The German ace Gerhard Michalski (right), born on 1917, survived to 5 years of war on all fronts in various complex fighting conditions, against the French, the British, the Russian, and the Americans, flew 652 missions, claimed 73 victories.
The pic (Colourized) show Michalski discussing 'dog-fight' tactics with another pilot, using models of a Bf 109 and Spitfire at the Comiso air base in Sicily, summer of 1943.
He died in a stupid road accident, only 6 months after the end of the war, on 22 Feb 1946, at the age of 28.
Oh,my. 652 combat missions and he gets taken out in a vehicle accident? ☹️
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
Is the puppy the bombardier or the navigator?
Erich Rudorffer flew 1,000 combat missions during WW2, more than almost any pilot in history. Born in 1917, he joined the Luftwaffe and began fighting in 1940 he shot down 222 enemy aircraft across multiple fronts, making him the seventh-highest scoring ace of the war. His targets included Soviet american and British planes, demonstrating his skill against diverse opponents throughout the conflict.
Rudorffer survived being shot down sixteen times, a testament to both his resilience and the brutal nature of aerial combat. He flew on the Eastern Front, in North Africa, and over Western Europe. On a single day in 1944, he destroyed thirteen Soviet aircraft in seventeen minutes, an almost unmatched feat. He mastered the Fw 190 and Me 109 fighters, adapting to whatever aircraft the deteriorating German war effort provided.
He flew his final mission in April 1945 as Germany collapsed. American forces captured him shortly after.
After the war, Rudorffer joined the West German Luftwaffe when it reformed in the 1950s. He flew jet aircraft and helped rebuild Germany's air force during the Cold War. He retired as a colonel in 1976, having served his country through two distinct military eras.
Rudorffer lived until 2016, at age 98 He became one of the last surviving major aces of WW2.
Sherman tank ace, Lafayette G. Pool.
Lafayette G. Pool was the most successful American tank ace of WW2. Fighting with the 3rd Armored Div in 1944, he commanded an M4 Sherman and, in just 81 days, helped destroy over 250 enemy vehicles, including dozens of tanks. His career ended when he was badly wounded in September 1944, but he became a lasting example of how aggressive tactics and crew skill could make the Sherman a highly effective combat weapon.
He received many medals and decorations, including the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, the Purple Heart, the Belgian fourragère, and the French Legion of Honour.
Pool died in his sleep on May 30, 1991, in Killeen, Texas, at the age of 71.
Otto Carius (1922–2015) was one of the most accomplished and respected German tank commanders of WW2. Serving primarily as a Tiger tank commander on the Eastern Front, Carius was credited with more than 150 destroyed enemy tanks. Awards: Knights Cross with Swords, Wound Badge with Two Clusters, Iron Cross 1st Class, Iron Cross 2nd Class, Panzer Badge, German Campaign Medal with Three Battle Stars.
Agreed.... that just shows how you can't predict next day let alone lifeOh,my. 652 combat mission and he gets taken out in a vehicle accident? ☹️
Happily retired, I worked till I was 72, am now 88, this year 2026 I will be 89
you could say I have earnt my crust
As usual @louis great pictures and knowledge you give us
Happily retired, I worked till I was 72, am now 88, this year 2026 I will be 89
you could say I have earnt my crust
John Cunningham (born 1917) a CBE, DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar, AE was a RAF night fighter ace during the WW2, and subsequently became a test pilot for de Havilland.
During the war, he was nicknamed 'Cat's Eyes' by the British press to explain his success and to avoid communicating the existence of airborne radar to the Germans.
Having never married, John Cunningham died a bachelor aged 84 on 21 July 2002.
The king George VI, greets Squadron Leader John Cunningham. ( right).
Fighter Ace Satoru Anabuki in front of his Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa in late 1944.
Satoru Anabuki served with the 50th Sentai (squadron) in the conquest of the Philippines, claiming his first three victories. In 1942 Satoru’s squadron was re-equipped with Ki-43 Hayabusa (Oscar) fighters in Japan and moved to Burma. In 1944 he was assigned as a flight instructor in defence of the Home Islands, but later returned to combat in the Philippines flying the new Ki-84 Hayate, claiming four F6F Hellcats. His final victory was against a B-29 Superfortress flying over Honshu.
Anabuki survived the war with perhaps as many as 53 victories, although many these claims are disputed.
Otto Carius (1922–2015) was one of the most accomplished and respected German tank commanders of WW2. Serving primarily as a Tiger tank commander on the Eastern Front, Carius was credited with more than 150 destroyed enemy tanks. Awards: Knights Cross with Swords, Wound Badge with Two Clusters, Iron Cross 1st Class, Iron Cross 2nd Class, Panzer Badge, German Campaign Medal with Three Battle Stars.
