Soviet aces on Lend-Lease fighters. Part of 1. "Hurricanes"
Winston Churchill August 30 1941 proposed to Stalin to put 200 Hurricane fighters in the framework of the Lend-Lease. These machines were supposed to complement the batch of Tomahawk X-NUMX P-200. At that time, the USSR was virtually nothing to choose from, so consent was given almost immediately. These planes were planned to be delivered by sea to Murmansk, where they would be assembled and handed over to the Soviet side, but the first Hurricanes in the USSR were not entirely normal.
28 August 1941 at the airfield Vaepga near Murmansk boarded the 24 "Hurricane" Mk.liB from the 150th Wing RAF (commander - Wg.Cdr. HNG Ramsbottom-Isherwood). These aircraft took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier "Argus". Later, 15 aircraft were added to them, delivered and assembled by British specialists in Arkhangelsk. The British group consisted of two squadrons - 81, commanded by a squadron leader, Topi Ruka, and 134, under a command of a squadron leader, Tony Miller. The British pilots were supposed to help the Soviet pilots to master the new technology. But soon the British were involved in combat work, including joint patrols with Soviet pilots of the airspace, cover for convoys, as well as ports where help came from the West.
The British pilots made their first combat sortie on 11 September, and the next day they suffered the first and only loss for the entire trip - when attacking the Hurricane 126, which was covered by the three MeNXX, the British managed to shoot down two fighters, but they themselves lost one aircraft. The pilot, Sergeant Smith, died.
In total, the British, before their departure for October 18, announced 15 victories. All commanders and three pilots were awarded the Order of Lenin - the highest award of the USSR.
Of the 37 abandoned aircraft, a new Northern Air Force unit was formed fleet - 78th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Boris Safonov, already a well-known North Sea ace, became the commander.
22 September 1941 The Commission of the Scientific Research Institute of the Air Force received the first Hurricane, assembled directly in the Soviet Union. In the act of acceptance, among other things, it was noted that the aircraft was previously in use and underwent a major overhaul.
The first batch of Hurricanes arrived in Murmansk in October. These aircraft were not received by the combatant regiments since the required number of trained pilots was not available.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the twenty-seventh reserve aviation regiment, based near Vologda at the Kadnikov airfield, was the first regiment of the Air Force of the Red Army, which received new aircraft. Next was the Sixth Spare aviation regiment in Ivanovo. Later, the training of pilots was transferred to flight schools, while the main one was Kachinskaya, which was evacuated deep into the country. The use of Hurricanes (like most foreign-made fighters) on the Soviet-German front was launched from the North. In addition to the Seventy-second and Seventy-eighth fighter aviation regiments of the Northern Fleet, the Kharitons (this nickname was given to the fighters in the army) were in service with the One hundred and fifty-second and Seven hundred and sixtieth fighter regiments that fought in Karelia. The lack of trained mechanics forced the engineers of the Air Force of the Karelian Front to come up with their own ways of keeping the Hurricane aircraft in combat readiness. Even more difficult was the pilots - after all, the first flights were carried out without instructors, all the more so since not only the two-seat version was missing, but even the flight manual in Russian! This circumstance forced to make double-seat fighters on their own.
In December 1941, the pilots of the 152 th Fighter Aviation Regiment, despite the enormous difficulties, made their first combat missions. It immediately became clear to Poti that the standard armament of the aircraft was clearly rather weak, and therefore each machine was equipped with two machine guns of a BK caliber 12,7 mm (ammunition for each barrel of 100 cartridges). In addition, a suspension for one 50-kilogram bomb was installed under each wing. Initially, such upgrades were carried out on nine airplanes of the Karelian Front air force, and after this re-equipment was considered expedient on the following fighters. Subsequently, in this section of the front, the fighters were modified to use missiles.
In January, the 1942, the 760 th Fighter Wing, began to act in the interests of the 26 th Army. The Soviet pilots, having mastered the aircraft fairly well, began to triumph on it, even though the characteristics of the aircraft at that time were clearly inadequate. For example, the three "Hurricanes" from the 760 th Fighter Regiment under the command of Senior Lieutenant A. Nikolaenko. 16 May 1942 attacked seven U-87 under the cover of 4's Me-109. During the first attack, two "laptezhniki" were shot down, and the rest turned around. However, it was not there - on departure, the Stalin falcons shot down another bomber. Link senior lieutenant Kuznetsov N.A. on the same day, three Yu-87 and two Me-109 were shot down.
However, the "Hurricane" of the 760 th Fighter Aviation Regiment was most heavily involved in the air defense of the Kirov railway line connecting Murmansk and the rest of the country. In addition to the patrols, the Soviet pilots also carried out preventive attacks on the enemy’s bases. For example, in early August, Hurricanes from the 760 th Fighter Aviation Regiment, along with the IL-2 17 GVSHAP and LaGT-3 609, made several raids on the airfield Tung Lake. These attacks led to the fact that the Luftwaffe soon refused to base on Tung Lake.
The battles of summer 1942 on the Murmansk direction for the Soviet side turned out to be quite heavy. The Germans stepped up air strikes, while the Fourteenth Army's air force had only 1 fighters on July 6. In September, the last reserve was transferred to the air force - the Eight hundred thirty-seventh Fighter Wing. However, the pilots of this regiment passed only a two-month training course and did not have combat experience. This affected the results of the air battles - the 14th Army's aviation lost 18 fighters for several days, and 23 were damaged. Only 15 of September shot down 5 "Hurricane" from 837 and 197 fighter air regiments while repelling a raid on the Murmashi airfield. In total, to intercept twenty Yu-87 under cover of 16 Me-109 and 8 Me-110 raised all available forces from 6 Hurricanes, 2 Aerocobra and 2 Kittyhawks. Over the same 4 airfield of the “free hunter” Me-109 27 of September, 2 Hurricane from the 837 th Fighter Regiment and 2 P-40В from the 20 Guards Fighter Regiment were shot down.
In addition to the 760, 195 and 152 fighter regiments of the 295 fighter division, 835 and 435 IAPs, armed with Hurricanes, participated in the battles on the Karelian Front. It is interesting that the aircraft collected by the floor of Murmansk at the Kirovsk airfield, which were originally intended for other countries, were used to arm these regiments. So, one of the Soviet veterans remembered that at some point fighters with blue Finnish swastikas had to assemble! However, apparently over the years, the veteran began to let down his memory, because, firstly, the Finns put markings on the spot themselves, and secondly, the MC were supplied to the Soviet Union, and the Finns used the Mk.I.
A number of Hurricanes came into service with the 20 Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, and in the spring and summer of 1942 they were listed as part of the 65 assault aviation regiment (which later became the 17 Guards assault aviation regiment).
