FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Its funny though - no problem disputing Hartman's claims!
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Interesting point Henning. I think the USAAF overclaiming was also a result of the sheer number of gunners firing at each fighter destroyed. Even the best intelligence officers would probably have been confused by literally scores of accounts for each German fighter shot down
AgreeHm, I think there was actually a certain point in the war when the (confirmed) USAAF bomber gunner claims dropped steeply by a factor like that to a much lower (and more realistical) level. I think I have seen this in the US Strategic Bombing Survey statistics, so it seems the USAAF did address the problem quite decisevely. One interpretation is that it indicates that the overconfirming had not been intentional.
Also agree.Do you think that some of this might be a result of his French literary style, which is almost the opposite of the British low key, ironic, stereotypical "I was lucky to walk away after pranging my kite, but poor Mac had gone for a Burton" style?
I have also read "The Mouchotte Diaries", and they seem to have some similarities to Clostermann's style, at least that's what I thought. Mouchotte was the Free French fighter leader who saw Clostermann's potential, and who drowned in the channel after becoming separated from everyone, including his wingman Clostermann. From what I read on the internet, this left Clostermann with a deep feeling of guilt and the desire to prove that Mouchotte's death was not his fault. There is some similarity to the story of Bader going down after his wingman "Cocky" Dundas had lost him, except that Bader survived ...
Regards,
Henning (HoHun)
Hi Adler,
>I agree. There could easily be 2 to 4 gunners claiming the same aircraft.
Absolutely, but I think this is the obvious part (today).
I suspect it was Clostermann's statement that the US fighter claims were inflated (implied: more than those of the RAF) too that made him some enemies and caused his claims to be checked with more than routine scrutiny.
(I think we all know that overclaiming is inherent and almost inevitable in air combat, but from what I've read, it took the aviation historians quite a while to figure that out. Not that you read much about historians' errors of the past ... hmmm!
Regards,
Henning (HoHun)