Hello all
Interesting discussion. Here is my interpretation. The Luftwaffe certainly counted destruction of ground targets including tanks, and these claims were part of the daily statistical data of various LW formations. Of course claims for tanks destroyed were not counted as aerial victories,
but, claim for tank destroyed was of the same "value" as a confirmed aerial victory from the awards/promotions point of view (after all AFV is a hard target very difficult to knock out with aircraft weapons or ordnance of the period). That's why LW fighter pilots included them in the total tallies of their achievements (this is not the same as list of aerial victories).
And that's why I think this statement
Quote:
Originally Posted by PMoz99
Hans Ulrich Rudel, the newly crowned Ace of Aces!
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is true, providing we would not count aerial victories as separate category in total list of one's achievements (Rudel's unique decoration readily comes to mind in this connection)