Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Goss
I was asked by the author to match his father's claims with German and Japanese losses. Not much luck I am afraid to say
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That is certainly the case with most Allied fighter pilots (WWI & WW2) but many book buyers don't necessarily want to learn this.
Anthony Cooper's research for his books
Paddy Finucane and Legend of the Kenley Wing (Fonthill 2016) and
Darwin Spitfires (Univ of New South Wales, 2011) shows very few German and Japanese losses compared to claims by RAF & RAAF pilots flying the Spitfire.
My own research on the fighter pilots of the U.S. Fifth Air Force (SW Pacific) show an average of about one actual Japanese loss per every five claims. Some combat missions it could be as low as 1 in 15. Five U.S. pilots are in individual combat. One Japanese Zero / Oscar pilot is shot down and all five of the Americans witness the demise and claim it as their own.
Notable aviation authors such as Chris Shores, Rick Dunn and Dan Ford have long fought to present an accurate record of claims vs. actual losses.