[HGabor]

Hi BenFolk
Yes, Hartmann's sortie ended at 09:20 LT, so he returned to his base immediately after his Yak-9 claim at 09:00 LT over downtown Brno. Problem is no Soviet fighter was lost in the entire Brno area throughout May 8 1945, not a single American Mustang was in the area (let alone 12, that he mentioned which 'forced' him to leave the region), he flew alone (so no witness), or at least his wingman was never specified who confirmed his final kill... He stated that he was full of hate when he saw the Russians over Brno (understandably due to the just lost war) so I think by anger and as a final emotional revenge he pushed another (fake) claim into his tally... Long story in short: Nothing, I say nothing supports his Yak-9 'victory' for May 8, 1945! If it was not just a made up story, then it was just another overclaim, which confirms my original, December, 2019 statement, that based on tons of wartime records, he could have about 80, max. 100 real victories during WWII, not 352. (Don't get me wrong, it's still many, BUT: it's not a world record, not even close.)

About 70% of his so called: 'victories' contradict all related Soviet and American documents, while the very same set of records confirm other German pilots' claims with astonishing accuracy. So it's about him, not about the records.

Do not worry, it is very important and critical to analyse all possible options in order to get to the truth, so if you find anything else, let us just discuss it.

Cheers,
Gabor