[Johannes]

Hi Guys

If my memory serves me correctly Tanzer got a cheap Ritterkreuz for being wingman to Oskar-Heinz Bär and Karl-Gottfried Nordmann, and after only thirty-five Russian "kills". Forget the 128 or 143, more like a minimum of thirty-five, but likely to have claimed additional Russian aircraft during 1945 having returned to combat on 10th February 1945. During the time between his wound on 6th May 1943 until 4th November 1943 he seems to have been recovering, then was with Jafü6 and Stab Jafü Ostpreussen, doing what I cannot say, but combat unlikely.
Just why such a large total has been attributed for him is hard to say, but no reason why it cannot be wrong, think of Günther von Fassong, and Franz-Walter Woidich attributed with 110, yet he himself has only eighty-two on his abschüsse list, and eighty-one are found on the mikofilms, which don't prevail into 1945 when he get a single claim, it is likely that Woidich didn't even know he had been attributed 110 claims......likewise Tanzer.

Kind Regards

Johannes