As noted on the
Luftwaffe Scoring and
Awards System page, "victory claims" and "points" were two seperate issues.
Whenever an Abschuss (Destruction) of an enemy aircraft was claimed a strict
proceedure was followed before the claim was allowed.
Following the policy of "one pilot-one kill", the investigating authorities
would determine if the claiming pilot was solely responsible for the destruction
of the enemy plane. Every
Abschuss
had to be observed by a witness: either a ground observer or the encounter,
the pilot's wingman, or a Staffelmate. Witnesses were necessary unless the
victor's aircraft had been fitted with a gun-camera and the destruction of
the plane or the vanquished pilot's bailout had been recorded on film, if
the wreckage of the downed pilot or other crew crew member had been captured
by German forces. In effect: No witness or tangible evidence - no victory.
Every Abschuss had to be confirmed by the Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe
or Commander in Chief of the Air Force.
Jagdwaffe
pilots were at all times required to note their geographical position as
well as the type and number of the aircraft in enemy formations engaged.
Naturally, the victor was required to
log the exact
time of a kill, while he maneuvered for a tactical advantage over the remaining
enemy aircraft! In addition, he had to observe other actions in the air in
order to be able to
witness victories
by his Staffelmates. Upon landing, the claimant prepared his
Abschuss report
for review by the immediate supervisory officer, who either endorsed or rejected
the claim. If endorsed, the pilot's report to the Geschwaderstab, or Wing
Staff, which, in turn, filed its report and sent both to the
Reichsluftfahrtministerium
(RLM), or Air Ministry. After checking all the papers that were submitted,
the official confirmation was prepared and sent to the unit. This very long
bureaucratic proceedure sometimes took as long as a year! During 1944, another
authority was created: the Abschusskommission, which received all reports
on crashed aircraft remains found by search units. This commission checked
conflicting claims between antiaircraft batteries and fighter pilots, and
awarded credit for the victory to one claimant or the other. This system
ensured that no more credits would be awarded than wrecks found.
The German system of confirming aerial victories was very effective in keeping
human errors and weknesses within limits. Despite this, the Oberkommando
der Luftwaffe, or Luftwaffe High Command, considered the large victory totals
during the early days of the Russian campaign as incredulous. On many occasions,
they accused the
Jagdgeschwader
Kommodores
of exaggerating the victory scores. In effect Goering was calling the frontline
pilots liars. This was one of the grievances that brought about the Mutiny
of the Fighters, or the Kommodores' Revolt Conference, in Berlin during January,
1945.
When a German fighter pilot scored a victory, he would call
"Horrido"
on the radio. This distinctive announcement of victory alerted his fellow
pilots to watch for a crash or a flamer, as well as notify ground stations,
which helped to confirm many victories.
Back To Index