William Cox" (@WildBillCox13) on "Why did the German Aces have so many Air Kills?" video.

  1. Good work. Your presentations clear away much of the fog of war that remains, often purposefully augmented by noxious fumes and gas from the usual round of badly written documentaries. Pursuant to our discussion: Kills weren't only exaggerated. Wingmen automatically attributed any kills to their ace leader, and usually watched his back, while he dove through enemy flights after attaining perfect position and relative surprise. This stacked scores for the "Rock Stars" of WW2, though, by no means do I disparage their individual prowess or artistry. Also, calculating kills against one another is specious nonsense, due to the omission of relative apropos data. It's not: "How many did he shoot down" that matters. Rather, it's "how many aircraft involved were total constructive losses". If a man, like Hans Marseilles or Doug Bader (as apocryphal examples), shoots down 80 enemy planes, while losing his own plane 80 times, then he's not much of an ace, is he? Those numbers are almost never included. If you shoot down 25 enemy fighters, but bale out 5 times and lose your plane, your RATIO of kills:losses drops by a good margin. This disparity means a lot to your side. Of course your pertinent media will pump your hype. Media--especially during war--is full of lies and spin, as its whole purpose in life is to SELL COPY, not convey truth. Tactics make a great difference, as well, and change in tactics is often driven by change in technological balance. The US and UK were able to create engines of higher horsepower density. Though these could be plagued by troubles (the B29 comes to mind; its duplex Cyclones were problematic, to say the least), the Allies produced dependable engines in the 2000HP bracket, where the Axis could not. When one has a 250-500HP advantage in power (other factors being more or less equal) one can pick the time and place of the battle--a considerable advantage. Energy state is everything to a fighter pilot and a higher HP motor in a plane allows it to (usually) climb faster. The higher plane when a duel commences is in the higher energy state, thereby conferring upon it a distinct advantage. Disclaimer: I am not an expert, though I play one in Youtube Comments sections. Heh heh. I am, however, extremely wide read and I think long and hard on what I read.
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