Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick Hector
The enormity of the task is a hurdle in itself. As Barbas stated as far back as the volumes he published back in 1985, there were 92 pilots credited with tallies greater than that of Adolf Galland. If we want to examine every pilot's tally fairly and thoroughly, it's hardly going to be a five minute job.
As Johannes said, Germany is not going to re-write the history books. The tallies will remain the same "officially", but we will gain a better idea of how much each tally stands up to comparison with enemy losses and a better idea of who shot down the most real aircraft. Our view of who the "top aces" were will evolve accordingly.
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I accept that. But as Bronc said, researchers have been banging away at this for decades. Surely all that work has not been a waste? Surely after all that research someone must be able to come up with what is now considered a more accurate list.
I also accept such a list can never be 100%, and that official totals will remain as they are, but if one can't come up with something other than "he was dishonest" or "he was an overclaimer" after so much time and effort, what was the point? And I wouldn't accuse someone of being dishonest or an overclaimer if only a small percentage of their claims are suspect.
By now surely one should be able to come up with a comparison of "official total or total claimed" to "proven kills" with any gap being made up of "no matching allied/axis loss" and "may have been claimed by several pilots".
Peter