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Дата 23.08.2005 13:50:30 Найти в дереве
Рубрики Прочее; 1936-1945 гг.; Версия для печати

Раз просили - затягиватся осторожней (особенно 70+13 у Степаненко) :)))

Здравствуйте!

Stepanenko scored only a single victory in the Hurricane, and he was also shot down and wounded in one. In June, the regiment converted to the Yak-7 and redeployed to the Stalingrad Front. Soon after its arrival, 4 IAP became embroiled in a major dogfight when 20 Ju 88s were intercepted. Stepanenko managed to shoot one down, but while still admiring the results of his handiwork, Stepanenko was bounced by Bf 109s and again wounded. A few days later he found himself fighting a lone battle against ten Bf 109s thatwere attacking his airfield. Stepanenko was again shot down and wounded, but not before accounting for one of his attackers. On 7 September he shot down a Fw 189, followed by a Bf 109 one week later, and then another on 29 September. On 6 October, while flying a reconnaissance mission with his wingman, Stepanenko was bounced by four Bf 109s on the way home. His wingman's engine was hit and he had to force-land, leaving Stepanenko to fight on alone, while trying to make it home with the valuable film. Two Bf 109s fell in flames, but Stepanenko was also hit. Landing inside Soviet lines, he was able to remove the camera and return on foot with the film. In the spring of 1943 4 IAP deployed over the Blue Line, and Stepanenko was promoted to senior lieutenant. In June 1943 the regiment converted to the Yak-9, and in the late autumn Stepanenko received a Yak-9T with a 37 mm cannon. The regiment arrived too late for the Battle of Kursk, but it did participate in the subsequent counter-offensive. Throughout the autumn Stepanenko's score continued to grow, and he was promoted to command the 2nd Squadron as a captain. He spent much of spring 1944 in hospital having his old wounds treated, and was awarded the HSU on 13 April. Returning to combat in May, Stepanenko now found himself primarily flying escort missions for I1-2 Shturmoviks, as well as the occasional free hunt. From late 1944, 4 IAP operated over Kurland and East Prussia, where he scored most of his victories over Fw 190s from JG 54 - the last of these came on 7 May. By war's end Maj Stepanenko had completed 414 sorties and officially scored 33 individual and eight shared victories in 118 air combats, although he personally claimed 70 individual and 13 shared victories. He received his second HSU on 18 August 1945.

С уважением, Viggen