When M.D. Baranov was shot down ?

[Paul Thompson]

Originally Posted by Dénes Bernád

Wow! 'Ace-in-a-day' (and four of the five claims were Bf 109s)! That's an outstanding achievement, indeed. Did someone counter-check his claims with known Axis losses?

Hello Dénes,

I am not in a position to comment on Axis losses, but page 63 of Christer Bergström's Stalingrad - The Air Battle contains the following text:

"on 6 August, one of the best Soviet fighter aces in the area - 183 IAP's St.Lt. Mikhail Baranov, who had been credited with 21 victories - was badly wounded in combat with I./JG 53. However, Baranov was not shot down: after claiming two Bf 109s and a Ju 87, Baranov was locked into an uneven combat with several Bf 109s of I./JG 53. When his Yak-1 ran out of ammunition, Baranov rammed one of the enemy fighters - possibly the one flown by Lt. Hans Roehrig, one of the aces in I./JG 53, who barely survived."

Dénes, I have also sent you a PM on a related topic.

Regards,

Paul