We all know that being an Ace is also being a killer. Not only that, but society's one respected and cherished form of serial killing.

So, my question is: What stories do we have about aces who were of humane predispositions? How many of them felt remorse? How many of them had empathy for their victims? How many of them were even moved by the loss of their comrades?

What were the personalities like?

I read a story a while back where Erich Hartmann let an enemy aircraft go (I think it was a P-51) after it stalled. Something along the lines of pulling up next to it after the recovery from the stall, and then diving into a cloud and simply vanishing.

There was a story I heard a few years ago about how a 190 escorted a badly damaged Jug halfway across the channel. The Jug was very badly damaged/shot up and limping home. The 190 pilot saw the jug was amazed it was still flying, took pity on the pilot and escorted him back to friendly airspace.

Here is how History Channel portrayed the famous Udet vs Guynemer clash of aces,
{well, Udet was an aspiring ace then)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vylgMb2km3s

An interesting story here:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3477401/OT_This_Date_In_History_Decemb.html#Post3477401

Cheers

Guynemer denied the event.

Just finished reading the 1933 biography of Albert Ball. Ball's diary and letters certainly speak of regret at being a killer, though he was also vengeful of lost friends. The author also interviewed many surviving pilots of WWI and most of them certainly had remorse, especially for those victims witnessed going down in flames. I think Mannock's machismo comments "pop, pop, sizzle, sizzle" or something to that effect, and not true to his character.

Then again, some guys were butchers...

Somewhere I read that killing is more of a contributor to combat fatigue than fear of dying. Whatever the case these young men got very old very quickly.

How? I don't think he was alive when Udet's memoires were published!
Anyway, denying such an event-rumor, in a wartime period makes perfect sense...

That story exists from the Mustang pilots perspective too - or maybe that's what you're talking about.
Come to think of it, I don't remember reading about it in Hartmanns's book.