On Luftwaffe action from Robin Cross´ "Battle of Kursk":

In contrast the air battle in the south on the 5th July seemed like a re-run of the drubbings regularly inflicted by the Luftwaffe on Soviet aviation.It had yielded German claims of 432 Soviet aircraft destroyed, 77 by II/JG3 alone. Flight lieutenant Johannes Wiesse of JG 52 claimed 12 victims, in spite of having force-landed five times during the course of the day´s fighting (?). Close behind was the claim for eleven kills made by the ebullient Flying officer Walter Krupinski, also of JG 52, whose penchant for high living prompted his comrades dub him
" The Count ". Admitted German losses were no more that twenty-six aircraft. Seen solely in terms of aircraft claimed shot down, 5 July 1943 was the greatest single day of air combat in WW2, unequalled even by the air fighting at the height of the " Marianas Turkey shoot" in the Pacific in June-July 1944.



[ 22. January 2003, 07:03 AM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]

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