Before the start of World War II, the Bulgarian Air Force received a truly "royal" gift. In March 1939, Germany occupied Czechoslovakia. The question arose of what to do with the planes of the Czechoslovak Air Force. The Germans offered them to the Bulgarians, who were looking for a cheap source of increasing their own air force, since the experience was already there - so, after the Anschluss of Austria, Austrian fighters of the Italian construction Fiat CR.32 were sold to Hungary. Moreover, Bulgarians bought airplanes for 60% of their initial cost, paying not in money, but with supplies of tobacco and agricultural products. Both sides were extremely pleased with the deal: the Germans were happy with the fact that they managed to sell planes they absolutely did not need for free, and the Bulgarians - with a sharp increase in their air force.
In total, Bulgaria received:
- 72 (according to other sources - 78) fighters Avia B-534, mainly modifications srs. III and srs. IV. The fighter was equipped with a Hispano-Suiza HS 12Ybrs engine with a capacity of 850 hp, which allowed a maximum speed of 394 km / h. Armament consisted of 4 synchronous 7, 7-mm machine guns Model 30 in the front of the fuselage and 6 20-kg bombs on underwing racks;
Fighter Avia B-534 Bulgarian Air Force
- 60 reconnaissance light bombers Letov S.328. The aircraft developed a maximum speed of 280 km / h and was armed with two 7, 92 mm vz.30 machine guns (400 rounds each); two of the same machine guns (420 rounds each) to protect the rear hemisphere and could carry up to 500 kg of bombs;
Multipurpose aircraft Letov S.328 Bulgarian Air Force
- 32 Avia B-71 medium bomber, which was a copy of the Soviet SB, produced in Czechoslovakia under license, with Czech Avia Hispano-Suiza 12 Ydrs engines and Czech weapons. They were intended for two squadrons of the 5th Bomber Aviation Regiment, stationed in Plovdiv. In the Bulgarian Air Force the aircraft received the official designation "Avia" B-71 "Zherav" ("crane") or "Katyushka". Bulgarian pilots noted the hellish cold in winter, especially in the navigator's cockpit, in the machine-gun mount blown through the vertical slots, strong vibration to the motors, poor visibility of all crew members, the lack of normal communication between the crew members (the available pneumatic mail was an anachronism of the times of Tsar Gorokh), low bomb load (only half a ton of bombs), frequent failures of the hydraulic system of the landing gear. There were no complaints only about Czech-made Hispano-Suiza engines and Czech devices (radio station, bombsight, etc.);
Bomber Avia B.71 1st air force of the 5th abp of the Bulgarian air force
- 12 medium bombers Aero MB.200 (French bombers Bloch MB.200, issued under license in Czechoslovakia). During the war they were used to patrol the Black Sea coast;
Bomber Aero MB.200 Bulgarian Air Force
- 28 Avia training aircraft and 1 Aero A-304 bomber.
In September 1939, a new identification mark was adopted - a black St. Andrew's cross against the background of a white square with a black edging. In essence, this was a return to the identification mark used by the Bulgarian aviation at the end of the First World War, only the cross was black, not green. This identification mark existed until 1944.
Thus, by the end of 1939, the Bulgarian Air Force had the following units:
- 1st Army Air Group of Major Vasil Valkov, based at Bozhurishte airfield. It consisted of 36 Polish light bomber PZL P-43 (three squadrons of 12 aircraft each) and 11 training aircraft of various types that were part of the training squadron;
- 2nd Fighter Air Group of Major K. Georgiev, based at the Karlovo airfield. It consisted of 60 former Czechoslovak Avia B-534 fighters (four squadrons of 15 aircraft each) and 11 training aircraft of various types included in the training squadron;
- the 3rd reconnaissance air group of Major E. Karadimchev, based at the Yambol airfield. It consisted of 48 former Czechoslovak Letov S.328 multipurpose aircraft (four squadrons of 12 aircraft each) and 12 training aircraft;
- 4th Army Air Group of Major I. Ivanov, based at the Gorna-Oryahovitsa airfield, 194 km north-east of Sofia;
- 5th Bomber Air Group of Major S. Stoikov, based at the airfield in Plovdiv. It consisted of 3 squadrons of 12 Avia B-71 bombers. The training squadron consisted of 15 Dornier Do 11 and Aero MB.200;
- the officer's aviation school, headed by Major M. Dimitrov, located at the Vrazhdebna airfield near Sofia, which had 62 training aircraft of various types, mainly German Fw.44 Steiglitz;
Luftwaffe Fw. 44 Steiglitz trainer aircraft
- the aviation school under the command of Major G. Drenikov at the Kazanlak airfield, which had 52 training aircraft;
- Fighter aviation school in Karlovo;
- an aviation school for blind flights in Plovdiv.
