[Barrett]

Thanks Guy & Signals. Obviously we'll never have full access to German records, but certainly the 1917 files are much more complete than 1918, especially from fall onward. The matter of independent witnesses is another means of relative assessment, but it can be skewed. I used to know a squadronmate of a Very Famous Pilot (still living) who said the VFP would browbeat his wingmen into confirming his claims, regardless of what the combat film showed. It isn't widely known that the USAF reassessed its Korean War claims in the 1970s and reduced the overall numbers to about 1/3 the original.