GQM Verluste und Unfälle.

[ju55dk]

Yes they are.
Junker

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Hello Franek,

I know quite a few examples where reliably known aircraft losses are missing from the GQM returns. But so far I have not seen a single case where a reliably known personal loss is missing from the German documents (I judge this mainly from Soviet data on POW or KIA German pilots). 1944, of course, remains outside the brackets.

Best regards,
Andrey

[ju55dk]

I can confirm that personel losses in rare cases are missing from the NVM(WASt)
Junker

[John Manrho]

I have found that several losses, mainly in December 1944, were not recorded in a NVM although the pilot had serious injuries and in one case even was KIA.

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

John and Junker, thank you!

And are there similar examples in 1941-43?

Best regards,
Andrey

[John Manrho]

I am not sure, but I would assume 1940-1943 is reasonably complete. I think gaps can be seen from fall of 1944 onwards. Of course everything after February 1945 is more and more a problem.

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Thank you, John!

[ju55dk]

There are gaps in 1941-42. Most of JFS 3/Jgr. Drontheim NVM were lost during the war. And I have two other losses without a NVM apart from that in Denmark.
Junker

[Franek Grabowski]

Obviously, there are some gaps towards the end of the war, but there are some gaps from the earlier period. For example, Galland was wounded on 2 July 1941, but there is no record in either NVMs nor GQ6. The problem is, that we know that some records are incomplete, but we have no idea to what extent. Simply, we do not have full access to NVMs, and those should be indexed to make any analysis possible. We do not have detailed information from lower levels of command chain. To be honest, I do not expect the actual figures to be much different, and I guess the gaps refer mostly to wounded airmen and damaged aircraft, but we should be very careful with any definite statements in this regard.

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Junker and Franek, thank you!

Originally Posted by Franek Grabowski

To be honest, I do not expect the actual figures to be much different, and I guess the gaps refer mostly to wounded airmen and damaged aircraft, but we should be very careful with any definite statements in this regard.

I agree that the difference in personal losses is unlikely to be significant if we leave out the last months of the war. But for aircraft losses, primarily on the ground, in some cases distortions can be noticeable.
In any case, all this creates an unpleasant uncertainty.

Best regards,
Andrey