The Airbattle over Simrishamn, or Airbattle of Simrishamn (3 April 1945) was an aerial incident that occurred during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
where a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
fighter pilot, named Harry Nordlund, went down in an attempt to repel a German aircraft violating Swedish territory. The German three-engined Dornier with three machine guns ended up retreating after another Swedish pilot, Sven Brise, showed up and repelled it from Swedish airspace.
Prelude
On the 2 April 1945, as Nordlund was out on patrol, he came across a German plane, flying over
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 west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
violating its airspace. Nordlund tried to repel the Germans from Swedish airspace, which led to a heated aerial battle between the two aircraft. The incident happened just a few weeks before the war eventually ended.
Shelling
When the German aircraft noticed the Swedish aircraft attempting to repel it from the Swedish airspace, the battle broke out. The German Dornier started firing shots at Nordlund's aircraft and his plane engine eventually caught fire. Nordlund did not have enough time to manage to jump out of the plane, the aircraft eventually exploded, and Nordlund died with it. Nordlund's second in command, Sven Brise, was too late to witness what had happened, but afterwards he managed to repel the German intruder. It was only when he had returned to his airfield that he understood what had happened to his comrade. Harry Nordlund is known for being the first Swede ever dying in air combat over Swedish territory, and his intervention was for the protection of
Swedish neutrality
Sweden had a policy of Neutral country, neutrality in armed conflicts from the early 19th century, until 2009, when it entered into various mutual defence treaties with the European Union (EU), and other Nordic countries.
See also
*
Skirmish at Sövde
The skirmish at Sövde was an aerial incident in 1944 where a German Messerschmitt Me 410 and an American Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress accidentally flew into Swedish airspace. After several warning shots, the incident evolved into a short-lived c ...
- an aerial incident between Sweden, a German and an American plane.
*
German-Swedish skirmishes in Lapland
The German-Swedish skirmishes in Lapland were a series of confrontations between the Swedish and German militaries. During the German invasion of Norway, the Luftwaffe would make numerous incursions into Swedish airspace, but without a serious resp ...
- a series of confrontations between the Swedish and German militaries during World War II.
* Sinking of SS ''C.F. Liljevalch'' - a torpedoing by the Soviets of a Swedish steamboat near Västervik.