Second deployment to the Eastern Front in 1942:
[#1, #3, #21]
The two Bomber Squadrons of Ca.135bis, the 4./6 and 4./7 of the 4./III Bomber Group participated in formation of 1. Air Force Group (1. repülőcsoport) in the late spring of 1942. It was tasked to provide tactical support and reconnaissance sorties to Hungarian 2nd Army. The sole bomber unit in the 1. Air Force Group was a detachment of 4. Bomber Regiment, which was initially equipped with 17 Ca.135bis. During second deployment Ju-86K-2’s were relegated exclusively to transport and liason duties.
1. Air Force Group (1. repülőcsoport) was renamed to 2. Air Force Field Brigade (2. repülődandár) in October of 1942.
June 1942
24th of June 1942
HQ staff of 4. Bomber regiment under command of major (örnagy) Izstván Mocsáry started from Debrecen with “Boszorkány” (Witch) Squadron which was created with combining this squadron with “Uz Bence” Squadron. First 7 Ca.135’s under command of lieutenant (föhadnagy) Andrázs Inokai took off to the front and few days later further 4 arrived of which 1 was damaged on landing. 9 Caproni Ca.135 bombers that arrived earlier lost one of their number when undercarriage broke on landing and the aircraft became unusable [#4]. Bombers were based at Konotop and after arrival began to attack fortifications in Tim region. After the fall of Tim road toward Don was opened. The land forces reaching the Don faced new ordeals as the period of the “Don bridgehead battles” began. The air force supported Hungarian ground forces during these battles. [#3]
30th of June 1942 (#21)
Bombers received their first combat order. The target was the eastern edge of the village of Kuskino, southeast of the city of Tim, where two Soviet batteries hindered the advance of Hungarian troops. The attack was carried out in squadrons with 9 Ca.135bis at 4:15 p.m.
For the next bombing raid 4 Ca.135bis of the 4/1. lead by 1st Lieutenant Tihamér Ghyczy (commander of the squadron) took off: Soviet forces gathered in a ravine near Dubrovo were attacked. Ghyczy had to turn back after taking off, because he could not retract the landing gear of his plane. Of the 3 planes carrying out the attack, Sergeant (őrmester) Tibor Sárszeghi's plane landed on the edge of the airport where one of its propellers broke, causing the machine to spin and was completely smashed. The crew was unhurt.
July 1942
1st of July 1942 (#21)
Early on the morning 1st Lieutenant Tihamér Ghyczy's bomber attacked enemy troops dug in at elevation 267.7 south of Tim.
In the early afternoon, 4 Ca.135bis led by Captain Inokai attacked Soviet troops marching on the Jastrebovka-Alexandrovka route and gathering near Alexandrovka.
Late in the afternoon, 4 Ca.135bis under the command of 1st Lieutenant Ghyczy, attacked the assembling Soviet forces in a hook on Kamenka.
2nd of July 1942 (#21)
On the afternoon 5 Ca.135bis bombers, each with a single deployment, supported the Hungarian troops in the pursuit with their own reconnaissance and bombed Soviet counterattacks and resistance points, mainly on the Tim - Stary Oskol highway. Attacking targets close to their own ground forces was a delicate task, but their bombs did not harm Hungarian troops. The third plane took off on valuable reconnaissance mission and successfully attacked Soviet troops at Manturovo, but flew at a low altitude of 700 meters, resulting in a 37mm FLAK hit: its bomb bay doors were torn off and fuselage and wing covering was damaged, requiring several days of repairs. This was the 10th bombing operation of the type.
3rd of July 1942 (#21)
5 more Capronis were dispatched to the front from Debrecen. One of them B.557 flown by 2nd Lt. Baracskay crashed east of Rahó in Trancarpathian Hungary (now Rahiv in Carpathian Ukraine) when aircraft caught fire and crashed for unknown reasons. All five people on board the plane – 2nd lt (zászlós) László Baracskai, zászlós László Ginovszki, snr corporal (szakaszvezető) Vilmos Horváth, Sergeant (őrmester) Antal Kiss, snr corporal (szakaszvezető) István Tauber – were killed in the accident.
