AFHRA German Documents

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'clock High!:

Richard T. Eger
Records Comparison
Fri May 19 16:08:10 2000


Dear Rabe and Artie Bob,

How would you compare what is at NAII to the DDC microfilms now at Garber? The PB reports at the Library of Congress seem to be, in the main, a subset of the
DDC reports, as the same reel and frame numbers appear on both. Maxwell, however, seems to be a completely different animal altogether, the records concentrating
on the Allied side. Do either of you know whether Maxwell actually has any captured German documents and, if so, how do these fit relative to the NAII and Garber
holdings?

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

From TOH!:

Rabe Anton
Re: German Documents at Maxwell
Fri May 19 19:03:56 2000


There are no captured German records at Maxwell.

RA

[Richard T Eger]

From TOH!:

Artie Bob
Luftwaffe material
Fri May 19 17:48:15 2000


The information at Garber is almost all technical information, i.e., manuals, test reports, calculations, design data. At College Park, the spectrum is much wider and
there are the USSBS files, OSS, RG242(the Berlin documents), etc., etc.; but the Luftwaffe information I am looking for ends up being small pebbles embedded in a
very big pile of rocks. The HRA at Maxwell has a very limited amount of actual German documents, but has a fair amount of intelligence material, some of it very
interesting and remnants of the USAF post war historical files from Germany. Rabe is certainly the expert on Maxwell's holdings.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOH!:

Richard T. Eger
Comparison of Archives
Fri May 19 19:41:11 2000


Dear Artie Bob and Rabe,

Thanks for your responses. Rabe, you did confirm what I suspected. Way back in the 1960's I did a very brief search at the National Archives in downtown DC. If I
recall correctly, I was assisted by a fellow named John Taylor. John pulled out the OSS files. I went through these and the impression I came away with was that a lot
of their stuff was off in left field. Rumors of this or that, but nothing very hard. It was difficult, if not impossible, to tell if any of it was true. As for the USSBS reports,
aren't these of Allied origin, rather than captured German documents? Perhaps they contained translations. Rabe has mentioned RG242 in the past. Artie Bob, the
way you describe it, the National Archives is not truly the motherload of non-technical German reports, whereas Maxwell is the motherload of Allied material regarding
German aviation and the DDC microfilms are the motherload of technical information on German aircraft, engines, etc. Yes, you've said such non-technical reports in
large measure may not exist. What about the PRO in London, the IWM, and the Bundesarchiv's? If we went about grabbing anything technical we could lay our hands
on to microfilm, i.e., the DDC microfilms, just how could non-technical reports be so skimpy? Especially odd is the lack of a trail on the Werknummer system. Artie
Bob has had to develop this by reverse engineering. Just where are the records buried???

Regards,
Richard