JG 300 book

[Erich]

Jean Yves I had thought that might be a possibility that the two men had contacted you. Karl was having his own health issues but seems to be recovering well. Yes quite depressing having to put the crosses by the names of some many contacts and good friends, time is slipping by way to quickly ....


looking forward to the volume 2

[heinz]

Originally Posted by Jean-Yves Lorant

Hi Jean-Charles,

When I first "discovered" the remains of B-17 "Beats me!?" in Keronic woods not far from Kerauffret I was only 15 old. Do you remember our unespected meeting in Vincennes ? I only hope you well enjoy the forthcoming vol. 2 of the JG 300-Chronicle.

Hals und Beinbruch ! Kenavo...

Hi Jean-Yves .
Of Course , I remember our meeting the last year in Vincennes . this summer , i have meet in USA the last men of the crew who are still alive .great moment .
I wait the vol. 2 now .
I hope that the next time , i will go to Vincennes , i will see you again.
kenavo

[Jean-Yves Lorant]

Hallo Erich,

Wie üblich konnte ich gerade feststellen, daß meine englische Sprachkenntnisse sehr begrenzt sind. Zum Tode der Freunden Hans Fenten und Ernst Rummel wollte ich natürlich "will not forget these nice men" schreiben, habe leider dummerweise "forgive" geschrieben. Ich bitte um Entschuldigung ...

Hals und Beinbruch !

[Erich]

Jean-Yves your English is better than my Deutsch

yes we must not forget any of the brave pilots that served and died in duty for their country. At my cousins gravesite in Holtensen some years ago was an inscription laid at the foot of his old oak wooden cross which I use as my signature:

Nur die jenigen die man vergisst, sind wirklich tot

Gruß

Erich ~

[Rasmussen]

An small addition after the first view (and looking pictures) ;-):On page 142 the caption say: "The significance of the small number "36" that can be discerned in the Balkenkreuz of Kurt Gabler's "red 8" is not known."This digits were the first two digits of the 5 - digit internal Erla W.Nr.. Long time the factory wrote this number in the Balkenkreuz before the a/c was test flown and camouflaged. An example of this practice you can find on p.118 in the Prien/Rodeike - book. Best wishesRasmussen

[Jean-Yves Lorant]

Hi Rasmussen,

Many thanks for your good link, this aircraft was obviously an Erla-built 109 G-6. We found this information simply too late for the american version of our JG 300-chronicle, sorry. In the french edition, my co-author Richard Goyat wrote (I hope you can read the french...) "Le petit nombre 36 que l'on distingue dans la croix de fuselage du 8 rouge de Kurt Gabler est le reste d'un numéro de série peint à différents emplacements de la cellule lors du montage de l'avion, vraisemblablement par l'usine Erla de Leipzig". You will find some little additions like this one in the french books . It was just a question of time. Please notice that this "red 8" and the other famous "red 8" on page 246 of the Eagle book are separate planes, both really flown by Oblt. Kurt Gabler. I knowed personally my "Uncle Kurt" (he called me in all letters "lieber Neffe Jean-Yves") and had a several years correspondence with this very nice man. I possess also a Xerox-copy of his complete JG 300 logbook - so no more doubt about both "red 8"s.
By the way, may I ask you ...what did you think about this book ?
Thanks again !

Jean-Yves Lorant

[Rasmussen]

Hello Mr. Lorant,now I had time to read the book. It's an fascinating and well done work with a lot of interesting informations. I like this kind of chronicle - day by day. Now I'm waiting for the volume II and I think it's in the same high quality. -----An small correction:loss list - 11.09.1944, Uffz.Horst Völkert, W.Nr. 460 303--------I'm sure (100%) that's the W.Nr. 460 330. The number 460 303 wasn't delivered by Erla but the number 460 330.Best wishesRasmussen

[Jean-Yves Lorant]

Hi Rasmussen,

Many thanks for the kind words. Volume 2 (french) was send this week to the printer and the Eagle book will be soon ready.
You may be right regarding the Erla-built G-14/AS WNr. 460 303 (or 460 330 ?). If it is an error, it is a wartime genuine error, because you will also find this number 460 303 in the WASt files. You cant avoid such glarring errors in the official Luftwaffe archives...we found ourselves similar errors.
And a 460 303 does exist aniway. Why not with I./JG 300 ?
All the best from France -
Jean-Yves Lorant

[Rasmussen]

Hello Mr. Lorant, the number 460 303 is for sure an error -- of course an wartime genuine error. I know every single W.Nr. produced by Erla from January 1943 to April 1945 (included the gaps) and there wasn't an 460 303. The first G - 14/AS left the factory in Leipzig was the 460 322 (was the first number from 460 xxx batch too). ---- Best wishes and the same sucess for volume II ---- Rasmussen

[SES]

After all the acclaim above I decided: This is a book I must have. It is indeed going to be a sight to behold on the bookshelf, the illustrations are magnificent, the print and paper quality is second to none. If your main interest is aircraft, personalities and the exploits of pilots I can thoroughly recommend it. Considering the quality of production it is worth the money.
With my next comments I do realize that I run the risk of being counted among those “self-appointed historians” who wish to discredit you. That is not my purpose. But I miss something.

A map of the area of operation with the locations mentioned in the text would have been no harm.

Photo credits. Scores of individuals must have contributed as mentioned in your acknowledgements, but who contributed what?

Notes with reference to the source. Now it is transparent if you have the information from a published source or a BAMA file.

Your short description of the German night fighting system suffers from a number of inaccuracies and you do not describe the Himmelbett-Verfahren at all, but the widespread popular, incorrect one. This may sound like a small point, but it is not. It was also the paralyzing effect Windows had on the ability to perform Himmelbett-Verfahren which contributed to making Wilde Say a viable option. And without the correct description of Himmelbett and Y-Jagdverfahren (Tag) it becomes impossible to explain Zahme Sau.

You state that Müller’s Fw 190 was equipped with the Naxos radar. To the best of my knowledge the Naxos was never installed in the Fw 190 but in twin engined nightfighters and 2 Staffeln of Bf 109 only. And the Naxos was not a radar, but a passive receiver designed to home on the emissions from the H2S.

A Jagdkorps commanded a finite number of Jagddivisionen not an unspecified number of units.

A Luftnachrichten Kompanie was not an “Air Intelligence Company” but a Control and Reporting unit manning a radar site or a number of FLUWAs.

A Y-Flug is a flight conducted under control of a Jägerleit Stellung utilizing the Y-Linien for Y-Verfahren.

It is a pity with such inaccuracies in an otherwise fine publication.

Bregds
SES