Erich Hartmann: verifiable claims

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Jim Oxley

Another aspect that should be considered is that, if Hartman's score is placed under such scrutiny, then so to should all the other Luftwaffe aces in the 200+ bracket.

Is the goal to re-write the history books? Or to see who in fact was the highest scoring Luftwaffe ace? Surely not just a Hartman witch hunt.

It would be doing everyone a disservice if Barkhorn, Rall, Kittel, Nowotny, Batz, Rudorffer, Bar, Graf and other's claims were not also given the same intense analysis and match-up to Soviet losses.

Jim, the goal as I see it is simply to establish, as far as research can after 70+ years, what really happened. Isn't that what history is supposed to do? Yes, that should apply to everyone but you have to start somewhere. I'm confident that Hartmann and the others would still emerge as remarkably successful fighter pilots at the end of the process.

[HGabor]

Yep, that's all.

[GMichalski]

hi,
great work all

seems the second part of this thread: http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=1262

hope you find more,

Do you believe that there is another case like W A Bishop of 1ww
in the 2ww in claims vs losses?

i think it interesting also look pilots with many multiple claims also
with the +200s

regards

[Boris Ciglic]

From my experience I'd say that accuracy of the claims varied both from individual to individual, from unit to unit, and from local theatre to another. Luftwaffe fighters were highly accurate against Royal Yugoslav AF in April 1941 with just a few overclaims. When they returned to Yugoslav skies in late 1943 it was another story. IV./JG 27 was notorious with its claims and Bartels more than anybody else. II./JG 51 kept a very high standard of accuracy throughout 1944.

Boris