At the northern airfields in the winter of 1941 \ 1942, a sufficient number of Hurricanes were collected. This made it possible to begin the transfer of these fighters to other sectors of the front. The first was the Fourth Fighter Aviation Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A.V. Serenko. In early February, this regiment began to be based near Yaroslavl and served as air defense covering the industrial facilities of Rybinsk and Yaroslavl. Despite the fact that this area was far enough from the front line, German bombers “visited” it quite often. At first, the bombers' attacks were ineffective due to the weak weapons of the Hurricane, but soon the aircraft was transferred to Moscow, where engineers replaced the original British machine guns with two large-caliber UBT machine guns and two 20 mm ShVAK guns. Already at the end of May, after sufficient development of fighter personnel, the fourth fighter regiment was divided into two. The "original" regiment continued to be used in the air defense system, and a group of pilots headed by Hero of the Soviet Union, Major Morozov A.A., was sent to the 287 fighter air division on the Bryansk Front. The pilots of the "new" fourth fighter air regiment in the first battle managed to shoot down the 3 Me-109, one Hurricane was damaged. In early July, the regiment was transferred to Yelets, where in the period from 6 to 28 in July, the pilots shot down 40 enemy planes in 196 battles. In the second half of August, the regiment re-armed the Yak-1 \ 7, and the remaining "hariki" were given to another unit.
However, most of the Hurricanes at the beginning of 1942, were concentrated near Moscow. One aircraft of this type was already in December 1941 was registered as part of the 728 th Fighter Aviation Regiment, and on February 2 1942 the 429 th and 67 Fighter Aviation Regiments having 22 Hurricane were part of the Sixth Moscow Air Defense Corps. Later joined the fighter regiments 438, 488 and 746. Most often in parts of the aircraft re-armed with Soviet weapons, there were often cases of mounting guides for missiles. In this rather chaotic process in March 1942 of the year, the end was put - the Hurricanes began to rearm the brigades of technicians of the Moscow aircraft plant No. 81. They mainly worked at Moscow airfields - "Egoryevskoe", "Monino", "Khimki" and "Kubinka".
The Hurricanes of the Moscow zone carried out not only air defense tasks, but also actively participated in the counteroffensive near Moscow.
The 488 th fighter air regiment with two other regiments of 1 March was transferred to the air force of the North-Western Front, where it took part in covering the landing of the airborne assault forces in the Ostashkov-Bologoe area. After the assignment, the regiment was returned to the place of deployment.
The biggest problem during this period was the wooden propellers of the fighters, constantly breaking on the field airfields. So much so that one of the Moscow factories mastered their production.
To compensate for the losses of the 106th Fighter Aviation Division of the Air Defense of the Moscow Air Defense, at the end of November 1942 and 67 and 488 fighter regiments transferred there. In the winter of 1942, the following regiments armed with Hurricanes took part in the counteroffensive near Moscow: First Guards Fighter Wing and Fighter Wing 157, 191 and 195. The 1 pilots of the GvIAP in March 1942 of the year carried out a 451 combat sortie, conducting 12 air battles, during which the 4 of an enemy aircraft was shot down.
As part of the air forces of the Western Front in the spring of 1942, there was only one regiment armed with Hurricanes - the Hundred and seventy-ninth Fighter Regiment. An interesting feature of the machines of this regiment was the presence of the original British weapons, supplemented with guides for rockets. The regiment was later transferred to the two hundred and fourth bomber divisions to escort Pe-2.
In Ivanovo, in May 1942 completed the rearmament of the 438 Fighter Aviation Regiment to the Hurricane, which was sent to the Voronezh Front as part of the two hundred and fifth fighter air division. Basically the regiment served as the assault. The first flight was very successful - while covering the air raid on the Rossosh Il-2 airfield, 17 aircraft were destroyed on the ground, another 4 was shot down in the air. But further events for the pilots were not so victorious - the outdated characteristics of the machine had an effect, since only in one battle did the 3 machines lose at once. Ultimately, this was the reason for the change in tactics of the use of "Hurricanes" and the refusal to engage in fighting on turns. Fighter regiment 438 lasted at the front for a long time - until the end of 1942. At that time it was based at the airfield "Buturlinovka" and had pilots as part of the entire 4 "Hurricane" and 7. At the beginning of the next year it was removed for re-formation. An interesting fact is that at some point the Italian pilots on MS.200 (according to other data, they were Hungarians on Re.200) became opponents of the “Hurricanes” near Voronezh.
At the Stalingrad direction in the summer of 1942, a crisis arose. There immediately was transferred 235-I air division of Lieutenant Colonel I. Podgorny. It consisted of fighter regiments 46, 191 and 436 (later they joined 180-th). Each regiment was armed with the Hurricane 22-24, mainly modifications of the Mk.Ilc. The pilots of the division in the first days of July shot down 29 of enemy aircraft, and 20 of them were 436 fighter air regiment. The most prominent was the senior political officer Ibatulin, who shot down X-NUMX Me-2 in one of the battles and did not get out of the fight even after the engine hood was not broken on his plane.
But soon the toughest battles began to appear, and by the end of August, the 4-5 vehicles assembled in the 436 th Fighter Regiment under the command of Major Panov A. In the end, this regiment was also re-armed with the P-40. In the spring - summer of the 1942 of the year, the 485 th fighter air regiment of Major Zimin G.V. effectively operated on the North-Western Front. 18 "Hurricane" of the regiment in late March, arrived at the airfield "Vypolzovo." From there, the Hurricanes were supported by the Soviet units, who surrounded the Sixteenth German Army under the Demyansky unit. Due to the fact that this sector of the front was considered secondary by both the Soviet and German command, the air war was here for the 1942 of the year as a whole uncharacteristic.
Despite this, the Germans tried to supply their troops by air, so the pilots of the 485 th Fighter Aviation Regiment shot down a lot of German transport workers. For example, the Hurricane link of 29 in May intercepted about 20 U-52, 3 was knocked out of them and 6 was damaged. The next regimental link the next day intercepted a group of U-52 who covered 4 with MS-109. During the battle, 2 MS-109 and 1 U-52 were shot down.
In May, the 1942 of the regiment's pilots shot down 56 of enemy aircraft, while 13 of them were shot down using missiles. For comparison, data on the one hundred and sixty first fighter air regiment armed with the Yak-1 and taking part in the battles on the same sector of the front will be given below. His pilots scored approximately the same number of victories (54), however, in January-November 1942 of the year!
In July, the regiment was given eight Yak-1, which continued to perform combat missions of a mixed composition. In such a composition the regiment fought until 1943, when it was completely re-equipped by the Yaks. In the North-Western Front, in addition to the 485 Fighter Regiment on the Hurricane, the Ninth Fighter and the Twenty-First Guards Fighter Aviation Regiments fought, but they stayed here for less than a month.
