Curtiss P-40 top ten ace list

[Juha]

Originally Posted by knusel

Hello Juha,

how do you explain those often quoted scores such as Shestakov's 8+31 Spanish Civil War kills or Novichkov's 19 P-40 kills ?
Fantasy ?
Lies ?
Propaganda ?

Have a nice weekend,

Michael

I don't know. Looked from Maslov's Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153 Aces (Osprey) info on Shestakov. In text he writes that Shestakov got 2+1 in Spain but added that some sources put his score in Spain at 8 aircraft shot down. And later, after a very short survey on Shestakov's actions during the GPW, that "In 82 aerial engagements he achieved 15 individual and 11 shared kills prior to his death in combat on 13 March 1944,...Shestakov's total score, including his service in Spain, had risen to 23 individual and 44 shared victories..." This last figure is also in the "Soviet Polikarpov Aces" table at the end of the book. So Shestakov's score in Spain was 2+1, 8 or 8+33 according to Maslov.