German WWII Archive
Airman
Hey everyone,
I'm currently translating German Newsweek issue No.718 from June 7th, 1944. In it, the voice over claims:
"[...] 1,839 aircraft, including 1,026 four-engine bombers, were destroyed by the heroically attacking German defenses over the Reich territory and over the frontlines in the month of May. With over 10,000 men of irreplaceable flying personnel, our opponents lost a large quantity of most valuable war material".
Does anyone know if this number seems plausible?
German propaganda newsweek tend to be sometimes accurate, but also sometimes inflating numbers, so this could be anywhere from accurate to slightly higher to ridicolously inflated.
As the voice over claims "over Reich territory and over the frontlines", this would include not only bombers, but also fighter and other planes in Italy, but not Normandy, as this was too early to be featured in German newsreels.
Especially the number of 1,026 four engined bomber seems a bit too high for me, but I have little source materials about allied bomber losses, and havent found a good list or monthly loss chart on the Internet yet.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
I'm currently translating German Newsweek issue No.718 from June 7th, 1944. In it, the voice over claims:
"[...] 1,839 aircraft, including 1,026 four-engine bombers, were destroyed by the heroically attacking German defenses over the Reich territory and over the frontlines in the month of May. With over 10,000 men of irreplaceable flying personnel, our opponents lost a large quantity of most valuable war material".
Does anyone know if this number seems plausible?
German propaganda newsweek tend to be sometimes accurate, but also sometimes inflating numbers, so this could be anywhere from accurate to slightly higher to ridicolously inflated.
As the voice over claims "over Reich territory and over the frontlines", this would include not only bombers, but also fighter and other planes in Italy, but not Normandy, as this was too early to be featured in German newsreels.
Especially the number of 1,026 four engined bomber seems a bit too high for me, but I have little source materials about allied bomber losses, and havent found a good list or monthly loss chart on the Internet yet.
Any help is greatly appreciated!