[Jim P.]

Is anyone else tired of this 'dishonest'/'unreliable claimers' BS? Give it a rest already. Claims are just that -claims. That they are officially credited - whoopdy doo - who's fault is that? Did guys overclaim? Yes, undeniably so, and not just the LW. Was it intentional? Well, we do know that at least with one LW unit the guys were apparently shooting at sand dunes, but when you're actually facing a real opponent? Don't think so. RAF BoB overclaiming has been documented as 3-1 - officialdom accepted it because it was decided it was good for the morale of the civilian population. The same ratio has been documented with the Flying Tigers. Put yourself in the cockpit of a fighter plane from which ever side you like. In a swirling dogfight with many opponents all around do you stare that 'claim' into the ground because you saw smoke or debris coming off your target? If you did more than likely you'd get yourself greased. Or do you move on to survive? How many times do you make a claim coming from the underside of an opponent, see hits and claim it as a vic, while one of your buddies hit the same target from the front or above? Did you see him? Highly unlikely in that hostile environment and you're looking to make sure someboby else is not on your tail. Trying to assign motive to pilots long dead from any side is just an exercise in futility, and rather unfair given that they can't defend their actions. This is true of all participants in WWII air warfare - LW, RAF Italian, USAAF or Japan. Get over it already. Document the air battles, the losses, the claims, and move on to the next.