Letecká havária na Zadnom Gerlachu v hláseniach leteckého náhradného pluku

Aircraft Accident at Zadný Gerlach. Reports of the 4th Replacement Aviation Regiment

Autor: ŠUMICHRAST Peter

ŠUMICHRAST, Peter: Letecká havária na Zadnom Gerlachu v hláseniach leteckého náhradného pluku

ŠUMICHRAST, Peter: Aircraft Accident at Zadný Gerlach. Reports of the 4th Replacement Aviation Regiment.

Vojenská história, 18, 2, 2014, pp. 101-125.

Author presents the hitherto unpublished file of archival documents deposited in the Military Historical Archive Bratislava regarding one of the most tragic aircraft accidents occurring in the Slovak territory during the World War II. The aircraft accident of the Soviet Douglas airliner occurred on October 9 1944 in High Tatras, resulting in more than twenty Soviet and Czechoslovak soldiers dead. On the autumn day, during the night flight under difficult weather conditions, the Soviet airliner crashed into the rocks of Zadný Gerlach. The aircrew should have provided air transfer for a 16-member skydiver group – members of the 2nd CS independent parachute troops – to the Tri Duby insurgent airport. Names of these heroes were included in the long list of victims of the most destructive war in the human history. However, they reached the place of their final rest as late as on July 8 1946, when their remains carried down from the majesty of Slovak mountains were buried with full military honours in the cemetery of the Gerlachov municipality.

Keywords: Military History. Slovakia. World War II. Aircraft Accident of the Soviet Douglas Airliner in High Tatras.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.69809/vojhist.2014.18.2.6

Ročník: 18 | Číslo: 2/2014 | Stránky: 101-125