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Air battle over Merklín

Coordinates: 49°33′38″N 13°11′52″E / 49.56056°N 13.19778°E / 49.56056; 13.19778
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Air battle over Merklín
Part of Cold War

USAF Republic F-84E and Czechoslovak MiG-15UTI
Date10 March 1953
Location
Merklín, Czechoslovakia, Bohemian Forest
Result

Czechoslovak victory

American F-84 fighter-bomber shot down
Belligerents
 Czechoslovakia  United States
Commanders and leaders
Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Šrámek United States Lt. Warren G. Brown
Strength
2 MiG-15 2 F-84 Thunderjet
Casualties and losses
none 1 F-84 shot down
Pilot survived

The Air battle over Merklín was an air-to-air engagement between Czechoslovak and USAFE air units over the Czech village of Merklín, in the Bohemian Forest, on 10 March 1953. During the action Czech pilot Jaroslav Šrámek, flying a MiG-15 (from 5th Fighter Regiment, 2nd Squadron, Plzeň-Líně air base), shot down one of a pair of American F-84E Thunderjets (from 53rd Fighter Bomber Squadron, 36th Fighter-Bomber Wing). The American pilot, Lt. Warren G.Brown ejected from the aircraft, which crash-landed in German territory, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the border, and survived.[1][2]

It was reported in the London Times that the attack on the American aircraft was 10 miles (16 km) from the border near the town of Falkenstein, Bavaria.[3] The aircraft crashed near Regensburg, Bavaria and the burnt out wreckage of the F-84 was recovered by American soldiers.[3] The attack followed reports of other Czechoslovak aircraft over Bavarian territory. Brown, the pilot of the F-84, reported they were on a routine patrol along the border when they spotted two aircraft appear from the East, he was fired upon and bailed out after losing control.[3]

Incident was an inspiration for 1973 Czechoslovak film High Blue Wall which depicts fictionalised version of the incident.[4]

References

  1. ^ "European Air-to-Air Victories". Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  2. ^ Coilin O'Connor (4 October 2004). "Radio Prague - Czech fighter pilot recalls Cold War dogfight". Radio.cz. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "The Shot-Down Thunderjet". The Times. No. 52568. London. 12 March 1953. p. 5.
  4. ^ "Vysoká modrá zeď (1973)". CSFD (in Czech). Retrieved 10 July 2022.

Sources

49°33′38″N 13°11′52″E / 49.56056°N 13.19778°E / 49.56056; 13.19778

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