Unfortunately, the score of individual pilots matters very little when
your enemies build and field hundreds of thousands of aircraft. If
they scored a thousand victories and still failed to protect their
country, its still a loss. I certainly don't blame the German pilots
for the loss of the wars but the only "score" that matters is who has
their flag planted on the other guy's territory at the end of
hostilities.

The scores of airmen that serve for years in combat are going to be
higher than those that are rotated out of combat after set tours, so
that they can educate hundreds of thousands of replacement pilots that
will then go into combat with the benefit of their experiences. I
don't think that matters which country is involved - Germany simply
proves that you can have successful pilots and still lose wars. I
think its better to win wars and have less successful, per capita,
combat pilots. YMMV.

It boils down to this equation: Who has better served his country - A
pilot who destroys 200 enemy aircraft, or a man that personally
destroyed 15, then taught 200 new fighter pilots his successful
tactics? The answer to that question doesn't diminish the
contribution of the 200 (or 352) victory aces, but I believe its
better to have my country win and dictate terms to the vanquished,
than to hold a title and waste the next ten years of my life in a
Soviet POW work camp while my family and countrymen are brutalized,
starved, and my entire way of life is exterminated. Bubi was a GREAT
pilot, but his skills didn't help his country win.

v/r Gordon