“And for the moment the whole burden of the war rested on the few hundred German fighter pilots on the Channel coast.”

When I was fired from my post as General of the Fighter Arm

An excellent weapon and luck had been on my side.

Later when asked what it felt like, I said, “It felt as though angels were pushing”.

If we could have had in ’44, ah, let’s say three hundred operational

And that’s when we did it. I think we did it.

Only in the spirit of attack, born in a brave heart,

Attack even from a position of inferiority, to disrupt the enemy’s plans.

If we would have had the 262 at our disposal – even with all the delays

As interceptors. And out of this fifty, there were never more than 25 operational. So we had only a very, very few.

As a fighter pilot I know from my own experiences how decisive surprise and luck can be for success

The fighter in the opening of a dogfight must detect the opponent as early as possible in order to attain a superior position for the attack.

Perhaps even more important than being a good pilot; to make the best use of this system.

Of course, the outcome of the war would not have been changed.

And most of these pilots were lost during the first five flights.

According to Goering and the Luftwaffe High Command, they were supposed to be the fighter elite.

Their element is to attack, to track, to hunt, and to destroy the enemy.