[Andrew Arthy]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the comments.

Laurent, you are right that American pilots confused Italian and German aircraft types in this period, and no doubt some of these claims for "FW 190s" were actually Italian aircraft. In the document there is one example of this confusion, on 11 August 1943 when the 31st Fighter Group fought with the FW 190s of II./S.K.G. 10, but submitted victory claims over an FW 190 and a Macchi C.205.

Mark, thanks for the offer to fill in some gaps from the Italian perspective. That would be appreciated. Also, did you receive the long email I sent you on 28 February? I entirely agree about the accuracy of Luftwaffe claims in Tunisia. II./J.G. 51 had some big claiming days, but they match up quite well with USAAF losses. For example, II./J.G. 51 seems to have shot down eight P-38s on 22 and 23 January 1943, claiming nine.

Cheers,
Andrew A.