Quote:
Originally Posted by edwest2
Then write that book. Correct those mistakes. My father fought for Poland and went to the US after the war. When I was watching a war movie in the 1960s, I asked him if that was what it was like. He said: "No son. It wasn't like that at all."
Best,
Ed
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Thanks Ed. You're okay. "Write that book"? I'm doing just that all the time even if you're not aware of it. Most of what I posted here and of what I wrote to some French friends (not the same texts) you'll find in that forthcoming book some day (if I live long enough, which in no way is certain so it's better to make sure at TOCH first). Please leave it to me to assess if it's not worth it to inform as large an international audience as possible on a few fundamental facts of the 1940 air war (French Campaign, Battle of Britain). I know most people have absolutely no idea. For example, who is aware at all that the Germans lost more aircraft in 38 days of French Campaign than in 83 days of Battle of Britain (July 10 through September 30)? 1,469 vs 1,428 (figures can vary slightly). All figures were published long ago but it seems that nobody took notice. See, among others, Len Deighton's books "Blitzkrieg" (France and Benelux) and "Fighter" (BoB), in which he published these figures.
I had a very good friend in the USA, about 2 years younger than me. I fear he's dead by now for he never replied for over 2 years. He had served with the US Air Force for a very long time and he was highly interested in the air war 1939-45 including, in particular, 1940. He was really quite knowledgeable on this but after I explained about the same things as here in this thread he wrote to me: "I had no idea (over the air fighting in May-June 1940)". Among other things he figured that after the Dunkerque evacuation (it ended on June 3) it was all over. Actually the French Campaign (totalling 6 weeks and 4 days) went on for over 3 more weeks until June 24 with some of the fiercest air fighting on several occasions like June 3 (German attack of the aero-industry and airfields in the Paris area, a bloody failure), June 5 (Heinz Nowarra wrote some very admiring comments on the French Air Force's combat on this day - by then the French fighters were very strong indeed and even Major Werner Mölders was shot down by a young French "Pilot Officer" (lieutenant), June 8, 9 and 21... I am aware that these facts are almost totally, or totally, unknown to most people in the world including… in France itself.
This is why I am trying to explain how it was in reality, not in the dreams of jingoistic English authors like Stephen Bungay (and many others) in his book "The Most Dangerous Enemy", who wrote that "of course French aircraft designs were not as good" (as German and British designs). This statement is of a rare stupidity and shows that this "historian", who lives close to France, did not bother in the least to ask around himself and learn the facts. Excellent, remarkable French aircraft designs were the following (several ones were produced in hundreds of models): LeO 45 bomber, Breguet 693-695 light assault bomber, Bloch 155, Dewoitine 520-523 and Arsenal VG-33, 36 and 39 fighters, Bloch 174 superlative recce AC, Bloch 175 light bomber and more. The UK had ONE remarkable AC, the Spitfire. Likewise Germany (Me 109 E).
I feel this Bungay-statement alone is enough evidence that I have to correct this nonsense here too (and you know it). Don't worry for I am almost through.
It is obvious that my long explanations (6 TOCH-pages up till now) interest our audience here (look at the number of views to the right of the first post of this thread). To many a reader this was a discovery. British fighter forces in France were feeble on May 10, 1940 and afterwards. Their pilots did their best.(At the time they (about 150 pilots flying those 100 "Hurricanes") claimed 700 victories in 12 days; see book "Twelve Days in May" by Brian Cull, who lowered this figure to 300 IIRC - still not really modest and realistic - in 46 days those 700 claims would have meant 2,800 victory claims for 100 fighters, double the Fighter Command score in 83 days for about 600 fighters). John Foreman came to the same conclusion as myself: the RAF fighter overclaim rate was about 5 but some people including some Frenchmen very loudly claim that RAF fighters downed many more German AC than the 1,000 French fighters. I really wonder how this could have been possible at all.
Well, rest in peace and live another day. I'll write that book, period.