33rd Fighter Group combat statistics, December 1942 - 6 February 1943

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi,

I posted these statistics about the 33rd Fighter Group's aerial victory claims and losses between December 1942 and 6 February 1943 on the Luftwaffe Experten Message Board earlier this year, but thought I'd post them here as well, in case they're of interest to anyone.

Cheers,
Andrew A.

http://fw190.hobbyvista.com

[robert]

Hi Andrew,

could you give us some more details about 33rd FG losses? (especially damaged planes?).

Regards

Robert

[Franek Grabowski]

The 33rd Fighter Group in Tunisia and Algeria, December 1942 - Andy

Aerial Victory Claims by the 33rd FG, December 1942 – 6 February 1943

Actually those are credited victories, claims being presumably even higher.

Actual Luftwaffe losses to the 33rd FG, December 1942 – 6 February 1943

Do not you think, that say 'actual losses that could be linked to credited victories of 33 FG' or 'victories likely reflected on available German loss lists' sounds better?
Cheers
Franek

[Martin Gleeson]

Hallo Andrew,

Thank you for sharing that information on the 33rd FG. The early part of the Tunisian campaign is of particular interest to me so your FW190 book was a joy to read.

Thanks again.

Martin Gleeson.

[Andrew Arthy]

Martin,

Glad you found this article to be of interest, and that you liked our book. I'm working on a few other projects that cover the early Tunisian air fighting, and might post some of that work here as well in the future.


Franek,

> Actually those are credited victories, claims being presumably even
> higher.

What I call claims in this article are the officially credited victories listed by Frank Olynyk.

> Do not you think, that say 'actual losses that could be linked to credited
> victories of 33 FG' or 'victories likely reflected on available German loss
> lists' sounds better?

You make a good point. Maybe I should have named that table differently, or at least included a note raising your concern.

I cannot be 100 per cent sure that these Luftwaffe losses were to the 33rd FG. However, with the air fighting over central Tunisia being on such a small scale, and given that I have pretty thorough documentation from the German and Allied sides, I think it is fairly safe (but not 100 per cent certain) to say these were the German losses to the 33rd FG. There simply weren't that many units involved, making it a much easier task to attempt to match up claims and losses.


Robert,

Sorry, but I don't have many details on the damaged 33rd FG aircraft. I have no details on codes, pilots etc.


Many thanks for the comments.

Cheers,
Andrew A.

[Franek Grabowski]

Originally Posted by Andrew Arthy

What I call claims in this article are the officially credited victories listed by Frank Olynyk.

I know, I just wanted to underline the difference.

You make a good point. Maybe I should have named that table differently, or at least included a note raising your concern.

I try to!

I cannot be 100 per cent sure that these Luftwaffe losses were to the 33rd FG. However, with the air fighting over central Tunisia being on such a small scale, and given that I have pretty thorough documentation from the German and Allied sides, I think it is fairly safe (but not 100 per cent certain) to say these were the German losses to the 33rd FG. There simply weren't that many units involved, making it a much easier task to attempt to match up claims and losses.

Really? I have never realised this crawling through the mess.