Request for reinforcements meant that group had less than 10 operational planes. In beginning of July bombers started on short range missions in 200-300km range. Short range of bombing missions meant that Capronis could utilise their maximum bomb loads of 1600kg.
5th of July 1942 (#21)
At dawn 7 Ca.135bis planes of 4./1 bombing squadron were ordered to attack Voronezh, with 16 FAB-100 100 kg bombs per plane. The targets to be bombed were the industrial area in the middle of the city and the southern train station. The attack was to be performed at 3:10 a.m. Direction of flight was from SE to NW. Protection over the target was provided by German Bf-109 fighters, as at the same time German IV. Fliegerkorps also launched an attack on the extremely heavily defended industrial city. Two machines were left behind the formation due to a technical fault: on one aircraft on the right engine propeller along with its gearbox were torn off while approaching the target. Plane dropped its bombs in front of Voronezh, immediately turned back and then landed with lowered the landing gear about 60 km from the airport, near Obojany. After on-site repairs the plane returned to the airport five days later. This aircraft set a record in single-engine flying on Ca.135bis: it flew 30 km over enemy territory and another 120 km over its own territory, although as Captain Inokai remarked wryly, "Caproni doesn't like to fly on one engine, but not even two"
The other missing plane was the regimental commander's Major Mocsáry's plane. After overflying the front the right engine began to pound and its speed dropped sharply due to an ignition magnet failure. He had to turn back, but he reached the airport. The remaining five planes carried out the bomb attack in an extremely strong air defence fire and each plane received minor FLAK damage.
8th of July 1942 (#21)
7 Ca.135bis would have attacked Bogucsar together with a German Ju-88A-4 Squadron of the KG 76, but due to some misunderstanding the meeting was missed, so the Hungarian formation bombed with their 28 250kg bombs Davidovka rail station. After the attack, a fire broke out at the train station.
Late in the afternoon 6 Ca.135bis accompanied by five Reggiane fighters, attacked Soviet forces crossing the Uriv-Storozhevo region.
10th of July 1942 (#21)
Hungarian Army reached Don and dug in. In this sector 3 soviet bridgeheads remained: Uriv, Kovotoyak and Szcsucsye.
On this day Capronis with fighter cover, twice attacked the Don Bridge at Uriv and vehicle assemblies at the bridgehead.
At noon that day, the 15th deployment of the bomber squadron was much more shaky. Talovaja railway station, 160 km behind the Soviet lines, was bombed with three Capronis without fighter cover from a height of just 1,800m. They dropped their bombs between 12:05 and 12:07, most of which hit a larger group of trains, where a secondary, possibly ammunition explosion was also observed. One of the heavy air defence batteries protecting the station was also hit. In the strong air defence fire, all three planes received light damage.
The bomber squadron then received a two-day technical break to maintain and repair the aircraft.
13th of July 1942 (#21)
The first bombing operation of the day, led by Ensign János Róna, was carried out by two flights (raj) each with 3 planes against the village of Troickoye. Targets were the barracks camp to the NW and three artillery batteries dug along the eastern edge of the settlement. Between 3:45 and 3:55, six Ca.135bis dropped 11 250kg and 29 100kg bombs on target. Smoke formation and strong movement were observed in the wake of a series of bombs crashing into the village.
