Leading Edge Slats on the Me-109

[Al Schlageter]

What was the condition of the Bf-109 and the pilot? Was the aircraft damaged? Was the pilot wounded? Was it a real spin or did the pilot pass out??

Would a pilot in a damaged a/c or being wounded not try to 'get the heck out of Dodge' and not be the aggressor in combat?

Must have been one heck of a G he was pulling to pass out, especially in a 109.

[NZtyphoon]

Originally Posted by Al Schlageter

Would a pilot in a damaged a/c or being wounded not try to 'get the heck out of Dodge' and not be the aggressor in combat?

Must have been one heck of a G he was pulling to pass out, especially in a 109.

The first is a hard one to answer; that really depends on individuals and - in some cases - their indoctrination. Japanese pilots, for example often attacked when wounded or in damaged aircraft; one example was an A6M pilot during the Pearl Harbor attacks who tried to "body crash" a hanger because his aircraft was damaged and (I think) he was wounded(?). Nicholson, who won the V.C during the B of B, is another example of a pilot who chose to attack, albeit he was presented with the opportunity, while in desperate circumstances.