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.

Hurricanes from 78th IAP fly in close formation w ith an SB bomber during one of the unit's first escort missions in late 1941. Despite the freezing temperatures, the pilots all appear to be flying w ith the their canopies open! behind them, the crews relaxed their vigilance. It was only when the dark grey clouds were lit up by tracer rounds that the gunners woke up and returned fire. For one of the Heinkels it was already too late because its left-hand engine was on fire. Having dealt the bomber a telling blow in his first pass, Reutov repositioned himself for an attack on the He 111’s tail. As he closed in the German gunner’s weapon jammed, allowing the Soviet pilot to fire at the second engine from close range. That too was set ablaze, forcing the pilot of the bomber to make an emergency landing — the burning aircraft ditched in Lake Kildin, not far from the shore. The crew managed to escape from the sinking aircraft in their inflatable dinghy, but they were unable to evade capture by the Soviets. By the end of 1941 the Northern Fleet Air Force had 30 Hurricanes distributed evenly between 78th IAP and 72nd SAP, the latter unit being in the process of becoming 2nd Guards Combined Air Regiment of the Red Banner (abbreviated in official documents to 2nd GKAP). One of its squadrons was equipped with aircraft supplied under lend-lease, the unit commander of the Northern Fleet Air Force, Maj Gen A A Kuznetsov, making it clear that he expected his experienced pilots to become familiar with their new equipment in the shortest possible time. The technical personnel were ordered to assemble the Hurricanes by 15 January so that the regiment could be ready for operations by the 20th. According to operational reports from Northern Fleet Air Force headquarters, 2nd GKAP’s pilots flew their first Hurricane sortie on 29 January, when nine fighters took off to patrol overhead the Northern Fleet’s main base. During the 1942 spring campaign that followed it was 78th IAP and 2nd GKAP that bore the brunt of the fighting against the Luftwaffe on the Kola Peninsula. An indication of the high cost both units paid during the course of these battles is the fact that to maintain their strength during the first half of the year, the Northern Fleet Air Force received 80 Hurricanes in all, not counting those handed over by No 151 Wing upon its departure in late October 1941. 37 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com NORTHERN FLEET ACES