ORIGINAL: P-40K-5
Erich Hartmann for 3 simple facts:
~ highest scoring ace in history
~ never got shot down
~ never loss a wingman - this is what he was most proud of.
that makes him the 'ace of aces'
Well, there is more to that legend - he spent over 10 years as POW in Russian camps. After he was back home he took again a officer position in the German Airforce, were he was forced to retire because of massive complaints about the F-104 Quote "Hartmann considered the F-104 a fundamentally flawed and unsafe aircraft and strongly opposed its adoption by the Bundesluftwaffe ". He was right and over 200 crashes and 100+ dead German pilots proved that sad fact...
He died 1993 at age 71.
Side note:
In Germany his name among others will be not mentioned in any school book - slowly these guys will be forgotten. I would say Erich is more known in the US than in Germany.
Yes, I would say "Bubi" is the greatest aerial warrior all times - achievement, endurance, sacrifice and character entitle him to that.