USAAF ETO Ground Claims for 3,703 in April 1945

[drgondog]

It is my understanding that the only basis for any assumption would be the 'awards' versus the claims of the USAAF and RAF in April. I know some of the record claims (notably the 78FG score of 160 on 16 April was reduced to 125 after review of film) were significantly reduced after review of film.

Complicating the assessment is that so many GAF aircraft were shot to pieces but there was no fuel to burn - so many of the damaged would have been rendered 50+% destroyed with no real facilities for repair!

What makes the sheer magnitude believable is the simple fact that a.) dispersal of the remaining Luftwaffe was made very difficult by the shrinking front lines, and b.) continental bases for the USAAF and RAF enabled virtually all of the combined air force strategic and tactical command fighters the range to strafe as far away as Linz and Prague - so there was no place to truly hide.

Absent really solid record keeping by the Luftwaffe (unfound to date) for the last months, it will be hard to arrive at a valid estimate

Regards,
Bill