| ME109 vs FW190
It seems that the three highest scoring German pilots (i.e. the highest scoring aces ever) - Erich Hartmann (352 victories, all confirmed by witnesses), Gerhard Barkhorn (301) and Gunther Rall (275) all preferred the ME109 (Bf109, to use its proper name) to the FW190. They all used the Messerchmitt virtually to the end of the war. Barkhorn, after his service on the Eastern front, commanded a Home Defence unit with FW190s but it is recorded that he kept a Me109G for himself, and he only briefly flew the ME262 for the last few weeks.
And yet the FW was the one that really had the RAF worried, proving superior to the Spitfire Vb and a match for the IX. ACM Sir Sholto Douglas, C-in-C Fighter Command, described the FW as the best fighter in the world, in mid-'42.
So, does anyone have any idea why these three leading aces apparently remainded loyal to the Messerschmitt? |