Confirmation and overclaiming of aerial victories

In aerial warfare, the term overclaiming describes a combatant (or group) that claims the destruction of more enemy aircraft than actually achieved. The net effect is that the actual losses and claimed victories are unequal.

Overclaiming typically occurs in one of two ways: (1) more than one fighter pilot attacks the same target in quick succession and each claims a victory in good faith, and (2) a target is hit and appears to go down, but the pilot is able to land the plane. [Spick 1996, p. 217.]

Most discussion of overclaiming centers on air combat during World War II, because of the significant amount of air combat relative to conflicts before or since. During that conflict overclaiming of about 200% was almost the norm - although specific instances of over 300% were common on both sidesFact|date=September 2008.

Luftwaffe Rules of Confirmation (World War II)

The Luftwaffe had a very stringent approval process for the confirmation of aerial victories.Brown 2000, pp. 281–282.]

* Without a witness, a Luftwaffe fighter pilot had no chance to have his victory claim confirmed. Such a claim, even if filed, would not pass beyond group level.
* The final destruction or explosion of an enemy aircraft in the air, or bail-out of the pilot, had to be observed either on gun-camera film or by at least one other human witness. The witness could be the German pilot's wingman, squadron mate, or a ground observer of the encounter.
* There was no possibility, as with some RAF and USAAF pilots, of having a victory credited because the claiming officer was a gentleman and a man of his word. The German rule was simply "no witness – no kill."
*The German system was impartial, inflexible, and far less error-prone than either the British or American procedures. German fighter pilots had to wait several months, a year, or sometimes even longer for a kill confirmation to reach them from the German High Command.

In practice, however, even in the early stages of the war, Luftwaffe overclaiming was by no means always at a lower level than that of allied air forces. Indeed, as the war entered its final, chaotic phase in 1945, many German aces' claims from late 1944 onward were left unvalidated as Luftwaffe administration broke down, [ 'Combat Kill'; Morgan & Seibel, 1997.] and at times bore little relationship to reality.

Instances of severe overclaiming

References

Citations

Bibliography

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