In the middle of 1940, regiments were formed in the Bulgarian aviation, and its organizational structure took the following form:
- two planes made up a pair (two);
- four aircraft or two pairs made up a link (krilo);
- the squadron (yato) consisted of 3 flights (12 aircraft);
- the air group (bracken) consisted of 3 squadrons and consisted of 40 aircraft;
- the air regiment (regiment) consisted of 3 air groups, and its number was 120 aircraft.
In fact, it was a copy of the structure of the Luftwaffe, and the Bulgarian air regiment was analogous to the German air group (German Geschwader).
In order to increase the trained command staff, in the summer of 1940, 20 Bulgarian pilots were sent to study at the Italian Air Force Academy in Caserta, 25 km north of Naples.
However, despite the significant quantitative growth, the Bulgarian aviation was still inferior to its rivals in the region. First of all, this concerned fighters: the Bulgarian biplanes could not withstand the Yugoslav Messerschmitt Bf.109 and Hawker HURRICANE; Greek Bloch MB.152; Romanian Heinkel He.112 and Turkish Morane-Saulnier M. S. 406. All attempts to buy them abroad ended in nothing. An attempt to buy 20 Bloch MB.152 fighters in France ended in failure, as the Germans forbade the Vichy government to sell them to Bulgarians.
French fighter Bloch MB.152
However, the Germans allowed the Bulgarians to buy 12 unnecessary Czechoslovak Avia Av-135 fighters and 62 engines for them. The fighter was the crown of the Czechoslovak pre-war aviation thought, developed a maximum speed of up to 534 km / h and was armed with a 20 mm MG FF cannon and two 7, 92 mm wz machine guns. 30. The Bulgarians liked the fighter so much that they even tried to organize its own production at the plant in Lovech, planning to produce 50 units. However, the weak Bulgarian industry was unable to arrange the assembly of such a modern aircraft. In addition, after the delivery of the first 35 engines, all the capacities of the Avia company were needed for orders from the Luftwaffe, and the German Aviation Ministry canceled the contract.
Fighter Av-135 Bulgarian Air Force
However, in the same 1940, the Germans decided to strengthen the Bulgarian Air Force and delivered the first 10 modern Messerschmitt Bf.109E-3 fighters.
The Germans also sold 12 Dornier Do 17 bombers of the M and P modifications to the Bulgarians, which had just departed for a military campaign in France. The Dornier company bought them from the existing aircraft units, repaired, refurbished at their factories and resold them to Bulgaria. The Do 17M aircraft were written off from the Luftwaffe as obsolete, but, in the opinion of the Germans, they could well pass for modern for the Bulgarian aviation. On December 6, 1940, Do 17M became part of the Bulgarian Air Force. They entered service with the 4th squadron of the 5th bomber regiment, which was located in Plovdiv. The planes arrived in Bulgaria without a bomb release mechanism, which was installed on site and was designed for Czechoslovak bombs.
Bomber Do 17P from the 5th bomber bracken of the Bulgarian Air Force
Also, 38 trainer aircraft were transferred: 14 Bucker BU.131 JUNGMANN and 24 Arado Ar.96.
Bu.131 Luftwaffe
Arado Ar.96 Luftwaffe
Thus, the number of Bulgarian aircraft reached 580 units, but this number was impressive only on paper, since the vast majority of them were either outdated models or training aircraft.
In August 1940, Bulgaria presented territorial claims to Romania, demanding the return of the southern part of the Dobrudja Highlands, lost as a result of the defeat in the Second Balkan War in 1913. At the proposal of Germany and Italy, the issue of Romania's territorial claims from Bulgaria and Hungary was submitted to a special International Court of Arbitration in Vienna. As a result, by the decision of this court, Bulgaria received back the required territories on September 7, 1940. On October 17, 1940, Germany officially invited Bulgaria to join the Berlin Pact. In 1940, the Germans began to re-equip the ports of Varna and Burgas to accommodate warships. In the winter of 1940-41. a special group of Luftwaffe advisers was sent to Bulgaria, whose main task was to organize the preparation of Bulgarian airfields to receive German aircraft. At the same time, the construction of a network of new airfields began in Bulgaria, the total number of which was to reach fifty. On March 1, 1941, documents were signed in Vienna on Bulgaria's accession to the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo pact.