The 246 th Fighter Aviation Regiment on January 1 1944 37 "Hurricanes" modifications Mk.IId. Mastering was delayed by 7 months (at a rate of 2), with the 10 planes crashed in 18 accidents. Only the 30.07.1944 regiment consisting of 34 vehicles was sent to the front - to the Two hundred and Fifteenth Fighter Division, which at that time was fighting near Bobruisk. However, the regiment practically did not participate in the battles and by 17 September it was rearmed with the Yak-1.
Air defense
At the beginning of 1942, the Hurricanes began to arrive in air defense units, mainly for the defense of the northern ports and Moscow.
In March, the 122 th fighter air division of the air defense of Murmansk was formed, which included 767, 768 and 769 fighter regiments, armed with harik. The task of the air division was to cover the Kirov railway branch and the port itself.
Later, the fighters began to attract in the interests of the Karelian and Northern fronts. As already noted, the summer of 1942 in the north for Soviet aviation was extremely difficult - the following indicates the fierceness of the fighting - only 122 pilots and 1 airplanes remained on the July 4 fighter aviation division! However, the pilots even in such a composition continued to fight - in June they carried out 9 air battles, in which they shot down 40 enemy planes. Losses from the Soviet side - 28 fighters. Total division pilots for 14 year shot down 1942 enemy aircraft.
The intensity of raids on Murmansk in 1943 was somewhat weakened - there are only a few cases: Hurricane 11 March 1943 shot down 2 enemy aircraft, and Senior Lieutenant Nikolaev from 768 March Fighter Air Regiment 27 March rammed an enemy plane. In 1943, in the division, the number of trained pilots was 60 people, 40 of whom could perform night missions. In the division, in addition to the Hurricanes, there were American P-40 and Soviet Yak-7.
Apart from the air defense of Murmansk, the Kharitons also engaged in the air defense of Arkhangelsk, another important northern port. It was carried out by pilots from the 730 th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 104th Fighter Air Division of the Air Defense. The same fighters entered service with parts of the Leningrad air defense district. It was the twenty-sixth Guards Fighter Regiment under the command of Major Petrov. Until 6 in November, the 1942 regiment received 20 Hurricane, while the 6 MiG-3 and 3 I-16 remained in service. Already November 15 pilots were shot down at night by Non-111. Later "Hurricanes" began to attract to support ground troops.
26-th GvIAP 26 April 1943 received 8 "Hurricane" equipped with Soviet weapons, until 6 May - another 10 fighter equipped with radar Redut and СОН-2. Soon they were joined by the Spitfires.
The Hurricanes in November 1942 fought over Stalingrad as part of the 269 th Fighter Regiment, which was part of the 120th Fighter Air Division of the air defense. The division in April 1943 was added to the IAP 933 and 934 having the same material part. And among the MkJIc were 4 aircraft, armed with 40-millimeter cannons. But by this time the front moved west, and there were practically no meetings with German aircraft. For example, the 23 in May The 4 fighter from the 933 Fighter Aviation Regiment damaged the Condor Fw 200, which made an emergency landing in the steppe, was captured by its crew.
At the beginning of 1943, the Hurricanes appeared in service with the 964 th Fighter Aviation Regiment of Major Tarasov A. (The 130 Fighter Aviation Division of the Air Defense of Leningrad). Since June, the aircraft of the regiment operated in the vicinity of the Mga station and the Road of Life.
At the end of 1943 - the beginning of 1944, the Hurricanes remained in service only in the 439 fighter regiment of the 147 th Fighter Aviation Division, which was covering Yaroslavl. The Spaniards who found themselves in the USSR after the end of the civil war also flew British fighters as part of this regiment.
Hurricanes over the seas of the Northern Fleet Air Force
The pilots of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet mastered a new type of fighter very quickly. The first victory for the 78 Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Northern Fleet was won by Lieutenant D. Siniev in November 1941 of the year, who shot down Me-110 on the Hurricane. The commander of the regiment - Boris Safonov - won his first victory on this fighter 27 November. Until the end of the year, the regiment pilots shot down another 10 of enemy aircraft.
The arctic winter of the opposing sides' aircraft was chained to the ground for a long time - active hostilities were resumed only in spring, when the Luftwaffe carried out raids on targets in the port of Murmansk and in the Kola Bay. Together with the Northern Fleet Air Force, this area was covered by the 104 and 122 fighter divisions. In the newly formed 27 Fighter Aviation Regiment in March 1942, besides the 153 and 16, there were several British fighters. The Hurricanes in the summer of 1942, were in service with one squadron of the 20 Fighter Regiment.
The X-NUMX Guards Air Regiment in May began to receive American fighters Р-2 (Boris Safonov made the first combat flight on the "American" on May 40). 17 GvIAP before the summer of 2 was completely re-equipped on P-1942 and P-39. On the "Hurricane" flew mostly young pilots.
As part of the Northern Fleet Air Force, in March 1943, 96 Kharitonov remained, from which 60 could rise into the air. In total, these machines in service with 27 and 78 and NAL lasted until the fall of 1943.
3 Guards Air Regiment of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force
The 3 of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force GvIAP in June 1942 was taken to the rear for retraining to the new fighters - Hurricane Mk.IIb. In August, the regiment returned to the front, but the first flight was unsuccessful - the E-153 was mistaken for a Finnish plane.
Due to the relative weakness of the Finnish aviation, the fighters were used to cover the IL-2 (primarily the 57 th assault air regiment).
In September, the regiment was redeployed to the Karelian Isthmus, where the Hurricane were mainly used as a ground attack aircraft. Here the regiment remained until November, knocking down 68 enemy aircraft, losing 11 pilots and 14 aircraft. After that, the 3 th Guards Fighter Wing was reequipped on the LaGG-3
Aces who flew the Hurricane
Due to the difficult history The Hurricane as part of the Red Army air force makes it clear that the majority of the aces on this plane were in the North — precisely as part of the Seventy-eighth Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Northern Fleet Air Force that flew it the longest on the German-Soviet front.
Among the North Sea aces we can name Adonkin Vasily, who underwent flight training at the Yeisk Naval School before the war. The war began as part of the Seventy-Second Mixed Aviation Regiment of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet on the I-153. It was on this fighter that he won his first victory, shooting down an enemy 9 bomber in August 1941.
In March, 1942 retrained to the I-16, was transferred to the Twenty-seventh Fighter Regiment of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet. Later he was sent to the 78 th Fighter Wing, where he mastered the Hurricane. By July, 1943, Captain Adonkin, made 365 combat missions, of which 31 attacked enemy troops, ships and military targets, conducted 42 air combat and shot down 13 enemy aircraft. 22 January 1944. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Having received the rank of major, he became the commander of the 255 Fighter Aviation Regiment, flying on the Air Cobra.
