Adam Kline wrote:
How is it that almost all US pilots had there claims after the war lowered. The Air Force checked their claims against Air Force flight reports and German loss reports--that's how. There were statistics made by the U. S. Air Force after the war that proved a lot of Axis pilots in the ET must have exaggerated a lot. German claims sometimes exceeded the sorties flown for the day in a particular zone. Yes, in the heat of battle a probable doesn't mean a kill and a wing man isn't always reliable as a witness. The Air Force was quite thorough.
The Luftwaffe did the same thing with their pilot's claims during the war, with typical German efficiency, up until at least early 1944 when they gave away air supremacy and could not devote the resources to verify claims, even if most combat was thereafter over 'home territory.'
There is no doubt that late war claims would have been reduced, and in fact have been, by 'modern' researchers who have in recent years cross checked available records, particularly those which have become available in Russia. (see the forums I mentioned)
But really, when it comes down to it, even 'if' the likes of Hartman's claims were 'only' 50 % correct, his (and the other top aces) piloting and gunnery skills were darn impressive, by anyone's standards.
The world we never see the likes of these combat pilots, no matter on which side they flew, ever again.
As an aside, by far the worst overclaimers were the USAAF bomber crews - understandable with hundreds of guns shooting at the same aircraft.
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