Marinos Mitralexis | 73 years since the death of the legendary Greek pilot who downed an Italian aircraft

Defence Redefined

19/09/2021

Marinos Mitralexis was an Air Force officer who made history during the Greek-Italian war in 1940, marked by the unconventional downing of an enemy plane.

He was born in 1916 in Mila, Messinia. In October ’36 he enrolled in the (then) Aviation School, where he graduated with the rank of Pilot Officer in August 1938. The war finds him serving in the 22nd Fighters Squadron based in Megali Mikra just off Thessaloniki, which conducted flights using Polish-made PZL P24 fighter jets.

At noon on November 2, 1940, while the Squadron was on full alert, Polish-made PZL P24 aircraft were seen over the Veria, accompanied by attack aircraft, flying to Thessaloniki. An alarm was sounded in Mikra of Thessaloniki and a formation of planes took off to intercept them. They succeeded in doing so and averted the bombing of Thessaloniki.

During the air battles, the squadron commander Mitralexis found that his ammunition had not been destroyed, so he swiftly attacked an enemy Savoia-Marchetti-type bomber. Using the propeller of his engine he managed to cut off the tail rudder of the enemy plane and downed it near Langadas. 

Despite the serious damage suffered by the propeller of his plane, he managed to land it in a field, at the point where the crew of the downed Italian bomber had landed with their parachutes a little earlier. With the help of villagers, he arrested them and transferred them to the Military Command of Thessaloniki. During the German occupation, he escaped to the Middle East, where he continued his military action.

This amazing incident became immediately known to the Greek and foreign press, raising the morale and pride of our Air Force. In fact, this incident quickly found imitators, giving Mitralexis the reputation of the legendary pilot. For this daring act, he was honored with the Golden Excellence for Gallantry, the highest moral reward in time of war. It is worth noting that he is the only Greek Aviator who was awarded this distinction during the war. Mitralexis certainly was not satisfied with this alone, as he continued his achievements after the war.

Even his death was glorious. He was killed in September ’48 when the Oxford aircraft with which he was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the Aegean, crashed after an engine failure, in the sea area of ​​Tinos, where it sank. He was posthumously awarded the rank of Wing Commander after he had been awarded many distinctions for his actions from 1940 to 1945.

With information from: Air Force, sansimera.gr

Also read: Dimitrios Kamperos | The daring Greek aviator and the first military flight