Our reconnaissance 17 March 1944 discovered the German convoy No.110, which consisted of 20 escort ships and 4 transports. In one of the attacks on this convoy, Major Adonkin, deputy commander of the 78 th Fighter Regiment, was killed in aerial combat. This happened in the area of the Finnish island of Ecker. At the time of his death, 16 had personal victories and group 6 (according to other data 16 and 3).
On the Karelian front, Krupsky Viktor Iosifovich distinguished himself. Having an excellent pre-war flight education, the war began as part of the 147 th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Karelian Front) on the MiG-3. Already in July, won his first victory. In December, after the formation of the seven hundred and sixtieth fighter aviation regiment was sent there. For the year of combat activity, by July 1942, Senior Lieutenant Krupsky VI, Deputy. the squadron commander, made 240 combat missions, conducted 28 air battles and scored 3 personal and 8 group victories. The regiment Krupsky considered a specialist in the fight against reconnaissance aircraft. So, for example, covering railway objects, only for 5 days of July 1942, they were shot down three U-88.
Viktor Krupsky 22 February 1943 was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Krupsky ended the war with 9 group and 10 with personal victories on 330 sorties, all of which he won on Hurricane or Kitgihauk.
In the 760-m air regiment along with Krupsky another great pilot flew - Nikolayenkov Alexander. He began to fight in June 1941, in December he was appointed deputy regiment squadron commander. On his account in April, 1943 already had 229 combat sorties, 23 group and 8 personal victories that were won in 28 battles (all on Hurricane). 2 July 1943 was injured during the air battle, was able to bring the plane, but on July 7 died in hospital from wounds. 24 August 1943 was awarded posthumously the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Another Hero of the Soviet Union, Senior Lieutenant Repnikov Nikolai Fedorovich from the 152 Fighter Aviation Regiment, also flew and died on the Hurricane. In addition to the downed aircraft, there are also rams on his account. Here is an excerpt for December 4 from the regiment’s combat log: “The 12.55-14.10 3 aircraft flew to the N13 junction area of the western part of Medvezhiegorsk, Par-Guba, Kamselga, Kums, and Pokrova for reconnaissance of the enemy. The task was completed. an air battle with 2 th enemy fighters Me-7 and Heinkel, as a result of the 109 battle of an enemy aircraft was shot down, a Me-2 plane in a frontal attack was rammed by Lieutenant Repnikov, the pilot was killed. " This is an official document, but in reality it was otherwise.
First, the Finns in this area then did not have any Heinkels and Messerschmitts, and they lost, according to Finnish sources, only one aircraft. One of the participants from the Finnish side, Art. Sergeant Vassinen.
Then over the Wichka state farm, where the Finns attacked the positions of the 24 regiment of the 37 th rifle division at that time, an 4 Finnish Moran-Saulier MS.406 air battle took place (Tomminen pilots, Vassinen, Yussila, Mesinen) with 2 Soviet pilots "Hurricanes" - Repnikova and his slave (it was not possible to establish which of his fellow soldiers took part in that battle, presumably that it was Ivanov or Basov). “Morans”, according to the Finnish description of this case, were built “step of two pairs”. At the same time, the second pair moved 300 meters behind and 200 meters higher than the first. Suddenly, from the lower hemisphere behind the lead fighter attacked a pair of "Hurricane". Flying second Tomminen opened fire from a cannon and saw a clear hit in the cockpit (in the car Repnikova). Almost immediately the Soviet car went up. The Finnish pilot, fascinated by the attack, fell under the 12 volley of machine guns Ivanov (or Basov?). As a result, Tomminen’s car fell down and hit Repnik’s fighter, which apparently was already out of control. The Hurricane's wing fell off, and in an indiscriminate fall, it fell to the ground. Tomminen's fighter rolled over on his back, broke into a pike and crashed into the ground nearby. None of the pilots even tried to jump with a parachute. Left alone, led by Repnikova, went into a frontal attack on the lead group Jussil, and he abruptly turned away. Without changing the speed and course, the Soviet fighter hid in the clouds ... Apparently, two unmanaged aircraft collided in the air, and the ram tried to make another, unknown pilot.
Both aircraft fell on the territory occupied by the Finns. On the site of their fall 10 December, a Finnish commission worked, which discovered the wreckage of the Moran (MS-329 board number) with the remains of Tomminen and Hurricane (BD761 tail number), painted black and bearing traces of English identification marks. The Finns themselves recorded the fact that some equipment was removed from Hurricane. Everything was left in its place (the remnants of the two aircraft, thus, lie there today).
Another successful ace of the Red Army air forces, Stepanenko, Ivan Nikiforovich, began his combat score by piloting the Hurricane. Future ace in 1941, graduated from the Kachin military pilots school. Sergeant Stepanenko began his combat activities in the Balta area on the southern front in mid-July. 12 June 1942, he conducted the first air battle. 15 June, during the battle of Yelnya, shot down Yu-87, scoring the first victory.
To Stepanenko, real maturity came at Stalingrad where, commanding a link from the autumn of 1942 to the beginning of 1943, he made about a hundred sorties, shooting down seven enemy planes. Later Stepanenko fought over the Kuban, near Orel and Kursk. Ivan Nikiforovich was considered a master of frontal attacks. Stepanenko in June 1943 was transferred to the Yak-9T and his combat score increased rapidly (by the end of the year they had won 8 victories).
By August 1943, the deputy squadron commander of the Fourth Fighter Aviation Regiment, Senior Lieutenant Stepanenko, carried out 232 combat sorties, personally destroying the enemy's 14 aircraft. At the end of 1943, he was appointed commander of the squadron of the Fourth Fighter Aviation Regiment, which was already active on the Baltic front. 13.08.1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In total, by the end of the war, Ivan Stepanenko made 414 combat sorties, conducted 118 battles, personally shooting down an 33 enemy aircraft. 18 August 1945 - on the first post-war Aviation Day - for courage and courage shown in battles, the commander of the squadron, Major Stepanenko, was awarded the second Gold Star medal of the Hero.
On Hurricane, Amet Khan-Sultan, another future twice Hero of the Soviet Union, won his first victory. 31.03.1942 Lieutenant Amet-Khan Sultan on the outskirts of Yaroslavl during one of the battles of this day destroyed the enemy aircraft. His "Hurricane", he safely landed on the airfield. And the German archives confirm the loss of the scout. It was the Ju-88D-1 (onboard No.5T + DL, serial number 1604) from 3. (F) / ObdL, which went to the Vologda-Rybinsk region for long-distance reconnaissance.
