Rafwaffe

[Chris P.]

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/05/03/the-rafwaffe-was-a-british-raf-unit-setup-to-test-fly-captured-german-planes/

[Highlander]

Anyone for a bit of BOC...?

[uwe]

A Hellcorsair captured by Italian forces. 



Seriously, the Luftwaffe's mirror image "Zirkus Rosarius" even domesticated some wild Mustangs.



That said, I doubt that the experiences gained by either of those circuses ever saved an Allied or Luftwaffe pilot in battle with the other side. They both satisfied mostly technical curiosity and were a way to pat oneself on the back to reassure oneself that one's own planes weren't so bad after all. People are creatures of habit: Allied pilots found that the "Me Bf 109 had nasty flight characteristics" and "a cramped cockpit" while Luftwaffe pilots thought that the US fighters were "too bulky" (especially the Thunderbolt in the first picture) and that there was "way too much room in the cockpits, all flight controls being too far away for direct and swift handling". The Mustang and the Spitfire found some grace with Luftwaffe pilots while Allied pilots like the Focke-Wulf 190's good-natured handling.