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A
Tribute to the 'few'
Some
light agricultural polish PZL planes are still flying in the Greek skies
today. But going back to 1940, when Greece was invaded by Italy, the PZL
fighter planes were the ‘few’ destined to defend these skies. If for
the Battle of Britain there have been some other ‘few’ to whom ‘so
many owed so much’ , in the case of Greece these ‘few’ were very ,
very few indeed and therefore much , much more should be ought to them.
This article is a humble tribute to these men and their plane, the famous
PZL 24.
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Note
: This is not an original article. The information displayed derives from
existing data published in various books or other websites. The content
can be further developed by any other information by those willing to
contribute and if so please contact me.
A full list of related links is to be added soon
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A
short history of the PZL P24 F/G fighter
In 1930 aviation production was at a particular crossroad. WW1 has introduced
the airplane as a new, promising and potential weapon flown by some mythic
personalities known as ‘aces’ . Away from the trenches mud and up there on
the clarity of the skies
in these primitive air machines death became a glamorous event vested with gallantry
. Still in the 20s the planes used were not much
different , but there was a clear message to the aircraft designers to seek for
better air machines and there was a
substantial work to identify their secrets . Speed was undoubtedly the major one ;
endurance , rate of climb and maneuverability were of importance as well but we
may assume that speed was given the
top priority. The Polish designers did arrive indeed to a miracle in those days
which can be understood only by comparing with the ideas and concepts on
aircraft building of the other designers around them. France , the top air
designer of WW1 was undergoing an economic dilemma and very few good ideas were
given a boost. UK was in no better
position while in US, in 1920, there was no air industry, yet. At the same time Germany was out of the
game and Italy was obsessed with biplanes
. The big question of the days was : a biplane or a monoplane ?
The biplane was slow due to the friction of both wings and limited never to
exceed some top speed values ; the monoplane was the only answer to speed. Yet ,
the biplane was definitely more maneuverable in slower speeds while the
monoplane required stronger engines to create a comparable maneuverability.
The
first monoplane was built near the war end by Germany and Fokker, it was the
Fokker 8 , but ended up with disaster , due to lack of time for development. In France , Dewoitine was
inspired by this monoplane and developed , albeit some 10 years later, its
Dewoitine 371 , a real monoplane that saw some action in the Spanish Civil
War. But in 1920, the ‘champion’ of a revolutionary monoplane design was the silently working
Polish Zygmut
Pulawski who conceived a monoplane with an upper wing fixed to the
fuselage for rigidity – having obviously in mind the reasons Fokker’s
monoplane has failed. This wing was , however , even more revolutionary : it was thicker than a standard biplane wing to enclose the machine guns
and the fixation point was lowered in front of the pilot to allow the pilots
view ahead , which in turn won the name of the ‘Gull or Pulawski wing’ due to
its shape
In
1935 , some 15 years later the Loire-46 monoplane model of Nieuport
adopted fully the PZL's gull wing design apparently in 'some' co-ordination
with Poland . Almost at the same period but supposedly due to an
independent initiative the Russians were using the same wing with their
Polikarpov I-15 and the Americans with their Curtis Sparrowhawk carrier fighter
which was still a bi-plane . Out of these two , the Russian I-15 would see
plenty of action ,in the Spanish Civil War, with remarkable success. As fate
would have it , some years later in WW2 , the pro-Axis Romanian PZL fighters
have done very well against the Russian I-15 in a number of confrontations !
Another point to mention is that an improved I-15 type , the I-152 did away with
the Gull Wing due to a disaccord of some pilots claiming difficulties with
visibility , only to be re-introduced with its next version the I-153 ,that
fought in numbers against the invading Germans in Russia, in 1941. Pulawski's
design was definitely proved both revolutionary and effective quite some time
after its initial concept.
