Would the swedes have shot down a German plane over Gothenburg during ww2?

Question

Im reading a book (Simon and the oaks) which is set in Gothenburg during ww2. Theres a text in the book which says that while they were sitting in the kitchen they heard the anti aircraft gun going off and as they ran outside they saw a German plane crashing into the sea.This to doesnt seem to add up because Sweden was nutural during the war and surely wouldnt want to risk being invaded. Or am i wrong?

I did mention that it was an anti aircraft gun which shot the plane down.

Answer 1

I can find no record of a German plane being shot down by Swedish anti-aircraft fire during WW2. But the absence of any such record does not necessarily mean that it never happened. Probably the only way for you to find out the truth is to try to contact the author, Marianne Fredriksson; but she is now rather old (79) and may not be eager to answer questions; and, besides, I can't find a contact address for her.

The incident in "Simon and the Oaks" is probably fiction.

Although Sweden maintained its traditional armed neutrality (meaning that the Swedes were prepared to defend their territory if attacked) in WW2, for most of the war Sweden was especially careful to avoid offending Germany. Most Swedes may have had more sympathy for the Allies, but they still had to cooperate with Germany. German troops in Denmark, Norway and Finland (as well as across the Baltic in Germany itself and in the Baltic states) effectively surrounded Sweden on all sides. And the Swedish economy depended entirely on trade with German-controlled Europe.

In fact, Sweden felt forced to tilt its neutrality so much toward cooperation with Germany that it allowed an entire German army division to travel to Finland via the Swedish rail system. German ships were allowed to enter Swedish territorial waters. And many courier flights by German aircraft were allowed to fly over Sweden. All of that suggests that the Swedes were not likely to shoot at German aircraft unless they were dropping bombs.

Towards the end of the war, numbers of German airplanes landed in Sweden. Their pilots were escaping from the fighting. The planes and their crews were interned. And a large number of Allied planes, particularly American bombers, also landed in Sweden and were also interned: the excuse was always engine trouble or navigational error; perhaps that was true, or perhaps not. The point is, the Swedes made no attempt to shoot down any of these foreign aircraft.

Answer 2

Sweden was neutral during WWII. There are other reasons why the plane could have crashed besides being shot down. There could have been someone other than a Swede in Sweden at the time, who took a shot at the plane too.

Answer 3

Switzerland was neutral during WWII also, if you look in history they shot down both German and French planes that tried to cross their borders. They also posted an army in front of possible German armies and Allied armies that threatened to cross their borders with the intent of attacking the other sides army. They were neutral but had to enforce that neutrality with force, equally against both sides. If they had not both the Axis and the Allies would have used their territory at one point or another for offensive operations against the other

Answer 4

My father int eh Australian military and he change into stationed in Australia living house throughout WW2 and he advised me that he change into despatched to Scotland to %. up and escort an Italian pilot, who were shot down, decrease back to London. The reasoning change into that an Australian would not be as vengeful as an Englishman may be.