[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

To update you on where we are, when we complete our translation of the Weiss "Coastal War" manuscript, this will provide an extremely detailed new resource document, compiled over many decades of work in the German archives, and from Allied sources as well, on the Battle of Britain period. Weiss makes his own errors, but this will provide another very useful perspective on the period. However, we have some 6000 pages to translate, and we've only completed his "Coastal War" manuscript (one of two) from 10.5.40 through 10.7.40, the first "official day" of the BoB. Now we're back to the WC, and have translated the first six days of his "Original" manuscript beginning on 10.5.40. We've also translated as a "test case" the manuscript for 16.8.40 (my apologies to Robert Dixon for not doing 15.8.40), for use in a very detailed mapping project that the EOE team is working on. IIRC, just August 16th alone ran something like 40-50 single-spaced typewritten pages in the original German text, and this was with no personal accounts.

We’re focusing on translating the WC material from May-June, 1940, because, despite a huge amount of reporting by Weiss, we feel that this part of our history needs the greatest amount of work to achieve a high degree of accuracy and completeness. We are attempting to supplement this material by French reporting (including translating the Gillet books), photography, German Flugbuchs, KTBs, unit histories, interviews and any other sources that we can lay our hands on.

Since it will obviously take a great deal of time and effort to translate the entire manuscript from 1.9.39 through 31.12.40 (it continues through 6.41) and get our massive EOE project published, I will entertain serious, specific inquiries relating to the information in the two manuscripts so as not deny this material to other worthy research projects that may be underway by other researchers. This cannot, however, seriously distract us from our overall goal of getting this project completed and published. Other postings to recent Andy Saunders TOCH question threads today by both Peter and Robert give some indication of the value and detail of the Weiss materials. As key members of the EOE WG (Working Group), both Peter and Robert have access to the original Weiss manuscripts, but cannot release materials from them without my approval. So don't approach them with your requests, but post them on TOCH, send me a personal message or contact me directly by email. Please note that I'm about to start a couple of months of intensive chemo and radiation therapy for cancer, so don't overwhelm me.

Keep in mind, our objective is not just to translate and publish the Weiss material, but to use it as one source for an overall, massive effort to produce, in English, the definitive historical texts on the air war from all sides from 1.9.39 through 31.12.40. This will include a great deal of the "human" aspect of the air campaigns, both on the ground and in the air, that sources like Weiss really don't deal with in any detail.

Regards,