FW 190 Only Aces

[jg123410]

Hi folks,

 

Kind of a different question today.

 

Does anyone happen to know for sure if the highest scoring FW 190 only ace on WWII was Josef "Sepp" Wurmheller?

 

Asking because using an AI prompt to search indicated he scored 102 exclusively in the FW 190 but Wikipedia seems to indicate he had confirmed victories in 1940 prior to the FW 190's combat debut.

 

Guess I am testing AI's accuracy a bit. 😀

 

The exact list as generated is below.

 

Confirmed Fw 190-only aces include:

• Josef Wurmheller  102

• Walter Dahl (likely, though some dispute) 128

• Franz Daffner 57

• Karl Borris 43

• Heinz Wodarczyk 30+

• Heinrich Füllgrabe 67

[Juri_JS]

I don't know Daffner and Wodarczyk, but I am sure the rest also had victories flying the Bf-109.

[jg123410]

Yep, that seems to be my thoughts as well. The AI prompt indicated it can be challenging to separate since so many pilots scored in both types. Thanks.

[sevenless]

Wurmheller already had 19 victories before he switched to JG 2 in 1941. Also Dahl scored 67 times on the 109 before switching to JG 300 in 1944.

 

I guess who would certainly qualify was Emil "Bully" Lang, who started with JG 54 in 03/1943 and ended with JG 26, being killed after 173 victories in 09/1944.

Edited June 24 by sevenless

[jg123410]

Thanks sevenless. That's good info.

[[TWB]80hd]

Are you looking for pilots who only ever flew combat in the 190? Or just the most kills while flying a 190?

 

Otto Kittel - 267 total kills, I believe that he scored 228 of those in FWs of all types, but I don't have hard records to support that. 

 

Grok, with "DeeperSearch" and "Think" enabled spit this out:

 

• Otto Kittel: 228 kills
• Walter Nowotny: ~200+ kills (estimated)
• Erich Rudorffer: ~150–180 kills (estimated)
• Theodor Weissenberger: ~140–175 kills (estimated)
• Kurt Bühligen: 112 kills
• Josef Priller: 101 kills
• Heinz Bär: ~80–100 kills (estimated)
• Hermann Graf: ~70–90 kills (estimated)
• Egon Mayer: 76 kills
• Wilhelm-Ferdinand Galland: ~55–60 kills (estimated)

 

Edit:

 

I ran it through again and asked for pilots who only ever flew the 190 (in combat):

 

• Kurt Bühligen - 112 victories
  • Unit: Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2)
  • Theater: Western Front
  • Details: Bühligen served exclusively with JG 2, a unit heavily equipped with the Fw 190, and achieved all 112 of his victories against Allied aircraft using this fighter. His success against bombers and fighters made him one of the Luftwaffe’s top Fw 190 aces.
• Josef Priller - 101 victories
  • Units: JG 26, JG 2
  • Theater: Western Front
  • Details: Known for his leadership and tactical skill, Priller flew the Fw 190 exclusively in combat with JG 26 and later JG 2. All 101 of his kills were scored with this aircraft, cementing his reputation as an Fw 190 specialist.
• Hans-Joachim Krosch - 76 victories
  • Unit: JG 54
  • Theater: Eastern Front
  • Details: Krosch flew only the Fw 190 with JG 54, achieving 76 victories against Soviet aircraft. His combat record is tied solely to this aircraft, making him a standout ace on the Eastern Front.
• Addi Glunz - 71 victories
  • Unit: JG 26
  • Theater: Western Front
  • Details: Glunz’s entire combat career with JG 26 was spent flying the Fw 190, where he scored 71 kills. His aggressive style and mastery of the aircraft earned him recognition among Western Front aces.
• Waldemar Semelka - 65 victories
  • Unit: JG 52
  • Theater: Eastern Front
  • Details: Semelka flew exclusively with JG 52 in the Fw 190, accumulating 65 victories against Soviet forces. His record reflects a dedicated association with this fighter in combat.
• Wilhelm-Ferdinand Galland - 55 victories
  • Unit: JG 26
  • Theater: Western Front
  • Details: The younger brother of Adolf Galland, Wilhelm-Ferdinand flew only the Fw 190 with JG 26, scoring 55 victories. His combat career was entirely linked to this aircraft.
• Karl Willius - 50 victories
  • Unit: JG 51
  • Theater: Varied (primarily Eastern Front)
  • Details: Willius flew the Fw 190 exclusively with JG 51, achieving 50 kills. His precision in combat made him a notable ace with this aircraft.
• Fritz Ungar - 45 victories
  • Unit: JG 54
  • Theater: Eastern Front
  • Details: Ungar’s 45 victories were all scored with the Fw 190 while serving with JG 54. He flew no other aircraft in combat, focusing solely on this fighter against Soviet opponents.
• Hans Dortenmann - 38 victories
  • Unit: JG 26
  • Theater: Western Front
  • Details: Dortenmann flew the Fw 190 D-9 variant exclusively in combat with JG 26, scoring 38 victories late in the war. His success against Allied aircraft highlighted the capabilities of this model.
• Otto Dommeratzky - 38 victories
  • Unit: JG 11
  • Theater: Western Front (Defense of the Reich)
  • Details: Dommeratzky flew only the Fw 190 with JG 11, achieving 38 kills. His efforts contributed to the Luftwaffe’s defense against Allied bombing campaigns.

Edited June 24 by [TWB]80hd
Got froggy

[sevenless]

41 minutes ago, [TWB]80hd said:

 

• Josef Priller - 101 victories
  • Units: JG 26, JG 2
  • Theater: Western Front
  • Details: Known for his leadership and tactical skill, Priller flew the Fw 190 exclusively in combat with JG 26 and later JG 2. All 101 of his kills were scored with this aircraft, cementing his reputation as an Fw 190 specialist.

 

That just shows that you can´t trust the AI, Grok, chatGPT or whatever it is called. Priller already had 70ish victories when JG 26 switched to the Fw 190 in 1942.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Priller

[jg123410]

Thanks everyone! There is a lot of good information in here for me. Still learning how to prompt the AI. 
 

Thanks again!

[BlitzPig_EL]

Books are better than the AI search programs.

 

[MDzmitry]

To be fair AI is mostly good when working with a set number of sources (ideally provided as documents). 

Any amount of online search is likely to screw the answer up in one way or another.

AIs are pretty much the "yes-men" of the Internet right now, faulty or not they try to agree as much with their users or their prompts.

[jg123410]

Good points. - I actually remembered I have some books on the Luftwaffe that deserve another look. 😀

[Rudini]

@[TWB]80hd dont trust AI!

 

- Theodor Weißenberger never flew Fw 190s

- Erich Rudorffer had 43 in Bf 109s and 170 in Fw 190s

- Kurt Bühligen had 55 in Bf 109s

- Josef Priller had 58 in Bf 109s

- Heinz Bär had only 25 in Fw 190s

- Herman Graf haf no victories in Fw 190s

- Egon Mayer hat 42 in Bf 109s and 60 in Fw 190s

- Ferdinand Galland had 3 of his 55 victories in Bf 109s (one friendly fire)

- Adolf Glunz had 6 in Bf 109s (8 months with JG 52)

- Waldemar Semelka never flew Fw 190s

- Karl Wilius had 12 in Bf 109s

- Fritz Ungar had only 2 victories in total! one with Bf 109 G-6/R6 and one with Fw 190 D-9

- Otto Domeratzky was an ground support pilot with LG 2 and SG 2, 4,  but never flew JG 11.