Juha or other experts - Finnish Winter War

[Brian]

Hi guys

The gist of the following was sent to me by Franek. Can anyone add or amend? Finnish-Russian Winter War 1939-40

An unusual and tragic incident occurred on 13 January 1940, when Italian volunteer pilot S/Sgt Diego Manzochhi landed his fighter near Valkeala. Unable to speak Finnish, Manzochhi was seen and heard by a civilian shouting at militaman who had been summoned to the location, whereupon one, assuming him to be an enemy, opened fire and killed him. Later, his aircraft (FA-22?) was found nearby, clearly marked with blue swastika in white roundel.

Cheers
Brian

[Pilot]

Complete article about the volunteers where is also info about the Manzochhi, was published in one issue of the Finland magazine SIHL. I will try to find later this issue and forward info.

Cheers

[Juha]

Hello Brian
firstly, correct date is 11 March 1940 and Diego Manzocchi died inside his cockpit in Fiat G.50 FA-22. There is all kids of rumours on this case. But the facts are that Manzocchi made a wheels down landing on Lake Ikola. It was winter time so the lake was covered with thick solid ice under snow. He was unlucky in that there was a ice road across the lake and when the wheels of the Fiat hit the edge of the road the plane somersaulted and continued slide upside down across the snowcovered ice. Snow and slush filled the cockpit. According the reports there was no bullet holes in the plane. That was the end of Manzocchi’s 2nd sortie on that day. T/o time had been 13.40

Those are the facts, officially the slush that filled the cockpit suffocated Manzocchi. Now according to one mechanic of the sqn whose brother was part of the rescue team sent to the accident site after the sqn got info that one of their plane was lying upside down on Lake Ikola the first people at the site were children and when they arrived they heard foreign language spoken from the cockpit and fled because they thought that the pilot must be a Russian.

One other explanation is that during his attack on Soviet DB-3s Manzocchi got a hit into his chest and and made his landing badly wounded and died because of his wound and because he was upside down 6 hours. But as I wrote according the official reports there was no hits in the plane.

Manzocchi was one of the good volunteers, he was a competent pilot and took active part in the combats. The FA-22 was repaired and was eventually struck off charge on 31 May 1945 having been flown over 425 hours

Juha

[Brian]

Many thanks Juha

That seems to rule out a 'friendly fire' incident!

Cheers
Brian