Рыбин, Ю. В. Советские асы на Харрикейнах в годы Второй Мировой Войны / Юрий Рыбин . – [Б. м. ] : Osprey Publishing, 2012. – 97 с. : ил., портр. – Англ. яз.

CH A P TE R TWO 18 This photograph of Hurricanes on the Karelian Front was taken in the polar twilight during the w inter of 1941-42. Note the crudely over­ painted RAF roundel and the red star w ith a black outline on the underside of the Hurricane's port wing Nose-overs represented a frequent mishap for Hurricane pilots while they was taxiing or landing on unpaved airfields. Such an accident usually destroyed the fighter's wooden propeller, thus leading to the Hurricane spending long periods out of service due to a shortage of replacement parts 103rd SAD’s activities concerned the Finnish Air Force command enough to force it to transfer 2/LeLv 24, equipped with Brewster B-239s, to the northerly airfield of Tiliksjarvi on 8 January 1942 to bolster the forces opposing Soviet air regiments in the area. The next day eight Brewsters were transferred from Kondogoli to Tiliksjarvi, and they encountered Hurricanes from 152nd IAP when they targeted their airfield shortly after arrival. Five Hurricanes carried out the attack, and judging by their combat reports the pilots achieved considerable success, claiming the destruction of seven enemy aircraft in the air and on the ground. What follows is an extract from 152nd IAP’s account of the day’s action; ‘At 1325 hrs three passes were made by five Hurricanes in an attack on the airfield at Tiliksjarvi, where five aircraft were concealed in the outskirts of the forest. As a result of the attack four Fokker aircraft were taken out of action. The second airfield, where up to ten Brewsters and Fokkers were located, was attacked at 1340 hrs, and three aircraft were damaged. Up to seven Brewsters and Fokkers appeared following this attack and engaged our fighters. As a result, three Brewster and two Fokker aircraft were damaged. Our losses amounted to one Hurricane and pilot Lyusov, who, having destroyed a Fokker, was shot down. The exact location o f the crash site has not been established. ‘As a result of these attacks on Tiliksjarvi and the aerial battle, seven aircraft were destroyed on the ground and in the air, our pilots making the following claims —Eliseev (one Brewster), Gavrilov (one Brewster), Lyusov (one Fokker) and Zelentsov and Kuznetsov (one Brewster each).’ It is hard to believe that the pilots achieved such a high degree of success, however, with the rifle-calibre Browning 0.303-in machine guns fitted in their Hurricanes. Moreover, the Finns confirmed that only one aircraft had been damaged on the ground. Five Brewster B-239s managed to take off during the attack and two engaged the Hurricanes, but they achieved no success because their guns jammed. The B-239s sustained minor combat damage in return — just two holes in the starboard side of one aircraft. The four Fokker D.XXIs of LeLv 14 were even luckier. Having taken off under fire from the Hurricanes, future ace Sgt Hemmo Leino destroyed one of the Soviet attackers. According to Soviet archival documents, Lt V N Lyusov failed to return from this sortie in Hurricane DR340. © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com