ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 139671
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| Date: | Friday 15 November 1940 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Fairey Battle |
| Owner/operator: | 33 Mira Royal Hellenic Air Force |
| Registration: | B 276 |
| MSN: | P6608 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Mount Ivan -
 Albania
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RHAF Kouklaina, Greece |
Fairey Battle Mk.1 B-276, 33 Mira, Royal Hellenic Air Force. Originally built by Austin Motors at Longbridge, Birmingham for the RAF as P6608. (One of eleven supplied in March 1940, originally with RAF Serials P6604-P6613 and P6615; 12 were ordered, but P6614 was retained by the RAF). Became B-272 to B-282 in RHAF service.
Written off (destroyed) 15 November 1940 in combat, when shot down by a Fiat CR42 of the Italian Air Force near the 1768 metre Mount Ivan, Albania, at approximate Coordinates: 40°42'39"N 20°56'16"E. Both crew were killed: Pilot was 2nd Lieutenant Kondides RHAF (the observer/air gunner was also killed, but his name is not yet known).
On 14 November 1940, aircraft of the 32nd and 33rd Bomber Squadrons attack the airports of Korytsa and Argyrokastro, destroying many Italian planes (Greek loss was only one Bristol Blenheim with the killed Sminagos Charalambous Stamatios, Sminagos Papageorgiou Konstantinos and Dimitrios). Also Potez 25 planes of the 4th Military Cooperation Squadron carry out reconnaissance, bombing and shelling of enemy units. A plane is hit resulting in the death of the pilot, Lieutenant Commander Yaka Dimitriou. Finally, the Prosecution Squadrons make 42 exits in the area of Korytsa. During the air battles, the Italians lost three Fiat CR.42, while four Greek PZLs suffered damage.
After four days, 18 November 1940, three Bristol Blenheim of the 32nd Bombing Squadron take off with the mission of bombing Argyrokastro. But because there is heavy cloud in the area, one of the planes drops its bombs on Premeti, where the Italians had stored significant quantities of ammunition, fuel and other supplies. For three days and nights the ammunition was being burned and blown up.
In 22 November 1940, three Henschel Hs 126 aircraft locate an eight-kilometer-long enemy phalanx retreating from Korytsa to Pogradec. A strong force of 15 Potez 630, Bristol Blenheim and Fairey Battle aircraft of the Bombing Squadrons rush for reinforcements, resulting in the complete destruction of the Italian phalanx. On the way back to the airport one of the Henschels encounters 15 Italian pursuers and is hit in the gas boiler. The Greek aircraft catches fire and the crew abandons it. The pilot, Subcommander Sideris Dimitrios, succumbed to his injuries, while the observer survived.
Sources:
1. Hellenic Air Force History, Volume C, p 221
2. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997 p.115)
3. https://www.haf.gr/en/history/historical-aircraft/fairey-battle-b-1/
4. http://www.avalanchepress.com/LeftUp2.php
5. https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=110322
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Morava%E2%80%93Ivan#Air_Operations
7. http://wikimapia.org/16249900/Ivan-Mountain-1768-m
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Nov-2011 07:07 | nikitas | Added |
| 22-Oct-2020 20:05 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 10-Nov-2020 20:41 | Sycak | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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