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 AP TE R FIV E 70 BATTLES OVER THE OCEAN N orthern Fleet Air Force units continued to soldier on with their Hurricanes in the early months of 1943. Pilots were flying aircraft that were much the same as the Hawker fighters that had first seen service with the RAF back in 1938, yet they were now having to contend with a formidable new generation of enemy fighters. These included the latest variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the G-2/6 series, as well as the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It might seem almost unthinkable that Soviet pilots could still shoot down enough enemy aircraft while flying such obsolete fighters in 1943 to earn themselves the title of ace. However, as late as 20 July that year, Hurricane ace Jr Lt Aleksey Pilipenko was still regularly engaging the Luftwaffe in the British machine. Addressing a conference of pilots from 27th and 78th IAPs, he listed the pitfalls and extolled the virtues of an aircraft that he had plenty of combat experience in; ‘The design of the Hurricane is an obsolete one dating back to 1934. It is a large fighter and has a thick wing. It can be detected easily in the air, is weak in the vertical fight, slow to gain speed and quick to lose it. The engine cuts out in a dive and you have to close the throttle and then open it again smoothly to restore power. O n the positive side, it has excellent armament and good manoeuvrability, which can be used to advantage in dogfights with enemy aircraft in conjunction with faster types like the Yak-1 and the Airacobra.’ This frank assessment suggests that even in 1943 the Hurricane was still capable of giving a good account of itselfwhen used in coordination with higher performance fighters. That year the Northern Fleet Air Force command found itself with no ground attack aircraft at its disposal at a time when it was called upon to disrupt the enemy’s coastal supply convoys. Hurricanes of 78th IAP were therefore hastily equipped with underwing bomb racks and the first attack on German shipping attempted on 17 February. The aircraft were re-deployed from Vaenga-1 to Zubovka airfield under the command of Hurricane ace Capt Aleksey Dizhevskiy so as to bring them within closer range of enemy vessels. The fighters were not to be there for very long, however. The deployment got off to a bad start when one of the aircraft in-bound from Vaenga-1 was shot down by two Bf 109s, Sgt V P Chukov, flying Hurricane DR356, being attacked while making his landing approach. A few hours later the airfield was targeted by Bf 110 fighter-bombers, escorted by Bf 109s. By then 78th IAP had already flown several sorties from Zubovka, which lacked any protection for aircraft, as well as inadequate flak defences. Accordingly, the Hurricane pilots were anxious to return to Vaenga-1. Aleksey Pilipenko, born the son of a clerk in 1912 in the Rostov region, entered Eysk Naval Aviation School in 1940 and graduated tw o years later. Posted to 78th IAP, Northern Fleet Air Force, he scored the first of his six Hurricane victories on 2 June 1942. Pilipenko was twice awarded the Order of the Red Banner prior to being killed in action on 20 July 1943 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com