Top ace of the calendar year

[focusfocus]

For memory
As from 20/01/45,the JG300 was based on the "eastfront"
I/JG300 to Liegnitz (Breslau)
III/JG300 to Lùben(Liegnitz)
IV/JG300 to Lùben

The concept "eastfront","westfront" at this time of conflict is in my opinion difficult to define.

Borkheide(base of I/JG300:"Westfront") located at 60 km sud of Berlin is only 50 mn away from Liegnitz ("eastfront")and it's quite possible although based on the "western" front to fight on the "eastfront".
This does not confirm the "victories" of Dahl but could explain his Russian's claims.

michel

[knusel]

Hello there Gentlemen,

it seems to me as if in 1945 Germans didn't care much about the act of claim confirmation. Those who fought, did so not for glory but for their sense of duty. Those who didn't fight strove for a safe assignment behind a desk or in a non-operational unit. Annoyingly, some of the latter eagerly tried to add to their score postwar. And one of the worst examples might have been Dahl.
I wonder who will be the first author to discredit his 1945 score in a book.

Michael

[Nick Beale]

it seems to me as if in 1945 Germans didn't care much about the act of claim confirmation. Those who fought, did so not for glory but for their sense of duty

Some of them obviously cared a great deal about victory confirmations because Luftwaffe's system of medals and promotions took account of accredited victories and/or missions flown. These things were seen as a measure of how well you were doing your job. In an organisation employing hundreds of thousands of people there were bound to be some frontline glory-seekers, just as there were people behind desks who were happy just to get the rations or whatever delivered to the right place.

Also the history books are full of examples of Germans acting up to the last minute of the war as if the Third Reich would never end. People aren't always realistic.

[knusel]

From my ancestors I learned that indeed particularly young Germans were believing in the Final Victory until quite late in the war. The older guys who had experienced WW1 were rather inclined to feel doubts, especially after Stalingrad.

Apropos: is it known which was the last Knight's Cross awarded to an ace ?

Have a nice evening,

Michael