Tempests over Remagen: fact or 'alternative fact'?

[Franek Grabowski]

There is a bit of artistic licence in The Big Circus but I would consider another bridge another time being confused with Remagen. Not unusual in memories. Re the dog fight, it seems USAAF also operated in the area, and this may explain disappearance of records.
Franek

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Franek Grabowski

There is a bit of artistic licence in The Big Circus

There's a lot and that makes it a brilliant book to read. It also gives a convincing (to me) picture of how it felt to be flying at that time. It's not so much use as an accurate account of historical events though.

but I would consider another bridge another time being confused with Remagen. Not unusual in memories.

I agree that events get confused but all the business about huge formations of Ar 234s with Me 262 escorts attacking at low level don't match the extensive records in German daily reports and in ULTRA.

Re the dog fight, it seems USAAF also operated in the area, and this may explain disappearance of records.
Franek

There are many German records of combats with American fighters during the Remagen bridge campaign. These usually took place away from the bridge, I guess because the Germans were intercepted early and possibly because the USAAF had the good sense to keep away from the powerful 'friendly' anti-aircraft defences round the bridgehead.

[Franek Grabowski]

Originally Posted by Nick Beale

There's a lot and that makes it a brilliant book to read. It also gives a convincing (to me) picture of how it felt to be flying at that time. It's not so much use as an accurate account of historical events though.

Just like many other memories. Clostermann is no exception in this regard.

I agree that events get confused but all the business about huge formations of Ar 234s with Me 262 escorts attacking at low level don't match the extensive records in German daily reports and in ULTRA.

I cannot say if there were any other bridges attacked so intensely. Otherwise, I can imagine someone taking a liberty and violating the rules to have a closer look. Though of course, it is quite likely the bit has been added to bring some drama.

There are many German records of combats with American fighters during the Remagen bridge campaign. These usually took place away from the bridge, I guess because the Germans were intercepted early and possibly because the USAAF had the good sense to keep away from the powerful 'friendly' anti-aircraft defences round the bridgehead.

Still, there were numerous cases of confusion in the air with the effect of wrong aircraft being bounced. For some reason records were sanitised of such cases, perhaps to avoid embarassement.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Franek Grabowski

Just like many other memories. Clostermann is no exception in this regard.

From the preface of my copy of The Big Show:

So every evening I used to write down for them the events of the day in a fat Air Ministry notebook, stamped 'G.R.' … This notebook went with me everywhere, crumpled by the weight of my parachute in the cockpit, stained with tea in the mess, or beside me at Dispersal during the long, dull hours of readiness. From the Orkneys to Cornwall,from Kent to Scotland, from Normandy to Denmark through Belgium, Holland and Germany, these notes—by the end of the war they filled three books—were always with me … It is precisely because they are true, because they were written in the flush of action, that I have made no attempt to re-touch these notes.

So how did he manage to place himself over Remagen, on an operation not mentioned in his Squadron's ORB and over a battlefield where 2TAF never intervened? The next major bridge battles in 2TAF's area were Stolzenau on the Weser (6 April) and Lauingen/Artlenburg on the Elbe (27 April).

[Franek Grabowski]

Originally Posted by Nick Beale

From the preface of my copy of The Big Show:

So every evening I used to write down for them the events of the day in a fat Air Ministry notebook, stamped 'G.R.' … This notebook went with me everywhere, crumpled by the weight of my parachute in the cockpit, stained with tea in the mess, or beside me at Dispersal during the long, dull hours of readiness. From the Orkneys to Cornwall,from Kent to Scotland, from Normandy to Denmark through Belgium, Holland and Germany, these notes—by the end of the war they filled three books—were always with me … It is precisely because they are true, because they were written in the flush of action, that I have made no attempt to re-touch these notes.

So how did he manage to place himself over Remagen, on an operation not mentioned in his Squadron's ORB and over a battlefield where 2TAF never intervened? The next major bridge battles in 2TAF's area were Stolzenau on the Weser (6 April) and Lauingen/Artlenburg on the Elbe (27 April).

I have memories of a pilot who refers to his log book. The problem is, I have a copy of the latter...
That said, many moons ago I have been in touch with a friend of another pilot. He recalled that when the pilot submitted his memories to a publisher, he got them rejected with a suggestion that he should add some dramatic events and sex.
People want to read good stories, not necessarily true stories.
That said, the entry in the log book sounds intriguing, and falls outside of nice story category, if not added years later, of course.