28 August 1941 at the airfield Vaepga near Murmansk boarded the 24 "Hurricane" Mk.liB from the 150th Wing RAF (commander - Wg.Cdr. HNG Ramsbottom-Isherwood). These aircraft took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier "Argus". Later, 15 aircraft were added to them, delivered and assembled by British specialists in Arkhangelsk. The British group consisted of two squadrons - 81, commanded by a squadron leader, Topi Ruka, and 134, under a command of a squadron leader, Tony Miller. The British pilots were supposed to help the Soviet pilots to master the new technology. But soon the British were involved in combat work, including joint patrols with Soviet pilots of the airspace, cover for convoys, as well as ports where help came from the West.
Soviet brigade for testing the Hurricane aircraft. Fighters of this model were supplied to the USSR under the Lend-Lease. Second right - V.A. Ivanov
The British pilots made their first combat sortie on 11 September, and the next day they suffered the first and only loss for the entire trip - when attacking the Hurricane 126, which was covered by the three MeNXX, the British managed to shoot down two fighters, but they themselves lost one aircraft. The pilot, Sergeant Smith, died.
In total, the British, before their departure for October 18, announced 15 victories. All commanders and three pilots were awarded the Order of Lenin - the highest award of the USSR.
Of the 37 abandoned aircraft, a new Northern Air Force unit was formed fleet - 78th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Boris Safonov, already a well-known North Sea ace, became the commander.
22 September 1941 The Commission of the Scientific Research Institute of the Air Force received the first Hurricane, assembled directly in the Soviet Union. In the act of acceptance, among other things, it was noted that the aircraft was previously in use and underwent a major overhaul.
The first batch of Hurricanes arrived in Murmansk in October. These aircraft were not received by the combatant regiments since the required number of trained pilots was not available.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the twenty-seventh reserve aviation regiment, based near Vologda at the Kadnikov airfield, was the first regiment of the Air Force of the Red Army, which received new aircraft. Next was the Sixth Spare aviation regiment in Ivanovo. Later, the training of pilots was transferred to flight schools, while the main one was Kachinskaya, which was evacuated deep into the country. The use of Hurricanes (like most foreign-made fighters) on the Soviet-German front was launched from the North. In addition to the Seventy-second and Seventy-eighth fighter aviation regiments of the Northern Fleet, the Kharitons (this nickname was given to the fighters in the army) were in service with the One hundred and fifty-second and Seven hundred and sixtieth fighter regiments that fought in Karelia. The lack of trained mechanics forced the engineers of the Air Force of the Karelian Front to come up with their own ways of keeping the Hurricane aircraft in combat readiness. Even more difficult was the pilots - after all, the first flights were carried out without instructors, all the more so since not only the two-seat version was missing, but even the flight manual in Russian! This circumstance forced to make double-seat fighters on their own.
In December 1941, the pilots of the 152 th Fighter Aviation Regiment, despite the enormous difficulties, made their first combat missions. It immediately became clear to Poti that the standard armament of the aircraft was clearly rather weak, and therefore each machine was equipped with two machine guns of a BK caliber 12,7 mm (ammunition for each barrel of 100 cartridges). In addition, a suspension for one 50-kilogram bomb was installed under each wing. Initially, such upgrades were carried out on nine airplanes of the Karelian Front air force, and after this re-equipment was considered expedient on the following fighters. Subsequently, in this section of the front, the fighters were modified to use missiles.
In January, the 1942, the 760 th Fighter Wing, began to act in the interests of the 26 th Army. The Soviet pilots, having mastered the aircraft fairly well, began to triumph on it, even though the characteristics of the aircraft at that time were clearly inadequate. For example, the three "Hurricanes" from the 760 th Fighter Regiment under the command of Senior Lieutenant A. Nikolaenko. 16 May 1942 attacked seven U-87 under the cover of 4's Me-109. During the first attack, two "laptezhniki" were shot down, and the rest turned around. However, it was not there - on departure, the Stalin falcons shot down another bomber. Link senior lieutenant Kuznetsov N.A. on the same day, three Yu-87 and two Me-109 were shot down.
However, the "Hurricane" of the 760 th Fighter Aviation Regiment was most heavily involved in the air defense of the Kirov railway line connecting Murmansk and the rest of the country. In addition to the patrols, the Soviet pilots also carried out preventive attacks on the enemy’s bases. For example, in early August, Hurricanes from the 760 th Fighter Aviation Regiment, along with the IL-2 17 GVSHAP and LaGT-3 609, made several raids on the airfield Tung Lake. These attacks led to the fact that the Luftwaffe soon refused to base on Tung Lake.
The battles of summer 1942 on the Murmansk direction for the Soviet side turned out to be quite heavy. The Germans stepped up air strikes, while the Fourteenth Army's air force had only 1 fighters on July 6. In September, the last reserve was transferred to the air force - the Eight hundred thirty-seventh Fighter Wing. However, the pilots of this regiment passed only a two-month training course and did not have combat experience. This affected the results of the air battles - the 14th Army's aviation lost 18 fighters for several days, and 23 were damaged. Only 15 of September shot down 5 "Hurricane" from 837 and 197 fighter air regiments while repelling a raid on the Murmashi airfield. In total, to intercept twenty Yu-87 under cover of 16 Me-109 and 8 Me-110 raised all available forces from 6 Hurricanes, 2 Aerocobra and 2 Kittyhawks. Over the same 4 airfield of the “free hunter” Me-109 27 of September, 2 Hurricane from the 837 th Fighter Regiment and 2 P-40В from the 20 Guards Fighter Regiment were shot down.
In addition to the 760, 195 and 152 fighter regiments of the 295 fighter division, 835 and 435 IAPs, armed with Hurricanes, participated in the battles on the Karelian Front. It is interesting that the aircraft collected by the floor of Murmansk at the Kirovsk airfield, which were originally intended for other countries, were used to arm these regiments. So, one of the Soviet veterans remembered that at some point fighters with blue Finnish swastikas had to assemble! However, apparently over the years, the veteran began to let down his memory, because, firstly, the Finns put markings on the spot themselves, and secondly, the MC were supplied to the Soviet Union, and the Finns used the Mk.I.
A number of Hurricanes came into service with the 20 Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, and in the spring and summer of 1942 they were listed as part of the 65 assault aviation regiment (which later became the 17 Guards assault aviation regiment).
