„Завесата все още е желязна“. Трагичната история на полет 4Х-АКС в международен и български контекст
“The Curtian is Still Made of Iron”. The Tragic History of 4X-AKC Flight in an International and Bulgarian Context

Summary/Abstract: The study is devoted to the Israeli plane that was fired by two Bulgarian jet fighters over the Bulgarian airspace on the 27th of July 1955. The main purpose of the author is to present the facts and circumstances associated with the tragic 4X-AKC flight and to examine the causes of the tragic event, the international response and the way it was used for propaganda purposes against both Bulgaria and the Eastern bloc and the USSR. The myths and assumptions concerning the plane crash that are a result of the obscure aspects about the reasons why the Israeli plane entered into the Bulgarian territory and the circumstances demanded for it to be brought down are analyzed. A special attention is paid to the impact of the incident on the relations between Bulgaria and Israel as the main parties in that special case and their diplomatic negotiations in order for the issue about the payment of certain compensation to the families of the victims to be resolved. The involvements of international institutions like the United Nations and the International Court of Justice in an attempt for the problem of the guilt and the compensation due thereunder to be solved are scrutinized. Describing the international situation regarding the opposition and the military rivalry and competition between the representatives of the Eastern and Western blocs just at the time when the accident with the 4X-AKC flight used to happen Vanya Mihaylova reached to the conclusion that the main reason is the specific atmosphere of distrust and mutual suspicion. The death of 58 civilian passengers proved that the negotiations during the Geneva conference in 1955 were an example of a “cold detente” in the context of the hot confrontation and “the curtain was still made o f iron”.

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