Definitely Off-Beat: Guineas Book of World Records

[Rabe Anton]

What follows is a bit of a weird question. Because I think the answer may be Luftwaffe-related, I'm putting it up here for possible notice and comment:


Question: What is the world's record for the number of aircraft involved in one mid-air collision? And no, the episode in mind did not involve glider-towing, though a/the real record incident might, I don't know.


RA

[Laurent Rizzotti]

No idea of the answer but my wild guess is that the world record will be found by searching the crashes of acrobatical patrols.

I don't remember reading about a WWII midair collision between more than 3 planes.

[FalkeEins]

.... Rammstein Frecce Tricolore tragedy springs to mind..

[John Manrho]

There was a 5 plane mid air collision involving 5 He 111's on June 28, 1943. That is one more than the crash at ramstein if my memory serves me right....is it the one....

John.

[Laurent Rizzotti]

5 is probably the world record. Can we have the details, please ? It should be an amazing story.

Ramstein crash involved 3 Italian planes during an air show.

[Rabe Anton]

The episode that John Manrho noted is the same that provoked my posting. Stumbled upon it by accident (no pun intended) and found it quite astonishing. 28 June 1943 five Heinkel He 111s of II./KG 53 were 100 percent lost in a mid-air collision during a unit training mission. . . .
Eighteen dead and some other casualties. If any one can top this, it would be interesting to hear about it.

RA

[FalkeEins]

..not much info on this in Heinz Kiehl's KG 53 book ..although there are 18 fatalities listed for 28 June 1943 ..Absturz Deutschland is the only info given as to the reason and location of the losses - II./KG 53 was reforming at Gablingen (Augsburg) during late May and undergoing intensive training (including night sorties) under a new Kommandeur Major Wittmann (RKträger) prior to being deployed in early July to Olsufjewo near Brjansk (central sector Russian front) mid-way through "Zitadelle"