[Steve Coates]

I take a different view but don't have a problem with yours. Personally speaking, I don't think it was the wrong question to ask given various rumours which have circulated as to the possible existence of these losses. The best way to counter rumour is with facts and evidence. I suspected it might be a long shot but I have at least dug into records to try and come up with answers and have at least been able to put something new on the table. The lack of anything of additional substance probably confirms that very little effort has been expended in this direction.

I suspect I am the only person who has reviewed the ADI(K) Captured German Document lists which contain references to stacks of documents which I would love to be able to read but which I strongly suspect have long since been destroyed.

In terms of surviving German German documents not restituted to Germany, Duxford is of course sitting on a huge stash although this is pretty much all of a technical nature, be it FD, GDC or HEC. It is for people to get to these places and to review this material.

I do owe you and the dear departed Richard Eger my thanks for your efforts in producing and sharing a finding aid to the US Navy / ADI(K) microfilms. I have ordered and digitised quite a number of these and have been very pleasantly surprised by the contents of a number of these reels, containing as they do documents which were almost certainly destroyed shortly after filming. The NASM holds some very interesting microfilm holdings. I’m attaching a note I received from the NASM giving outline details of some of these holdings.