OTF controversy - German scores

Hi everyone,

Interesting topic, so I thought that I should have my say about it. I do agree that people tend to take the Jasta trilogy as the final word on such a diverse topic. Don't get me wrong, I gleen lot's of information from them, but I do see some areas of the books that need expanding. I also read in the preface of one of these books that the authors would welcome any information to help make the books more accurate and thorough.

On the topic of why there tends to be many high scoring German aces with no corresponding allied loss, I feel that even though much of the fighting was done on the German side of the lines, and many aircraft came down in German held territory, this doesn't necessarily mean that the Germans can correcty I.D. an aircraft by type and squadron.

Some of these aircaft burned up on the ground even before the troops could get there to save the pilot. Another concern was that with the speed and confusion of aerial combat, it is quite possible to incorrectly I.D. an enemy aircraft. This of course only adds to the mess of comparing German claims to enemy losses.

I do not know much about the "French Factor", but I assume it pertains to the loss of French military records over the years. Could someone enlighten me on this? :-[ :-[ :-[

Regards,

JASTA75