"History" and the History Channel

[Leo Etgen]

Hi guys

Interesting thread as I too have some opinions about this show. First, I think that it is nice that The History Channel is presenting a program about aces as, first, it is rather interesting, and second, that hopefully this will inspire others to become interested in World War II aerial combat. However, like the above posters, I too have my issues with this series. First, I feel that unintentionally it presents a distorted view of the way things actually were. By this I mean that by focusing solely on one sided American victories, the casual viewer is given an impression that that was the way events usually were. For example, in the episodes that focused on Vietnam, one would be led to believe that the USAF completely dominated the NVPAF. However, the reality was a two to one victory ratio, not bad for an out numbered third world air force, even taking into account the self imposed limitations the USAF was under. Second, I wish that the producers would use phrases such as "claimed" rather than "shot down" and the victims not always shown as going down in flames as well as attempting to match these claims when possible to known losses or at the very least mention how many losses do the opposing side's records show in comparison to the presented victory claims. I realize that there will always be critics and the program is interesting but it does have its faults. By the way, I do not know the difference between an F-4D and an F-4E if it bit me in the ass!

Horrido!

Leo