Aviation myths that will not die

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Precisely!
 


Of the 42 pilots shot down and captured alive by the germans from this group 38 were shot or otherwise disappeared.

hard to produce the hard evidence you are asking, but I believe that statistic and it certainly looks like the normandie gp (it wasn't awarded the honourary title "niemen' until 1944) was singled out for special treatment. The gp had caught the eye of the germans since its above average performance in the battle of france. When as a group it defected enmasse in December 1941 it enraged the Nazis. when it showed up in the East in 1943, and began shooting down large numbers of LW a/c , and generally acting as "pin up boys" for both the VVS and the FFL forces, it was a short extrapolation for the Nazis to extend their already illegal positions like the commissar orders and the commando orders to include these guys.


its not explainable why they would treat these guys differently to others, but the statistics just say that they did. Like a lot of things, the Nazis often acted without rationality or consistency.
 
its not explainable why they would treat these guys differently to others, but the statistics just say that they did. Like a lot of things, the Nazis often acted without rationality or consistency.
Like I mentioned earlier, Groupe de Chasse 3 was a thorn in the Luftwaffe's side.

And as we know, there was no love lost between Germany and the Soviet Union.
 
I should say this as a word of caution. In the book "French Eagles, Soviet Heroes", the numbers of pilots that were taken prisoner to the number I quoted above (which comes from a different source). The book says that only 8 were taken prisoner, but conversely all of those 8 were killed whilst in captivity.

I'd have to say the information does appear a little unreliable, but both sources that I know of are in unison as to proportions of pilots captured and then killed....all of them, or nearly all of them. .
 
I believe the origins of the Dornier Do-17, as reproduced here, is a complete myth that has been replicated in books/magazines for many decades...



The truth...

 
M
Many aircraft had nicknames, some affectionate, some not.
Nicknames that were supposed to be made-up by enemy troops/forces showing how terrified they were of the aircraft in question should be looked at with a fair amount of suspicion.
I think many RAF BoB pilots referred to 109s as "snappers"
 
Re: the "Goering ordered the fighters to closely escort the bombers" myth. Hans-Jürgen Stumpff, who commanded Luftflotte 5 which launched the disastrous (for the Luftwaffe) raids from Norway during the Battle of Britain, described Goering as a man
"with a tremendous strength; he was full of bright ideas. After each meeting with him you felt strongly inspired and filled with energy".
Despite surviving the war, having served with considerable distinction, he obviously didn't get the Galland et alter post war script, in which all the many failings of the Luftwaffe were blamed on Goering, hence exculpating the men who were actually responsible, Galland, who we shouldn't forget commanded Germany's fighter force later in the war, among them.
Cheers
Steve
 

I have read several books about Galland and I have come away from them with the feeling that Galland and the truth were sometimes not in the same room, sometimes not even in the same country. Goering was a bit of a Bullsh**er and a junkie but he was obviously not the complete buffoon some war survivors like to paint him. Without his work I doubt the LW would have been the battle winning machine it was.
 
In a filmed interview with Galland, I think in the 1980s, he is very obviously uncomfortable when answering the question regarding the shooting of aircrew under parachutes, stating that he never knew of this, and certainly not in his own unit.
Also, during the filming of the BoB movie, he is recorded as stating that Luftwaffe officers never gave the Nazi salute - there are photos of him, and other officers of JG26 giving this salute to Hitler, as he departed after a visit
 

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