The second deployment at the Uriv bridgehead was also flown against the Soviet armored vehicles attacking Hungarian 7th Light Division and the Uriv bridge with two flights of 6 Ca.135bis led by Captain Inokai. The planes dropped below 1000 m, dropping bombs one by one or in small series, on tanks, vehicles and the Uriv pontoon bridge due to hard-to-reach targets. The Hungarian bombers spent more than 20 minutes in the airspace of the bridgehead during the attack. As a result of that 3 - according to other data - seven Soviet armored vehicles became incapacitated and several vehicles were destroyed. However, two of the six planes deployed did not return: plane flown by 2nd Lt Sándor Veres (B.553) made a forced landing with lowered landing gear due to a cylinder head crack. This machine returned to the squadron soon after the engine was replaced, unlike the other missing machine. B.562 flown by 3rd Lt László Bánkuti's plane also landed due to an engine failure with a full bomb load, and was completely destroyed near Oboyany. The crew escaped the accident with one injury – 3rd Lt Bánkuti's broke his arm.
At 11:00 4 Ca.135bis led by 3rd Lt János Róna took off for the next deployment again in Uriv area. The four planes successfully attacked the bridgehead area and also interrupted the bridge, however, two planes did not return from this attack as well. The reason for this was that when the four planes were on return flight they were flying at low altitudes over the high-iron terrain that disturbed the compasses. They landed to the north, where they were over German troops. Unfamiliar with Ca.135bis German troops opened fierce FLAK fire on them. One of the aircraft's observers, 2nd Lt Sándor Szekeres, was shot in a hand and foot, so the pilot of the plane, Candidate Officer József Ónutz, flew the plane straight to Kursk, where the observer was taken to the hospital. The plane returned the same day. The other missing plane was unfortunately lost: 3rd Lt János Róna made a forced landing with lowered landing gear at the German front lines. In the evening Germans withdrew from the due to Soviet counterattack. At the request of the aircraft commander German artillery destroyed the Caproni to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
16th of July 1942 (#21)
Due to event on the 13th of July there are only 3 operational Ca.135bis on the strength of the bomber unit.
18th of July 1942 (#21)
On the morning 4 Ca.135bis attacked at the Uriv bridgehead, Hungarian bombers attacked Soviet troop positions in Troickoye at 4:00 a.m.
19th of July 1942 (#21)
At 10 a.m. 5 Ca.135bis with fighter cover attacked the village of Sadovsky, north of Korotoyak, and the forest parcel to the north of it. This was the unit’s 20th operation. Unit otherwise supported the German 75th Infantry Division.
20th, 21st and 22nd of July 1942 (#21)
The settlement of the army headquarters in Alexeyevka-Nikolaevka also prompted the flight group to set up its headquarters near it. On 20th of July Captain Zoltán Kiss reported that he had found an airport at Ilovskoye, less than 10 km north of Alexeievka-Nykolaevka, at the army headquarters, which was suitable for accommodating the entire air echelon. The relocation began as early as the 21st and 22nd: fighter, courier, close support and long-range scouts were also to be combined here, leaving the bombers alone in Stary Oskol.
24th of July 1942 (#21)
Lt. Gen. Béla Rákosi, the commander of the Air Force, arrived in Stary Oskol to visit the air formations on the front.
27th of July 1942 (#21)
On July 27, the bombers moved to Stary Oskol airport. The relocation was carried out in three stages: first a large part of the operational squadron was relocated with all the technical material, then the 9 machines with a full bomb load and finally the personnel to service the machines.
28th of July 1942 (#21)
Stock of italian 250kg and 100kg bombs brought from home was depleted. However, the corps did not need a bomb replenishment to be delivered from home, because then the large quantities of captured 50kg and 100 kg Soviet bombs were available.
30th of July 1942 (#21)
Ca.135bis of 1st Lt Tihamér Ghyczy attacked Soviet minesweepers Storozhevo area in a strong air defence fire.
August 1942
3rd of August 1942 (#21)
Ca.135bis piloted by Captain András Inokai's protected by 5 Reggiane fighters carried out an attack against Soviet troops gathering in a forest plot in Troickoye. Air defence fire was strong but inaccurate.
4th of August 1942 (#21)
Soviet troops crossed the Don River and battle of Uriv bridgehead began. Capronis started bombing raids against troop crossings at Uriv.
5th of August 1942 (#21)
In the early a swarm of 1st Lt Tihamér Ghyczy attacked the intersection at SrednyeIkorec, accompanied by five Reggianes.
