BULGARIA'S HUMAN TORPEDOES

When 70 Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the Fifteenth Air Force, escorted by 60 Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, flew a bombing mission to Sofia on December 20,1943, they were intercepted 40 miles southwest of the Bulgarian capital by 36 Dewoitine D.520C fighters from Vrazhdebnia airfield and 20 Messerschmitt Me-109 G-2s from Bozhuriste. Two B-24s and three P-38s were destroyed by the Bulgarians, for the loss of two pilots killed in action and three other fighters that crash-landed.

During interrogation by his Bulgarian captors, one of the P-38 pilots, 23-year-old 2nd Lt. John W. McLendon of the 97th Squadron, 82nd Fighter Group, related a remarkable story: "Several minutes before my fighter was shot down.... I observed how a Bulgarian fighter attacked one of our bombers frontally at very high speed. He directed his plane from below almost vertically toward the bomber and hit the back half of the big plane with his nose. It broke up instantly, as if cut through with a knife, and the front part with the engines fell vertically toward the earth, followed by the broken up fighter. A terrible death, really, even for the most courageous pilot." What McLendon had seen was the victory and death of Lieutenant Dimiter Spissarevsky.

Dimiter Svetozarov Spissarevsky was born on July 19, 1916, in Dobrich. After World War I, his family was driven from the area by the Romanians and settled in Sofia, where Dimiter entered the Royal Military School. Spissarevsky's hot temper got him punished several times and even suspended for a year and assigned to an infantry regiment as a private.He finally graduated from the military school in 1938, was commissioned a sublieutenant and was included in a group of 15 officers who were sent to Germany. After passing the basic flight training in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, four officers, including Spissarevsky, continued their training as fighter pilots at the prestigious school at Werneuchen, located near Berlin.Here Spissarevsky was trained by lieut. Stoyanov too.

Returning to Bulgaria in July 1939, Spissarevsky joined the 6th Fighter Regiment at Karlovo, where he flew Polish-built Pantswowe Zaclady Lotnicze PZL P-24 Yastreb ("Hawk") fighters. In April 1942, he was appointed flight instructor at the fighter pilot school in Dolna Mitropoliya. The following year, Spissarevsky and Sublieutenant Michail Banov were assigned to German fighter units stationed along the French Atlantic coast and along the English Channel, to observe their operations. Upon his return, he wrote a comprehensive report on the techniques and tactics he had observed. By the time he was reassigned to the 3rd Group of the 6th Fighter Regiment, "Spaitch," as Spissarevsky was called by his colleagues, was impatient to take part in the defense of Sofia, then already under attack by Allied bombers.

Spissarevsky flew his first and last combat mission on December 20, 1943. When the order for takeoff came, the engine of his Me-109G-2 would not start, and he switched to one of the staff aircraft. "Now blood will be shed," he remarked to one of the mechanics. "If I must die, I would like to perish with my plane, but before that I must shoot down at least one of the enemy!" He then hastened to catch up with the rest of his flight.

Over the village of Dolni Passarel, Spissarevsky encountered two B-24s and immediately attacked one of them head-on, with guns blazing. The pilot of Big Nig, a B-24H No. 92 of the 376th Bomb Group, instinctively pulled up, but Spissarevsky also pulled up and struck the bomber's fuselage just behind the wings. There was a terrible explosion. Another witness, Sublieutenant Michael Georgiev, alleged that just before Spissarevsky rammed the plane his guns stopped, their ammunition probably exhausted.

The Bulgarian press made a great deal of Spissarevsky's sacrifice, and be was posthumously promoted to captain. The Japanese embassy in Sofia also asked for details of the ramming attack, which was widely publicized and acclaimed in Japan. About 10 months later, the Japanese initiated suicidal ramming attacks of their own—the dreaded kamikazes.

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A second Bulgarian "human torpedo" was Nedeltcho Bontchev, who was born in Sofia on June 21, 1917. After graduating from the Royal Military School in 1940, he took his advanced pilot training in Piacenza, Italy, then trained at the fighter pilot school at Karlovo before joining the 2nd Group of the 6th Fighter Regiment. He commanded a squadron of antiquated Czechoslovak-built Avia B-534 biplanes in a futile attack on B-24Ds coming back from the Ploesti raid on August 1, 1943. His unit later switched to the French-built Dewoitine D.520C, with which he seriously damaged a B-24 and forced it to drop out of formation during the American bombing raid on Sofia on December 20, 1943. His group was re-equipped with Messerschmitt Me-109G-6s in March1944, and on March 3.0 he shot down a Boeing B-17 over Pernik.

On April 17,44 the Allies launched their 10-th raid on Sofia with 350 bombers. his was known as " BLACK EASTER" by the Bulgarian fighter force which sent 32 planes against them-only to lose six pilots killed, four forced to bail out and six others forced to crash-land, while many of the aircraft that returned to their airfields were riddled with bullets.

One reason for the slaughter was the first appearance over Sofia of North American P-51s, of the 31st fighter group ,which looked like German Me-109s from a distance.But then Bonchev heard a hoarse voice in his earphones, shouting, "Boys,these are Mustangs!"Two P-51s got on his tail,but he managed to shake them off. At one point Bontchev found himself alone at 20,000 feet, watching a formation of B-17s retiring to the southwest.He turned his plane toward the last bomber of the formation.He attacked it from below.His bullets hit the Fortress' belly .He approached the bomber too close and then noticed that all ammunition was exhausted.He tried to make a turn to the side ,but it was too late and he hit the bomber's tail.The tail was broken.The Messerschmitt also broke in two just in front of the cockpiot.The engine broke off and fell toward the earth.Bontchev fell downward loosing consciousness.At one time he regained consciousness but then realised that he was tied to the metal seat of his fighter,which had been torn off from the airplane together with him.The parachute was attached to it.Just about 3,000 feets above earth he managed to untied himself from the seat and open the parachute. He fell on some stony ground along a cornfield,without boots on his legs..... In October 1944 Bonchev led his last fight against this time the German motorized ground forces along the road near Kriva Palanka in Macedonia(Bulgaria joined the Alliance in September 1944)His plane was hit and he bailed out but was captured by the Germans.He was later killed by SS guards when a column of prisoners was being marched fom Austria into southern Germany in April 1945.

On April 17,1944, the their 10th raid on Sofia, with This was known as "Black Easter" by the Bulgarian fighter force, which sent 32 planes against them—only to lose six pilots killed, four forced to bail out and others forced to crash-land, while of the aircraft that returned to their airfields were riddled with bullets.

One reason for the slaughter was the first appearance over Sofia of North American P-51s, of die 31st Fighter Group, which looked like German Me-109s from a distance. But then Bontchev heard a hoarse voice in his earphones, shouting, "Boys, i these are Mustangs 1" Two P-5Is got

On his tail, but he managed to shake them off . He was then unwilling to let anything approach him, uncertain of which were Bulgarian and which were American. The fight became chaotic. …

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injuries after scoring his second victory by ramming a Boeing B-17.