Re: Strange case of Walter Dahl
 

http://aircrewremembered.com/USAAFCo...ns/Jan.45.html

says the 8th was recalled

Re: Strange case of Walter Dahl
 

My doubts were well founded. You have just made a brilliant demonstration. Thank you and congratulations Martin and Nick...

Regards
Jean-Yves Lorant

Re: Strange case of Walter Dahl
 

Very welcome, Jean-Yves. Glad to be of help

By the way, your JG 300 history is a favourite in my collection. I am privileged to have a 1st volume signed by Hajo Hermann

Re: Strange case of Walter Dahl
 

I think that the next logical question is: were the flights themselves "pure fiction"? Curiously, as far as the later Me 262 flights are concerned, they are consistent with Dahl being at Munich and transferring to Salzburg with the first group of JV44 in the early afternoon of 28 April. Yet I have seen no mention of Dahl being at either place. Was this a knowledgeable hoax by Dahl?

Jim

Re: Strange case of Walter Dahl
 

Is there any hint or informed speculation that these late-war over-claims, and many like it from other well-known pilots, were encouraged and sanctioned by the Luftwaffe propaganda and press corps for morale purposes?

I believe the above might be a very likely explanation for this situation.

Bronc

Re: Strange case of Walter Dahl
 

Generally speaking, most overclaiming "makes sense". That is, a unit of the type of aircraft claimed was present and reported combat in spite of their being no actual losses or, in the case of the JG 27 "Expertenschwarm", the guys were clearly avoiding actual combat yet claiming victories as if there had been BUT it was not as if the enemy were not flying any missions at all that day.

The instances Martin has revealed is that Dahl was claiming victories on days when the US Bombers had not even flown a mission. To me, that has a ring of post-war embellishment to it, rather than the efforts of Propaganda Merchants....

Re: Strange case of Walter Dahl
 

Hi Guys

Leistungsnbücher, who produced them?, was it the pilot himself? Dahl's book matches his Leistungbuch, Ernst Obermeier seemed to have a copy, thus we have all been expecting Dahl to be claiming many late war aircraft...…..as John Foreman has always stated "once published it's cast in stone" i.e it becomes FACT. However there is no evidence apart from Dahl's own. If as the researchers amongst us have stated that he "overclaimed", then perhaps he wouldn't be above making the 1945 claims up. Though I must admit that having the rank and title he had at the end, I'm not sure there was anybody to question him if he did actually officially make these late overclaims.

I am saying that an egoist such as Dahl might have just written his own Leistungsbuch even post-war! Sad thing is that Walter Loos who is the one witness we could have asked is no longer with us.

Regards

Johannes

Re: Strange case of Walter Dahl
 

This is pretty much the theory I am mulling over as well, Johannes. It just doesn't make much sense any other way...

Re: Strange case of Walter Dahl
 

It all depends if the Leistungsbuch was signed. Normally the unit filled them with the data. But all LB I have seen were "signed off" by the unit. Of course in the final weeks/month of the war the claims were not signed off anymore.

John

Re: Strange case of Walter Dahl
 

Hello!

He was the only one who flew the new Do 335, a fighter with one piston engine
and one turbo-jet engine! (WHAT?) This happened in Februar 1945 at Rechlin!
Wahlter Dahl "Rammjäger" Orion Verlag Heusenstamm 1961-page 98.

This man rode also on a cannon-ball like Baron von Münchhausen!

Herzliche Grüsse aus Oberschwaben,

Wolfgang