6th of August 1942 (#21)
Attacks by Soviet troops on the front lines of the Hungarian army began in several places, with the aim of connecting bridgeheads: the most important of these were the actions launched at bridgeheads Uriv, Korotoya and Szcsucsye. This prompted frantic air activity on both sides in which operations of Ca.135bis were but a small part.
Just before eight o'clock, 3 Ca.135bis with fighter cover attacked Soviet troops in Staraya Sevrostan, where they dropped 24 100kg and 24 50kg bombs. They hit several tanks and vehicles. In the woods of Migenyevo gathering enemy tanks were also attacked.
7th of August 1942 (#21)
On the morning Hungarian 1st Armored Division redeployed to the Korotoya area, launched a counterattack, so aircraft had to be directed into its area as well.
During the day, the Hungarian bombers flew three raids: three flights of 3 planes each attacked at the mouth of the Potudany, the village of Spasinsky, a unit and troop concentrations, and a bridge under construction. On the return flight on plane flown by 3rd Lt János Róna one of the propellers flew away. The plane made a forced landing with the extended landing gear and flew back to Stary Oskol after an engine change.
8th of August 1942 (#21)
3 Ca.135bis flight without fighter cover were to attack Soviet troops in Petropavlovskoye. 2 planes led by 3rd Lt János Róna proceded to the target, the third plane could not take off due to a technical error. Simultaneously with the two lone Hungarian bombers, 6 Soviet bombers, accompanied by 3 fighters, bombed Korotoyak, but the Soviet fighters remained passive and did not attack the 2 lone Capronis.
9th of August 1942 (#21)
On this day, Ca.135bis bombers flew three bomb raids:
The first in the area of Shchucsye and Kolibeyka against watercraft crossing the Don - this was the only bomb attack at the Shchucsye bridgehead during the summer.
The second was bombing raid against the Uriv bridge, during which they also destroyed an ammunition depot.
And the third was at 6 P.M. when 3 Ca.135bis flight attacked the crossing around Ottichiha and Storozhevo
10th of August 1942 (#21)
The morning bomb raid against Storozhevo did not take place because of the ground fog which obscured the target. Therefore, 5 Ca.135bis dropped six tons of bombs in the Davidovka area.
In the early afternoon 3 Ca.135bis flight attacked Soviet units on the east bank of the Don against Kostyelnik.
11th of August 1942 (#21)
10:11 3 Ca.135bis flight with Reggiane fighter protection started on a bomb raid against artillery batteries dug in in Petropavlovskoye which supported the Soviet bridgehead in Korotoyak. Each plane was armed with 16 100kg captured soviet bombs. Bombers were protected by Reggiane fighters. 2 aircraft proceded to target and successfully bombed it. They also destroyed a transport column on north side of the Don. B.551 crewed by pilot Sgt (őrmester) Ónutz József, observer Sgt Götz Antal, mechanic senior corporal (szákaszvezetö) Talabér Ferenc, Radio operator senior corporal Operhall Gyula and passenger Capt. (százados) Harsányi Gábor, couldn’t retract the landing gear so crew decided that they will bomb Korotoya on south side of the Don thereby staying in own airspace for most of the time. 3 Lagg-3 fighters that were scrambled stumbled on B.551 over Korotoya. One LaGG attacked from behind but was shot down (and crashed) by accurate fire by mechanic Talabér. No parachute was seen. 2 other LaGG retreated.
In the afternoon, 3 Ca.135bis flight bombed the north eastern part of Korotoya in a strong air defence fire.
12th of August 1942 (#21)
3 flights of 3 Ca.135bis each attacked Mosztiscs, crossings at Potudany and the north-eastern part of Korotoya. At Korotoya, good results were achieved against troop concentrations in the square next to the two churches and at the train station, as well as on ammunition column north of the city.
