[HGabor]

Hi BenFolk,

Interesting insights. However there are multiple problems with May 8, 1945, which lead to the same conclusion.

1.: Olomouc-N is approx. 90km NE of downtown Brno, therefore not only is it in the wrong place, but it is also further away from Hartmann's airfield.

2.: Brno is approx. 80km away from where Hartmann took off from, while Olomouc is approx. 120 km away. His mission was to see how far the Soviets were from Deutsche Brod (the area which was at the front of the Soviet advance towards his airfield). By flying towards Olomouc, Hartmann would not have known how far the Soviet push towards his airfield was, rather he would have known how far the Soviet push was towards the North, something which would have been of no use to him.

3.: A Yak-3 colliding with an IL-2 by chance is unlikely if the Yak was falling from the heavens. If the Yak fell onto the IL-2 it would have been closer to the IL-2. The IL-2s were ground attack aircrafts which flew close to the ground (approx. 1000m altitude), therefore the altitude Hartmann stated is incorrect among many other details. If the Yak was escorting the IL-2s, there would have been multiple planes (say 8 IL-2s), therefore there would have been witnesses to report an encounter with the enemy. The only reported enemy aerial activity in the area was a lonely Ju 88 at high altitude.

4. Olomouc is even deeper into Soviet territory, therefore there would not have been 12 Mustangs in the air that Hartmann saw after his Yak-9 claim.

Consideration of these details again leads to the very same conclusion: Hartman's No.352 was just another overclaim.

Gabor