Erich Hartmann Quotes

#1. I opened fire when the whole windshield was black with the enemy ... at minimum range ... it doesn't matter what your angle is to him or whether you are in a turn or any other maneuver.

Erich Hartmann

#2. In combat flying, fancy precision aerobatic work is really not of much use. Instead, it is the rough maneuver which succeeds.

Erich Hartmann

#3. The weapon where the man is sitting in is always superior against the other.

Erich Hartmann

#4. You can have computer sights of anything you like, but I think you have to go to the enemy on the shortest distance and knock him down from point-blank range. You'll get him from in close. At long distance, it's questionable.

Erich Hartmann

#5. If he is superior then I would go home, for another day that is better.

Erich Hartmann

#6. Of all my accomplishments I may have achieved during the war, I am proudest of the fact that I never lost a wingman.

Erich Hartmann

#7. It was my view that no kill was worth the life of a wingman ... Pilots in my unit who lost wingmen on this basis were prohibited from leading a [section]. The were made to fly as wingman, instead.

Erich Hartmann

#8. Every day kill just one, rather than today five, tomorrow ten ... that is enough for you. Then your nerves are calm and you can sleep good, you have your drink in the evening and the next morning you are fit again.

Erich Hartmann