13th of August 1942 (#21)
Ca.135bis bombers again successfully attacked the Korotoya area, hitting and destroying the bridge, destroying several Soviet trucks in the area of the two churches and detecting 4-5 strong after-explosions in the north-western part of Korotoya, apparently in a hidden area.
14th of August 1942 (#21)
On August 14, Group 1 suffered a heavy loss in the airspace of the bridgehead. A 4/1. bombing squadron was ordered to destroy the Uriv Bridge. At 2 p.m., the target was attacked from an altitude of 2,500 meters. During the third flight, the unit command plane (B.549) was hit by shell of Soviet anti-aircraft artillery at the base of the right wing, as a result of which the Caproni immediately caught fire and fell into a left corkscrew. The plane crashed to the ground in Uriv, its fuel supply and the bombs still on board exploded, setting fire to several houses.
On board of B.549 a popular regimental commander major (örnagy) István Mocsáry as well as sergeant (örmester) Zoltán Nagy and senior corporal (szákaszvezetö) Imre Piri were killed. Air Force Staff Lieutenant Colonel (alezredes) János Németh (Chief of Staff of the 2. Air Force Field Brigade) and 1st lieutenant (föhadnagy) György Orbán, managed to jump out of the burning plane. Lt Col János Németh survived with a broken leg while 1st Lt György Orbán survived unharmed. They had to be rescued from no-man's land. The rescue of officers from no-man’s land developed into a short but fierce fight, eventually Hungarian 14/III. battalion assault patrols were able to bring them to Hungarian positions
The command of the bomber detachment was taken over by Major József “Moni” Schiller.
15th of August 1942 (#21)
Assumption Day, a large-scale attack was launched against Korotoya. At dawn, 3 Ca.135bis flight attacked the northern part of Korotoya. This was followed by an operation against Uriv, after which the forest plot and Seljavnoye on the northern edge of Petropavlovskoye was bombed by the Hungarian Capronis.
17th of August 1942 (#21)
Ca.135bis bombers attacked Selyavnoye and Petropavlovskoye, and bombed the gathering enemy troops in the forest on the banks of the Don near Kologyesnoye. A squad of four fighters scattered the attacking Soviet fighter squadron over Korotoya and forced them to return.
18th of August 1942 (#21)
6 Ca.135bis bombers attacked the part of Korotoya that was in Soviet hands. The well-fortified church hill was bombed and the bridge was collapsed.
20th of August 1942 (#21)
On this day, the bombers attacked the bridges in Scsucye, and in the airspace of this bridgehead, the activity of the Hungarian aircraft was otherwise minimal.
21st of August 1942 (#19)
B.542 piloted by 3rd Lt (zaslos) Czelvikker Ferenc was damaged by FLAK. Plane emergency landed at village Istovnoye (Kiev oblast), it was repaired on the spot and returned to service. It was one of 5 Ca.135 that returned to Hungary in fall of that year.
23rd of August 1942 (#21)
On the morning of August 23, in Petropavlovskoye, the bombers attacked a forest plot with fighter cover. In the strong air defence fire, aircraft of 3rd Lt. János Róna was hit in the left engine. Luckily, the projectile did not explode, but the engine became inoperable and as the intake manifold pressure of the right engine dropped, the plane was forced to land next to Repyevka with lowered landing gear. Aircraft flew back to base in the evening.
In the afternoon, Captain András Inokai's flight attacked a forest area in the same area, which was reportedly a Soviet division headquarters (certainly the command of Colonel Karapetyan's Soviet 174th Rifle Division). Major Schiller’s flight had the same target but this flight spotted a vehicle column on the move during the flight and dropped its bombs on it, reaching full hits.
30th of August 1942 (#21)
two flights of bombers (6 Ca.135bis) attacked the village of Szcsucsye.
September 1942
3rd of September 1942 (#21)
Hungarian fighters supported the battles of the 336th German infantry division in sixteen deployments from 05:25 to 18:00, the Caproni bombers attacked the forest plot of the village of Petropavlovskoye twice with 3 plane flights, also to support the battle of the 336th German infantry division.