The
PZL P 1 prototype that flew in 1929 , was developed to the P 7 and the Polish
government decided to adopt it. The 1930 was however different from the 20s in
that the possibility of a new war was evident and especially in air arms the
race has begun. The air industry was fighting through thick and thin to survive
through the economic crisis and therefore new marketing policies , combined with
politics , were necessary. The French plane motor producer Gnôme-Rhône offered its new
engine , a radial 14-cylinder one with 760 hp , as the motor to boost the PZL
design , which then would develop as a joint venture to cover the market of Poland
, France and many ‘neutral’ countries. The new version of this PZL design
was the PZL 11c that became the standard Polish fighter ; France , however ,
did not support this initiative to the end due to internal rivalry between other air
companies who wanted to establish their own fighter designs for the
French AF ( Nieuport , Morane, Dewoitine ) and the P11c was not to become
a French fighter.
The
PZL P11c has fought valiantly against the German invasion and would have scored
even better had it been developed as much as his P24 'brother'
The
rest of the market was however waiting ! PZL decided to improve the P11c so as
to make it more competitive for the market of the 1933 and that meant more
armament as well. The initial 2 machine gun design was increased to 4 machine
guns , 2 in the fuselage and 2 in the wings and later all 4 in the wings. An option for 2 machine guns and 2 x 20 mm guns was envisaged. Add to it the
new Mistral Major Gnôme-Rhône engine with a 3 blade Letov propeller and the
version PZL P 24 was born. The ‘neutral’ market around was impressed on the
Paris Air Show in 1933 and orders arrived to PZL from Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey,
Estonia, Yugoslavia and Greece.
The
Greek AF experts were aiming initially for a British fighter , the Gloster
Gladiator or the Hurricane probably and even the American Grumman F4 Wildcat has
been proposed ( Note : it was indeed delivered but late , after the fall of Greece , in Egypt ,
and was then integrated to the RAF , while Greek pilots were given Hurricanes to
fly instead ) . It is
also said that Poland accepted a
part of the payment from Greece in the form of tobacco loads while some extra
modifications for the P24 model concerning range and armament. were agreed. Thus 2 versions of the
P24 , the F
and the G arrived in Greece. In more detail :
30 P24F : 2 x 20 mm Oerlikon FF cannons and 2 x 7.9 mm Colt-Browning
MG40 machine guns, 4 x 12.5 kg or 2 x 50 kg bombs under wings, 700 kW Gnôme-Rhône
14N-07 engine and 6 P24G : with 4 x 7.9 mm, Colt-Browning MG40 machine
guns. Almost
all of them were equipped with four machine guns (cannons were dismantled later due to
difficulties with ammunition supplies)
Specifications
:
power plant:
one 700 kW Gnôme-Rhône 14N-07 engine
crew:
1
wing
span: 10.68 m
length:
7.81 m
height:
2.69 m
weight:
empty 1329 kg, max loaded 1915 kg
max
speed: 430 km/h at 4250 m
service
ceiling: 10500 m
range:
700 km
armament:
four 7.9 mm Colt browning MG40 machine guns and four 12.5 kg bombs
A
typical PZL P24G type with 4 machine guns belonging to the Fighter Squadron
22 , No
D120
, based in
Thessaloniki that fought later over Ioannina
FIGHT AGAINST
ALL ODDS
By
the time the Greek-Italian conflict began the Greek fighter force consisted of
four fighter Squadrons, the 21, 22, 23 & 24.
The
21 F.S. was stationed in Vasilikee ,
between Trikala and Kalambaka, equipped with 10 PZL-24 F & G. Fighting
personnel consisted of 9 officers and 5 non-coms. Commanding Officer was Captain
Johannes (John) Kellas .
22
F.S. stationed at Thessalonica was equipped with 9 PZL-24s. C.O. was Captain
Andreas Antoniou in charge of 6 officers and 6 non-coms.
23
F.S. at Ambelonas , was
charged with covering the major cities of Volos and Larissa in central Greece.
Equipment consisted of 11 planes, C.O. was Captain Gregorios Theodoropoulos,
having under his command 7 officers and 9 non-coms.
Finally,
24 F.S. was stationed in Eleusina, protecting the area of the nearby port and
the capital of Athens. It was equipped with 8 Bloch MB 151 flown by 10 officers and
non-coms. C.O. was Captain Michael Savellas.
