From: skronkvi@aton.abo.fi (Stefan Kronkvist INF)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.military
Subject: Best fighterpilot ?!?!
Date: 5 Jan 1993 10:16:29 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu


                     ===============================
                      Most successful fighter pilot
                           of all times ?!?!
                     ===============================

Who is the most successful fighterpilot in the history? The answer may be
different depending on who you are asking.

One possible answer is Hasse Wind from Finland.Wind was a member of the
volontary defence-organisation "skyddsk}ren".He joined the army and became
officer after graduating from school in Eken{s 1938.

Wind decided to become fighterpilot after the end of the "Winter-war"
(the war against the USSR 30.11-39 - 13.3 1940).

Eventhough the finnish air-force hadn't got any modern fighters during the
Winter-war,it showed that it was capable of doing its job.The 24:th fighter-
squadron,where Wind later would become situated,shot down 12 Soviet bombers
during the first dogfights 1 december 1939.
  Useing Fokker DXXI the squadron managed to shot down 96 enemyplanes during
that war.

Finland bought 44 Brewster Buffalos from the United States after the Winter-war
They were later used in the second war against the Soviet-Union (1941-44).

Wind became "Mannerheimriddare" two times (the highest military decoration at
that time).This decoration was only given to 4 persons in Finland.

The second flightregiment,to which Wind belonged,lost only 7 man during the 
Winter-war and 9 man during the second war.About 500 enemyplanes were shot 
down during that same period.

Wind remembers espesially one fight,when he attacked 9 enemyfighters on his 
own.He shot down 3 of them before he was forced to escape.

Theese planes were newer counted in Winds official statistics ower downed
enemies.In Finland you had to have witnesses to be allowed to count a victory.
The germans on the other hand also counted planes destroyed on the ground.
And when a german pilot shot down a 4-engine plane,he was allowed to count one
"victory"/engine.

The finnish fighters did well in the beginning of the war.But the russian 
aircraftindustries increasing production and the lend-lease program made life
harder for finnish pilots later during the war.

Winds legendary Brewster was destroyed in may 1944.The finnish air-forse
got some Messerschmitt Me 109:G:s at the same time and the best pilots were
moved to theese planes.
  The Messerschmitt was built to stand 60 hours of flight bu the finns used 
them for up to 400 hours.

Wind shot down 34 russians during the Soviet offensive that started 2 june
1944.28 june,the same day as Wind shot down 5 enemy-planes and was made 
Mannerheim-riddare for the second time,he was shot down himself.The russian
that downed him was flying a P 39 Aircobra.The 37 mm cannon badly damaged
his shoulder and back,but he still managed to fly back to Lappenranta.

After 18 month of treatment at the hospital in St Michels Wind was back on
his feet,but the war was over.

The official number of planes that Wind shot down is 75.But he claims that he
shot down about 100 planes.

Wind is less known than Jonny Johnson (38 planes),Richard Bong (40) and
Pierre Clostermann (33).
Manfred von Richthofen shot down 80 enemy-planes,according to the Guiness book
of Records,but 20 of theese are unconfirmed...


(source:Flygrevyn, volume 11-12 1991)