Rybin, Y. Luftwaffe ace Walter Schuck researched / Christer Bergstrom, Yuriy Rybin. - Sweden : [s. l.], 2019. - 190 p. : ill.

WALTER SCHUCK Me 109s in the air. After that, the regiment’s pilots who sat in cockpit readiness, turned on their radio transmitters and called out. . . This was an enormous tragedy for our regiment. Those who were in the regiment’s command post by that time told us later that after each take-off, Novozhilov reported by phone to the Diviziya commander: ‘I have lifted the third aircraft - it is burning.’ - ‘Lift next one,’ was heard in the receiver. - ‘I have lifted the fourth—it is shot down.’ - ‘Lift the next!’ After the death of Miusov, Novozhilov slammed the receiver onto the telephone, breaking it, and sank down and cried. All the pilots mourned their absurdly killed friends, and they were not ashamed of their tears.” These Kittyhawks were shot down by Weissenberger (two), Feldwebel Dobrich and Feldwebel Dietrich Wein- itschke (one each). The massacre ended only when five of 19 GIAP’s Airacobras, which, led by Kapitan Ivan Bochkov, had been on patrol near the Tuloma hydroe­ lectric station, received notice of the desperate situation via radio, and rushed to protect the airfield. The Airaco­ bras managed to catch the Germans by surprise, and in the initial attack, Kapitan Konstantin Fomchenkov shot down Feldwebel Dietrich Weinitschke’s Me 109 - the German pilot bailing out into captivity. But testifying to the Me 109 G-2’s superiority against the old Airacobras, Weissenberger managed to turn the table quickly, shoot­ ing down Fomchenkov - who belly landed his badly shot up plane. Within two minutes, Weissenberger had des­ patched two more Airacobras. Serzhant N. T. Konstan­ tinov was killed while Leytenant P. A. Khizhnyak was lucky to survive. Effectively covered through 6./JG 5’s action, four I./ KG 30 Ju 88s appeared and bombed the airfield, killing several men on the ground and destroying one of 137 BAP’s two remaining Bostons. During the return flight from the 12 March mission against Murmashi, a damaged Ju 88 had to force-land in enemy-held territory. Two days later it was discov­ ered by German airmen on a frozen lake about 15 miles to the west of Murmansk, with the crew remaining in place. A rescue operation immediately was launched. Two Fieseler Fi 156 Storchs were despatched to pick up the downed crew. These were attacked by twelve Soviet fighters, which managed to shoot down one of the Fi 156s before they got entangled in a stiff clash with the German fighter escort. The records in the Far North for both sides are con- tradictive for 14 and 15 March 1943. Soviet documents show the loss of seven VVS fighters in air combat in the Far North on 14 and 15 March 1943 - four on the 14th (two Airacobras of 2 GIAP/VVS SF and two Kitty­ hawks of 20 GIAP), and three on the 15th (another two Airacobras of 2 GIAP/VVS SF and a Hurricane of Naval 78 IAP). On the German side we can find no victories on the 15th but ten on the 14th, including three Airacobras by Weissenberger. Included among the Soviet losses T