Re: B-25 used by VVS as night bomber?
 

Hah, this is good! Thanks Denes for clarifying! Being blind recently... ;-))))

Re: B-25 used by VVS as night bomber?
 

Kurtl,

One B-25 was shot down that night indeed: B-25 Mitchell of 18 VA, 238 GvBAP (ex-22 GvAP DD) with гв.мл.л-т Пронников Николай Федорович & гв.л-т Тиняков Анатолий Викторович, sq. commander's (KIA) crew. No info about plane S/N, but Tinyakov's personally assigned B-25 (according to December 11, 1944 ORB) was S/N:....375, tail: red '58'. I hope this helps.

Gabor

Re: B-25 used by VVS as night bomber?
 

Hi Gabor,

Thanks for confirming these details about a B-25 loss on 29-30 March 1945. There's one Nachtjagd claim for this night, an unidentified crew of II./NJG100 claimnig an 'Il-4' destroyed, unfortunately I have not been able yet to find a location & time of the victory claim.

Cheers, Theo

Re: B-25 used by VVS as night bomber?
 

If the B-25 crash site was in Transylvania, then I was wondering to which VA this acft belonged because to my knowledge 2nd, 5th and 17 VA didn't operate B-25's and this leaves the possibility open that the acft in question belonged to the presumed unit from Sevastopol which operated under 4th UK Front or was this an aircraft of the 8th VA, though this group rarely sent long range missions to Moldova, Romania or Bessarabia....however can't it exclude 100%

Re: B-25 used by VVS as night bomber?
 

Nope, this shot was not a B-25 but a similar, frontal looking Hungarian Caproni Ca-135Bis in Erdély-S. Yugoslav missions were flown by the general Long-Range Air Army (DD), not by "numbered" VAs, belonging to specific fronts.

Re: B-25 used by VVS as night bomber?
 

Gabor , yes Long Range were not attached to specific fronts, basically I don't think that B-25's were under DD groups .Ca-135 indeed , wasn't aware.

Re: B-25 used by VVS as night bomber?
 

Sure they were.... Its in their name... 14 and 22 GvAP DD, 337 AP DD.

Re: B-25 used by VVS as night bomber?
 

Thank you very much Gabor! I did not know anything about the crew at all. Do you know something about the rest of the crew or from where they took off?

Gv. Lt. Smirnov of 14. GvBAP also took part on a raid that night. Tinyakov was with the 238. GvBAP - so we know at least about two regiments airborne over Wr. Neustadt that night. Some locals report about seeing 2 waves of aircraft each of approx. 12 planes over the target area flying really low. I wonder if that was a combined raid against Wr. Neustadt and Sopron by only 14. and 238. GvBAP's. Or were there more? I don't know much about 18. VA habits...

Re: B-25 used by VVS as night bomber?
 

Sorry, late 18 VA has always been out of the centre of my research... No idea. But on March 29/3o, 1945 14. and 251. GvBAP attacked Sopron and Szombathely at the border. 238. GvBAP suffered one B-25 loss, no more details.