I’ve read Otto Carius’s memoir Tigers in the Mud, and although it was an interesting read, the fact is that he was a convinced Nazi and very frustrated by the German defeat. He tends to blame things like sabotage in factories and similar issues, which I found disappointing from that perspective. On the other hand, you have Ernst Jünger and Storm of Steel: a man who fought in WWI, side by side with his comrades. He never hesitated to reject the Nazi regime. He was surprised by Germany’s defeat in WWI, but you can see that he wasn’t angry or trying to blame others; instead, he seems to have accepted it as a deserved defeat.
Erich Topp (1914/2005) was one of the most successful and well-known U-boat commanders during WW2, renowned for his skill, discipline, and later reflections on the war.Topp joined the Kriegsmarine in 1934 and initially served on surface ships before transferring to the U-boat arm, which was rapidly expanding under Admiral Karl Dönitz. He took command of U-552, a Type VIIC submarine, in Dec 1940.Under Topp’s leadership, U-552 became one of the most feared submarines in the Battle of the Atlantic. The boat was nicknamed the “Red Devil” because of its distinctive red devil emblem painted on the conning tower. Topp conducted 10 combat patrols with U-552, sinking 28 Allied ships totalling over 160,000 tons - placing him among the top U-boat aces of the war.His most controversial action occurred in Oct 1941, when U-552 torpedoed the American destroyer USS Reuben James, killing 115 sailors. The attack took place before the United States formally entered the war and significantly increased tensions between Germany and the U.S.For his successes, Topp received the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, one of Germany’s highest military decorations. Among peers, he was regarded as a calm, methodical commander, less ideological than some contemporaries and focused primarily on professional naval conduct.
The most surprising fact is that he survived as a submarine commander, considering that most of them were KIA. Another book worth mentioning is Iron Coffins by Herbert A. Werner, also a U-boat commander. He wrote it after being captured; in fact, the Allies didn’t believe he had been a U-boat commander at first, since he had escaped from Bergen to Trondheim aboard U-953. The Allies were convinced they had sunk all the remaining German U-boats
Since we’re sharing favorites, here’s a little history nugget — Staff Sgt. Lafayette G. Pool, one of the lesser-known American tank aces of WWII. Commanding a Sherman in the 3rd Armored Division, Pool and his crew knocked out over 250 German vehicles in just 81 days of combat after Normandy. He ended up being the highest-scoring U.S. tank commander of the war, but never became widely known because the U.S. Army didn’t really promote ‘aces’ the way the Germans did. Pretty remarkable run for such a short time at the front.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
Major William Avery "Billy" Bishop (1894/1956), Canada’s most famous WW1 flying ace, would be officially credited with 72 aerial victories.
Flying fragile wood-and-canvas aircraft like the Nieuport 17, these pilots fought at close range in open cockpits, often thousands of feet above the trenches.
It's the no parachutes thing that would have gotten to me.
Lt Col. Erich Hartmann (1922/1993) left- history’s highest-scoring fighter ace with 352 aerial victories, and retired Gen Adolf Galland (1912/1996) the Luftwaffe’s famed “fighter commander” and Me 262 jet pioneer — seen together on July 4, 1965, at Neubiberg Air Base near Munich.
Hans-Joachim Marseille:
One of the most remarkable fighter aces of World War II was Hans-Joachim Marseille, known as the “Star of Africa.” Flying with Jagdgeschwader 27 in North Africa in the Messerschmitt Bf 109, he became famous for his exceptional marksmanship and deflection shooting. In September 1942 he achieved one of the war’s most astonishing feats, shooting down 17 Allied aircraft in a single day, many of them Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters.
By age 22 he had accumulated 158 aerial victories, almost all in the North African campaign. Despite surviving countless dogfights, Marseille did not die in combat; on 30 September 1942 his aircraft suffered an engine failure and caught fire, and while attempting to bail out he struck the tail of his aircraft and was killed, ending the career of one of the Luftwaffe’s most gifted pilots. ✈️
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
Ilmari Juutilainen:
One of the most remarkable Finnish fighter aces of World War II was Ilmari Juutilainen. Flying for the Finnish Air Force during the Winter War and Continuation War, Juutilainen became the highest-scoring non-German ace of the war, credited with 94 confirmed aerial victories. Early in the conflict he flew the American-built Brewster F2A Buffalo, which the Finns used very effectively against Soviet aircraft, before later transitioning to the German Messerschmitt Bf 109G.
What makes Juutilainen especially remarkable is that he was never shot down during the entire war, despite flying more than 400 combat missions. Known for his calm approach to combat, he relied on situational awareness, surprise attacks, and disciplined shooting rather than reckless dogfighting. Juutilainen survived the war with his record intact and lived until 1999, passing away at age 85 and remaining one of Finland’s most respected wartime pilots. ✈️🪖
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here: