Shootdowning an Italian fighterplane with a propeller

[PELASGOS]

Mitralexis is famous in Greece for protecting his country with the nerve of Theseus. Mitralexis flew his P-24 (PZL)to defend northern Greece from aerial attacks in the early stages of World War II. On 2 November 1940, twenty-seven Italian Cant Z.1007 bombers with Fiat CR42 fighter escorts crossed into Greece intending to ravage Thessaloniki. The P-24s of the 32 Mira, Mitralexis' squadron, responded quickly and destroyed three of the bombers. The remaining bombers turned to flee after jettisoning their deadly payloads with no effect.

Mitralexis, who had already shot down one bomber, gave chase. Out of ammunition, he used his plane's propeller as a weapon and severed the tail of a retreating bomber. The Cant Z.1007 went down, and so did Mitralexis. After a dead-stick landing near the crashed Italian plane, the Greek pilot grabbed his sidearm, jumped from his plane, and captured the entire crew of the Italian bomber.


The Italian commander in an interview after the war said that Mitralexis didn't present a pistol but he approached ,said his name and shook hands with the Italians. That's why the Italian commander gave him his id as a gift.

Marinos Mitralexis crushed down in 1948 in the Aegean Sea flying an Oxford.

Photo of the pilot here:
http://www.rom.gr/rom5/planes/greece/gr12.htm

There was a link with the id of the Italian commander but it's inactive.

[Mastermind]

Excellent ...enjoyed it. What a guy. Also, remember that this tactic was actually official doctrine in Russian early AF. Poles flying for Poland and later flying for Britian in 1940 were known to do this also...they had to be restrained by threat of permanent grounding to stop them. Fighter pilots are truly an amazing lot.

[PELASGOS]

Excellent ...enjoyed it. What a guy. Also, remember that this tactic was actually official doctrine in Russian early AF. Poles flying for Poland and later flying for Britian in 1940 were known to do this also...they had to be restrained by threat of permanent grounding to stop them. Fighter pilots are truly an amazing lot.



There was an old video of the Le Bourget air show where two Migs(?)flying very close collided and the pilots both ejected being very close to the ground.
They stood up , dismissed their parachutes and were talking smoking like nothing happened. Amazing:cantbeli: