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.

battle, Jr Lts Maslennikov and Nour reportedly downing a Bf 109 and a Bf 110 respectively, but their claims are unconfirmed. Low cloud and poor visibility aided the safe return of the Soviet formation without loss. The shipping strikes did not continue to go unpunished, however. That same evening nine Ju 87s, escorted by 11 Bf 109s, raided Pummanki and three Hurricanes sustained slight damage. From that day onwards the airfield was subjected to systematic air attacks and shelling by Wehrmacht artillery batteries on the opposite bank of the Sredniy peninsula. The Soviet ground attack aircraft also suffered at the hands of Luftwaffe fighters. Indeed, the records of JG 5 show that during the next sortie mounted by the Il-2s and Hurricanes, on 13 June, Bf 109s downed a Shturmovik and damaged Hurricane BD931. The pilot of the latter machine, Jr Lt Andrey Nikolayev, managed to nurse his damaged aircraft as far as the Rybachiy peninsula, where he made an emergency landing that left him injured and the fighter destroyed. These losses prompted the use of faster P-39s and Yak-1s as part of the attack group, their task being to provide close escort for the Hurricanes and Il-2s in an attempt to deter the Bf 109s from targeting the Soviet aircraft. In practice, it proved difficult for the escort fighters to properly coordinate their efforts with the ground attack aircraft. Often, en route to the target, the P-39s and Yak-1s would leave the aircraft they were supposed to be escorting to engage Luftwaffe fighters, thus exposing the Il-2s and Hurricanes to attack from other Bf 109s. And Yak-1 pilots were also reluctant to stay and fight with enemy fighters due to the aircraft’s small fuel reserves. As a result, they frequently broke away from their charges, leaving the Il-2s and Hurricanes without cover. It was not long before the anti-shipping sorties boiled over into fully-fledged aerial battles. One of the first major operations against an enemy convoy was conducted on 19 June. That some day Adonkin claimed another victory whilst leading eight Hurricanes that were accompanying four Il-2s —six Yak-1s and eight P-39s provided the fighter escort. At 0300 hrs the attack aircraft swept in from 400 m (1300 ft) to engage the enemy convoy. Comprising three transports, five patrol boats and two minesweepers, it was approaching its home port of Liinakhamari with an escort of 13 Bf 109s and four Bf 110s circling overhead. The Soviet aircraft were still eight kilometres (five miles) from the target when they were intercepted by a large force of enemy fighters. Some of the Messerschmitts engaged the Hurricanes, which in turn became separated from the Il-2s. The latter were left unprotected, as the 20 Yak-1s from 20th IAP that should have been providing a fighter escort were still at high altitude. They eventually arrived over the convoy just as the battle was ending. By then the Il-2s had managed to evade the fighters and fight their way to the ships. Making a single pass, the Shturmoviks strafed, rocketed and bombed the vessels from an altitude of 200 m (650 ft). Fighting for their survival, the Hurricane pilots engaged in a fierce battle with the opposing fighters, which soon gained the upper hand. No fewer than five Hurricanes (AM274, KX144, KX404, KX488 and KX730) were shot down into the sea, resulting in the deaths of Jr Lts Vasiliy Nazarov (a flight commander), Petr Gaplikov and Nikolai Starosvetskiy. Lts Yuriy Maslennikov and Fyodor Kochanov bailed out 73 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com B A T T L E SOVER THE OCEAN