Who was the top scoring WWII Fighter Pilot - Johnie Johnson or Pat Pattle?
Originally Posted by air pig
AVM Park with Wing Commander Woodall ( Station Commander RAF Duxford and sector controller) at the time of the Battle of Britain if I remeber correctly directed the air defence of Malta in 1941 and 42. Very few air commanders have directed a succesful air defence against a sophisicated enemy and have been successful. ACM Dowding was treated terribly following the Battle of Britain by the Air Staff establishment. This I feel due to the fact that he spoke his mind over the defence of France in 1940 in not allowing any more aircarft to be sent over the channel.
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I noted that JEJ as top scoring British RAF pilot 'only' got 38 kills and he survived the war. Pattle clearly got more but with the loss of records. But I was surprised to see the Brendan 'Paddy' Finucane comes joint third alongside Malan with 32 kills. Malan survived the war. Finucane was shot down and killed by ground fire in 1942 aged only 21.
If he had lived no doubt Finucane could have matched Pattle by the end of the war. Of course if Pattle lived who knows what his score would have been.
Of course others may have matched those scores but who ended up as POW's.
If he had lived no doubt Finucane could have matched Pattle by the end of the war. Of course if Pattle lived who knows what his score would have been.
Of course others may have matched those scores but who ended up as POW's.
Originally Posted by corsair
I noted that JEJ as top scoring British RAF pilot 'only' got 38 kills and he survived the war. Pattle clearly got more but with the loss of records. But I was surprised to see the Brendan 'Paddy' Finucane comes joint third alongside Malan with 32 kills. Malan survived the war. Finucane was shot down and killed by ground fire in 1942 aged only 21.
Malan scored 27 with 7 shared destroyed, his last scores being in Jun 1941 a full year before Finucane was killed.
Malan ceased operational flying in August 1941, and yet by the end of the war he was still the highest scoring pilot of RAF Fighter Command...
Tuck scored 27 with 2 shared, and Lacey also scored 27 with Fighter Command, only Malan's extra shared scores put him at the top of Fighter Command's list.
JEJ for example, scoring the majority of his score while on operations with 2nd TAF.
Last edited by GeeRam; 19th Aug 2006 at 19:44.
Not a mention made yet of Bob Doe, the highest scoring (14), surviving, Battle of Britain pilot. Still willing to do a piece to camera for such items as the revelation that the Royal Navy won the Battle! Modest as ever he explained the final pre ops training required him to fire his guns at the North Sea. "I managed to hit it", he explained with some pride! 
