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In recent years, close encounters between Russian and American military aircraft have become more frequent. These types of events, however frequent they are, are interesting in the media, especially because of the photos and recordings taken from the rooms, which are then shared on social networks.
Fortunately, apart from attracting the attention of the media and citizens, it is not dramatic at all and everything always ends with a plane sending others, and possibly a statement is issued in which the other side is accused of flying unsafe .
The roots of the fear of a conflict between two great powers, which would surely be fatal for everyone, go back to the time of the Cold War, which had great consequences, but was only “cold”.
You can often hear in different circles the question of what would happen if in the future, in some case, the Americans and the Russians were directly confronted. It would be good if we never knew the answer.
However, what little is known among the public even today is that this conflict has already occurred. And that in incredible circumstances, while the United States and the USSR were allies, on November 7, 1944, above Nis. Many encyclopedias and world researchers rank it among the most famous fights on the air.
“It’s strange when you think that despite being known as deadly enemies for almost half a century, the only time the Soviets and Americans fought directly was by mistake,” says the University of Norwich website, which lists the top ten air battles. largest in history.
The event is known in historiography and the public by various names: Air Battle over Nis, Allied Fire … But the most famous name is Thread incident.
For many years, it was out of the focus of science and the public, for political reasons. Although historians have only recently begun to broach this topic and search the archives, people are still more often surprised when they learn of the battle between the allies, on the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
Nis was preparing for the celebration.
In a military operation that lasted eight days, Nis was finally liberated on October 14, 1944. After liberation, Red Army units entered the city and participated in the expulsion of the Germans from the district.
The Red Army was preparing to advance on Belgrade, and the Soviet 707th Regiment was aviation at Nis airport. As the anniversary of the October Revolution approached, a solemn parade was planned for November 7 in the town square. Nis had just been released and there were many military and official units in the city.
Aleksandar Dincic and Bojana Simovic described that day in a book Thread incident, published by the Nis Cultural Center. They obtained valuable data from museums and archives, but also through the Russian Humanitarian Center in Nis.
It is said that the streets of Nis were flooded with red flags, workers, Yugoslavs and Soviet, portraits of Stalin, Lenin, Marx and Tito. A large demonstration was held at the National Theater and local and Soviet politicians made speeches.
Soviet airmen were waiting at the airport to join the rally at the end. As stated in the book Thread incident, Colonel Simud addressed them with the words: “Comrades, today all the Soviet people are celebrating the 27th anniversary of the great October Revolution.” Then the soldiers shouted: “Alert! The fascists are attacking our airport.” Explosions were soon heard from the direction of Aleksinac.
Attack on a Soviet column
What happened before? A motorized column of Red Army units was advancing on the Nis-Aleksinac road, towards Belgrade. It was attacked by American P-38 “Lightning” fighters who began dropping bombs and operating machine guns.
The Red Army first rejoiced when it recognized the American planes before the attack, but a great surprise followed when they attacked them. They waved red flags and white towels, hoping the Americans would realize they were allies. Despite this, the column was engulfed in dense smoke.
The book by Aleksandar Dinčić and Bojana Simović states that the commander of the corps, General Kotov, was killed in the attack, along with 31 soldiers, while 37 of them were wounded. There were also casualties among the members of the Yugoslav People’s Liberation Army, because a vehicle was attacked on the Nis-Stalac highway. The NOVJ report also noted that the locomotive on the line was destroyed and that the railway was killed on that occasion, while two others were injured.
Air battle
The aforementioned Russian airmen were waiting at the airport to join the ceremony in the city, when an alarm signal was raised.
In the text of the aviation historian and former director of the Museum of Aviation, Cedomir Janic, for Aero shop, it is noted that at the moment when another group of American fighters was ready to launch an attack, General Sudec, who was at the Nis airport, ordered the emergency takeoff of the “Yak-3” fighters to protect the infantry.
Then the battle in the air began. The Americans focused on Soviet aircraft, and many wonder how they did not notice the red five-pointed stars on the yaks’ wings and tails. A Soviet hunter was immediately shot down.
It followed the formation of American P-38s over the city, at an altitude of about 500 meters, so that the assembled citizens watched the aerial battle above their heads in disbelief. According to the testimonies of the citizens, the Russian hunters flew very low from the direction of the fortress and attacked the “lights” in a steep climb. Then a US plane that crashed near the airport was shot down.
