1941 Junkers flew to Moscow

75 years ago, on May 15, 1941, a German three-engine Junkers-52 transport aircraft invaded Soviet airspace in the Bialystok region and, never intercepted by Soviet fighters, landed safely at the Central Airfield in Moscow near the Dynamo stadium. Under the escort of Soviet fighters, the aircraft was returned to Germany. This incident gave rise to a new wave of repression among the leaders of the Soviet Air Force and Air Defense.

"Junkers" was not intercepted due to inconsistency in the air defense system. VNOS posts discovered the German plane only when it had gone 29 km deep into Soviet territory. The observers mistook the German car for a scheduled DC-3 (Li-2) aircraft and did not report to anyone about the appearance of the aircraft. The Bialystok airfield, having received information about the passage of the Junkers, did not notify the command of the nearby air defense units, since since May 9 communication with the air defense forces was interrupted for technical reasons. As a result, the command of the Western Air Defense Zone received information about the Yu-52 flight only when the plane landed in Moscow. The Main Directorate of the Air Force of the Red Army received information about the aircraft that flew over the border without permission, but did not intercept the intruder.