On March 2, 1941, the German 12th Army entered the territory of Bulgaria from the territory of Romania, and units of the 8th Luftwaffe Air Corps were deployed in the country.
On the morning of April 6, 1941, the German invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia began. Bulgaria was an ally of the Third Reich and provided its territory for the deployment of German troops and aircraft, but the Bulgarian armed forces did not take part in the hostilities. At the same time, Yugoslav and British aircraft made several raids on Bulgarian border towns, causing panic among the local population. However, Bulgaria did not take any retaliatory steps, and its army remained in place.
On April 19-20, 1941, in accordance with an agreement between Germany, Italy and the government of Bulgaria, parts of the Bulgarian army, without declaring war, crossed the borders with Yugoslavia and Greece and occupied territories in Macedonia and Northern Greece.
Bulgarian troops enter Vardar, Macedonia (April 1941)
As a result, in September 1940 - April 1941, 42 466 km² of territory with a population of 1.9 million people were included in Bulgaria. In total, in September 1940 - April 1941, Bulgaria, without participating in hostilities, increased its territory by 50%, and its population by a third. The "Great Bulgaria from the Black to the Aegean Sea" arose.
In turn, the Bulgarian Air Force received 11 captured Yugoslav Do-17Kb-l bombers, which were manufactured under a German license at an aircraft plant in Kraljevo, 122 km south of Belgrade.
Bomber Do 17K Yugoslav Air Force
Despite the fact that Bulgaria took an extremely cautious position, in 1941 it did not manage to evade participation in hostilities. The day before the attack on the USSR, the military attaché at the German embassy in Sofia appealed to the headquarters of the Bulgarian aviation with a request to send Bulgarian aircraft to defend the German sea communications in the Aegean Sea.
As a result, by order of the chief of staff of the Bulgarian aviation, a special mixed group was created based on the aircraft and crews of the 5th bomber regiment, consisting of a headquarters and two squadrons equipped with 9 Do-17 and 6 Avia B-71.
On June 23, Bulgarian bombers were transferred to the former Greek airfield of Kavala on the Aegean coast, where the 443rd Bulgarian reconnaissance squadron was already from May 5. Together with the crews of German reconnaissance seaplanes, Bulgarian pilots searched for British submarines along the route of German convoys north of Crete. It should be noted that then Bulgaria was not yet in a state of war with England (she declared war on England and the United States only on December 13, 1941). In total, from June 23, 1941 to January 3, 1942, the Bulgarian bombers made 304 patrol flights over the Aegean Sea, but only two of them had visual contact with enemy submarines.
On July 31, 1941, the German command also attracted the Bulgarian aviation to provide anti-submarine defense of its sea convoys, which were marching through the Bulgarian territorial waters in the Black Sea from the Romanian ports to the Bosphorus Strait and back. Especially for this task, on August 4, 1941, a "combined squadron" ("combined troop yato") was formed, which was originally equipped with 9 Letov S-328 aircraft. In total, from August 6 to the end of 1941, the Bulgarian S-328 made 68 sorties, incl. 41 for anti-submarine escort of convoys, ensuring the escort of 73 transport ships.
5 cases of combat contact of Bulgarian aircraft with Soviet submarines in the summer and autumn of 1941 were documented.
In the winter of 1941-42. Germany transferred 9 more Messerschmitt Bf-109E-7 fighters to the Bulgarian aviation, but then the supply of German aircraft completely stopped, the Germans did not have enough aircraft for themselves and they were not going to transfer them to Bulgarians who were not participating in hostilities.
However, this situation did not last long. On July 12, 1942, 13 American B-24D bombers attacking oil fields in the Romanian Ploiesti flew over the territory of Bulgaria. To intercept them, Avia B-534 fighters from the 612th and 622nd fighter squadrons were raised on alert. However, the Bulgarian pilots could not do anything, since their outdated biplanes did not even have the opportunity to catch up with the heavy four-engined Liberators: the Avia B-534 fighter had a maximum speed of 415 km / h, while the B-24D bomber could reach 488 km / h. h
Considering this fact, in December 1942 the Germans nevertheless decided to send 16 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-2 fighters to Bulgaria, which arrived in March 1943. Then, in the summer, another 13 of the same fighters arrived in Bulgaria.