4th oh September 1942 (#21)
Fighters flew eight defensive deployments over the German 336th Infantry Division, while the Caproni bombers attacked Petropavlovskoye with a 3 plane flight in morning and a 3 plane flight in afternoon. On this day, the Korotoya bridgehead was virtually liquidated, and between August 31 and September 4, the Hungarian Air Force directly supported the battles of the German troops with 18 bomber, 68 Fighter and 21 close reconnaissance operations.
6th of September 1942 (#21)
A flight of Capronis attacked the bridgehead of the Uriv-Storozhevo. During the night from 6th to 7th of September Hungarian bomber base at Stary Oskol airport received a fierce soviet bomb attack. There was no damage to the bombers and human life, but two of the unit’s three Bü-131 couriers were severely damaged.
8th of September 1942 (#21)
1st Lt László Pajtás, 2nd Lt Tihamér Ghyczy's observer, were sent as liason officers to the ground forces attacking the Uriv bridgehead the next day. The bomber detachment reported 9 operational Ca.135bis that evening.
9th of September 1942 (#21)
The last large-scale Hungarian-German action to eliminate the Urivi bridgehead began. On this day, the Hungarian bombers flew most of their one-day deployments during 1942: they flew a total of seven missions, in which they attacked Uriv, Storozevo, the Otichiha Forest, elevations 187.7 and 195,6 with a total of 30 aircraft sorties dropping a total of 480 bombs in total weight of 36 tons.
10th of September 1942 (#21)
On this day Hungarian Capronis flew 20 sorties.
In the morning 6 planes attacked the elevation points 185.6 and 187.7.
At noon a 3 plane flight bombed a forest plot next to the village of Donitsze and another 3 plane flight bombed Uriv.
Early in the afternoon, 8 planes bombed the south-eastern part of the Uriv village. When they attacked the part of the village directly on the banks of Don, they had the impression that they were bombing an empty area because no movement was triggered by their attack.
11th of September 1942 (#21)
Caproni bombers performed 7 attacks of 28 aircraft sorties against the bridgehead area of Uriv-Storozhevo, mainly the area between Uriv and Selyavnoye, and Uriv SE from an altitude of 1600-2000 meters mostly in medium and heavy machine gun AA fire.
12th of September 1942 (#21)
On this day, the Hungarian Caproni bombers flew 3 attacks in all 10 aircraft sorties, over the Uriv-Storozevo bridge, attacking Uriv SE, among others. On this day, 1st Lt László Pajtás, who was on the front line as a liaison officer, also returned to the squadron.
13th of September 1942 (#21)
A flight (3 aircraft) of Capronis attacked Petropavlovskoye.
14th of September 1942 (#21)
A flight (3 aircraft) of Capronis attacked the same targets of the previous day. On this day 4/1. Squadron carried out 70th operation and at the same time 250th sortie.
16th of September 1942 (#21)
The last bridgehead battle of Uriv ended on this day. Hungarian and German forces despite the heavy losses they had suffered failed to squeeze Soviet forces out of the area and beyond the river Don. The bridgehead of Uriv and Szcsucsje also remained on the front line of the Hungarian 2nd Army, and in January 1943 this will have very serious consequences.
17th of September (#21)
Ca.135bis bombers last attack against the forest of Otichiha.
19th of September (#21)
During the third battle of Uriv-Storoshevo, some subunits of II./JG 77 (Commander Anton Mader) based at Castornoye (55 km NE of Stary Oskol) several times a day relocated to and operated from Stary Oskol with their Bf-109F-4 and G-2. They permanently relocated to the airport of the Hungarian bombers with their planes thus strengthening the fighter's defence of the area. They remained there until they were sent to North Africa on 7th of November 1942.
21st of September 1942 (#21)
A flight of bombers was ordered to attack enemy troops gathering at Spasinsky.
