Strange case of Walter Dahl

[Stig Jarlevik]

Michael

That is unfortunately a very futile excercise, since it means aboslutely nothing.

I gladly stand corrected, but
a) Tolliver/Constable never made any research of themselves into any German records what so ever. They met and talked to a lot of pilots and were among the first trying to bring some kind of "justice" back to Luftwaffe without bringing too much politics into the subject, BUT remember they were from USA and the cold war was very "hot" at the time....
b) Don't know about Musciano, but I have serious doubts....
c) Aders/Held, no idea why they suddenly lower the score, but if anyone can prove they have done any kind of research, well, stand up and be counted!!
e) Weal? Don't know him, but I find it strange he just copied source a and b.
Own research? Not what I have heard!

Bottom line is you are chasing the rainbow.
It is like if you are religious or not. Either you believe which makes what anyone else says irrelevant, or on the other hand, don't believe, and open your ears and eyes for some kind of alternative truth.

To determine that truth you stand in front of a, at present enigma, because you need to either learn Russian, apply for a clearance and drown yourself in probably a million+ documents in Russian archives, wait for Russian friends to publish every claim/loss on the Eastern Front, preferably in English (which they are nowhere near doing), or perhaps give up.

After that you need to evaluate each Soviet/German claim/loss report on a basis of a political system prevailant on both sides at the time vs what really happened.

Finally you need to determine (as Johannes desperately tries to do for the Luftwaffe) was each German claim made in good faith or were they "lies", or were they part of a system provoking certain individuals to make fantasy claims? That same criteria then goes for the Soviet pilots. We know they overclaimed just as much as the German pilots did. All of them were stuck within a basic frame of mind they simply could not get out of.

Another bottom line is that your somewhat aggressive mind and attitude makes it very difficult to know what you are actually after. Many individuals here are both hurt and offended by that and answer back with the same provocative mind.

I myself is a nobody when it comes to Luftwaffe research, but I have adopted a different approach. I listen to those who knows more than me. I ask questions without (at least I hope so) any pointed fingers and I try to understand what these persons are saying to me. I am sure many find both my questions and sometimes my answer both silly and self evident, but I also believe they also think I am doing that with good faith and answers me very kindly and friendly, which means I basically like everyone on TOCH.

It is up to you to create your own profile Michael, I am not going to lead you anywhere, but to earn respect you need to show respect to others, regardless if they tell "your" truth or an alternative one.

Cheers
Stig