Soviet pilot on the wing of an English-made Hurricane fighter
At the northern airfields in the winter of 1941 \ 1942, a sufficient number of Hurricanes were collected. This made it possible to begin the transfer of these fighters to other sectors of the front. The first was the Fourth Fighter Aviation Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A.V. Serenko. In early February, this regiment began to be based near Yaroslavl and served as air defense covering the industrial facilities of Rybinsk and Yaroslavl. Despite the fact that this area was far enough from the front line, German bombers “visited” it quite often. At first, the bombers' attacks were ineffective due to the weak weapons of the Hurricane, but soon the aircraft was transferred to Moscow, where engineers replaced the original British machine guns with two large-caliber UBT machine guns and two 20 mm ShVAK guns. Already at the end of May, after sufficient development of fighter personnel, the fourth fighter regiment was divided into two. The "original" regiment continued to be used in the air defense system, and a group of pilots headed by Hero of the Soviet Union, Major Morozov A.A., was sent to the 287 fighter air division on the Bryansk Front. The pilots of the "new" fourth fighter air regiment in the first battle managed to shoot down the 3 Me-109, one Hurricane was damaged. In early July, the regiment was transferred to Yelets, where in the period from 6 to 28 in July, the pilots shot down 40 enemy planes in 196 battles. In the second half of August, the regiment re-armed the Yak-1 \ 7, and the remaining "hariki" were given to another unit.
However, most of the Hurricanes at the beginning of 1942, were concentrated near Moscow. One aircraft of this type was already in December 1941 was registered as part of the 728 th Fighter Aviation Regiment, and on February 2 1942 the 429 th and 67 Fighter Aviation Regiments having 22 Hurricane were part of the Sixth Moscow Air Defense Corps. Later joined the fighter regiments 438, 488 and 746. Most often in parts of the aircraft re-armed with Soviet weapons, there were often cases of mounting guides for missiles. In this rather chaotic process in March 1942 of the year, the end was put - the Hurricanes began to rearm the brigades of technicians of the Moscow aircraft plant No. 81. They mainly worked at Moscow airfields - "Egoryevskoe", "Monino", "Khimki" and "Kubinka".
The Hurricanes of the Moscow zone carried out not only air defense tasks, but also actively participated in the counteroffensive near Moscow.
The 488 th fighter air regiment with two other regiments of 1 March was transferred to the air force of the North-Western Front, where it took part in covering the landing of the airborne assault forces in the Ostashkov-Bologoe area. After the assignment, the regiment was returned to the place of deployment.
The biggest problem during this period was the wooden propellers of the fighters, constantly breaking on the field airfields. So much so that one of the Moscow factories mastered their production.
To compensate for the losses of the 106th Fighter Aviation Division of the Air Defense of the Moscow Air Defense, at the end of November 1942 and 67 and 488 fighter regiments transferred there. In the winter of 1942, the following regiments armed with Hurricanes took part in the counteroffensive near Moscow: First Guards Fighter Wing and Fighter Wing 157, 191 and 195. The 1 pilots of the GvIAP in March 1942 of the year carried out a 451 combat sortie, conducting 12 air battles, during which the 4 of an enemy aircraft was shot down.
As part of the air forces of the Western Front in the spring of 1942, there was only one regiment armed with Hurricanes - the Hundred and seventy-ninth Fighter Regiment. An interesting feature of the machines of this regiment was the presence of the original British weapons, supplemented with guides for rockets. The regiment was later transferred to the two hundred and fourth bomber divisions to escort Pe-2.
In Ivanovo, in May 1942 completed the rearmament of the 438 Fighter Aviation Regiment to the Hurricane, which was sent to the Voronezh Front as part of the two hundred and fifth fighter air division. Basically the regiment served as the assault. The first flight was very successful - while covering the air raid on the Rossosh Il-2 airfield, 17 aircraft were destroyed on the ground, another 4 was shot down in the air. But further events for the pilots were not so victorious - the outdated characteristics of the machine had an effect, since only in one battle did the 3 machines lose at once. Ultimately, this was the reason for the change in tactics of the use of "Hurricanes" and the refusal to engage in fighting on turns. Fighter regiment 438 lasted at the front for a long time - until the end of 1942. At that time it was based at the airfield "Buturlinovka" and had pilots as part of the entire 4 "Hurricane" and 7. At the beginning of the next year it was removed for re-formation. An interesting fact is that at some point the Italian pilots on MS.200 (according to other data, they were Hungarians on Re.200) became opponents of the “Hurricanes” near Voronezh.
At the Stalingrad direction in the summer of 1942, a crisis arose. There immediately was transferred 235-I air division of Lieutenant Colonel I. Podgorny. It consisted of fighter regiments 46, 191 and 436 (later they joined 180-th). Each regiment was armed with the Hurricane 22-24, mainly modifications of the Mk.Ilc. The pilots of the division in the first days of July shot down 29 of enemy aircraft, and 20 of them were 436 fighter air regiment. The most prominent was the senior political officer Ibatulin, who shot down X-NUMX Me-2 in one of the battles and did not get out of the fight even after the engine hood was not broken on his plane.
Assistant Commander of the 3 Guards Aviation Regiment of the 61 Fighter Brigade of the Baltic Fleet Guards Captain AF Butchers. During the period of his combat activity, Alexander Fedorovich Myasnikov made 315 combat missions, in 70 air battles he shot down 3 of the enemy aircraft personally and 15 in the group. September 11 1942 died in aerial combat (his Hurricane was mistakenly shot down by his own fighters)
But soon the toughest battles began to appear, and by the end of August, the 4-5 vehicles assembled in the 436 th Fighter Regiment under the command of Major Panov A. In the end, this regiment was also re-armed with the P-40. In the spring - summer of the 1942 of the year, the 485 th fighter air regiment of Major Zimin G.V. effectively operated on the North-Western Front. 18 "Hurricane" of the regiment in late March, arrived at the airfield "Vypolzovo." From there, the Hurricanes were supported by the Soviet units, who surrounded the Sixteenth German Army under the Demyansky unit. Due to the fact that this sector of the front was considered secondary by both the Soviet and German command, the air war was here for the 1942 of the year as a whole uncharacteristic.
Despite this, the Germans tried to supply their troops by air, so the pilots of the 485 th Fighter Aviation Regiment shot down a lot of German transport workers. For example, the Hurricane link of 29 in May intercepted about 20 U-52, 3 was knocked out of them and 6 was damaged. The next regimental link the next day intercepted a group of U-52 who covered 4 with MS-109. During the battle, 2 MS-109 and 1 U-52 were shot down.
In May, the 1942 of the regiment's pilots shot down 56 of enemy aircraft, while 13 of them were shot down using missiles. For comparison, data on the one hundred and sixty first fighter air regiment armed with the Yak-1 and taking part in the battles on the same sector of the front will be given below. His pilots scored approximately the same number of victories (54), however, in January-November 1942 of the year!
In July, the regiment was given eight Yak-1, which continued to perform combat missions of a mixed composition. In such a composition the regiment fought until 1943, when it was completely re-equipped by the Yaks. In the North-Western Front, in addition to the 485 Fighter Regiment on the Hurricane, the Ninth Fighter and the Twenty-First Guards Fighter Aviation Regiments fought, but they stayed here for less than a month.
