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.

C H A P T ER TWO 32 survivors. The new arrivals were armed with four 20 mm HS 404 Hispano cannon providing 5.64 kg (12.5 lb) of fire per second, which went some way to improving a Soviet pilot’s chances in an encounter with the more modern Bf 109G-2/R6. The new Hurricanes were delivered dismantled and packed in wooden crates to a rear airfield, where the regiment’s technical personnel were immediately sent to assemble them. This was to prove a difficult and time-consuming task, as there were no Russian-language manuals supplied with the aircraft. Particular problems were experienced with the guns, which were found to be complex to install and set up. 152nd IAP began combat operations from its new location virtually immediately. The regiment shared Gremyakha with other units that were also equipped with Hurricanes, namely 760th, 768th and 966th air defence IAPs. Each unit was assigned its own sector of the Kirov railway line to defend, and usually they were expected to do so unaided. However, the most dangerous sector, and the one that suffered the most intensive bombardment by enemy bombers, was that assigned to 152nd IAP. Combat reports of the initial clashes indicate that the regiment’s pilots acquitted themselves well, with formations of dive-bombers, escorted by just two or three Bf 109s, tending to turn away and jettison their bombs short of the target when encountering Soviet fighter patrols. These first battles ended without loss to the Soviet pilots, who often returned to report enemy aircraft destroyed. During the morning of 12 March seven Hurricanes of 152nd IAP, led by Gavrilov, encountered a formation of enemy aircraft that the Soviet pilots took to be three Ju 87s and three Bf 109s. However, during the ensuing battle, the ‘Ju 87s’ unexpectedly raised their undercarriages to reveal themselves as Bf 109s. Yet this rapid transformation from ‘dive-bomber’ to ‘fighter’ did not worry the 152nd’s pilots unduly, as they had been reinforced by two pairs of Hurricanes from 966th IAP just minutes earlier. As a result of the combined action the Soviet pilots reported shooting down five Bf 109s, three being claimed by 152nd IAP and two by 966th IAP, although none of the claims were confirmed. Gavrilov was credited with two individual and one shared kills. Subsequent clashes would reveal the strength of the enemy force in this location, and the danger it posed. On 18 March Soviet pilots were ordered to attack Alakurtti airfield and destroy German aircraft there. However, the defences, both flak and fighters, took a heavy toll of the attackers. O f the four Il-2s of 828th Attack Air Regiment (Shturmovoy Aviatsionniy Polk, ShAP) taking part, none returned. Two were shot down by flak and two by fighters. All the crew members perished apart from one who was able to return to his unit on foot five days later nursing a head wound. 152nd IAP also suffered. Its pilots had been escorting the Il-2s, and all but one of the five Hurricanes involved were shot down (aircraft numbers 519, 545, BN823 and 938). Only Gavrilov managed to avoid the carnage. He eventually succeeded in shaking off the Messerschmitt that had pursued him almost back to base. Two young pilots, MSgts I S Zagorodnikov and N S Kharlamov, were killed, but Sgt G M Sukhov surviveed after belly landing on a frozen lake and escaping from his machine prior to it being strafed by Bf 109s. © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com