PRO monitored R/T traffic reports

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Angelos Mansolas
Luftwaffe fighter losses France 1944
Sun Nov 17 14:11:46 2002
195.97.118.124

Hi all,

I am searching for a list of Luftwaffe fighter losses in France during the summer of 1944 for the following dates:

22 April, 21 June, 24 June, 8 July, 8 August.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Nick Beale
Losses in France
Sun Nov 17 17:44:19 2002
212.159.53.213

The Luftwaffe's aircraft loss records for 1944 have been missing since the war. The personnel casualty records have effectively closed to all but relatives of the airmen concerned by a German privacy law introduced in the early 1990s.

For dates from 6 June onward you will find much (but not all) of the information you seek in Jean-Bernard Frappé's "La Luftwaffe face au debarquement allié" (Editions Heimdal, France, 1999) however this will not necessarily cover aircraft losses where the pilot was not injured nor losses due to bombing/strafing etc.

In the Bundesarchiv at Freiburg (or in the Public Record Office, London in tranlsation) there are some records of Luftflotte 3 for the invasion period which include some figures for daily successes and losses.

These can be supplemented by reference to prisoner of war interrogation reports (held in the PRO and in America) by reports of monitored R/T traffic in the PRO and by reading through several thousand "Ultra" decrypts for the relevant period.

So there's no simple or final answer but the Frappé book is probably the best printed source you'll find.