# Talk:Richard A. Peterson (aviator)

... that during World War II, fighter pilot Richard A. Peterson (pictured) shot down and killed a parachuting German pilot after the same pilot shot at parachuting American bomber crews?

Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Alfred Tanduk Palembangan and Template:Did you know nominations/Kenssy Dwi Ekaningsih

Toadboy123 (talk) 23:41, 1 November 2025 (UTC).

 Hook not cited to a reliable source. If the only source for this is Peterson's recollection, we should attribute the claim to him—but that would make for a too long and awkward hook as written. (t · c) buidhe 04:23, 2 November 2025 (UTC)
@User:Buidhe Here is a Google Books source related to the hook [1]. I have added to the hook in the article. Let me know if it is good to go now. - Toadboy123 (talk) 08:38, 2 November 2025 (UTC).
I can't view the page, but it doesn't matter as it's a self-published book, and therefore unlikely to be a reliable source (see WP:SPS) (t · c) buidhe 01:51, 3 November 2025 (UTC)
@User:Buidhe I modified the source and added this source (from the book Fighter Group: The 352nd "Blue-Nosed Bastards" in World War II), which mentions the fact related to the hook. Let me know if its good to go. - Toadboy123 (talk) 13:12, 3 November 2025 (UTC).
Toadboy123 What is the quote in the book that includes this fact and the source cited by Stout? (t · c) buidhe 00:28, 4 November 2025 (UTC)
@User:Buidhe I tried to find the source but I am unable to do so even though it was cited in attacks on parachutists article. Only Discovery Channel's Wings 1988 episode Target Berlin has Peterson describing the incident. I could cite it using TV episode citation. But if its not possible here is another hook: ALT1 ... that during World War II, fighter pilot Richard A. Peterson (pictured) named his P-51 fighter aircraft after his wife's letter closing? [2] Let me know if this is good to go as hook. - Toadboy123 (talk) 13:13, 4 November 2025 (UTC).
Here is the problem : you state the original hook as fact, but the only thing that seems to be verifiable is that he said it in an interview. That's an article problem, not just a hook problem. Please avoid citing any sources you have not seen per WP:SAYWHEREYOUREADIT. (t · c) buidhe 13:37, 4 November 2025 (UTC)

@User:Buidhe I understand and I will be careful in future DYKs regarding this rule. As of now, I have introduced an alternate hook (ALT1). Could you check that and see if that is good to go? - Toadboy123 (talk) 01:57, 5 November 2025 (UTC).
 The pov issue with the article hasn't been fixed. Furthermore, I am not convinced that the new hook meets dyk requirements given that if you are naming an aircraft it has to be named after something, and younger readers may not know what a "letter closing" even is? (Now marking as failed per the above issues and this (t · c) buidhe 14:28, 10 November 2025 (UTC)
@User:Buidhe How can you just jump and just conclude the hook is 'failed' without letting me give some suggestions to improve it? Regarding aircraft names, its unique and if your concern is how younger readers may not know what a "letter closing" even is?, how about replacing 'letter closing' with 'concluding line in letter'? And also, could you let me know the pov issue in the article that needs to be fixed? - Toadboy123 (talk) 13:15, 12 November 2025 (UTC)
"Peterson attacked the Bf 109 and forced the German pilot to bail out of the aircraft. He shot and killed him as he descended on his parachute" is something we agreed needed to be attributed and cited to a specific timestamp in the video in order to be verifiable.
And that's not even the only pov issue in the article. Sentences like "Peterson had 15.5 air victories and destroyed 3.5 aircraft on the ground" is very problematic when you consider the systematic overcounting of "victories". (t · c) buidhe 14:12, 12 November 2025 (UTC)
@User:Buidhe For the documentary I have inserted the time stamp where Peterson describes about the incident, as a form of citation. Regarding the aerial victories part, it has been properly cited using literature and Air Force study on aerial victories. Regarding American flying aces, overcounting is not common as aerial victories are confirmed through thorough analysis of combat footage, wingmen witness reports, etc. Let me know if it good to go now. - Toadboy123 (talk) 13:16, 13 November 2025 (UTC)
All we can really say is that he said this incident with the German parachutist happened, and that he was officially credited with X number of victories. (t · c) buidhe 23:24, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

Policy compliance:

Adequate sourcing:  - see comments above
Neutral:  - see comments above
Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing: 
Hook eligibility:

Cited:  - see comments above
Interesting:  - see comments above
Image eligibility:

Freely licensed: 
Used in article: 
Clear at 100px:  - no

Overall:  use template for compliance purposes (t · c) buidhe 17:41, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

@User:Buidhe I have already cited the source and also suggest the improvement for the hook. Can you tell me what modifications are needed to satisfy you?  - Toadboy123 (talk) 13:21, 17 November 2025 (UTC)
I was clear above about the issues with the article. Please see my comment on 23:24, 13 November 2025 (UTC). If you cannot understand why your sources don't allow you to conclude more than that I don't know what to say. (t · c) buidhe 14:31, 17 November 2025 (UTC)