November 16, 1944

Text: Daniel Horvath

Illustration: Antonis Karydis

Cat. No. 70161

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.