November 16, 1944

November 16, 1944 would prove to be a heavy day of aerial combat. Luftflotte 4’s Fliegerkorps 1 would put up about 420 flights of which 163 were with fighter variants of the Bf 109. By the end of the day 28 enemy aircraft would be claimed destroyed with 6 more damaged. All combat stations, whether operational or otherwise, were busy adjusting to the Hungarian sector they now found themselves in. With the front line approaching the capital city of Budapest, the pressure of consistently performing at the highest level must have been great for every combatant: German, Hungarian or Soviet. Fighter pilot Hptm. Erich Hartmann of II./JG 52 was no exception. With well over 300 claims under his belt much was expected of him and his unit to fight back against the broad Soviet push headed westward. That day the weather would reach a high of 9 degrees Celsius with partially cloudy skies, an ideal environment for surprise attacks by fighter aircraft.

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November 16, 1944 would prove to be a heavy

day of aerial combat. Luftflotte 4’s Fliegerkorps

1 would put up about 420 flights of which

163 were with fighter variants of the Bf 109.

By the end of the day 28 enemy aircraft would

be claimed destroyed with 6 more damaged.

All combat stations, whether operational

or otherwise, were busy adjusting to the

Hungarian sector they now found themselves

in. With the front line approaching the capital

city of Budapest, the pressure of consistently

performing at the highest level must have been

great for every combatant: German, Hungarian

or Soviet. Fighter pilot Hptm. Erich Hartmann

of II./JG 52 was no exception. With well over

300 claims under his belt much was expected

of him and his unit to fight back against the

broad Soviet push headed westward. That day

the weather would reach a high of 9 degrees

Celsius with partially cloudy skies, an ideal

environment for surprise attacks by fighter

aircraft.

In the morning Hartmann took off on

a mission headed in the direction of the Tisza

River. In the combat zone 10 soviet aviators

approached from the East, tasked with

covering their ground forces in the Jászberény

– Pusztamonostor – Jászárokszállás triangle.

All from the 5th Air Army’s 73 GvIAP, they

flew at 4000m altitude. The two flights of

these aviators were led by regiment-CO Gv.Lt.

Col. Porfirii A. Mikhailyuk and flight-leader

Gv.Capt. Pyotr P. Fomichev.

Over Jászárokszállás, the pair consisting

of pilots Vladimir M. Savchuk and Aleksandr

S. Shuvalov separated from their group. Their

radio connection with the group remained

stable and no dogfights were reported. Without

warning, Gv.Ml.Lt Aleksandr S. Shuvalov

disappeared with his last location being about

20km east of Gödöllő at Pusztamonostor.

Hptm. Hartmann filed a claim over a Yak-9

fighter at 08:45 local time at 4000m in the

coordinate square of PlQu. 14 Ost 98368 which

is just NW of Gödöllő. It is possible that Erich

Hartmann downed Gv.Ml.Lt. Shuvalov by means

of a surprise attack thus resulting in no radio

warning from the Soviet pilot.

Owing to the lack of unanimous agreement

of information from both sides, the difference

in stated location is approximately 20km,

we are only able to classify Hartmann’s

abschuss as a possible victory. For more detail

victory verification and what classifies a victory,

readers are invited to review publications such

as

Combat Kill: The Drama of Aerial Warfare in

World War 2 and the Controversy Surrounding

Victories, Verified Victories: Top JG 52 Aces Over

Hungary 1944-45

, and the original claiming

directives held at BArch. Additional information

about claiming controversies will appear

shortly.

What is known from this engagement are

the specific aircraft details for Hartmann’s

potential victim: Gv.Ml.Lt. Aleksandr

Stepanovich Shuvalov (1921-1944) flew in

a Novosibirsk, Factory No.153-built Yakovlev

Yak-9D fighter of the Soviet 5th Air Army (2nd

Ukrainian Front), 6 GvIAD, 73 GvIAP, 2nd Sq., c/n:

2015315, built around March 1944, powered by

VK-105PF engine No.415-1333 built in the first

quarter of 1944. Planes of his unit were marked

with a short inscription over a white horizontal

lightning-bolt under their cockpit on both sides

of the planes. (TsAMO RF)

Details on Hartmann’s aircraft are more

difficult to pin-point, however his usual

Messerschmitt at this time was a Bf 109 G-14

with a black tulip pattern adorning the nose

coded ‘white 1’. Furthermore, the Author of

this article would cautiously state that based

on the camouflage mottling and presence of

a data plate mounted forward of the cockpit

these features are consistent with those found

on G-14/U4s built by WNF (Wiener Neustadt,

Austria) in the 51x.xxx series. The 51x.xxx

series entered production in the second half

of 1944. Lack of further proofs limit our ability

to confidently identify Hartmann’s aircraft.

As the aircraft was equipped with methanol

water injection evidenced by the battery

box cover plate protruding into the cabin,

the engine in this aircraft was a DB 605AM

model capable of producing around 1700 PS

at 4000m while the VK-105PF could produce only

about 1050 PS at the same altitude. Translated

to speed, when the MW-50 system was being

used Hartmann’s Bf 109 G-14/U4 could approach

speeds at 4000m of up to around 625 kph, while

Shuvalov’s Yak-9D could only reach about

590 kph. If the engagement took place without

MW-50, the Yak-9D would actually have

a level speed advantage, showcasing how

much assistance the MW-50 system provided

Luftwaffe pilots.

Illustration: Antonis Karydis

November 16, 1944

Text: Daniel Horvath

INFO Eduard

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December 2024