Fighter Messerschmitt Bf-109G-2 Bulgarian Air Force
Also in the winter of 1942-43, 12 Ag-196 seaplanes arrived in Bulgaria, which were sent to the 161st coastal squadron located on the Black Sea coast.
Seaplane reconnaissance aircraft Arado Ag-196 of the Bulgarian Air Force (with identification marks 1944-1946)
However, the Germans promised to compensate for the supply of French aircraft, 1876 units of which were captured by them during the occupation of the southern part of France, previously controlled by the Vichy government. The Bulgarians planned to transfer 246 Dewoitine D.520 fighters and 37 Bloch 210 bombers. But Bulgaria's hopes for a significant modernization of its aviation were once again not destined to come true - most of these aircraft settled in the Luftwaffe aviation schools, and some were transferred to the Italians. As a result, only 96 D.520 fighters remained in Bulgaria, and of them, by August 1943, not one had yet been transferred to the Bulgarian aviation. The Dewoitine D.520 was rightfully considered the best French pre-war fighter, not inferior not only to German Messerschmitts, but also to British and American fighters. Equipped with Hispano-Suiza 12Y 45 engine, 935 hp., it developed a top speed of 534 km / h and was armed with one 20 mm HS 404 cannon installed in the fuselage and firing through the propeller hub and four wing 7, 5 mm MAC 34 M39 machine guns.
Fighter Dewoitine D.520 Bulgarian Air Force
On August 1, 1943, about 170 American B-24D bombers rose from airfields in North Africa in the Benghazi region for the next bombardment of the oil fields in Ploiesti. Avia B-534 and 10 Bf-109G-2 fighters rose to intercept them. However, realizing that the bombers were flying to Romania, the Bulgarians did not pursue them, but decided to intercept the returning planes.
For the pilots of the hopelessly outdated Avia B-534 biplanes, armed with 4 7.92 mm machine guns, the meeting with the Liberators, each of whom had 10 12.7 mm machine guns on board, was extremely risky, if not simply suicidal. American bombers, devoid of bombs and most of the fuel, got away from the Bulgarian biplanes without any problems. And only a few pilots of the 1st air group, diving from a great height, were able to approach and fire at the Liberators. One of the 98BG gunners then recalled:
“I rubbed my eyes in surprise - what was this war? World War I? It looked like there was a time shift. All of a sudden, these little biplanes appeared that looked in general like the old Curtiss Hawk. I was amazed to notice that they fired at us before disappearing again."
However, the Bulgarian pilots on the Bf-109G-2 managed to shoot down 3 American Liberators.
On August 28, 1943, Boris III, whose figure had rallied all Bulgarians around him for many years, suddenly died. The new king of Bulgaria was his minor son Simeon II, on whose behalf three elected regents began to rule the country. From that moment, a process of gradual erosion of the entire political system began in the country.
However, this did not in any way affect the strengthening of the Bulgarian aviation. First, Reichsmarschall Goering announced that he would give Bulgaria 48 Bf-109Gs as a gift, and then in September, the first 48 D.520 fighters were solemnly handed over at the Karlovo airfield. In addition, in the fall of 1943, the Bulgarians received 12 Junkers Ju-87R-2 / R-4 dive bombers, which they then named "Pike".
Dive bomber Junkers Ju-87R
Meanwhile, the war was getting closer and closer to the borders of Bulgaria. On October 21, about 40 American aircraft appeared over the capital of Macedonia, Skopje, and Bulgarian fighters managed to shoot down the American P-38 "LIGHTNING" fighter.
On November 14, US 12th Air Force aircraft - 91 B-25 MITCHELL bombers under cover of 40 P-38s - made their first raid on Sofia. The air raid was announced with a delay, and the Bulgarian fighters were able to attack them only on the withdrawal. They managed to shoot down the P-38 and damage 2 bombers, while they lost the fighter and its pilot, and 2 more aircraft, having received damage, made forced landings.
