P-63 in Pokryshkin's squadron

[Josh Osborne]

This is a cut and paste from the Wikipedia entry for Pokryshkin. It states what I have long suspected, that the Soviets used the p-63 in the eastern front, then covered it up for political reasons. Is this just conjecture, or is there any proof?

QUOTE
Pokryshkin and his regiment have repeatedly been asked to convert to new Soviet fighters such as the La-5 and Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev's Yak fighter series. However Pokryshkin found La-5's firepower insufficient and personally disliked Yakovlev so he never did.
Finally in 1944 he found an aircraft that he was willing to convert to, Lavochkin La-7. Unfortunately one of his close friends, Soviet 50-kill (31 personal and 19 group ) ace Alexander Klubov was killed in a landing mishap while converting to the La-7. The crash was blamed on the malfunction of the plane's hydraulic system. Pokryshkin subsequently cancelled his regiment's conversion, and there are multiple reports that they instead began flying Bell P-63 Supercobras. By the lend-lease agreement with United States the Soviet Union was not allowed to use P-63s against Germany; they were given only to be used in the eventual battle with Japan. Thus it is quite understandable that no mention of this appears in any official records. However personal accounts of German pilots and flak crewmen who encountered P-63s in the skies of Eastern Prussia as well as the memoirs of one of the pilots in Pokryshkin's squadron appear to confirm that fact.
UNQUOTE

[Graham Boak]

Why should there have been any restriction on the delivery of P-63s to the Russians? No such restriction was placed on any other type. It is, after all, just another aircraft, and not a particularly inspiring one. I don't recall seeing any mention of this in any of the books on the P-63 or Lend-Lease - unless perhaps you could quote some more respectable source?

Had the US made been any such restriction, why should the Russians have paid it any attention, let alone hushing it up?

Given the general accuracy of German aircraft identification, can any credence be placed on the claims for seeing P-63s on the Eastern front?

[Josh Osborne]

I haven't had time to check the sources in the article, perhaps they are completely bogus. I admit that identification by spotting flying aircraft, rather than inspecting wrecks, is a very unreliable way to identify a type. I am not sure if this idea is just another internet hoax, like the idea that the p-38 can outdive a p-47 if it has dive flaps. This is the first time I have seen the "p-63 on the eastern front" in a respectable place (I assume Wikipedia is reliable?), so now I wonder if there is some truth to it.

[MB]

Pokryshkin's division not recieved any P-63s till May 9, 1945. None of Soviet units had used Kingcobras in combat over Europe, but some P-63 equipped regiments saw action in Far East during brief 'Japan' campaign in August 1945. There was only one confirmed victories claimed by P-63 pilot.

[Graham Boak]

Wikipedia relies upon postings from anyone who cares to do so - I don't think it can fairly be described as reliable.