Why are Kropp and Kat so callous about laying bets on an air fight above them? Even though it is the German who is finally shot down, Kropp only regrets it because he loses the bet.

Both Kropp and Kat feel desensitized to violence in the war. They see these air battles far too often to care about the outcome. These men are just trying to survive the war. They do not hate their enemy. They feel they are living on borrowed time themselves. An air battle is just another fight with just another death.