The “Jacobs” then circled and aimed at the Americans from a greater height, and at that moment, another Russian “Yak-3” was shot down and fell to the ground in flames.
The battle became even more tense when the “yak” department was included, led by the famous Russian aviator Alexander Ivanovich Koldunov, who flew in from another airport, near Nis.
In the sky over Nis, west of the city, planes were drifting away and citizens stared at the flames and smoke.
Apparently, Koldunov or someone from his team at one point approached the American plane in which he was the leader of the group and began to turn the plane, displaying the symbols on it. Apparently, the Americans realized that they were allied forces and flew south, the text of the Russian’s website claims. Independent military review.
Lost lives and technique
The battle lasted only fifteen minutes and involved nine Russian fighters and an indefinite number of P-38s. In the text, Cedomir Janic presents various data on the number of victims. According to the assertions of the American pilot Glen Baus, four “forts” and two P-38s were shot down. Russian sources claim that three “forts” and four P-38s were shot down. The report of the political commissioner of the airport “Nis”, Joke Drecun, says that the Americans lost seven and the Soviets three fighters.
Dincic and Simovic in the book Thread incident give more specific data. For the American pilots, they came to them through the historian of the Department of Defense of the United States, Kritina Kon, who was in Nis in 2013.
These data show that three American planes were shot down. An American pilot escaped by jumping and was captured. Major Sircov ordered that he be transferred to the English military mission. Two more planes were hit, but managed to stay in the air.
The American fighters and pilots belonged to the 95th Fighter Squadron based in Foggia, Italy. Lieutenants Eldon Colson and Philip Bruer were killed. The United States Department of Defense is still searching for the place where they were buried.
As for the Soviet victims, the book says that they lost three planes and two pilots. A pilot jumped with a parachute and managed to escape. The dead Soviet pilots were buried with a special ceremony.
Apology (not) accepted
The American command, of course, was forced to apologize to the Soviets for the incredible incident. The Soviet Chief of Staff, General Antonov, sent a letter to the American air commander, General Dean, requesting a report on the measures taken.
In the book Thread incident Quotes were published from Stalin’s letter to the commander of the Allied Air Force in the Mediterranean: “I was preparing to congratulate the American president on his new election, and you congratulated us on the 27th birthday of Great October by killing 34 soldiers, wounding to 39 and destroying 20 trucks. ” .
The situation was very tense after the incident. The Americans tried by all means to appease the Soviets. A report entitled “Causes of the tragedy” was prepared. They claimed that an error had occurred, meaning that the pilots thought they were shooting at the Germans in the Ibar Valley, in addition to attacking the German airport near Skopje. Although to many it seems incredible, they affirm that they were wrong 400 or 150 kilometers. In the text of Independent military review they wonder how it is that if the first group of “lightning bolts” made a mistake, the second one repeated the same, even though they were online.
The US report claims that they had an incorrect orientation due to the almost identical configuration of the terrain. It was concluded that the American fighters, as soon as they realized that they were Soviet aircraft, withdrew quickly.
In his test, Cedomir Janic adds that the leader of the American group that attacked the Soviets, Colonel Edwinson, was quietly and quickly transferred to another base outside Europe. The commander-in-chief of the allied forces in the Mediterranean, General Wilson, had to fly to Sofia to personally apologize to the commander of the Third Ukrainian Front, Marshal Tolbukhin.
It was followed by an apology from the American ambassador to the USSR, Averell Hariman, 37 days after the battle for Nis. Harriman apologized to Stalin on behalf of President Franklin Roosevelt at a reception in the Kremlin.
“I want to express the condolences of the president and the general for the incident that occurred in the Balkans,” Hariman said, and suggested that special officers be sent to military headquarters for joint coordination.
According to the allegations Independent military reviewStalin rejected the offer and several unconfirmed speculations began that the whole intention was to force the Soviets to let spies into their ranks.
Many believe that the Nis incident had a certain impact on the beginning of the Cold War.
Sources and literature:
– Aleksandar Dincic, Bojana Simovic, Thread incident, Nis Cultural Center, 2016
– Museum of Aviation (text by Cedomir Janic in Aero-store, March 8, 1999).
– University of Norwich Online
– Independent military review
