Nachtjagd, Defenders of the Reich 1940 - 1943

[Chris Goss]

Theo: As I suspected and I am both sorry for you and share your annoyance

[Stig Jarlevik]

Martin Bowman seems to write day and night.

On this site there are 188 titles by him (have not checked them to see if any doubles) and it looks like he can write about everything.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/lis...artin_W_Bowman

I would say a book needs at least one year including research to be of any use for others. There are those on this site, I know, who never would do anything after just a single year having spent perhaps their entire life doing research.

If we assume Bowman has been writing for 50 years it means he gets a new title published every three to four months a year.

I have a few titles but must admit I find them wanting. So basically no more books by Bowman for me....

Theo, my symphathies to both you and your hard work. I think most of us here eagerly awaits your new NJ volumes!! I know I do!

Cheers
Stig
Stig

[RodM]

I've had a chance to glance over the second volume of Bowman's two-volume work, and notice that some things have been selectively uplifted from the first Edition of The Nachtjagd War Diaries.

Having said that, I see, for example, that Bowman has perpetuated the myth that Arnold Döring shot down a 214 Squadron Fortress during Gisela on 3-4 March 1945, whereas if he cared to fully read the Nachtjagd War Diaries entry instead of selectively uplifting a few bits and pieces, he would have noticed a mountain of evidence presented that proves Döring did not shot down a Fortress.

I personally think the book is reasonably well written, but contains so much inaccurate information as to be laughable - the product of writing using the published research of others that, in some cases, is now dated, without putting in the really hard yards of documentary research in IMHO.

Regards

Rod

PS - although I have a vested interest, being a co-author of The Nachtjagd War Diaries, I would state that Theo and I have spent the last eight years not only expanding our original work, but also trying to correct factual errors contained in the first edition. What I see in Martin Bowman's latest work is no attempt to correct the many factual errors because, IMHO, he does not have the documentary evidence to do so.

As an example - Bowman relies heavily on books that have reproduced the discredited Nonnenmacher Nachtjagdverbände Abschüsseliste. Bowman quotes from this source throughout. Since at least 2008, it has been known publicly that this source contains completely bogus/fictitious data, so it is disappointing to see so many of the bogus Abschüsse have been presented as fact in Bowman's work. Admittedly, both Theo and I also reproduced some of this bogus data in the first Edition of The Nachtjagd War Diaries, but at least we acknowledged that there was a problem with the source.

In the Kindle Edition of Bowman's "German Nightfighters versus Bomber Command 1943-1945", there is no acknowledgement whatsoever of "The Nachtjagd War Diaries" as a source. Yet Bowman has used information from Volume Two. Two examples of Bowman taking what I'd written in Volume Two:

The Nachtjagd War Diaries, Volume Two (2008), Chapter 9 Introduction:

"The early months of 1945 saw a tremendous increase in RAF Bomber Command's operations, both in tempo and number, 40 raids being mounted in February alone."

German Nightfighters versus Bomber Command 1943-1945 (2016), Chapter 10:

"The early months of 1945 saw a tremendous increase in Bomber Command’s operations, both in tempo and number, forty raids being mounted in February alone."

The Nachtjagd War Diaries, Volume Two (2008), Chapter 9 Introduction:

"The will and fighting spirit of the Nachtjagd, however, remained unbroken until the end. Against the odds, during January and February 1945, Reichsverteidigung Nachtjagd crews flew 1,830 sorties, claiming 294 victories – 113 during January and 181 during February. Nachtjagd losses during these two months amounted to 94 aircraft and the majority of the crews flying them."

German Nightfighters versus Bomber Command 1943-1945 (2016), Chapter 9:

"During January-February Reichsverteidigung Nachtjagd crews flew 1,820 sorties, claiming 302 victories against the odds - 117 in January and 185 in February. But Nachtjagd lost 94 aircraft in the same period and the majority of the crews flying them."