On
June 13, 1952, Soviet MiG-15s shot down a Swedish DC-3 returning from a SIGINT
flight, and three days later the Soviets shot down a Swedish Catalina that was
searching for survivors from the downed DC-3. The Soviets denied shooting down
the DC-3, the Swedes claimed that the flight had been a navigational training flight,
and Swedish media took an anti-Soviet stance. However, the Swedish Air Force (SwAF)
did have a fairly long tradition of flying very close to or downright violating
other countries’ airspace, and in 1944 this led to the shooting down of three Swedish
Caproni reconnaissance aircraft.
The
SwAF was in sad shape when the Second World War broke out in 1939, and there
was an intense search for new aircraft to purchase. For obvious reasons most
nations in Europe as well as the United States had little interest in exporting
aircraft, and the SwAF hafd to make do with what was available. This included
the Italian Caproni Ca.313 reconnaissance bomber (Ricognizione Piccolo Bombardamento), and Sweden ordered 84 of these
aircraft for use as bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and transports. Their
Swedish designations were B 16, S 16 and Tp 16, respectively.
Caproni Ca.313 in Swedish service (flyghistoria.org).
The Capronis spent five unhappy years in the SwAF between 1940 and 1945. In all 41 aviators were killed while flying this aircraft and 21 Capronis were destroyed in accidents, earning it the nickname “The Flying Coffin.” The Caproni was so remarkably accident-prone that SwAF General Nils Söderberg suspected that the aircraft had been sabotaged, since they were originally intended for export to France. The calamities were actually caused by several factors, including bad manufacturing from low-quality materials, diluted fuel due to wartime restrictions, exposure to seasonal variations that the aircraft wasn’t designed for, excessive use of the airframes themselves and general misuse, including attempts to use the Caproni as a dive bomber.
In all 40 Capronis were used as
reconnaissance aircraft, and they were equipped with long-range fuel tanks as
well as three cameras: a high altitude camera, an obliquely-mounted overview
camera and a hand-held camera. They were arguably the first long-range
reconnaissance aircraft in SwAF service, and they were based at two wings, F3
at Malmslätt and F11 at Nykӧping. The Capronis flew reconnaissance mission
around most of Sweden, ranging from the Arctic to the Baltic Sea and Skagerrak,
and at least one mission was flown to the immediate vicinity of the German rocket
research facility at Peenemünde.
On August 28, 1943, there was Swedish concern of a possible German invasion,
and a Caproni from F11 flew from Everӧd in southern Sweden to carry out reconnaissance
of several German harbors. Besides obvious domestic use, it may be reasonable
to assume that photographs taken during such missions would be excellent to
barter with the western Allies’ intelligence organizations, a precursor to the exchanges
of intelligence that would lead to the demise of the DC-3 in 1952.
Aerial
photograph of the German rocket site at Peenemünde taken by a Caproni crew from
F11
(f11museum.se).
The reconnaissance missions were
intensified during the Fall of 1943, and the Germans were in all likelihood aware
of the SwAF efforts. As the Swedish attitude became increasingly pro-Allied,
patience with the Swedish flights may have been lost. On May 14, 1944, a
Caproni from F11 was shot down by two Messerschmitt Bf 109Gs off the coast of
Lithuania. One crew member was killed, and the three others were rescued by a
German steamer. The next day, May 15, saw the disappearance of yet another
Caproni close to the location where the first one was lost. A few days later, the
German authorities admitted to shooting down a Caproni on May 14. They claimed
that the Swedish aircraft was mistaken for a Soviet aircraft when attacked from
above, and that the Swedish markings were only seen as the aircraft crashed. The
Germans did use the opportunity to scold the Swedes for flying close to the
Baltic coast during times of war, even if they remained over international
water. There was no admitting to shooting down a plane on May 15, but refugees
from the Baltic states later told the Swedish authorities that they had seen
German aircraft shoot down a Swedish aircraft. The crew was never recovered.
Swedish protests on May 27 did lead to the repatriation of the three surviving
crew members from the Caproni that was shot down on May 14. Yet another Caproni,
this time a bomber from F7 Såtenäs, disappeared in
the Skagerrak area on May 23. Parts from the Caproni were found by Danish fishermen
in 1951, and the parts did show both bullet holes and burns.
Although
the camouflage of the Capronis differed quite a bit from the Soviet green or
gray aircraft of that era, Swedish aircraft did not carry national markings on
top of their wings until June of 1944. The SwAF did change their tactics, and
individual missions were not flown. The frequency of the reconnaissance
missions was also decreased, at least until the end of the Second World War.
Sources:
Giorgio
Apostolo. Caproni Ca,311/314. Torino: La Bancarella Aeronautica, 2007
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