The skirmish at Sövde was an aerial incident in 1944 where a German Messerschmitt Me 410 and an American

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

accidentally flew into Swedish airspace. After several warning shots, the incident evolved into a short-lived confrontation around

Sövde Sövde is a locality situated in Sjöbo Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the wes ...

between the Swedish air defence and the German and American planes.

Background

The German confrontation

Upon entering Swedish airspace near

Simrishamn Simrishamn is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Simrishamn Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 6,527 inhabitants in 2010. Despite its small population, Simrishamn is, for historical reasons, usually still referred to as a Stad ...

, a

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

Messerschmitt Me 410 faced numerous warning shots by Swedish

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

artillery, although the German plane would ignore the shots making the Swedes declare ''luftfara'' (air hazard) at 11:52. A Swedish motor brigade observed the Messerschmitt's movements closely; this is when the German plane started firing at the Swedes who returned fire. The German plane crashed shortly thereafter due to the Swedish anti-aircraft fire, killing both of the German crew as well as the Swedish

conscript Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

Nils Holmberg who was hit by the aircraft as it crashed.https://www.forcedlandingcollection.se/USAAFe/USAAF035-440411-lackinshackin.html The German crew would later be revealed to be

Feldwebel '' '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupied Serbia ...

Josef Kaulartz and Max Schultz.

The American confrontation

An hour later, a damaged

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

commanded by pilot Frank C. Ammann also entered Swedish airspace. While returning from a bombing mission to the German city of

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

the aircraft had been damaged by German anti-aircraft fire, forcing them to break formation and head for Sweden to make an emergency landing.https://www.forcedlandingcollection.se/USAAFe/USAAF035-440411-lackinshackin.html However, after Swedish anti-aircraft fire, most of the crew left by parachutes to land safely on the ground. The remaining pilot Ammann crash landed the bomber at Näsby boställe.

Aftermath

After the crash landing Ammann left the plane to run for a farm house, then tried return to the aircraft but was prevented to do so down by an off-duty

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

soldier. The Americans would be treated well by the locals, Frank Ammann would even be invited for breakfast by the Emilsson family where he would give his helmet to Caj Emilsson as a souvenir. The German pilots were buried in the local Sövde graveyard, their graves later relocated to

Trelleborg Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of 31 December 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the Smygehuk, southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is one ...

in the 1970s. The B-17 would later be confiscated and scrapped by Swedish authorities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skirmish at Sovde Battles involving Sweden Battles involving the United States Battles involving Germany Swedish military altercations during the Second World War 1944 in Sweden Sjöbo Municipality 20th century in Malmöhus County

Background

The German confrontation

The American confrontation

Aftermath

See also

References