Originally Posted by
DogTailRed2
Killed while on duty is one thing. Killed while on leave is another. While still a combatant I still find it distasteful and it would be considered more distasteful if it was a British or US serviceman. But then war is war and politics the remit of the good guy I guess.
I believe such sqeamishness went out of fashion a long time ago. Paddy Mayne shot a roomful of off-duty German and Italian pilots in 1941, and one of the objectives of the cancelled Op Mikado was to kill Argentine pilots in their quarters. No doubt there are scores of similar instances. In the end the onus on protecting the lives of aircrew in time of war lies in their own ability to protect themselves from such attacks.