Erich Hartmann’s victories 1942-1943:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Christer Bergström
Nick Hector:
No. 7, P-39 on 15.4.43/1533 over Taman: 45 IAP, either 41-38451 of Starishiy Leytenant M Petrov or 42-4606 of Serzhant Bezbabnov (but see Waldemar Eyrich's claim). Both KIA.
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=55807
Bergström, Black Cross/Red Star, Vol. 5 (not yet published) :
Pilots of JG 3 also clashed with 16 GIAP during another mission by that regiment in the afternoon of this April 15, 1943. Even though the Soviet fliers were credited with four victories, two Airacobras were shot down (Leytenant Nikolay Naumenko was listed as missing) and two others were damaged without, in fact, any German losses. With one of these Airacobras, Leutnant Erich Hartmann of 7./JG 52 scored his seventh victory.
(Also April 15, 1943: Having attacked 16 GIAP, Wolf Ettel and his Schwarm returned to the battle zone, where they were bounced by four Airacobras and three Kittyhawks of 45 IAP who had been alerted by the Soviet vectoring station. But they evaded the attack and blew two of the former and one of the latter out of the sky. Having claimed his twentieth victory (unsubstantiated), Dmitriy Glinka had to take to the parachute and bailed out wounded. His wingman, Starshiy Serzhant Mikhail Petrov, suffered the same fate, and Starshiy Serzhant Venyamin Bezbabnov’s Kittyhawk fell in flames. Wolf Ettel returned from that engagement with his seventy-fourth and seventy-fifth victories, claimed against LaGG-3s, although a misidentification is not excluded.)
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This does not corroborate with the research of Andrey Kuznetsov, who is working on a in-depth study about the Kuban air battles. This is a excerpt from my "Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Yugoslav Story Vol.II", and based on Andrey's research:
"In the afternoon of 15 April, Lt. Mato Dukovac and Obfw. Viktor ‘Viki’ Mihelčič of 15.(kroat.)/JG 52 went on a sweep between Krymskaya and Abinskaya rail stations... Lt. Dukovac reported his victory (against P-39) as taking place at 15.30 southeast of Krymskaya.
At 15.30, but much further to the northeast, another Airacobra was claimed by Lt. Wolf-Udo Ettel of 4./JG 3, matching perfectly with the battle report of 16 GIAP which noted damage to the plane of st.leit. Vadim Fadeev who was returning to his base. At least six more claims were filed by other German Bf 109G pilots between 15.12 and 15.35 in the same area: two LaGG 3s by Obfw. Heinrich Sturm and one by Oblt. Wilhelm Batz of Stab II./JG 52, a P-39 by Lt. Erich Hartmann of 7./JG 52
and two LaGG 3s by Uffz. Wilhelm Hauswirth of 8./JG 52. On the opposite side, seven Airacobras of 298 IAP fought a pro-longed battle with a force of 16 German fighters, which riddled the plane of leit. Georgiy Klimanov, who force-landed at Novotitarovskaya airfield. Six LaGG 3s of 267 IAP engaged the same number of Gustavs west of Abinskaya and lost two of their own: st.ser. Mikhail Vahnev bailed out and ser. Nikolay Gorbachev perished near Erivanskaya. Any data about four claims made by Fw 190s of II./SchG 1 during the day is lacking and some of these might have been the cause of the above-mentioned Soviet losses."
I will paraphrase what he concluded in our correspondence for the battles fought between 15.17 and 15.35:
Total 8 claims for 2 planes shot down, 1 force-landed and 1 damaged. If we take out the case of Ettel - Fadeyev, what remains are 2 shot down and 1 force-landed for 7 claims, almost all in the area of the Croat claim (not counting possible II./SchG 1 claims). Only Hartmann's claim at 15:33 was further away - SSE of Kholmskaya. Keeping in mind that the battle reported by 298 IAP lasted for 35-40 minutes, it is possible that Hartman hit Klimanov's plane.
Cheers,
Boris