My point was that whatever number you pick Hartmann was a good combat pilot.
Claims for all pilots of all nationalities are debatable. They all
overclaimed. The questions are by how much and with what intent.
Some,a few,are dishonest and it can be shown to be so.There is the
famous case of pilots from JG 27 strafing sand dunes and claiming
victories. There are cases of claims being witnessed by colleagues who
either weren't flying or in one famous case were no longer serving in
the same unit. I'm not naming names,it sets off a mindless opinionated
debate and serves no purpose,they are easy enough to find if you look.
Many honest men overclaimed,not fraudulently. I'd be surprised if the
two you mentioned didn't.It's a reflection of the confusion of air to
air combat.
The RAF,like other airforces did there best to check claims and get a
true figure for enemy losses but look how far off they were in the BoB.
The same applies to every airforce throughout the war.
