Erich Hartmann would only have barely a second to get out of the way before colliding with the enemy
Erich Hartmann, a German fighter pilot during World War II and the most successful fighter ace in aerial warfare history, was born on April 19, 1922, and died on September 20, 1993. He was known by his German allies as “Bubi” (“The Kid,”) and by his Soviet enemies as “The Black Devil.”
Hartmann flew more than 1,400 flights in the Messerschmitt Bf 109 during his service in the German Luftwaffe during World War II, which allowed him to record an incredible 352 kills (he shot down 345 Soviet and seven American aircraft).
How did Hartmann get so good at dominating the skies?
Rodra Hascaryo, an aviation expert who studied Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering, explains;
‘He has an unmatched record of 352 enemy planes shot down while never being shot down himself. It’s very likely that his record will never be surpassed.
‘The secret to his success was his technique. It’s deceptively simple, yet ridiculously effective, particularly against the Soviets.
‘Airplane guns in World War II were commonly mounted on the wings, and they don’t shoot straight forward. They had to be converged or harmonized so that it is concentrated on a single point at a fixed distance.
‘Convergence can be set by the ground crew according to the pilot’s wishes. Unlike some, Hartmann chose to make his gun converge extremely close, and he would not fire until the enemy is effectively right in front of him; as close as 20 m (65.62 feet). To give an idea how dangerous this is, he would only have barely a second to get out of the way before colliding with the enemy.
‘But by firing at the very last moment, he basically never missed. It is just impossible to miss when the target is that close. Also, the adversary would have no time to react.
‘After attacking, he wouldn’t stick around and dogfight like how pilots in movies do. He would flee the scene and attack again once the enemy lost him or lowered their guard. The Soviet airplanes and pilot training was particularly deficient to counter this.’
Hascaryo concludes;
‘It’s basically aerial hit-and-run, a tactic as old as humanity, and is still nonetheless devastating in the modern era. It also doesn’t require the pilot to be exceptionally good at any one thing (like shooting or flying); an average pilot with above-average understanding of their machine and good planning could pull it off.’
Photo by U.S. Air Force Wikimedia Commons via Military History Now