The 246 th Fighter Aviation Regiment on January 1 1944 37 "Hurricanes" modifications Mk.IId. Mastering was delayed by 7 months (at a rate of 2), with the 10 planes crashed in 18 accidents. Only the 30.07.1944 regiment consisting of 34 vehicles was sent to the front - to the Two hundred and Fifteenth Fighter Division, which at that time was fighting near Bobruisk. However, the regiment practically did not participate in the battles and by 17 September it was rearmed with the Yak-1.
Air defense
At the beginning of 1942, the Hurricanes began to arrive in air defense units, mainly for the defense of the northern ports and Moscow.
In March, the 122 th fighter air division of the air defense of Murmansk was formed, which included 767, 768 and 769 fighter regiments, armed with harik. The task of the air division was to cover the Kirov railway branch and the port itself.
Later, the fighters began to attract in the interests of the Karelian and Northern fronts. As already noted, the summer of 1942 in the north for Soviet aviation was extremely difficult - the following indicates the fierceness of the fighting - only 122 pilots and 1 airplanes remained on the July 4 fighter aviation division! However, the pilots even in such a composition continued to fight - in June they carried out 9 air battles, in which they shot down 40 enemy planes. Losses from the Soviet side - 28 fighters. Total division pilots for 14 year shot down 1942 enemy aircraft.
The intensity of raids on Murmansk in 1943 was somewhat weakened - there are only a few cases: Hurricane 11 March 1943 shot down 2 enemy aircraft, and Senior Lieutenant Nikolaev from 768 March Fighter Air Regiment 27 March rammed an enemy plane. In 1943, in the division, the number of trained pilots was 60 people, 40 of whom could perform night missions. In the division, in addition to the Hurricanes, there were American P-40 and Soviet Yak-7.
Apart from the air defense of Murmansk, the Kharitons also engaged in the air defense of Arkhangelsk, another important northern port. It was carried out by pilots from the 730 th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 104th Fighter Air Division of the Air Defense. The same fighters entered service with parts of the Leningrad air defense district. It was the twenty-sixth Guards Fighter Regiment under the command of Major Petrov. Until 6 in November, the 1942 regiment received 20 Hurricane, while the 6 MiG-3 and 3 I-16 remained in service. Already November 15 pilots were shot down at night by Non-111. Later "Hurricanes" began to attract to support ground troops.
26-th GvIAP 26 April 1943 received 8 "Hurricane" equipped with Soviet weapons, until 6 May - another 10 fighter equipped with radar Redut and СОН-2. Soon they were joined by the Spitfires.
Soviet fighter "Hurricane" Mk IIB (T), piloted by the commander of the air forces of the Northern Fleet, Major General Aviation A.A. Kuznetsov
The Hurricanes in November 1942 fought over Stalingrad as part of the 269 th Fighter Regiment, which was part of the 120th Fighter Air Division of the air defense. The division in April 1943 was added to the IAP 933 and 934 having the same material part. And among the MkJIc were 4 aircraft, armed with 40-millimeter cannons. But by this time the front moved west, and there were practically no meetings with German aircraft. For example, the 23 in May The 4 fighter from the 933 Fighter Aviation Regiment damaged the Condor Fw 200, which made an emergency landing in the steppe, was captured by its crew.
At the beginning of 1943, the Hurricanes appeared in service with the 964 th Fighter Aviation Regiment of Major Tarasov A. (The 130 Fighter Aviation Division of the Air Defense of Leningrad). Since June, the aircraft of the regiment operated in the vicinity of the Mga station and the Road of Life.
At the end of 1943 - the beginning of 1944, the Hurricanes remained in service only in the 439 fighter regiment of the 147 th Fighter Aviation Division, which was covering Yaroslavl. The Spaniards who found themselves in the USSR after the end of the civil war also flew British fighters as part of this regiment.
Hurricanes over the seas of the Northern Fleet Air Force
The pilots of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet mastered a new type of fighter very quickly. The first victory for the 78 Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Northern Fleet was won by Lieutenant D. Siniev in November 1941 of the year, who shot down Me-110 on the Hurricane. The commander of the regiment - Boris Safonov - won his first victory on this fighter 27 November. Until the end of the year, the regiment pilots shot down another 10 of enemy aircraft.
The arctic winter of the opposing sides' aircraft was chained to the ground for a long time - active hostilities were resumed only in spring, when the Luftwaffe carried out raids on targets in the port of Murmansk and in the Kola Bay. Together with the Northern Fleet Air Force, this area was covered by the 104 and 122 fighter divisions. In the newly formed 27 Fighter Aviation Regiment in March 1942, besides the 153 and 16, there were several British fighters. The Hurricanes in the summer of 1942, were in service with one squadron of the 20 Fighter Regiment.
The X-NUMX Guards Air Regiment in May began to receive American fighters Р-2 (Boris Safonov made the first combat flight on the "American" on May 40). 17 GvIAP before the summer of 2 was completely re-equipped on P-1942 and P-39. On the "Hurricane" flew mostly young pilots.
As part of the Northern Fleet Air Force, in March 1943, 96 Kharitonov remained, from which 60 could rise into the air. In total, these machines in service with 27 and 78 and NAL lasted until the fall of 1943.
3 Guards Air Regiment of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force
The 3 of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force GvIAP in June 1942 was taken to the rear for retraining to the new fighters - Hurricane Mk.IIb. In August, the regiment returned to the front, but the first flight was unsuccessful - the E-153 was mistaken for a Finnish plane.
Due to the relative weakness of the Finnish aviation, the fighters were used to cover the IL-2 (primarily the 57 th assault air regiment).
In September, the regiment was redeployed to the Karelian Isthmus, where the Hurricane were mainly used as a ground attack aircraft. Here the regiment remained until November, knocking down 68 enemy aircraft, losing 11 pilots and 14 aircraft. After that, the 3 th Guards Fighter Wing was reequipped on the LaGG-3
Aces who flew the Hurricane
Due to the difficult history The Hurricane as part of the Red Army air force makes it clear that the majority of the aces on this plane were in the North — precisely as part of the Seventy-eighth Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Northern Fleet Air Force that flew it the longest on the German-Soviet front.
Among the North Sea aces we can name Adonkin Vasily, who underwent flight training at the Yeisk Naval School before the war. The war began as part of the Seventy-Second Mixed Aviation Regiment of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet on the I-153. It was on this fighter that he won his first victory, shooting down an enemy 9 bomber in August 1941.
In March, 1942 retrained to the I-16, was transferred to the Twenty-seventh Fighter Regiment of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet. Later he was sent to the 78 th Fighter Wing, where he mastered the Hurricane. By July, 1943, Captain Adonkin, made 365 combat missions, of which 31 attacked enemy troops, ships and military targets, conducted 42 air combat and shot down 13 enemy aircraft. 22 January 1944. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Having received the rank of major, he became the commander of the 255 Fighter Aviation Regiment, flying on the Air Cobra.