The
PZLs aligned ready for action. The first one seems to be the P24F , D125
The MB151 Bloch fighter
(Note : Bloch was
actually Dassault who during the war changed his Jewish name) although faster
than the PZL P24 was a design full of problems and hard maintenance. It
therefore did not contribute enough to the overall defense. The bulk of the air
fighting was to fall on these 24 PZLs who were facing on the other side some 180
Italian fighters !! Most of them were based in Albania and Italian Adriatic
coast , the types were mainly the Fiat CR42 biplane fighter and the new monoplanes Fiat GR50bis and
Macchi 200. But the
Greek PZLs in 1940 were no longer a revolutionary
design. The CR42s were faster and more rigid as fighters ,
the GR50bis monoplanes although not faster enough were the designs of a new
generation while the Macchi 200 was the top on this front at that
time. On the other hand the Italian bombers , the Cant
1007Z and especially the very famous SM-79 were
reliable and difficult to shoot down with machine-gun fire alone.
Fiat CR-42 ('Falcon') |
Fiat G50bis |
Macchi 200 |
SM-79 ('The Bat')
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However , it
seemed that pilots could make the difference , although the numbers would always
stay beyond comparison for the Greeks. Additionally , many Italian pilots had
recent experience in Spain’s civil war
(1936-39). But it was mostly the surprise of the Italians that were promised a
no-resistance and an easy victory by their leaders that reduced the Italian pilots
'euphoria' effect , becoming an advantage for the PZL pilots.
THE
GREEK PZLs IN OPERATIONS
The
first aerial engagement was on
the very day the war was declared by the Italians , the 28th October
1940.
, with a squadron of SM-79 escorted by CR-42 attacking Thessalonica.
The few PZLs that got up were found outnumbered as part of the squadron was moved
to the western Albanian front. Yet, they did dash against the agressors and were
able to disperes them effectively so that no harm was done to the city or the
harbor. One PZL came down in flames but the CR-42 were rather ineffective
despite their superiority. Then on the 2nd
of November 1940, over the VII (Greek) division’s front in
Epirus,
3 PZL-24s
of 21 Fighter Sq,mixed F & G types, attacked a hostile
formation of fighter-bombers , possibly Cant Z-1007
bis (Alcyon). During the action F/Lt Sakellariou & Sgt Papadopoulos were shot down and killed in
action. The third PZL managed to escape.
The
same day also saw the first Greek aerial success when a formation of Cant Z-1007
bis bombers tried to bomb again Thessalonica. Six PZLs of 22 Sq. ,
supported by A/A fire, engaged the enemy. F/Lt
Marinos Mitralexes, after unsuccessfully expending all his ammunition
against an Italian bomber, he rammed it sawing off its rudder with his
propeller’s blades. The bomber crashed to the ground out of control, while
Mitralexes successfully crash-landed his own aircraft. During the same action Sgt
Epameinondas Dagoulas claimed one more bomber. Mitralexes was decorated with
the Golden Order for Valour and later on
with the Flying Cross, War Cross, Golden Cross of St. George’s Order with
Swords and the Phoenix Order with Swords .
 |
Marinos Metralexes and below
the Cant Z1007bis bomber he shot down on November 2 , 1940 near
Naussa. Metralexes will fight all the war
period in N.Africa and back to Greece during the liberation arriving to
the grade of Squadron Leader. He will be killed during an accident against
adverse weather west of Rhodos flying an Avro Anson plane.
The italian bomber belonged to the 210
squadron of the 50th wing and carried the number 3, piloted by the F/O
Omero Matteuzzi.
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A
model of the Cant Z1007bis
(the assembler has removed the typical fascist insignia of WW2 and did not
support the expedition camouflage of earth color with many dark earth and
green spots all over)
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During
the evening hours of the same day another formation of 15 enemy bombers,
escorted by 7 fighters, raided the city of Thessalonica once again. Aircraft of 22
Sq. took off under the leadership of the unit’s commander,
Cpt Andreas Antoniou, who shot down one enemy fighter for the loss of one
PZL-24, whose pilot, Sgt
Konstantinos Lambropoulos, bailed
out safely.
