Found, salvaged and preserved! A Blenheim shot down in Crete by friendly fire on April 28, 1941
By Pierre Kosmidis The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from mainland Greece towards Crete and Egypt is in full swing, during the last chaotic days of April 1941. A repetition of the Dunkirk operation on a smaller scale sees thousands of allied soldiers fleeing the nazi advance in mainland Greece, following the capitulation of […]
The last bastion: The surrender document of German forces in Crete, 10 May 1945
By Pierre Kosmidis A unique document, titled “Instrument of local surrender of German and Italian forces in Crete”, put into paper the terms of the unconditional surrender of the remaining Axis soldiers on the island of Crete. Following the Battle of Crete, in May 1941, the island saw a barbaric occupation by the Germans, which […]
German fallschirmjäger and the last bridge over Corinth Canal, Greece, Saturday 26 April 1941
By Pierre Kosmidis The Germans had established air superiority early in the campaign. As they consolidated their positions German fighters and dive bombers dominated even more. Percy Parrymore was with the 122/13th Light Anti Aircraft unit in Greece. As the British made their withdrawal from Greece his troop was selected to remain as a rearguard […]
The lost Spitfires: Searching for the aircraft wrecks of the WW2 legends
By Pierre Kosmidis WW2 Aviation enthusiasts in Greece, members of www.aviationarchaeology.gr have initiated a search for the Spitfire wrecks lost between April 4th to August 7th, 1945. Those three Supermarine Spitfires crashed in the area of Vari (see map below) and belonged to the 335 and 336 Fighter Squadrons of the Royal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF). According to […]
WW2 Submarine Papanikolis: Truth and fiction beneath the waves
By Pierre Kosmidis The Greek submarine Y-2 “Papanikolis”, named after Dimitris Papanikolis (1790–1855), a naval hero of the Greek Revolution, famous for being the first to successfully employ a fireship to destroy an Ottoman ship, was one of the most successful Greek submarines during the Second World War. According to the Hellenic Navy, “Papanikolis” is […]
Then and now: 75 years after the German invasion of Greece, April 6, 1941
By Pierre Kosmidis Current photos: Lt. Col. (ret.) Ilias Kotridis Archive photos: Pierre Kosmidis
A rare Greek Bloch MB 151 in full colour, by artist Markos Danezis
By Pierre Kosmidis According to research done by the blog A history of military equipment of Modern Greece (1821 – today), the Bloch MB.151 was the most modern fighter of the Greek Airforce in 1940; clearly superior to the Italian G.50s and at least equal to the MC.200s. However, out of the 25 ordered before […]
Found! A Bf109 shot down in Crete and the… “Odyssey” of the pilot to Australia and back
By Pierre Kosmidis Photos by www.aviationarchaeology.gr An unknown page of the Battle of Crete came literally back to the surface, as underwater explorers of www.aviationarchaeology.gr checked on the remains of a WW2 aircraft in the Bay of Suda, Crete. The divers, made all necessary measurements of the aircraft and after consulting the official accounts of […]
Ο Νίκος Καββαδίας γράφει: “Το Θαύμα της Αλβανίας απ’ τη σκοπιά της ΙΙΙ Μεραρχίας”, πρώτη έκδοση, 1945
By Pierre Kosmidis Η πρώτη έκδοση του βιβλίου “Το Θαύμα της Αλβανίας απ’ τη σκοπιά της ΙΙΙ Μεραρχίας”, σε επιμέλεια του Ξένιου Ξενίτα, βγήκε το 1945 και σε αυτό περιλαμβανόταν και ένα σύντομο διήγημα του Νίκου Καββαδία, ο οποίος υπηρέτησε και εκείνος στην τρίτη μεραρχία την περίοδο του ελληνοϊταλικού πολέμου 1940-41. Το αφήγημα «Στο άλογό […]
Aviation Art – Anastasios Polychronis: “I want to tell a story through my works”
By Pierre Kosmidis Artwork by Anastasios Polychronis Click to read the Greek version Διαβάστε τη συνέντευξη στα ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ Anastasios Polychronis is a graphic artist, plastic modeler and aviation enthusiast, who creates aviation art in various ways. Mr. Polychronis started with editing flight simulator screenshots and slowly evolved to creating CG artworks. He turned professional some years ago […]