Air battle over Merklín

Air battle over Merklín
Part of Cold War
USAF Republic F-84E
Date 10 March 1953 Location Merklín, Czechoslovakia, Bohemian Forest Result American F-84 fighter-bomber shot down
Belligerents
Czechoslovakia	United States
Commanders and leaders
Jaroslav Šrámek	Lt. Warren G. Brown
Strength
2 MiG-15	2 F-84 Thunderjet
Casualties and losses
none	1 F-84 shot down Pilot survived

The Air battle over Merklín was an air-to-air engagement between Czechoslovak and USAFE air units over the Czech village of Merklín, in the Bohemian Forest, on 10 March 1953. During the action Czech pilot Jaroslav Šrámek, flying a MiG-15, shot down one of a pair of American F-84E Thunderjets (from 53rd Fighter Bomber Squadron, 36th Fighter-Bomber Wing) which fell 35 kilometres inside the Czechoslovak territory. The American pilot, Lt. Warren G.Brown ejected from the aircraft, which crash-landed in German territory, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the border, and survived.^[1][2]

It was reported in the London Times that the attack on the American aircraft was ten miles from the border near the town of Falkenstein, Bavaria.^[3] The aircraft crashed near Regensburg, Bavaria and the burnt out wreckage of the F-84 was recovered by American soldiers.^[3] The attack followed reports of other Czechoslovak aircraft over Bavarian territory. Brown the pilot of the F-84 reported they were on a routine patrol along the border when they spotted two aircraft appear from the East, he was fired upon and baled out after losing control.^[3]

References

Sources

• "Czech fighter pilot recalls Cold War dogfight" by Collin O'Connor. Radio Prague, 4 October 2004
• Souboj nad Železnou oponou (Duel Above The Iron Curtain), 2000 article by Tomáš Soušek (in Czech)
• 23 March 1953 article from Life Magazine, pages 29 – 31, (via Google Books)

Coordinates: 49°33′38″N 13°11′52″E / 49.56056°N 13.19778°E / 49.56056; 13.19778