New information on the Experte Schwarm

[Nick Beale]

Bryan, I'm supposed to be a moderator round here but words like the following come close to provoking an immoderate response:

The authors of FOTD ... in my opinion, were sloppy ... They didn’t use complete records. When I asked one of the FOTD authors he confirmed that he never had full access to RAF records in the first place.

I hope it isn't news to you that almost every historian who ever lived didn't use "complete records" because the records are almost never complete, or if they are there's still much they can't tell you. You do the best with the evidence you have. By your argument no Luftwaffe history should even be attempted because almost all its records were destroyed.

You may also have noticed that we are crossing a threshold now: many more documentary sources have been discovered or declassified while the number of living participants rapidly reduces. Whatever the inevitable imperfections of work done 40 or more years ago, that pioneering effort is what all contemporary researchers build on.

Still, you have probably managed to bring the version of events in "Fighters Over The Desert" to the attention of far more people than would have seen a copy otherwise.