The site is dedicated to my father,Stoyan Stoyanov, and his comrades-the bulgarian ww2 fighter pilots. Unfortunately the political orientation of Bulgaria forced Bulgarian pilots into combat with other brave airmen who fought and sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the world from Nazi domination.
Vesselin Stoyanov
They all hoped for peace. But there was a war taking place, and brave men from both sides continued to climb into their airplanes and engage each other in deadly combat.Their bravery could be a partial explanation for why the aerial battles were so gruesome!
Col. Jay Stout - F-18 fighter pilot and writer
The U.S. Fifteenth Air Force had more than 1,200 bombers and 600 to 700 fighters at its disposal for operations against targets in southeastern Europe, while we usually had only 30 to 50 airworthy fighters. We all realized what the fight would be like and who the ultimate winner would have to be. In spite of all that, however, we felt that we had to fight for the honor of Bulgarian arms and, if necessary, to die-if only to show the whole world that even though the enemy was much stronger, the Bulgarians fight selflessly when they must defend their military honor, their people and their homeland. The enemy was numerous, but that didn't scare us. We only regretted that our number was so small.
gen. Stoyan Stoyanov
The most difficult aircraft to attack was the B-17 Flying Fortress without a doubt. They flew in defensive boxes, a heavy defensive formation, and with all of their heavy .50-caliber machine guns they were dangerous to approach. We finally adopted the head-on attack , but only a few experts could do this successfully, and it took nerves of steel.
Of all the Allied fighters the most difficult to handle with a good pilot at the controls was the Lightning. It was fast, low profiled and a fantastic fighter, and a real danger when it was above you. It was only vulnerable if you were behind it, a little below and closing fast, or turning into it, but on the attack it was a tremendous aircraft. The P-51 [Mustang] was deadly because of the long range, and it could cover any air base in Europe.
Gen. Johannes Steinhoff - German ww2 fighter ace
Click here for BULGARIAN textClick here for GERMAN text(Deutsch)
Click here for FRENCH text(Francais)
CLICK HERE TO READ HIS STORY ABOUT THE FIRST VICTORY OVER B-24 BOMBERS AND THE SAME COMBAT DESCRIBED BY ENEMY FIGHTERS
"....I am not a very religious although I have graduated from a seminary but, just in case, I cross myself. In a few seconds I must aim my guns . I chose the machine in the middle, the leading one, flag-man of the group. If I manage to put it out of action, I can probably prevent their possible wish to hit the capital city."
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT ANOTHER VICTORY OVER A B-24 BOMBER AND THE SAME COMBAT DESCRIBED BY AN AMERICAN TURRET GUNNER -CREW MEMBER OF THIS AIRCRAFT .
Stoyanov, neglected by the communist regime after the war, has lived and worked for about 30 years as a guide of visitors in the famous Rila Monastery .
RELATED WEBSITES:
CLICK to see all WW2 ACES!
ANOTHER AVIATION WEBSITE click
CLICK to see the NOTES IN A USAAF PILOT'S DIARY ABOUT BOMBING OF SOFIA on March, 1944!
Eminent guests of this website:
Col. Jay Stout- a fighter pilot of F/A-18 "Hornet" and author of the book"Hornets over Kuwait" (The Desert storm air war in 1991) and "FORTRESS PLOESTI-the campaign to destroy Hitler's oil"
Lieut. General George Loving-a P-51 Mustang Ace from ww2 and author of the
book "Woodbine Red Leader".
Sgt. Robert Johnson-Top gunner of B-24 bomber in ww2 and author of the book "Gidi Gidi Boom Boom"
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Contact : vstoyanov1222@abv.bg
REFERENCES:
J.Dugan and C. Stewart. Ploesti - The great grand-air battle of 1 August 1943 (USA-2002) p. 202-203
Jay Stout. Fortress Ploesti - The campaign to destroy Hitler's oil (USA-2003), p. 68-70, 180-185
Sgt. Robert Johnson. "Gidi Gidi Boom Boom"(USA-2006) p.134-139