B-25 Claim SW Budapest 10 Jun 44

[Chris Goss]

I have trawled 12 OCH to see if this has been asked before and before anyone says it , I have asked Theo Boiten but he is a bit snowed under at the moment but can anyone identify any (Soviet?) losses in this area that night?

[Laurent Rizzotti]

On this date, I find one Soviet casualty linked to an "AP DD" unit (strategic bombers) on OBD Memorial webiste:
St Serzhant Vladlen Fedorovich Pustovitov of 2. Gv AP DD, a B-25 unit, died on 10 June 1944.
Two Russian documents our Russian friends may read to give more details:
https://obd-memorial.ru/html/info.htm?id=6859062
https://obd-memorial.ru/html/info.htm?id=1156798764

As I guess you're interested in the claim made by oblt Hans Krause of 6./NJG 101 at 2322 hrs on the 10th, I also checked the losses for 11 June on OBD Memorail and found another man:
Ml Leitenant Vasiliy Aleksandrovich Lesovskiy of 14. Gv AP DD, this unit flew Li-2 and B-25.
Docs:
https://obd-memorial.ru/html/info.htm?id=75950966 (that specified he was lost during the night of 10-11 June)
https://obd-memorial.ru/html/info.htm?id=75036772
https://obd-memorial.ru/html/info.htm?id=1159262762
https://obd-memorial.ru/html/info.htm?id=1159298013

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Oh, and by the way, Theo asked in 2014 about this B-25 claim among others, and Gabor replied (see http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=36582)

14 ГвАП ДД, B-25C-NA, S/N: 41-13032, Tail red "58" between Harkány and Siklós in Hungary on Nagy Lajos's property, гв.к-н Мухин Евгений Александрович's crew.

[Chris Goss]

Thanks Laurent-I knew it must have been asked before. Notwithstanding Theo's great work, Krause, thanks to his FB, identifies clearly those aircraft he shot down while flying the Do 217; annoyingly, I have not been able to find any other such FB to come up with any other pilots

[HGabor]

Yes, this Soviet cargo Mitchell was B-25, S/N: 41-13032, with R-2600-13 engines: 42-271657 and 41-28662 lost on June 10/11, 1944 with Muhin's crew between Harkány and Siklós in Hungary. See detail of 5 GvAD DD, 14 GvAP DD combat report, crash site and Gv.Capt. Muhin (KIA) himself.
Gabor

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Thanks Gabor

Is a crew list know for this aircraft ?

[HGabor]

Sure, they were:

Gv.Capt. Evgenii Aleksandrovich Muhin pilot (KIA)
Gv.Ml.Lt. Vasilii Alekseevich Lesovskii Co-pilot (KIA)
Gv.Capt. Ivan Antonovich Lesovoy navigator (MIA)
Gv.St.Sgt. Vasilii Ivanovich Dorofeev aerial gunner (KIA)
? Smagin aerial gunner (MIA)

Gabor

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Thanks again

[Chris Goss]

Thanks also from me

[HGabor]

You are most welcome. Just a little addition: in the summer of 1944 all Soviet B-25 Mitchells lost in Hungary were cargo planes delivering supplies and/or agents to the Yugoslav partisans from Ukraine. Many of them were caught by German NJG fighters during their trip while crossing Hungary. Their units were:

5 GvAD DD:

14 GvAP DD - B-25s
22 GvAP DD - B-25s
337 AP DD - B-25s

Every dropped/parachuted cargo container had an assigned number, listed in the Soviet mission reports. By the partisans' returning radio signal (listing these numbers) the Soviets could verify immediately what supply the partisans actually received, which B-25 crew completed their task as planned and which crew dropped their cargo somewhere else...

Gabor