[ArtieBob]

Dear Ed,

I am quite aware of the difference between production and acceptance. My list was made up from a melding of 3 or 4 primary documents and my lists (for any that I have given them to, if they ask me, I will tell are approximations for production months, which may be useful for a number of purposes.) I do not have the monthly production detail sheets (by W.Nr.) for JFM and license producers which exist for other manufacturers and surely did exist for the Ju 88 program at one time.
Now to the definition of what is the production date. Was it when the aircraft rolled out of the production bay (it could be missing components at that point), was it when the manufacturer invoiced the RLM to be paid, was it when the aircraft made it's first flight, or even some other benchmark that we (having rather incomplete information) are unaware of? Perhaps someone will give an answer, but my feeling unless some additional data comes to hand, we will not know with complete precision. My method has always been a "best" approximation based on three or four sources that are close in numbers, but do not agree exactly.
I have worked in manufacturing at various times and I know first hand the variances between what goes on worksheets and what actually happened. So, even primary data is subject to errors, both unintentional and intentional. To discuss a individual W.Nr., as to whether it was "manufactured" in a specific month without having a window for tolerance seems to me to be somewhat akin to how many angels can fit on the head of a pin. Unless of course, there is available very specific documentation for that individual aeroplane, and in my mind that would not be, for example, a first flight date from a logbook.

Best Regards,

ArtieBob