Next
day, 3 November, 5 fighters of the
same unit tried to chase off a formation of 9 Italian bombers and fighters
heading for a third time against Thessalonika. F/Lt Konstantinos
Giannikostas claimed one enemy fighter.
14
November 1940.
Nine PZLs of 23 Sq. shot down two CR-42s and damaged a third, which was later
destroyed during crash-landing. Unfortunately the Greek pilots who claimed these
victories are not known.
18
November. On the 18th PZL-24s of 22 & 23
Sqs engaged in combat with Italian fighters over Morova. Valkanas, of 23 Sq,
desperate to claim his first victory, rammed on purpose an enemy fighter.
Italians on the other end, claimed half of
Royal Hellenic Air Force’s aircraft as destroyed, on paper at least !
During the same fight Sgt Demetrakopoulos
was shot down but took to his parachute.
20
November. A
section of 4 PZLs of 21 Sq were engaged with 3 CR 42s and a Capproni bomber over
the Small Prespa Lake. The bomber was shot down by the Squadron’s C.O. Cpt Ioannis
(John) Kellas. Only hours later 21 Sq. had all its PZL-24s replaced by
British biplanes Gloster Gladiator. Although maneuverable they were prone to frequent mechanical problems due to
overuse during their previous service in Britain’s fights against Italian and
German aircraft. Yet
one of the British pilots Lt 'Pat' Pattle was able to shoot down at least
21 Italian planes with a Gladiator becoming the first RAF scorer at the time
Pattle's
Gladiator II , YK-W , N5832. He scored at least 11 victories in this very plane fighting
from the same bases the few PZLs were hosted, usually the Paramythia
grass field well hidden between mountains near Ioannina. The
fuselage letters were initially (1939) painted in the order Individual
Identity (W) + Squadron Identity (YK) but from pictures on the Paramythia airfield
(1940) the order seems definitely reversed , as was the case with all later
versions. The tail national insignia were
painted over the entire vertical stabilizer and this was repeated with the
Hurricanes flown in Greece.
The
last engagement for the year came on 3
December 1940 over the region of Moschopolis, when 6 PZLs of 23 Sq. fought
against 18 CR-42s, during which P/Officer
Konstantinos Tsetsas fell victim of the enemy’s numerical superiority.
During
1941 Royal Hellenic Air Force was
significantly supported by the arrival of RAF units in Greece. Greek serviceable
aircraft at that time were down to 19 PZL-24s, 2 Bloch MB 151 and 7 Gladiators.
From January 1941 onward RHAF
(Royal
Hellenic Air Force) changed its tactics according to those of its
British
ally, the RAF, trying to gain control over an area by flying numerous
standing patrols over the battlefield.
At
09.30 of 8 January 1941, over
Ostrovo, 9 PZLs of 22 Sq. and 6 Gladiators from 21 Sq. attacked a formation of
Cant Z1007bis, Cptn Gregorios Fanourgakes
of 22 Sq. claiming one as probably shot down. The same
Greek
formation was later
engaged in combat against 9 CR-42s and one Romeo 378bis over Celoure, where Captains
Antoniou and Nikolaos Scroubelos claimed one each as confirmed destroyed.
Bad
weather during the rest of January
prevented further action until the 25th
of that month, when the enemy appeared again over Thessalonika. Concentrated
actions from 21 & 22 Sqs resulted in one more Cant Z1007 confirmed destroyed
by Antoniou.
During
the evening hours of that eventful date 7 PZLs and 7 Gladiators from the very
same two squadrons attacked against 8 BR-20 bombers over Cleisoura, where Antoniou
scored his first “double” of the war –a rare feat in those days. One more
was claimed by Staff Sgt Panagiotes
Argyropoulos of 22 Sq. A third one was destroyed by the guns of Cptn Kellas of 21 Sq. Two more BR-20 were also destroyed fell to the
guns of one more PZL and one Gladiator, although the names of the two victorious
pilots remain unknown to this day, raising the score of the day to 6 confirmed
destroyed without loss to the
Greek
side.
