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.

bombs from a shallow dive. Enemy artillery threw up a fierce anti-aircraft barrage and Kurzenkov felt shrapnel hit both the engine of his fighter and his left leg as he pulled out of his dive. Fearing that his engine might stop at any moment, Kurzenkov decided not to head for the sea but instead steered a straight course for home, despite this route taking him over enemy-held territory. There were designated ‘air corridors’ over Soviet territory, and any aircraft flying outside them was regarded as hostile. But losing blood and nursing a badly damaged aircraft, Kurzenkov had no choice but to ignore the ‘air corridors’, as having crossed the frontline, he had to take the shortest route back to his own airfield before he passed out. Within minutes of entering Soviet airspace his Hurricane, AM356, was caught in searchlights and he was immediately targeted by intense anti-aircraft fire. Unable to fly the last few kilometres back to base, Kurzenkov was forced to bail out from a height of just 80 m (260 ft). To make matters worse, his parachute had been damaged when the Hurricane was hit by shrapnel, and it did little to retard his fall. Luckily for him, Kurzenkov landed on the side of a steep hill that was covered by deep snow, allowing him to survive the heavy impact. A soldier from the airfield service battalion stumbled across the seriously wounded pilot, who had lost consciousness. Sergey Kurzenkov underwent two surgical procedures and his damaged right kidney was removed. After a lengthy convalescence, he spent the rest of his military career on administrative duties. Kurzenkov was subsequently awarded the title of HSU by a state decree dated 24 July 1943. In less than 18 months of fighting Sergey Kurzenkov had flown 197 operational sorties (one source puts the figure at 209), logged 214 flying hours and participated in 20 aerial battles. He was transferred to the reserves with the rank of colonel in August 1950 and died on 18 November 1981. As the polar nights shortened in 1943, combat activity in the skies above Murmansk intensified as the number of aircraft on either side increased. But with many pilots reporting the simultaneous destruction of enemy aircraft, it is now virtually impossible to determine who the victors really were. A Hurricane IIB is prepared for a night mission during early 1943. Such sorties, which targeted enemy airfields, proved difficult to fly because of poor w eather conditions - night flights w ere only performed by a small number of highly experienced pilots. These missions were, in the main, largely ineffective 69 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com AR CT IC WAR HOTS UP