Born 19, April 1922.  Erich “Bubbi”Hartmann.  With 352 aviation victories, he will forever be the greatest “Dog Fighter” of all-time.  At the war’s end, he was taken prisoner by the filthy Russians on fake charges and held in a Gulag for 10 years.

Upon Herr Hartmann’s release, he returned to the NEW GERMAN LÜFTWAFFE.  He flew the F-86 in his new Post Prison career.  He did resign when the Lüftwaffe acquired the F-104 (also known as the widow maker).  He would pass in 1993.  However his record 352 victories will probably live on as Aviation Combat has become a thing of the past.  With Jets like the F-22 which is invisible to radar and has an internal guided missile system that can neutralize hostile aircraft 10 kilometers away, man to man aerial combat skills are no longer in fashion.

Hartmann flew by the call sign “Karaya 1” when Russian opponents heard this, they would usually call of their sortie.  Because of his feared reputation; Hartmann would let rookie pilots fly “Karaya 1” to give the kids an upper hand.  It finally got to the point where the Russians would not engage the infamous Black Tulip BF-109G.  Hartmann would have to fly unmarked Messerschmitts to get the enemy to engage.

MY TRIBUTE TO THE GREATEST AERIAL COMBAT PILOT EVER