"The fleet—the British and Americans had too many aircraft." A German military TA-152 fighter had just shot down a P-51 fighter, only to be latched onto by another P-51 moments later. He had to use every trick in the book to shake off the enemy.
"That was good. After this air battle, I think we'll produce many more ace pilots. Maybe even super aces!" a squadron commander said with a smile.
Indeed, the Americans and British had deployed far too many fighters, placing enormous pressure on the German Air Force and the Navy's Carrier-based Aircraft Unit. Although their aircraft were more advanced and their pilots better trained, air combat had always been fast-paced. One moment of carelessness could result in being shot down. German military pilots often found themselves in the awkward position of two fists unable to fend off four hands. As a result, German aircraft losses continued to soar.
Even so, the number of German aircraft lost was still far lower than that of the Americans and British. Those outstanding pilots hunted American and British aircraft with practiced skill, steadily increasing their tallies.
In the Air Force and the Navy's Carrier-based Aircraft Unit, shooting down five enemy aircraft qualified one as an ace pilot. Yet the German Air Force and Navy fighter units had many ace pilots. Whether on the Russian front or over the Atlantic Ocean, the German Air Force and Navy's carrier-based fighter units had achieved exceptional results.
To ensure control of the skies, the German Air Force and Navy carrier-based fighter pilots had truly fought with everything they had. In the air battle on December 1, they shot down more than six hundred American and British fighters. Their own losses, however, also surged to two hundred aircraft. Those losses were considerably higher than on November