Erich Hartmann: 352 victories or... 80?

[Christer Bergström]

Hello I more or less agreed with Christer on USAAF,

Yes, that's a fairly well known phenomenon for those who have studied the topic closely.

but IIRC RAF got its claim procedures more reliable later on.

As above. However, we have to take into consideration that during the period when RAF Fighter Command saw the bulk of all air combats it was involved in, and when the majority of its claims were made - 1940 - 1942 - RAF Fighter Command made extensive overclaims.

In 1941, RAF Fighter Command was credited with 909 aerial victories while actual German aircraft losses were 183. I have already showed some examples of RAF Fighter Command overclaiming in 1942, and the rate of RAF Fighter Command's overclaims in 1940 is well-known. Overclaiming continued into 1943. Certain RAF units also made multiple overclaims on several occasions during the air war over Normandy in 1944, although I agree that RAF got its claim accuracy more reliable late in the war.