ACE OF DIAMONDS

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That Schnaufer was the most successful night-fighter pilot of World War Two is indisputable: in all probability he will take his place in history as the most successful night fighter of all time, because it is unlikely that there will ever again be another vast and sustained aerial battle like the one in which he achieved his distinction. From his first operational victory on 1 June 1942 to his final one on 7 March 1945 he and his crew shot down a confirmed total of 121 British bombers by night: they had other victories that remained unconfirmed because they did not meet the exacting requirements set by the Luftwaffe before a victory could be officially accredited. Whether he was the best night fighter is open to debate. Other Germans achieved very high scores but then lost their life before they could fulfil their potential - Oberleutnant Helmut Woltersdorf, for instance, who died in June 1942 with a score of 24 four short days after Schnaufer had had his first success; Hauptmann Ludwig Becker, the so-called 'Professor der Nachtjagd', killed in action in February 1943 with a score of 44 when Schnaufer had shot down a mere seven; the charismatic and legendary Major Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who, with 83 kills, about twice the number that Schnaufer had reached, was the leading night-fighter pilot when he was killed in action in January 1944; Oberst Helmut Lent, who died in a flying accident on 7 October 1944 when his tally stood at 110 and Schnaufer's at 98; and others who might, had they survived, also have achieved very high scores. And can one compare the capabilities and qualities of German defensive night fighters with those of their British counterparts, whose tallies were so much lower? The RAF men had far fewer opportunities to amass high scores because they had far fewer bombers to shoot at. The Germans did not attack Britain by night in anything like the enormous numbers in which Bomber Command struck at targets in the Third Reich and in the territories they occupied, so that direct comparison, RAF versus Luftwaffe, is impossible. But there can be no doubt that Schnaufer was an outstanding pilot: his achievements render debate on that point superfluous.