January
1941
came to an end with one more Greek
success on the 28th,
when PZLs from 22 Sq. attacked an enemy bomber formation heading to
Thessalonika. Cptn Savellos, former
commander of 24 Sq, later transferred to the 22nd, shot down one Cant Z1007.
Greek success on the 28th,
when PZLs from 22 Sq. attacked an enemy bomber formation heading to
Thessalonika. Cptn Savellos, former
commander of 24 Sq, later transferred to the 22nd, shot down one Cant
Z1007.
A
curious incident took place on 8th of February, showing to the extreme the varying
capabilities and fighting skills of Greek fighter pilots: during a
reconnaissance over Cleisoura, 7 Gladiators of 21 Sq. and 8 PZLs of 22 & 23rd,
all attacked against a lone two-engine Italian bomber, which, thanks to the
skills of its pilot and the inexperience of the Greek pilots, managed to escape
safe and sound!
On
the February 9th it was
the turn of 24 Fighter Sq. to show up, when the unit’s Bloch MB 151 attacked
Italian bombers over Thessalonika . One Cant fell to the guns of Staff
Sgt Eleftherios Smyrniotopoulos. Meanwhile a large dogfight took place over
Cleisoura between 8 PZLs of 22 & 23 Sq. plus 4 Gladiators of 21 Sq. against
30 Italian bombers escorted by 12 fighters. F/Lt Mitralexes claimed one CR 42
trailing black smoke as probable. Cptn Kellas shot down two fighters and one
more was claimed by Stf. Sgt
Demetrakopoulos of 21 Sq. Two
other pilots belonging to the same unit claimed one probable fighter each. Dagoulas of 22 Sq. on the other hand, described by the archives as …“…a
wise and dangerous to the opponent fighter pilot, always on the forefront of the
fighting”, added one confirmed destroyed to his tally. There were losses
to the Greek side also: two badly damaged fighters were crashed while trying
force-landings on their bases.
On
10 February, a mixed patrol of 21, 22 & 23 Squadrons, consisting of 11
fighters in all, attacked three Italian bombers over the area
Boubesi-Cleisoura-Premeti, resulting in the probable downing of one bomber by Cptn
Fanourgakes.
11
February. Two
Gladiators of 21 Sq. on a patrol searching for enemy aircraft reported in their
sector, were surprised and shot down by Italian fighters. The pilots, Cptn
Anastasios
Bardivilias
and Stf Sgt Kostorizos,
were killed after
having damaged two Italian fighters.
The
above Gloster Gladiator I profile corresponds probably to the one flown by Cpt
Anastasios Bardivilias when killed. There is no certainty however
over the exact number (187) of this plane. The camouflage indicates the battle
conditions of those days: the planes came from Egypt and were painted with sand
and earth color on top . The Greek technicians extremely busy to maintain the
PZLs left the earth color and added some green at the sand color place. The
rudder national colors was rather a surprise : it was usually avoided for
confusion since Italians had a white cross painted there over a blue/azur
background . Another remark :
the national roundels are missing from the fuselage - they were probably missing
from all or most of the Greek Gladiators.
This
profile was created most probably by Michael Solanakis
15
February. Cptn Fanourgakes
claimed one bomber, out of a formation of three,
as probable over the Tepeleni area.
On
20 February a fierce scrap took place over the Sendeli area, when a massed force
of 19 Greek fighters from all available squadrons –in other words the whole of
Royal Hellenic Air Force- escorted friendly bombers. 10 Romeos 37 and 15 G-50s
attacked out of the blue and in the ensuing melee the 7 PZLs of 22nd
Sq lost contact with the rest of the formation due to a radio malfunction, and
were forced to bear the brunt of the fighting on their own. 4 Italian fighters
were shot down by Antoniou, Fanourgakes,
F/Lt Michaletsiano
s
and Dagoulas.
The PZL of the unit’s commanding officer, Antoniou,
was badly shot up but the pilot crash landed safely at Premeti.