Our reconnaissance 17 March 1944 discovered the German convoy No.110, which consisted of 20 escort ships and 4 transports. In one of the attacks on this convoy, Major Adonkin, deputy commander of the 78 th Fighter Regiment, was killed in aerial combat. This happened in the area of the Finnish island of Ecker. At the time of his death, 16 had personal victories and group 6 (according to other data 16 and 3).
On the Karelian front, Krupsky Viktor Iosifovich distinguished himself. Having an excellent pre-war flight education, the war began as part of the 147 th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Karelian Front) on the MiG-3. Already in July, won his first victory. In December, after the formation of the seven hundred and sixtieth fighter aviation regiment was sent there. For the year of combat activity, by July 1942, Senior Lieutenant Krupsky VI, Deputy. the squadron commander, made 240 combat missions, conducted 28 air battles and scored 3 personal and 8 group victories. The regiment Krupsky considered a specialist in the fight against reconnaissance aircraft. So, for example, covering railway objects, only for 5 days of July 1942, they were shot down three U-88.
Viktor Krupsky 22 February 1943 was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Krupsky ended the war with 9 group and 10 with personal victories on 330 sorties, all of which he won on Hurricane or Kitgihauk.
In the 760-m air regiment along with Krupsky another great pilot flew - Nikolayenkov Alexander. He began to fight in June 1941, in December he was appointed deputy regiment squadron commander. On his account in April, 1943 already had 229 combat sorties, 23 group and 8 personal victories that were won in 28 battles (all on Hurricane). 2 July 1943 was injured during the air battle, was able to bring the plane, but on July 7 died in hospital from wounds. 24 August 1943 was awarded posthumously the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Another Hero of the Soviet Union, Senior Lieutenant Repnikov Nikolai Fedorovich from the 152 Fighter Aviation Regiment, also flew and died on the Hurricane. In addition to the downed aircraft, there are also rams on his account. Here is an excerpt for December 4 from the regiment’s combat log: “The 12.55-14.10 3 aircraft flew to the N13 junction area of the western part of Medvezhiegorsk, Par-Guba, Kamselga, Kums, and Pokrova for reconnaissance of the enemy. The task was completed. an air battle with 2 th enemy fighters Me-7 and Heinkel, as a result of the 109 battle of an enemy aircraft was shot down, a Me-2 plane in a frontal attack was rammed by Lieutenant Repnikov, the pilot was killed. " This is an official document, but in reality it was otherwise.
First, the Finns in this area then did not have any Heinkels and Messerschmitts, and they lost, according to Finnish sources, only one aircraft. One of the participants from the Finnish side, Art. Sergeant Vassinen.
Then over the Wichka state farm, where the Finns attacked the positions of the 24 regiment of the 37 th rifle division at that time, an 4 Finnish Moran-Saulier MS.406 air battle took place (Tomminen pilots, Vassinen, Yussila, Mesinen) with 2 Soviet pilots "Hurricanes" - Repnikova and his slave (it was not possible to establish which of his fellow soldiers took part in that battle, presumably that it was Ivanov or Basov). “Morans”, according to the Finnish description of this case, were built “step of two pairs”. At the same time, the second pair moved 300 meters behind and 200 meters higher than the first. Suddenly, from the lower hemisphere behind the lead fighter attacked a pair of "Hurricane". Flying second Tomminen opened fire from a cannon and saw a clear hit in the cockpit (in the car Repnikova). Almost immediately the Soviet car went up. The Finnish pilot, fascinated by the attack, fell under the 12 volley of machine guns Ivanov (or Basov?). As a result, Tomminen’s car fell down and hit Repnik’s fighter, which apparently was already out of control. The Hurricane's wing fell off, and in an indiscriminate fall, it fell to the ground. Tomminen's fighter rolled over on his back, broke into a pike and crashed into the ground nearby. None of the pilots even tried to jump with a parachute. Left alone, led by Repnikova, went into a frontal attack on the lead group Jussil, and he abruptly turned away. Without changing the speed and course, the Soviet fighter hid in the clouds ... Apparently, two unmanaged aircraft collided in the air, and the ram tried to make another, unknown pilot.
Both aircraft fell on the territory occupied by the Finns. On the site of their fall 10 December, a Finnish commission worked, which discovered the wreckage of the Moran (MS-329 board number) with the remains of Tomminen and Hurricane (BD761 tail number), painted black and bearing traces of English identification marks. The Finns themselves recorded the fact that some equipment was removed from Hurricane. Everything was left in its place (the remnants of the two aircraft, thus, lie there today).
Another successful ace of the Red Army air forces, Stepanenko, Ivan Nikiforovich, began his combat score by piloting the Hurricane. Future ace in 1941, graduated from the Kachin military pilots school. Sergeant Stepanenko began his combat activities in the Balta area on the southern front in mid-July. 12 June 1942, he conducted the first air battle. 15 June, during the battle of Yelnya, shot down Yu-87, scoring the first victory.
To Stepanenko, real maturity came at Stalingrad where, commanding a link from the autumn of 1942 to the beginning of 1943, he made about a hundred sorties, shooting down seven enemy planes. Later Stepanenko fought over the Kuban, near Orel and Kursk. Ivan Nikiforovich was considered a master of frontal attacks. Stepanenko in June 1943 was transferred to the Yak-9T and his combat score increased rapidly (by the end of the year they had won 8 victories).
By August 1943, the deputy squadron commander of the Fourth Fighter Aviation Regiment, Senior Lieutenant Stepanenko, carried out 232 combat sorties, personally destroying the enemy's 14 aircraft. At the end of 1943, he was appointed commander of the squadron of the Fourth Fighter Aviation Regiment, which was already active on the Baltic front. 13.08.1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In total, by the end of the war, Ivan Stepanenko made 414 combat sorties, conducted 118 battles, personally shooting down an 33 enemy aircraft. 18 August 1945 - on the first post-war Aviation Day - for courage and courage shown in battles, the commander of the squadron, Major Stepanenko, was awarded the second Gold Star medal of the Hero.
On Hurricane, Amet Khan-Sultan, another future twice Hero of the Soviet Union, won his first victory. 31.03.1942 Lieutenant Amet-Khan Sultan on the outskirts of Yaroslavl during one of the battles of this day destroyed the enemy aircraft. His "Hurricane", he safely landed on the airfield. And the German archives confirm the loss of the scout. It was the Ju-88D-1 (onboard No.5T + DL, serial number 1604) from 3. (F) / ObdL, which went to the Vologda-Rybinsk region for long-distance reconnaissance.
Information