[John Vasco]

Falck Eins,
Not trying to rubbish either you or Jochen on the point. I've read the Prien/Rodeike/Stemmer/Bock volume in which they comment on the 'sogennante' (sp?) BoB, and if you were on this forum in its earlier guise, you will know that there was quite a heated discussion about the subject. Suffice it to say that the statistics show one side of an argument, but the authors conveniently omitted to say that NO fighting unit would be able to sustain combat every day for months, so their argument that only a certain percentage of days being used means that there was really no large scale battle is a total red herring (a load of bollocks in my parlance), and it should be held up as such.

It's great that you dismiss the Seilbomben with 1./210 as a 'small experimental Staffel', but you do not explain away what I have set down. Are you trying to dodge the issue completely, or just doing a diplomatic sidestep and hoping it will go away? You cannot dismiss out of hand the planning that took place within 1./210 with regard to a potential invasion. And I suppose in that vein, the words of Wolfgang Schenck mean nothing, simply because they do not accord with your (and possibly others) pre-determined views on the BoB? You can speculate all you want, but you cannot dismiss facts. If you know more than I do, then please tell me.
And the reason a lot of German authors dismiss the BoB as a minor thing is because their cherished Luftwaffe actually got their arse kicked, and they cannot stomach that happening so early in the war. Believe me, I've met some of them, and it beggars belief some of the views that were expounded to me (no names, no pack drill on this one). I know I've just written something that may not be totally acceptable to some people, but the fact is in recent years we've been railroaded by many outside factions, first in a total character assassination on Bomber Harris, and latterly on this revisionist shite that the BoB was only a minor skirmish, and the Luftwaffe didn't actually lose any kind of battle in the skies of England in 1940. I call bullshit on that, totally.

Ruy,
You got me on that last comment - brilliant!