On
February 23rd a mighty
formation of Greek
fighters consisting of 3 Gladiators of 21 Sq, 5 PZL of 22 Sq
and 9 PZL of 23 Sq, engaged 7 Italian fighters but this time, instead of their
numerical superiority the battle ended as a Greek defeat, with the death of F/Lt
Scroubelos and Staff Sgt
Chrissopoulos, whose Gladiator was destroyed
while crash landing.
On
April the 2nd ,
1941, over Florina, took place the
last major aerial battle between Greek and Italian aircraft, when 8 Gladiators
of 21 pursued 10 Cant Z-1007 bombers. Reportedly two bombers were shot down with
no further details. Four days later the German invasion of Greece drew the final
curtain to the fighting days of the Royal Hellenic Air Force. Until that moment
the Greek fighters fought to the bitter end with whatever they had, along with
the experienced RAF which during the two-month period of November-December
1940-41, shot down a total of 42 Italian aircraft for the loss of 16 British aircraft.
Without the British support the Greek fight would never have had stood a chance.
Greek
Squadrons had flown a total of 1531 hours –mainly: 21 Sq 513h, 23 Sq 455h, 22
Sq 455h, 24 Sq only 158h due to problems with its Bloch MB 151. All those
resulted in the confirmed destruction of 64 victories with another 24
probable.
Greek losses were 19 aircraft.
Although
the number of Greek losses is more than verified, serious doubt was raised
during post-war research as to the verification of the victories, since
according to the pilots combat reports, the sum of total enemy aircraft shot
down was down to a mere 22 confirmed plus 12 probable! Even the sum of confirmed
plus probable victories would only give us 34 victories. So the only way the
total of 64 can be brought up is by adding the 31 victories reported by the
Greek A/A defenses. It still remains unknown if that “mistake” was done in
purpose or it was just the result of confusion between confirmed, probable and
shared victories -a problem quite complicated even in much more experienced Air
Forces of the Allied world, such as the RAF and the USAAF, even as late as
1944-45.
On
the other hand the Italians have reported not only larger numbers of victories
but very often of wrong types ; some 20 Spitfires were mentioned as shot down
while no such types were flown in these air battles.
Even
against the mighty Luftwaffe of 300 Me-109s & 110s the Greek pilots, while almost considered defeated, at least in the air, managed to
score some last victories to the German aerial armada. On 6 April, the very day of the invasion, a German reconnaissance
aircraft
Hs 126, was shot down, shared between Cptn Antoniou
and F/Lt Antonio Katsimbouris. A second aircraft of the same type was shot
down, this time shared among three pilots, Cptn
Doukas, F/Lt Kontogeorgios and Katsimbouris.
During the same day a Dornier 17 bomber was shot down by F/Lt Oikonomopoulos.
On April the 15th one more Hs 126 was destroyed by Staff Sgt Pericles
Koutroubas of 23 Sq, killed in action later in the day. The remnants of RHAF
from all four fighter squadrons were all scrambled in a dogfight over
Bascilikee, trying to fight off a large formation of German bombers escorted by
fighters. One Gladiator, one PZL and one Bloch were shot down and Staff
Sgt Georgios Mokkas was killed. Whatever was left of the Greek fighter force
was destroyed on the ground by the subsequent German raids against the
airfields.
Sgt
Spiros Depountis in front of his P24G
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Some
rare pictures of damaged PZL P24s taken by the Germans upon entering the
Argos airfield , the last base the remaining Greek planes were to retreat
before flying to Crete. The D102
and D112
are depicted here. The D102
probably was flown by Lt Demetracopoulos. The D112
is one of the few with white code letters on the fuselage ordered to
change very late from their initial black color, for reasons of easier
identification in the distance. |
The
above pictures , provided
the few details we know about the Greek PZL P24 markings and insignia. As shown
on the above profile : There was
no national markings on the rudder. For this plane there is a red scorpion painted as a
squadron badge below the cockpit. It is not clear whether the Greek roundels
appearing on the fuselage were also painted above and/or below the wings. It
seems the upper wings did not carry, at a later stage, any roundels to avoid
detection on the ground. The
camouflage patterns were random.
