Colours of the Bulgarian Dewoitine 520
- Thread starter Beejay
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #22
Hi Wurger,
The D520s did share bases with others, like Karlovo, where D520s, 109Es, 109Gs and all kinds of trainers were stationed. So somewhere there should be some pics. But where?
Hi Sagittario64,
In 1943 they managed an even match-up, but in 1944, they had to fight 10+ odds, a couple of dozen fighters at best vs hundreds of bombers and fighters. The Bulgarian tended to focus on the bombers, only engaging the fighters when it couldn't be avoided.
Stats for 1943-44: 23,000 enemy aircraft entered Bulgarian airspace, 1,100 combat sorties were made against these, 700 of those from April '44. Of the 1,100 sorties, 760 were made by Bulgarians: fighters downed 54 enemy planes, 15 of those were P-38 or P-51, while losing 27 planes in the air themselves.
The biggest single day aerial loss was on April 17 1944 when the Bulgarians encountered P-51s for the first time: they were used to fighting P-38s and mistook the Mustangs for friendly 109s: it cost them 9x 109s, 1x P-51B was also shot down.
Biggest overall loss was on June 28 1944, when around 150 bombers and escorts split off from a 1,150 plane raid on Ploesti to surprise Karlovo (home of 62 D520s among others). Around 4,000 bombs hit the base, destroying more than 70 aircraft.
Beejay
The D520s did share bases with others, like Karlovo, where D520s, 109Es, 109Gs and all kinds of trainers were stationed. So somewhere there should be some pics. But where?
Hi Sagittario64,
In 1943 they managed an even match-up, but in 1944, they had to fight 10+ odds, a couple of dozen fighters at best vs hundreds of bombers and fighters. The Bulgarian tended to focus on the bombers, only engaging the fighters when it couldn't be avoided.
Stats for 1943-44: 23,000 enemy aircraft entered Bulgarian airspace, 1,100 combat sorties were made against these, 700 of those from April '44. Of the 1,100 sorties, 760 were made by Bulgarians: fighters downed 54 enemy planes, 15 of those were P-38 or P-51, while losing 27 planes in the air themselves.
The biggest single day aerial loss was on April 17 1944 when the Bulgarians encountered P-51s for the first time: they were used to fighting P-38s and mistook the Mustangs for friendly 109s: it cost them 9x 109s, 1x P-51B was also shot down.
Biggest overall loss was on June 28 1944, when around 150 bombers and escorts split off from a 1,150 plane raid on Ploesti to surprise Karlovo (home of 62 D520s among others). Around 4,000 bombs hit the base, destroying more than 70 aircraft.
Beejay
Sagittario64
Airman 1st Class
Did bulgarian d.520s sport the yellow underside of the nose for flak-identification like the Bf.109s of most axis powers did?
- Thread starter
- #24
Yep.. I have mentioned it earlier above.
Sagittario64
Airman 1st Class
What did bulgarians switch their paint scheme to after the coup? i have a profile of some allied bulgarian d.520s but im not sure if theyre still sporting some different kinds of RLM not used before when the d.520s were axis
imalko
Chief Master Sergeant
Probably to avoid being confused for Germans.
Sagittario64
Airman 1st Class
sorry wurger i should have been more specific. im not talking about identification markings. im talking about the camo itself.
i know this profile is possibly inaccurate, but did the bulgarians adopt a different camouflage system, or did they just keep the german ones, and just change the identification markings and ID colors?
i know this profile is possibly inaccurate, but did the bulgarians adopt a different camouflage system, or did they just keep the german ones, and just change the identification markings and ID colors?
I see now. It seems they stayed with the type of the LW camo scheme. I have seen a picture that ( believing in its caption) was taken at the Plovdiv airfield in 1945. D.520s were still wearing the kind of a camouflage there. And Bulgarian AF might have followed the one later too.
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