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.

On 2 June 1942, while repelling an air raid on the port of Murmansk, the pilots of the Northern Fleet Air Force reported shooting down ten enemy aircraft. Pictured here are 78th IAP Hurricane aces Snr Lt Vasiliy Doroshin (right), who claimed a Bf 109 to add to his score, and Snr Lt Dizhevskiy (left), who shot down tw o Ju 87s in the Hurricanes an opportunity to attack the enemy bombers without interference. Snr Lt Dizhevskiy, who was leading six Hurricanes, subsequently reported; ‘We were patrolling over Mishukov Cape airfield when we encountered eight or nine Ju 87s at 1125 hrs at an altitude of 3500 m [11,375 ft]. They were flying out of the cloud and out of the sun on a bombing mission. I called on my group to close up and we attacked head-on and from below as a group. Having prevented the enemy aircraft from diving on their targets, they lost altitude and attempted to turn for home. This was a mistake, as their manoeuvring allowed us to get in behind them and continue the pursuit. ‘I attacked two Ju 87s, the first from behind and below. I fired two bursts into its engine and the Stuka started to smoke. Dropping onto its port wing, the aircraft went down vertically in flames. I then attacked a second Ju 87. I caught up with it and attacked from below and behind from a distance of 30-20 m. After I had used up all my ammunition, I watched as the Ju 87’s engine cowlings broke loose and the engine started to smoke heavily. The aircraft disappeared in a steep dive east of Lake Pyayve-Yavr. I was not able to pursue the dive-bombers any further because of an Me 110, which I engaged in combat. Following this battle I landed safely at my home airfield. My aircraft was undamaged.’ The victories reported by Aleksey Dizhevskiy represented the third and fourth he had scored while flying the Hurricane, and following this success he was promoted to the rank of captain. In all, the pilots of 78th IAP claimed to have destroyed ten enemy aircraft during the 2 June raid. This total was comprised of six Ju 87s, three Bf 109s and a single Bf 110. German sources state that 3./StG 5 lost only two Ju 87Rs (Wk-Nrs. 5485 and 5545) and had three crewmen killed (Oberleutnant Karl Pauls, Unteroffizier Jakob Holtmaier and Leutnant Karl Rapp). Air gunner © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com AR CT IC WAR HOTS UP