Sitzkrieg in air - both German and Allied victory?

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Laurent Rizzotti

If you compare fighter losses with fighter claims (including enemy fighter but also bomber and reconnaissance aircraft), you will find that most of the fighter units of WW2 would be "victorious", claiming more than their own losses.

Laurent is right, defending fighters are not really intended to shoot down attacking fighters but to eliminate the threat from bombers and reconnaissance. They should only be engaging enemy fighters to get through to their "real" target. The attackers may well have a higher "fighter vs. fighter" score but still lose the larger battle.