I was paying half-attention because I was busy writing but did I hear correctly that the German pilot acted honorably to the American?
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http://ThePulpCollective.blogspot.com
You heard correctly. At a couple of points during the battle, the German flies alongside him and waves, then goes back to trying to blast him out of the sky. (Hey, the guy didn't become an ace of aces by being a softie.) Finally, when his ammunition gives out, he pulls alongside Johnson again, waggles his wings in an airman's salute, and peels away.
shareNow that's class. Nothing like that nowadays I bet.
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http://ThePulpCollective.blogspot.com
Personally I think flying alongside the American two times and waving at him before falling behind him to try and shoot him out of the sky made him pretty much a douche. He was completely toying with him. Acting like that before tilting the wings to him just nullifies it to me.
shareMaybe. It's impossible to say what was really in the German's mind. But, remember, the German may respect the American, he may admire the American (and the plane), he may even, in his heart, want the American to get away. None of that changes the fact that he's got a job to do, to kill the American.
share Many pilots in the war said that they were never out to kill the pilots in the other airplanes, just take the plane out. In Johnson's case, the Jerry was out of 20mm, or he would have had a very short career, indeed!
I think the Jerry was trying to get Johnson to bail out. What he couldn't know, of course, is that Johnson's canopy was jammed closed, and he couldn't get out!
Great show, I will be there every week!
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