Re: Latest from Michael Balss.
 

Hi

I knew the issue of 'lack of airmen names' before I purchased vol 1(I glanced through the preview pages before I place the order)

Didn't aware of typos & wrong village names.

Are there many typos & errors such as' wrong village names' in Vol 1?

thank you

Re: Latest from Michael Balss.
 

Thanks Robert

I can only presume that much of that is as it was taken from his original sources. I cannot fancy either GQM or NVM to bend over backwards to get Polish names right for example. Maybe he never found any Polish citizen who wanted to help him....perhaps he never tried.....

Lack of names is more puzzling, but some of the returns are extremely hard to read....

Typos unfortunately is something we all have to live with.

Cheers
Stig

Re: Latest from Michael Balss.
 

From what I've heard his previous works and his database were know for these typos and errors (some also mentioned dubious sources), that's why I didn't buy his database at $65 last year. So I will not buy 2000€ of books just for a translation (?).

Re: Latest from Michael Balss.
 

Having just completed digesting the "Deutsche Luftwaffe Losses & Claims" Part 28 by Michael Balss, I feel the need to give it an evaluation.

While this is a very spare looking production, it does concentrate on what is important; the essential facts regarding Losses and Claims. Balss has attempted to gather what data he could find from all sources and it appears that he has done a reasonable job of that for this difficult period. He covers all unit types (JG, KG, St.G., Aufkl.Gr., TG, etc.) but deals only in flying units. No Flak, Ln. or other.

Whether or not it is "worth it" at $(Can) 65 per volume (from Amazon) is debatable depending on your needs. But I feel that it is worthwhile for us if only because it helps fill many gaps and because this is a very limited production run of a specialized work.

The Losses are most informative, attempting to cover all the losses. This has cleared up a number of mysteries. It has added some "new guys", but not a huge number.
The Claims data has also yielded some new guys, but not many. This area is dull by comparison to the Losses data.

Regarding missing names - there are few missing first names - presumeably due to source data limitations. Coverage of this series apparently skips prewar period. While I am sure that there numerous deficiencies, these appear to be quite minor in the grand scheme.

My overall impression is essentially positive, but naturally one wishes for more detail, but this would be carping in view of the massive effort to compile all this. I think that Michael Balss has done the Lutwaffe enthusiast community a great service and deserves a thank you.

Doug Stankey,
Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries editor.

Re: Latest from Michael Balss.
 

Hi,

I'm really enjoying the Deutsche Luftwaffe Losses & Claims series by Michael Balss. So far I have:
Part 3 - 1st June to 31st August 1940.
Part 4-I - 1st September to 15th October 1940.
Part 4-II - 16th October to 31st December 1940.
And I have:
Part 5 - 1st January to 31st March 1941 arriving any day.

Michael says he is working on Part 6 (April - May 1941) which should be available soon.

He says, "Basic sources for my data are the German GQM files and also the 'Namentliche Verlustmeldungen' = Loss report of a unit for a plane and crew.

About the names of the locations "I used the names from the original sources".

As I check through the data, I am finding a few anomalies. For instance: Michael lists the loss of 8/JG26 on 1st June 1940, Lt. Kuno Wendt FSA/POW. according to Prien, the pilot was Lt. Gustav Sprick.
Also, Michael lists the loss of KGr.zbV.107 as occurring on 1st June 1940. Shot down by RAF Blenheim in Norway, with the pilot Uffz G. Werkmeister KIA, and 3 crew KIA names not reported. However, the pilot Uffz. Gerhard Werkmeister died on 30th May 1940 and is buried in Oslo-Alfaset, Norway.
(I can't check the dates of the other 3 KIA as names unknown).

Would be good if we could have a Michael Balss "Corrections" thread on here to try to sort out any inconsistencies?

My overall opinion is that the books are worth the money and Michael has done a lot of work. I wish him all the best.

Re: Latest from Michael Balss.
 

About the names of the locations "I used the names from the original sources".

Which often aren't helpful in my experience. A lot of people in the Luftwaffe evidently had real problems with non-German place names.

Re: Latest from Michael Balss.
 

.....which in my experience goes for any country. I for instance have huge spelling problems when it comes to French or Italian names/places. Not easy when a language sort of swallows half the word as "unpronounced"

Travelling east I suppose the Germans tried to spell Russian (Soviet) names as they pronounced them, which today is pretty baffling when trying to locate where they actually were (or crashed)

Come to think of it, you British are not to bad at "swallowing up" certain group of words either. Unless taught, who can imagine that, for instance, Gloucester should be pronounced as Gloster? Luckily the manufacturer understood what was at stake.... :D

Travelling in Wales, I am quite sure even a linguistic professor will have a hard time spelling certain place names. Me? I refuse to even try....

Cheers
Stig

Re: Latest from Michael Balss.
 

Hi,

I would just like to say that Michael Balss has today started a new Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1620...location=group.

The group has been set up for the following reason quote "I write and publish the - Deutsche Luftwaffe Losses & Claims series - so now there area already the volumes 1 - 5 and 27 - 31 available at Amazon. Like everyone I´m also just a human being and far from perfect. So there are and for sure there will be errors and mistakes in the already published volumes and the future ones. OK some are simply miss typed and not nice to see but not so important (if there is for example FW 190 instead Fw 190) but there are also errors and/or mistakes that maybe important and what also important there are new data available about a loss. So here have a place for mainly the people who collect the series to A: if they find something wrong or missing - here is the place to post it ! My main source are the General Quartiermeister Akten - GQM files - but even this files had lots of errors , several pages badly to read and several missing - specially the year 1944 and big parts of 1945. So if you find something wrong - post here, if you have a missing loss or example: the loss is in one volume but no names - you have a name post it here.
Please : when you post then also post your source where your information is coming from! I´m glad that Steven Roberts joins me as Co-Administrator here and will help with his experience - thank you."

Please join the group.
Steve