Verified Victories: updates to Ltn. Düttmann's and Ewald's aerial claims
 

It has been about four years since the publishing of our book Verified Victories – Top JG 52 aces over Hungary. At this time we would like to announce an exciting update based on newly uncovered archeological findings where – based on its location and model – we were able to foretell the identity of the crashed plane. More specifically, in relation to a potential Yak claim made by both Ltn. Peter Düttmann and Ltn. Heinz Ewald on 1 November 1944.
This day – as it is written on pages 82 and 98 – both German pilots claimed Soviet Yak fighters in the Nagykőrös area. Both have only a single potential victory over a Yak on this day, as only one was permanently lost on the Soviet side.
In October 2026, initial findings of a Soviet aircraft’s landing gear near the town of Törtel, near Nagykőrös, pointed to a Yak-1B model, therefore our friend from the Szolnok Aircraft Museum asked if we knew about any lost Soviet Yak-1B fighter in the area. Reviewing our records the best matching loss was Gv.Lt. Aleksandr Semenovich Andrianov’s (5 VA, 73 GvIAP, 1921-1987) Yak-1B, white ’8’, lost on 1 November 1944 in combat with eight German Bf 109 fighters. Over the past few days researchers of the Szolnok Aircraft Museum prepared and conducted an excavation of the Soviet single-engine fighter, and indeed from the depths of 5.2 meters the excavation crew recovered the missing wreckage of Soviet aviator Gv.Lt. Aleksandr Semyonovich Andrianov’s Yak-1B in the vicinity of Törtel, Hungary.
Beyond the matching airframe (c/n: 08175) and engine number (c/n: 345-2353) found on the artifacts, the recovery team found a piece of a map. Miraculously surviving decades under the soil, this fragment bore the owner’s pencil-written name in cyrillic letters: Andrianov!
When writing the book, the reason for selecting Lt. Düttmann’s 119th claim for a potential victory versus his 118th at Abony-S, a location which is closer to Törtel, came from the language in the combat report of Gv.Lt. Andrianov’s unit. This report detailed an encounter between eight Soviet Yak-3/Yak-1B and eight German Bf 109 fighters in the Nagykőrös area between 4500-6000m in which Andrianov went missing.
So what does this all mean in terms of updating the text? Given that two German pilots made claims in the area three hours apart, we are still in need of an exact time from the Soviet side to be sure of the victor. Potential victory labels remain appropriate, especially given the clear definitions outlined on page 21 in the book, however these labels are very likely to change once more information is available. This is again consistent with the definitions used on p.21. At this present time, based solely on location, it seems more likely that Ltn. Peter Düttmann shot down Gv.Lt. Aleksandr Semyonovich Andrianov as his 118th aerial victory claim versus giving the claim to Ltn. Heinz Ewald.
Düttmann’s theorized score as found on p.200 of the book remains unaffected if his claim becomes a full victory given that for accuracy-calculations we used both victories and potential victories. The same can be said for Heinz Ewald. Thus, only one of the German pilot’s scores would be affected if the claim is upgraded to a ”full” victory, no matter to whom the full verified victory goes.
This recently recovered engine and airframe numbers, which were publicized 4 years ago in our book, further support the accuracy of itemized and internal, late-war Soviet aircraft loss reports. The continued use of such reports is encouraged for all those seeking to better understand the air war over the Eastern front in an accurate and unbiased light.

Some pics of the recovery:

https://photobucket.com/share/0077b9...4-ff6d3b37629c
https://honvedelem.hu/hirek/jakot-ta...tortelnel.html
https://index.hu/belfold/2026/10/16/...icsata-jak-1b/

Gabor and Daniel

Re: Verified Victories: updates to Ltn. Düttmann's and Ewald's aerial claims
 

For people not having the excellent book of Gabor and Daniel, Andrianov was posted missing after the battle but actually survived. He baled out with serious wounds, was captured and survived the war.