Horst-Günther von Fassong

[Johannes]

Hi Michael

Regarding low actual totals compared to what we have been led to believe, we also have the Hans Ring habit of adding in additional claims, sometimes a lot to judge if his information is used in publications, I have seen a few examples now !

Kind Regards

Johannes

[knusel]

Good morning Johannes,

would you say he is a key person in the creation in false scores that have been copied ever since?

Best greetings from Switzerland,

Michael

[Johannes]

Hi Michael

I would.

Actually he was quite a nice guy, could still be alive. He lived with his elderly mother, who survived to be around 105, kind enough to look after her. I think he was quite amicable in giving information to people who visited him, but for whatever reason would add false information so he could recognise his own work.
Probably had the greatest collection of Luftwaffe material, which now appears to have been sold-off.
He provided the Woidich abschüßlist with twenty-eight added "kills", yet Woidich was probably unaware of this, certainly his own personal list contained just eight-two(first 81 on mikrofilms) However the twenty-eight added claims were in a pattern unlike Woidich had claimed before i.e large daily numbers. So the 110 attributed to Woidich lingered until resent years, but as I say nothing to do with Woidich, who would appear to have been an honest claimer(a theme with I./JG 52 pilots). I also think he made-up Steinhoff's last flugbuch page. When I first looked into Woidich's extra twenty-eight I thought perhaps JG 52 which was continuously moving at this exact time didn't submit their claims on the daily mikrofilms for just this month, but though claims were down at this time the other pilots claims were on the daily mikrofilms for JG 52. I also think that Woidich didn't attend JG 52 reunions as my friend Bernd Barbas(World foremost authority on JG 52) told me he had never met him, and had indeed arranged for Woidich to visit him, but on that day Woidich rang to say he was unwell, and died shortly afterwards. Point is that Woidich was not one to revel in his past, and had no way of knowing about the 110 business, if they had met things might have been different !

Kind Regards

Johannes

[kaki3152]

I did notice that all the photographs attributed to Hans Ring in the original "Fighters Over Tunisia", have not been used in the new Mediterranean Air War series.

[knusel]

Good afternoon,

that's a moving and tragic story.
Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

Michael

[Johannes]

Hi Michael

In the case of Woidich I can trace the "110" all the way back to 1959 !

Kind Regards

Johannes

[knusel]

Good afternoon Johannes,

that's interesting. Afterwards the Woidich total of 110 was propagated by Toliver/Constable (1968, 1970), Musciano (1982) and Weal (2001, 2004). Maybe somebody could have a look in "Jagdgeschwader 400: Germany’s Elite Rocket Fighters" by Ransom/Cammann (2010) if his Me 163 kill was deemed to be his 82nd or his 110th when it was claimed on 22Apr45?

Of all the totals that you rectified he seems to be unique in that dates for the 28 supernumerary kills exist.

I wish you a good weekend, sincerely,

Michael

[Johannes]

Hi Michael

We do have the dates of the twenty-eight extra claims, all within July 1944 which was a very slow month for JG52.

However these twenty-eight stand-out being so unlike Woidich's earlier claims, basically Woidich's earlier claims pattern are that of a steady honest claimer i.e unspectacular, whereas in July 1944 they become the opposite, large daily claims.
Perhaps somebody can help with Woidich's exact dates of transfer away from JG 52, and joining JG44, also anything between ?

Kind Regards

Johannes

[knusel]

Hello Johannes,

the other day you suggested he joined JG400 on 11Aug. It took him quite a long time to score in that unit: 8 months. And his 22Apr kill is a little bit odd, too. Unlike the other JG400 kills it was not scored in a I. Gruppe unit but in 6. Staffel which had been officially disbanded three days before.

Cheers,

Michael