The next raid on Sofia took place a week later, on November 24, when out of 60 B-24D bombers from the 15th US Air Force, only 17 were able to reach their targets. This time, the Bulgarian fighters were ready for the raid, raising 24 D.520 and 16 Bf- 109G-2, which managed to shoot down 2 B-24Ds, damaging 2 more and 2 P-38s covering them, at the cost of losing one fighter, and 3 more made forced landings.
On December 10, 31 B-24Ds took part in the third raid on Sofia, which were again covered by P-38s. 22 D.520 and 17 Bf-109G-2 took off towards them. During the air battle, the Bulgarians said they were able to damage 3 B-24Ds and 4 P-38s. In turn, the Americans claimed that they had shot down 11 Dewuatinos, losing only one Lightning, but in reality the Bulgarians had lost only one D.520 at that time.
The last raid on Sofia in 1943 took place on 20 December. It was already attended by 50 B-24s from the 15th US Air Force, which were accompanied by 60 P-38s. 36 Bulgarian D.520 and 20 Bf-109G-2 took to the air. On that day, in aerial battles, they shot down 7 Lightnings and damaged another P-38.
The Americans also lost 4 B-24Ds downed, two of which were on the account of Lieutenant Dimitar Spisarevsky. First, he shot down one with airborne weapons, and then rammed the second Liberator with his Bf-109G-2. Spisarevsky died at the same time.
Lieutenant Dimitar Spisarevsky
A painting by a contemporary Bulgarian artist depicting his feat
Interestingly, the Japanese Embassy asked the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense to report on all the circumstances of the ram carried out by Spisarevsky. Then his actions were covered in detail in the Japanese press, the feat of the Bulgarian pilot was cited as an example to follow for Japanese pilots preparing to become a kamikaze.
In addition, another 5 Liberators were damaged. The Americans claimed that 28 Bulgarian fighters were shot down on December 20. However, in reality, the Bulgarians, besides the Bf-109G-2 of Lieutenant Spisarevsky, lost only one plane, which was shot down by the P-38; his pilot was killed. Two more Bulgarian fighters, having received damage, made forced landings.
Here is what the Americans themselves said about that battle, for example, Lieutenant Edward Tinker, pilot of the "Lightning" cover (his plane was also shot down, and he was captured in that very battle):
"The Bulgarian pilots are fighting with such ferocity, as if they were defending the most precious shrine in the world. For me, they completely exhaust the concept of unsurpassed fury in aviation."
The raids by American bombers had a profound effect on the morale of the Bulgarian civilian population. Therefore, the Bulgarian government asks Germany for the possibility of sending 100 German fighters to Sofia with the appropriate ground personnel and for the immediate delivery of 50 fighters.
This time Germany took Bulgaria's request seriously. The Luftwaffe sent one fighter group to protect Sofia, began retraining 50 Bulgarian pilots and provided additional material assistance to the Bulgarian aviation. During January - February 1944 she received 40 Bf-109G-6, 25 Bf-109G-2, 32 Ju-87D-3 / D-5, 10 FW-58, 9 Bu-131 and 5 Ag-96V … However, most of the new aircraft arrived in Bulgaria after the so-called. "Black Monday".
On Monday, January 10, 1944, two raids were carried out on Sofia. At about noon, 180 B-17s appeared over the city under powerful fighter cover, and in the evening it was attacked by 80 British bombers. As a result, 4,100 buildings were destroyed in Sofia, 750 people were killed and 710 were injured. 70 Bulgarian and 30 German fighters took part in repelling the raids, which managed to shoot down 8 bombers and 5 P-38s.
Sofia after Anglo-American bombing
On March 16, 17 and 29, the city was subjected to new raids. But the most powerful raid took place on March 30. It was attended by 450 heavy bombers: American B-17 and B-24 and British Halifaxes, which were accompanied by 150 P-38s. As a result of the bombing in Sofia, about two thousand fires were noted.
To repel the raid, the Bulgarians flew 73 aircraft: 34 D.520 and 39 Bf-109G-6 took off from the Karlovo airfield. In addition, four Avia B-534 training biplanes took off, which, surprisingly, were able to damage one "Liberator". During the air battle, 8 bombers were shot down and 5 damaged, 3 fighters and 1 damaged. At the same time, the Bulgarians lost 5 fighters and 2 more made forced landings. 3 pilots were killed, and one while he was parachuting, was fired upon by the Americans and seriously wounded.
