English

DTIC ADA542272: USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II

World War II was the only truly worldwide conflict in which airpower played a significant role; where World War I, Korea, and Vietnam were limited geographically in application of U.S. airpower, it was not. This presented researchers into the victory credits of the war with some special problems. There was never a single list of official victory credits for World War II, and, in fact, there were no uniform rules governing the award of credits in the various theaters and air forces. Researchers for this project followed carefully prepared guidelines set forth by the USAF Historical Division as Instructions for Study No. 85, Criteria for Determining Victory Credits. The nature of aerial combat makes it very difficult to determine whether or not an enemy aircraft was in fact destroyed. The word of the claimant alone never has been accepted as sufficient evidence to establish a victory credit. Some kind of confirmation such as the witness of a fellow pilot on the mission, gun camera film, or a witness on the ground who observed the action generally has been necessary to establish a credit. Some competent authority, in turn, must recognize such confirmation before a victory receives off

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