No restored PZL 24F,G planes are known to exist in
the world ! Those captured were used by Germans and Italians as iaison or
exercise planes for a while until scrapped. A major reason for it , wass that
the production country Poland , was not in position , very early in WW2 ,
to ensure their maintenance due to its occupation. Luckily , there is just one
PZL 11c that did survive in one museum in Warsaw to symbolize the genious of the
Polish air design back to the 20s.
LIST
OF GREEK FIGHTER ACES 1940-41
UNIT
|
PILOT
|
RANK
|
CONFIRMED
|
UNCONFIRMED
|
22
FS
|
A.
ANTONIOU
|
CPTN
|
5 ½
|
-
|
|
21
FS
|
I.
KELLAS
|
CPTN
|
3 1/3
|
-
|
|
22
FS
|
E.
DAGOULAS
|
S.SGT
|
2
|
2
|
|
335/336
|
D.
SOUFRILLAS
|
LT
|
1 ½
|
-
|
|
22
FS
|
G.
FANOURGHAKES
|
CPTN
|
1
|
3
|
|
22
FS
|
M.
MITRALEXES
|
F/LT
|
1
|
1
|
The following names belong to these 'few' pilots , as collected from private sites
| ANTONIOU
ANDREAS |
| ARGYROPOULOS
PANAGIOTIS |
| MITRALEXIS
MARINOS |
| DAGOULAS
EPAMEINWNDAS |
| DOUKAS
GEORGIOS |
| KELLAS
IOANNIS |
| BOUSSIOS
PANAGIOTIS |
| KYRIAZIS
IOANNIS |
| LAMBROPOULOS
M. |
| LASKARIS
G. |
| OIKONOMOPOULOS
PANAGIOTIS |
| SKROUBELOS
NIKOLAOS |
| SMYRNIOTOPOULOS
ELEFTHERIOS |
| SAVELLOS
MICHAEL |
| VALKANAS
GREGORIOS |
| BARDIVILLIAS
ANASTASIOS |
| DIMITRAKOPOULOS
ELIAS |
| FANOURGAKIS
GREGORIOS |
| YIANNIKOSTAS
KONSTANTINOS |
| KATSARELIS
? |
| NIKITIDIS
N. |
| KATSAROS
IOANNIS |
| KONTOGIORGOS
VASILIOS |
| KOSTORIZOS
NIKOLAOS |
| KOUTROUMPAS
PERICLES |
| KATSIBOURIS
ANTONIOS |
| MICHOPOULOS
? |
| MICHALITSIANOS
ANDREAS |
| MOKKAS
GEORGIOS |
| PAPADOPOULOS
CHRISTOS |
| THEODOROPOULOS
GREGORIOS |
| DEPOUNTIS
SPIROS |
| SAKELLARIOU
IOANNIS |
| TSETSAS
KWNSTANTINOS |
| SOUFRILAS
D. |
| BALTATZIS
S. |
REFERENCES
:
AIR WAR FOR YUGOSLAVIA GREECE AND CRETE , 1940-41 : Christofer Shores ,
Brial Cull and Nicola Malizia. Grub Str , London 1999
Details
on the Greek PZLs http://www.brushfirewars.org/aircraft/pzl_p24_greek/pzl_p24_greek.htm
Air War in Greece 1940-41
http://home.freeuk.net/johndillon/air_war.htm
http://members.aol.com/althist1/Sept02/greek.htm
The
PZL P24 fighter
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/7252/p24.htm
The
Greek (Hellenic) Air Force
http://www.geocities.com/acrawford0/greekair.html
Assorted
information on the greek and greek origin pilots of WW2 of all camps :
http://math.fce.vutbr.cz/safarik/ACES/aces1/greece2.html
http://math.fce.vutbr.cz/safarik/ACES/aces1/victories-greece-ww2.html
The
greek Aces list :
http://jpgleize.club.fr/aces/ww2gre.htm
