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Allied and Soviet Air Forces Please use this forum to discuss the Air Forces of the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.

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  #1  
Old 29th August 2008, 18:05
jet1reno jet1reno is offline
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hi I have been a lurker here for a while ....

..and have a question. Its not meant to be rude etc so please dont take it the wrong way.

I am really curious about the pursuit of minutia info that I see here. What do you do with it? how do you even come up with some of the info. IE who shot down who and where and when? Since the war was along time ago are there historic documents that you pour over or an archive somewhere?
I have a cousin that was shot down in the pacific during the Iwo campaign and I have the island he made it to and the actual lagoon that his plane landed in and exploded. I would like to confirm my info and then take his medals that I have to that spot and return them to him. I was born WAY after this all happened and never knew him but was very close to my Aunt, his mother.

thanks
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Old 29th August 2008, 19:28
shooshoobaby shooshoobaby is offline
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Re: hi I have been a lurker here for a while ....

Jet -
Bomb Group and Date would be helpful.
Do you have the MACR?
Another Forum you can join that would be beneficial.
www.ArmyAirforces.com
Mike
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Old 29th August 2008, 20:40
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Re: hi I have been a lurker here for a while ....

No need to place one topic on several board
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Old 29th August 2008, 20:59
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Nick Beale Nick Beale is offline
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Re: hi I have been a lurker here for a while ....

Quote:
Originally Posted by jet1reno View Post
I am really curious about the pursuit of minutia info that I see here. What do you do with it? how do you even come up with some of the info. IE who shot down who and where and when? Since the war was along time ago are there historic documents that you pour over or an archive somewhere?
I don't know what the people who ask about the size of Bf 109 rivets do with the information but the rest of us? Some write books, some make models, some restore aircraft, some excavate wrecks, some trace missing airmen, some just enjoy the process of finding out and gaining better understanding of a subject.

Yes we do spend time in archives, corresponding with veterans, looking out for privately held photos and documents (log books and so on). Everyone needs a hobby, I guess.

Who shot down who is just ("just" he says!) a matter of comparing accounts from as many sources as you can get hold of. Date/time/place are the first things to look at. A one-on-one is a whole lot simpler to fix than a big action with masses of aircraft. Claims nearly always outnumber losses but sometimes there's a loss with no claim at all or vice versa.
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Old 29th August 2008, 21:27
jet1reno jet1reno is offline
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Re: hi I have been a lurker here for a while ....

"Yes we do spend time in archives, corresponding with veterans, looking out for privately held photos and documents (log books and so on). Everyone needs a hobby, I guess."

thanks for the reply! are there any theater specific (pacific, naval) data bases to start looking in.? I have found AAF type date but littie on the pacific naval ops.
thanks again...
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  #6  
Old 29th August 2008, 22:38
galgos galgos is offline
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Re: hi I have been a lurker here for a while ....

You could try posting your question here:
http://ww2chat.com/forums/pacific-air-war/

Regards
Max

PS Excellent answer Nick
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Old 30th August 2008, 02:56
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Re: hi I have been a lurker here for a while ....

Just to add my two cents worth about the pursuit of "minor" details:

You answered the question, in part, yourself. Many are looking for more information about a relative. You read the official reports, and then realize there must be more, or something doesn't add up. There are often several descriptions of the same event, some from opposing sides, and finding all this information may clear up the questions.

Another part of the answer is people like me trying to put history in terms they understand. I grew up in a military flying family, and have spent 35+ years designing, building, fixing and operating things that fly. If I can find out a little something about the rivets on a Bf109, I can process that information through the filters my life has given me, and understand a bit more about the people who specified, bucked, and inspected that rivet, and the people who bet their lives on that rivet performing as required.
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Old 30th August 2008, 13:45
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obdl3945 obdl3945 is offline
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Re: hi I have been a lurker here for a while ....

Hi...

I have to agree that Nick's answer was very good, as well as Bill's. For me, as a reasonable model maker of almost forty years, it's about my models representing the real thing as best as my skills will allow. I see many models which are by far and away more intricate and superbly turned out than I choose to make mine, but if I see something that catches my eye, say at an exhibition or in a magazine or on the internet, I will try and find out more about that machine's unit, colour schemes used, codes, unit badges etc and then make my own model of that aircraft. This and other forums like it are an invaluable way of obtaining information from all sorts of sources.

As a youngster, I grew up with three volumes of Aircraft of the Fighting Powers - volumes 1,2 and 4 (it always irritated me that 3 was missing... !) which my dad had obtained possibly during the early part of WW2 when he was a boy. Understandably, they had more photos and information of Allied aircraft, which prompted my ten year old mind to look for the ones I didn't have so much information on, and making models was at that time the best way to 'see' those machines which were most likely gone forever from my ever being able to see them up close in a museum, hence my interest in Luftwaffe aircraft.

Aside from the above, forums like this also serve to drawn people together, and collectively to keep alive the memory of brave men and women of all nationalities who have lived before us in difficult times and circumstances, which I have thankfully never had to endure.

I also have to say a big thank you to all on this forum who have assisted me, and others, in providing help and information. I have seen postings on many other sites which sadly are both ill-informed and on occasion, not very tasteful. We here at TOCH may not always agree on things, but I find the contributors to be friendly, highly informative and willing to help when they can. Long may it continue.


Regards...
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  #9  
Old 2nd September 2008, 18:50
John Beaman John Beaman is offline
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Re: hi I have been a lurker here for a while ....

Actually, most of us have no life! More seriously, it is putting together history as properly as we can. In a movie about the Battle of Saratoga (American Revolution), as Burgoyne surrendered, an aide asked, &quot;But Sir, what will history say?&quot; Burgoyne, played incredibly well by Sir Laurence Olivier replies, &quot;As usual history will tell lies&quot;. We try to put paid the lies. It is a never ending task. </p>
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