25th of September 1942 (#21)
A flight of Capronis attacked Davidovka railway station, where a 22 carriage train was being unloaded. 2nd Lt Andor Bajsa's plane hit the train. Some bombs were also dropped at Davidovka Airfield.
28th of September 1942 (#21)
8 Ca.135bis bombers successfully attacked Soviet troop concentrations in Selyavnoye despite strong air defence fire. During the flight, the squadron commander, Captain András Inokai, was wounded in the left eye by a small lens-sized aluminium splinter, which was snapped off the cabin framing by an exploding air defence projectile nearby. The pilot's left eye was flooded with blood, his right eye was filled with tears, so he could not fly the plane, which was taken back and landed at the airport by his non-pilot observer, 2nd Lt Dezső Tóth, without damaging it. Captain Inokai's eyes were not severely injured and he underwent quick surgery after removing the splinter.
30th of September 1942 (#21)
6 Ca.135bis bombers with fighter escort attacked Bobrov railway station and the adjacent intersection. The bomb doors of two planes were damaged by air defence fire.
Until the end of September, a statistic of the Caproni bombers was:
From 1 July to 30 September, 79 operations were performed, of which 75 were tactical and 4 were strategic. Of the four strategic operations, three were directed against railway stations and one against an important industrial hub.
During the 79 operations, 276 aircraft sorties were flown. The total time flown over the enemy was 431 hours 30 minutes. 320 tons of bombs were dropped during this time: 1685 of 50 kg, 2118 of 100 kg and 101 of 250 kg.
The altitude of attack was 3 time below 1000m, 25 times between 1100m-2100m, 49 times between 2100m-3100m, 2 times 3100m.
Enemy air defence received them with very strong fire in 10 cases, medium fire in 21 cases, and weaker fire in 15 cases. Team air defence was strong three times, moderate six times, and weak 11 times. Of the 79 operations, 30 were carried out with fighter cover and 49 without any fighter escorts. They received a single fighter attack — on August 11 — when Caproni B.551 shot down one of his attackers (LaGG-3).
Five planes made forced landings due to a cylinder head rupture, three of which at their own airports thanks to the experience of the pilots. Another plane landed on a lowered landing gear while the fifth landed on its belly. Due to a propeller rupture, two planes made forced landings, both landed on their landing gear. One of them happened 60 km behind enemy lines (loss of propeller). There was also a smooth forced landing at one’s own airport or outside another airport due to other engine failures. The enemy anti-aircraft artillery hit 3 planes so far. Of this, one landed smoothly on own territory and was easily repaired, another landed just behind the front lines, but was destroyed on the ground (by friendly artillery). The third was shot down (B.549). At own airport, a plane crashed due to a tire explosion.
10 planes received lighter air defence damage. In the end, only 5 machines have been permanently lost so far.
From July 1 to September 30, they had 125 air alarms due to Soviet attacks, of which 50 were bomb attacks, with several drops of 150-160 (small calibre) bombs. All losses were two minor injuries received by ground crew members, with no damage to Capronis.
October 1942
1st of October 1942 (#21)
6 Ca.135bis attacked Soviet vehicles gathering in the Otticich forest, from 4,000m due to a strong air defence fire.
2nd of October 1942 (#21)
2 Ca.135bis suffered minor damage during a Soviet night air raid.
3rd of October 1942 (#21)
Major Schiller led a bombing raid against Selyavnoye.
7th of October 1942 (#21)
On October 7, Captain András Inokai a commander of one of Ca.135bis bomber squadrons was sent to Poltava to the German IV./KG 27 (Commander Captain Gerhard) for the retraining on Heinkel He-111. 1st Lt Tihamér Ghyczy took over command of the squadron. He-111H-6 retraining was completed in a matter of days, with experienced crews flying the type day and night a few days later.
15th of October 1942 (#21)
1st Air Force Group was renamed 2nd Air Brigade, its new commander became Lt Col Tibor Fráter, and its Chief of Staff became Lt Col Kálmán Csukás.
