Marinos Mitralexis ( el, Μαρίνος Μητραλέξης, 1920–1948) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

credited with 5 aerial victories. He gained fame when he managed to bring down an enemy bomber by

ramming In warfare, ramming is a technique used in air, sea, and land combat. The term originated from battering ram, a siege weapon used to bring down fortifications by hitting it with the force of the ram's momentum, and ultimately from male sheep. Thus, ...

its tail, on 2 November 1940.

Career

Mitralexis graduated as a Second Lieutenant from the

Hellenic Air Force Academy The Hellenic Air Force Academy ( el, Σχολή Ικάρων, abbr. ΣΙ (SI)) is a military academy responsible for supplying the Hellenic Air Force with military pilots, aeronautical engineers, air traffic and air defence controllers. The firs ...

in summer 1940. In the following

Greek-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdoms of Italy and G ...

(October 28, 1940 to April 7, 1941), he was posted to the 22nd Pursuit Squadron, based on the airfield of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

. On November 2, a squadron of 15 Italian CANT Z.1007 bombers, with Fiat CR.42 fighter escorts, headed towards Thessaloniki. Soon they were spotted and intercepted by Greek

PZL P.24 The PZL P.24 was a Polish fighter aircraft, designed during the mid-1930s in the PZL factory in Warsaw. It was developed as a dedicated export version of the PZL P.11, a gull wing all-metal fighter designed by Polish aeronautical engineer Zygmun ...

fighters of the 22nd Squadron. During the dogfights, three of the bombers were shot down, while the rest reached their targets, and then started to return to their base in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. Mitralexis, who had already shot down one bomber, was now out of ammunition, so he aimed the nose of his PZL P. 24 right into an enemy bomber's tail, smashing the rudder and sending the bomber out of control. He then had to make an emergency landing near the crashed bomber. Having landed, Mitralexis captured the four surviving crew members of the enemy aircraft using his pistol. For this extraordinary feat, Mitralexis was promoted and awarded a number of medals, including Greece's highest award for bravery, the Gold Cross of Valour. He was the only Air Force officer to be awarded it during the war. When Greece capitulated to Germany (April 1941) he and the rest of the surviving Greek Air Force personnel and aircraft escaped to North Africa to join the Allied forces there. In September 1948, during a routine training flight in an

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery roles throughout the Seco ...

, he died crashing in the south

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

Legacy

At the outbreak of the

on 28 October 1940, the Greek Air Force was severely outnumbered, counting only 79 aircraft against the 380 fighters and bombers available to the Italian '' Regia Aeronautica''. Mitralexis' feat boosted Greek morale, being depicted in several artists' impressions, in newspapers and magazines, as well as on a postage stamp. It propelled Mitralexis to the status of a war hero, eclipsing his subsequent war record of 5 kills. A statue of him is erected in

Ellinikon Elliniko ( el, Ελληνικό, meaning "Greek") is a coastal suburb of Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Elliniko-Argyroupoli, of which it is a municipal unit. Elliniko is known for the Hell ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

References

External links

Greeks bravely met the Axis
, by John Carr. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitralexis, Marinos 1920 births 1948 deaths Greek World War II flying aces Hellenic Air Force officers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Greece) Pilots who performed an aerial ramming Greek military personnel killed in action Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1948 People from Messenia

Career

Legacy

See also

References

External links