Allied and German Flight Training

[leo]

In several threads it has been alluded to that the Germans may have provided better flight training than did the Allies. Was it just a matter of time in the air or where there other factors?

leo

I can't claim any familiarity at all with German training methods (I'd love to see someone put together an article on this subject), but to me it seems almost impossible for them to have come up with anything worse than the methods used by the RFC in the early years of the war.

If you haven't already done so, you might check out my article on RFC training (I think it's under "Aces" on this site) for an overview of RFC practice before the introduction of the Gosport, or Smith-Barry, system in later 1917.

[rammjaeger]

The book "Die deutschen Luftstreitkräfte im Weltkriege" by Georg Paul Neumann (1920) includes an instructive chapter about the "Ausbildung der Beobachter, Fliegerschützen und Flugzeugführer" (Training of the Observers, Gunners and Pilots). If somebody could trace and hand in the text of the English edition of this book (but I believe it was shortened compared to the German edition) to Scott? He could post it on "The Aerodrome" and everybody would see the conditions required for the three German pilot examinations, the numbers of flights, the specialisation in different fields of aviation etc. Remarkable is especially the "long way" of training and development for the German fighter pilots in 1916/17.

[Droops]

Oh, oh, oh, I would be eternally grateful if someone would post that in English! If its in German, that's okay. I think I can find someone to translate it.

VBR,

John

[Barrett]

Though raw number of flight hours is the easiest way to compare training syllabi (?), it's not the most instructive. A Japanese researcher is gathering info on WW II flight training by the major powers to include USSR, Italy, etc. Should be extremely interesting if he gets the detail he wants: US/UK training hours progressed from about 200-25 to 300-350 during the war while of course the Axis figures declined dramatically near the end. (Yee-haw! I'm 18 years old, got 120 hours in my logbook and a brand new FW-190 with dang little fuel.)
Gunnery was undoubtedly the most neglected aspect of fighter training in most air forces. (Exceptions were the US Navy and the Finns.) It's astonishing how many pilots never fired at an aerial target until reaching combat (Walter Krupinski tells a story on himself in which an Avro Anson motored away after WK and his leader had emptied all their guns at it.) Bomber crews had more ordnance training because it's fairly easy to drop inert bombs almost anywhere, in contrast to the ranges and targets needed for air-air.
Anyway: 10 hours of tactics is a whole lot more use than 300 hours of cross-country time.

[rammjaeger]

The German training was obviously more focused on making a lot of starts and landings (because that kills you or makes you surviving!) than on cross-country flying despite the latter belonged also to the training. I have the general impression the German theoretical education (engine, weapons, weather etc.) and practical training was more focused on practical use value in war than the British training. At least since 1916 aircombat training was included. On the top of the development in early 1917 the future fighter pilots were (re-)trained for oneseaters in the Kampfeinsitzerschulen (Combat oneseater schools).
After that the pilots got training in the so-called Jagdstaffelschulen (Fighter squadron schools). The latter were reported to make targeting exercises, turning or dog fight exercises, balloon attacks and formation flying as the next step. More experienced pilots (like Buckler with already 7 victories) had to visit the Jastasch as well and got theoretical training (because it was neglected before, e.g. more about the mechanics of flight etc.; such chapters are also visible in German teaching books) as well as aircombat training incl. new experiences (tactics etc.). Buckler reported these more experienced pilots should work as "multiplicator" in their squadrons. Nevertheless the German training was far from being perfect and in 1918 also many German pilots came to the front without a having experience with double seaters etc.

Jentsch gives a lot of info about his training in "Jagdflieger im Feuer". Immelmann is interesting too.

VBR
Hannes

John, give me your snail mail adress.