Manfred von Richthofen Quotes

The experienced fighting pilot does not take unnecessary risks. His business is to shoot down enemy planes, not to get shot down.

The German Luftwaffe always fought without any reserves. This is also the reason why we have pilots with extremely high numbers of victories.

I've always been intrigued by fighter pilots and strategy because it occurs in like, milliseconds, you know.

Тhe battlefield in the air will be the decisive one

Fighting in the air is not a sport. It is scientific murder.

Nothing can stop the attack of aircraft except other aircraft.

During World War II, the pilot losses were staggering. In some bombing raids, as many as 80% of the planes that left did not return.

Air warfare is a shot through the brain, not a hacking to pieces of the enemy's body.

The British were keen for 30 caliber guns, did not believe in daylight bombing. American experts said 30 caliber was not enough; we had to have 50 caliber, also said daylight bombing was right provided the planes attacked in formation, with 50 caliber guns.

If we lose the war in the air we lose the war and we lose it quickly.

The great defense against the air menace is to attack the enemy's aircraft as near as possible to their point of departure.

The one effective method of defending one's own territory from an offensive by air is to destroy the enemy's air power with the greatest possible speed.

The first lesson is that you can't lose a war if you have command of the air, and you can't win a war if you haven't.

Let us never forget this: since the day of the air, the old frontiers are gone. When you think of the defense of England you no longer think of the chalk cliffs of Dover; you think of the Rhine. That is where our frontier lies.

To conquer the command of the air means victory; to be beaten in the air means defeat and acceptance of whatever terms the enemy may be pleased to impose.

In the long run sea power will be no match for air power.

Carey wants proper air cover in case of war with Vermont.

The development of air power in its broadest sense, and including the development of all means of combating missiles that travel through the air, whether fired or dropped, is the first essential to our survival in war.

I can't tell you the number of times I looked down at what was going on on the ground, or I was engaged in a fight somewhere, and I knew within a couple of minutes how I was going to screw up the enemy. And I knew it because I'd done so much reading.

Everything in the air that is beneath me, especially if it is a one seater . . . is lost, for it cannot shoot to the rear.

I'm sure the most favorite airplane in my career would still be the Sabre F86 cleft wing , which allowed me to be credited with 2 Russian-built Mig-15 destroyed during the Korean War. Where I was in 1953.

One can only repeat about air warfare: we are in a position of almost hopeless inferiority and must grin and bear it as we take the blows from the English and the Americans. [Germans in the bombed cities] are gradually beginning to lose their courage. Hell like that is hard to bear for any length of time, especially since the inhabitants along the Rhine and Ruhr see no prospect of improvement.

To conquer the command in the air means victory; to be beaten in the air means defeat.

I met lot of fighter pilots and heard their breathtaking experiences. They risk their lives for our well being. Not many understand the risks involved.

I never dreamed to be a fighter pilot, because those guys are jerks.