On April 17, 1944, at 11.35, Sofia was attacked by 350 B-17s flying in four "waves", which were accompanied by 100 P-47 THUNDERBOLT and P-51 MUSTANG fighters, which the air surveillance service initially mistook for German fighters. As a result, the Bulgarian fighters, having been hit by the unexpectedly appeared Mustangs, lost 7 Messerschmitts at once. To remedy the situation, the Bulgarians even raised 4 training Avia B-135s. They managed to shoot down one P-51 MUSTANG, and during the battle another air ram was made: Lieutenant Nedelcho Bonchev rammed a B-17. A few moments later, the "Flying Fortress" exploded in the air, while Bonchev himself remained alive, having landed on the ground by parachute.
Lieutenant Nedelcho Bonchev
In total, on April 17, the Bulgarians lost 9 fighters, while 6 pilots were killed, in addition, 4 more aircraft, having received damage, made forced landings.
During 1943-44. Allied aviation made about 23 thousand sorties over Bulgaria. 186 Bulgarian settlements were subjected to air strikes, on which 45 thousand high-explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped. As a result of the bombing, 12,000 buildings were destroyed, 4,208 people were killed and 4,744 injured. The Bulgarian air defense shot down 65 Allied aircraft and another 71 were damaged. During combat missions over Bulgaria, the Allies lost 585 pilots and crew members - 329 people were captured, 187 died and 69 died from injuries in hospitals. At the same time, the own losses of the Bulgarian aviation amounted to 24 fighters, 18 more aircraft made forced landings, 19 pilots were killed.
On September 5, 1944, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria, and on September 8, Soviet troops entered its territory. The Bulgarian army was ordered not to resist, and Soviet troops quickly occupied the northeastern part of the country and the two main ports, Varna and Burgas.
On the night of September 8-9, a military coup took place in Sofia. Units of the capital's garrison, which acted on the orders of the created Fatherland Front, occupied all the key objects of the city and arrested the previous government. As a result, on September 9, the government of the Fatherland Front was created in Bulgaria, and on September 16, Soviet troops entered Sofia.
Already on September 10, 1944, the new government declared war on the Third Reich and its allies, in connection with which the Bulgarian aircraft received new identification marks.
Three Bulgarian armies, numbering about 500 thousand people, launched an offensive in Serbia in the direction of Niš, and in Macedonia - in Skopje. The Allied command set them the task of blocking the retreat routes of the German troops stationed in Greece.
The actions of the ground units were actively supported by the Bulgarian Ju-87D-5 and Do-17. To provide them with the necessary freedom of action, 3 Bf-109G-6 attacked the Nis airfield, destroying 6 German Messerschmitts on the ground at once.
Within a month, Bulgarian troops were able to occupy Macedonia and the southeastern regions of Serbia. As a result, parts of the Wehrmacht, cut off in Greece, surrendered to the British. In total, during the battles in Serbia, Macedonia and Greece, the aircraft of the Bulgarian aviation until December 12, 1944 made 3,744 combat fires, during which 694 units of armored vehicles and vehicles, 25 artillery batteries, 23 steam locomotives and 496 railway carriages were destroyed. In air battles and on the ground, Bulgarian pilots destroyed 25 Luftwaffe aircraft. At the same time, the Bulgarian aviation lost 15 aircraft, 18 pilots and crew members. On October 10, during the storming of the German column, the Bulgarian ace Nedelcho Bonchev was shot down and captured. In a German camp in southern Germany, he was twice unsuccessfully offered to cooperate with the Bulgarian émigré government of Professor Tsankov. In early May 1945, during the evacuation of the camp, Bonchev was shot dead by the SS.
Then the 130,000-strong Bulgarian army was transferred to Hungary and from 6 to 19 March 1945, together with Soviet troops, participated in fierce battles in the area of Lake Balaton, where German tank divisions attempted a counteroffensive.
In April 1945, units of the Bulgarian army entered the territory of Austria and in the area of Klagenfurt met with units of the 8th British Army. In total in 1944-45. in battles against the Third Reich and its allies, Bulgaria lost about 30 thousand people.
The most outstanding Bulgarian ace was Lieutenant Stoyan Stoyanov, who, flying the German Messerschmitt Bf-109G-2 fighter, shot down 2 American B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers and 2 P-38 "LIGHTNING" fighters. In addition, he managed to shoot down 1 B-24 in the group and damage 3 more B-24s.
Stoyan Stoyanov