19th to 24th of October 1942 (#21)
Bomber detachment relocated to Urazovo Airport, which had hangars, in order to spare the mixed-construction Capronis.
31st of October 1942 (#1, #21)
October 31st was a sad day for the bombers: they lost one of their planes (B.560) and its entire crew. 1st Lt Tihamér Ghyczy recalled the tragic operation:
“By October 31, our last deployment order will run (although it should have been missed)., It is also a tactical operation. Near Swoboda on the north bank of the Don there are enemy battery positions and the bombing of an ammunition depot. We have six operational machines in “Móni” Schiller’s (Major József “Móni” Schiller) unit. He also comes to the deployment, so he leads the first start, i.e. Bandi's group, and I follow them 500 meters with the flight as the second wave.
We have already overflown the Don when the plane of the right-hander Mády 'Csöpi' (warior sergeant, pilot, boy of almost two meters) started to pull to the right upwards from the formation, releasing a slight strip of smoke, and then the next moment it exploded into a 70-meter fireball. All I can see is the empty position of the machine and a few crumbling larger pieces falling down. They could get an air defence hit and their fuel tanks exploded. They didn’t have time to jump out, but they didn’t have to suffer, this explosion ended them right away. ”
The entire crew of B.560 Pilot Sergeant Zoltán Mády, observer 3rd Lt Ferenc Asztalos, Radio operator senior corporal András Csiszár and mechanic senior corporal László Jandrasits was killed.
Aircraft fell in area of village Kopaniše of Liskinski raion (Voronezh Oblast). Remains of this aircraft were found in 2012 by Hungarian search team and parts of aircraft and crew were recovered in 2013 by Russian search team and returned to Hungary.
November 1942
2nd of November 1942 (#21)
The last operation by Hungarian Capronis on the Eastern Front. Taking off from Urazovo to bomb enemy positions on Don.
13th of November 1942 (#21)
6 Ca.135bis took off from Urazovo for a return flight to Hungary, but due to bad weather they were soon forced to land in Poltava, where they had to wait for three days. They then returned home to Debrecen on the 17th of November with an intermediate landing in Kirovograd. The last two planes flew home from Kirovograd at the end of November, but on 2nd Lt Andor Bajsa's plane both engines seized due to lack of oil and plane landed at Kunhegyes undamaged.
Ca.135 suffered from a host of technical problems and spare parts were difficult to obtain which limited serviceability of the aircraft. It soon became apparent that serviceability severely limited combat employment. In comparison a German Ju-88 units could manage 5-6 sorties per day while Hungarian Ca.135 unit could only manage 1-2 sorties per day. At one point only 3 aircraft were operational due technical problems necessitating reinforcements from Hungary (3rd of July).
Decision was taken that Caproni bombers were to be sent back to Hungary and crews retrained on He-111, Ju-87 and Ju-88. 4./6 and 4./7 Squadrons were sent to Hungary in September.
Negotiations were also continuing with the Germans about how many Hungarian pilots would be retrained on site to fly the more modern Me-109, He-111, Ju-87, and Ju-88 airplanes. As a result, on 7th of October part of a 4./1 bomber squadron (1st flight) under command of Captain András Inokai was sent to Poltava airfield and received 5 used He-111’s and began training. At some point Germans decided that they will train 4./1 on Ju-88 instead and took the planes away. Unit was later trained on Ju-88 at Istres (France) during winter 1942-43.
Rest of the bomber crews was to be transferred home to start training on Ju-87B-2 and Ju-88A-4. The 4./1 bomber squadron’s happiness in landing in Debrecen on 15th of November was tainted by the tragedy that occurred during their sortie on 31th of October, when Ca.135bis B.560 was hit and exploded, killing everybody on board.
During the four months the bomber squadron spent at the operational area, they performed 265 bombing runs during 1,062 flights (operational, training and relocation), dropped 1,700 tons of bombs, and lost 2 aircraft shot down (B.549 and B.560), 1 lost due mechanical failure and 11 people killed.