PLOESTI /OTOPENI/BOUCHAREST BOMBING PHOTOS, Missing Aircraft & Unidentified Crews

I think I can spot a second fort in the lower right corner of the image above. But in contrast to the one just south of Otopeni, this second one seems completely covered in vegetation. Anyhow, if you are planning to go there and one of the forts is off-limits, being the training ground of the special forces - as stated by C-2, you could try and visit the other one. Good luck!

My personal feeling is that the formation was aimining at Baneasa and not at the Hypo as a target of opportunity most probably because the enroute Intel or info they had is that Mogosoia had to be changed in the last minute ( weather seems good and the single option was due to approach of German fighters who were climing to this altitude or target become while the formation was enroute " cold " )

Alex

Carol,make the photo bigger,there are over 20 hits on the hipodrom

I have seen those circular marks inside the hippodrome and they could very well be impact craters (I am not an expert in aerial photography, so I cannot deny it). But I am puzzled by the fact that they appear only inside the racetrack. Besides, they seem to appear in other photos as well. Could they be some permanent structures, like paddocks for example? Does anyone have period photos from inside the hippodrome?

US bombers were not known primarely for their bombing accuracy

I had today a pacient that was born in Otopeni 81 years ago.
I asked about the bombing and he said that after 23/8 44 Romanian troops wanted help from USAF ,bombing Baneasa airfield?? -held by the Germans and used to bomb Bucharest.
They signaled the American bombers with smoke signals not to bomb Otopeni.
The wind moved the smoke from Otopeni to Baneasa and the Americans bombed Otopeni(airfield and village).
Also he said something about a German transport plane that was distroyed by Romanians on the ground(dont remember where).

Yes, the 4th Paratrooper Battalion suffered many casualties due to that USAAF bomber raid, which was supposed to support it.

In this topic we have discussed a little about RAF atacks on Romania.

In this book I bought (A century of Romanian Aeronautics - Un secol de aeronautica romaneasca - 1999) I found out that the british unit 203 bombed Bucharest on the night of 14.04.1944. The book says that the british launced first parachutes with magnezium to light the night then the Wellingtons, Halifaxes and Lancasters bombed with great precision, better than the americans, producing a lot of fires and damages.
The british bombers were engaged by german fighters and the captain Boris Ferderber downed 8 bombers.

The british atacked Bucharest again by night on 02.07.1944, again with Magnezium parachutes.

And I found another british attack - 15.04.1944 - this time on Turnu Severin port, on the Danube. They practicaly had no answer from AAA or fighters.

Barbosu I have tough time locating the RAF 203 Sqd or Bombing Grp neither Boris Ferderber at the Luftwaffe register in Berlin nor about 8 Lancasters shot down ..maybe you can post some details and photos

Thanks

Al

Boris Ferdeber was a Romanian pilot, not German one and he didn't shoot down any RAF bomber, simply because the Romanian night fighters never engaged any of them. The issue had been discussed before on the forum and in the interview with Titus Axente.

IIRC, Boris Ferdeber was a navigator of the Romanian Il-18 that landed on a beach in Cyprus in the 50s after the engines had stopped and avoided a catastrophe.

Sorry! I made a type error: it is 205'th british unit, based in Foggia, Italy since 1943.

And, yes, Victor is right, Boris Ferderber was romanian, captain. The phrase in the book is not so clear: the british bombers were engaged "by the german fighter group, which included the squadron lead by Boris Ferderber, which downed 8 bombers".

That could mean the german fighter group downed 8 bombers, as well as Ferderber squadron downed the bombers or even Ferberber got so many enemies.

If there were british bombers downed it is probably the first case: german fighter group, including the romanian sq. tookdown 8 enemy bombers.


Were there any british bombers crashed over Romania?

Barbosu are there any clear evidences of the 8 British bombers brought down in one night by the Luftwaffe/ARR ftr's ?

Victor
Barbosu

I looked into my RAF Bomber Command as well the Foggia RAF B-24 as well disptached Sqd's of Lancasters, Wellington and Musqitos ......I could not even fight one record showing that in one night 8 RAF bombers were down by the Luftwaffe or ARR ....Barbosu lets be more accurate with details when posting messages....it will filter out and preclude a lot of confussions.....Regarding downed RAF crews there were some but Victor knows that better...I am aware of some but not as many as of the 15th Af , I am also aware that Russian pilots were also POW's in Rumania but most of them were handed over to Germany and ended up in German concentration camps and some even executed ......

Let me know

Alex

PS: Victor, any chance to know more details about the Il-18 NAV of TAROM o LARES I had family members friends flying IL-18's at TAROM in the 60's till 70's

Barbosu

Also the records of the 15th AF and those of Gen Timberlake out of Foggia dont show the 8 RAF bombers shot down in Rumania...same as those from Luftwaffe...please post full details on this story for authentication purposes....the operational practices you described with magnesium flares / path finder and various types of ordonance used is correct...but was employed in many other operations by the brits. I am not certain if they used phosphors bombs over Rumania as they used on Ops Gomorah / Hamburg and Dresden

Thanks
Alex

This post has been edited by alexkdl on February 17, 2005 11:08 am