Air battle over Merklín

Part of Cold War

USAF Republic F-84E

Date	10 March 1953
Location	Merklín, Czechoslovakia, Bohemian Forest
Result	American F-84 fighter-bomber shot down

Belligerents

Czechoslovakia

United States

Commanders and leaders

Jaroslav Šrámek

Lt. Warren G. Brown

Strength

2 MiG-15

2 F-84 Thunderjet

Casualties and losses

none

1 F-84 shot down
Pilot survived

The Air battle over Merklín was an air-to-air engagement between Czechoslovak and USAFE air units over the Czech village of Merklín, in the Bohemian Forest, on 10 March 1953. During the action Czech pilot Jaroslav Šrámek, flying a MiG-15, shot down one of a pair of American F-84E Thunderjets (from 53rd Fighter Bomber Squadron, 36th Fighter-Bomber Wing) which fell 35 miles inside the German border. The American pilot, Lt. Warren G. Brown, bailed out safely over West German territory.^[1]^[2]

References

Sources

"Czech fighter pilot recalls Cold War dogfight" by Collin O'Connor. Radio Prague, 4 October 2004
Souboj nad Železnou oponou (Duel Above The Iron Curtain), 2000 article by Tomáš Soušek (Czech)
23 March 1953 article from Life Magazine, pages 29 – 31, (via Google Books)

Coordinates: 49°33′38″N 13°11′52″E / 49.56056°N 13.19778°E / 49.56056; 13.19778

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