One German fighter squadron the Soviets faced included 11 pilots who had scored aerial victories; one of them, Joachim Kirschner, was credited with 148. Battle of Kursk . On July 12, a Heinkel He 111 bomber attacked the 11th Panzer command group on the north bank of the North Donets River, the bomber crew believing the group to be Soviets. Air & Space Magazine By the end of Citadel, Rudel, with Hentschel defending him, claimed to have destroyed more than 100 tanks. So stupendous was the clash of armies around the Soviet city of Kursk in July 1943 that until recently historians focused almost exclusively on the actions of the famous Panzer groups and Red Guard units—German and Soviet tanks, artillery, and infantry—that fought the exhausting, weeks-long battle. Rall survived the crash landing and was back in the air that afternoon.As mechanized units surged, then withdrew, confusion reigned. The Germans suffered 56,000 casualties; the Soviets, 177,000. During the tank battle at Prochorovka, the Luftwaffe was rendered practically useless because the tanks churned up huge clouds of dust, obstructing the pilots’ view of the battlefield.By the time Hitler decided to abandon the Kursk offensive on July 13, the Red Army Air Force was already beginning to wrest the air above Kursk from the Luftwaffe. The salient was a bulge in the Soviet lines that stretched 150 miles (240 km) from north to south and protruded 100 miles (160 km) westward into the German lines. In the Soviet archives, authors David M. Glantz and Jonathan Mallory House found descriptions of the battlefield for their 1999 book The most grueling assignment of all, however, was flying in the rear gunner position of a Stuka or Sturmovik.

Both Rudel and Hentschel were awarded the Knight’s Cross, one of Nazi Germany’s highest awards for bravery.According to Soviet records, by the end of the day on July 5, Luftwaffe pilots had shot down 250 aircraft, 107 of them Sturmoviks.

Comms. [1] Luftwaffe forces used as Close … Memorial arch for the Battle of Kursk in Kursk, Russia.This article was most recently revised and updated by But Stalin rallied both Russian troops and civilians who dug in and vowed to fight to the end.When the German Sixth Army reached Stalingrad in September, they were unprepared for the well-armed and well-trained Red Army. It would have been afforded a rest after the Soviet front stabilized. Amazon.com: Kursk: The Air Battle, July 1943 (9781903223888): Christer Bergstrom: Books good luck this could be a very fine thread if handled appropriately. Left with little choice, German General Friedrich Paulus went against Hitler’s orders and surrendered his weakened troops to Russia on February 2, 1943, an act which Hitler later called treason.The salient became known as the Kursk Bulge and was a strategic location for Germany. The Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on 12 July 1943 near Prokhorovka, 87 kilometres (54 mi) southeast of Kursk in the Soviet Union, during the Second World War.Taking place on the Eastern Front, the engagement was part of the wider Battle of Kursk, and occurred when the 5th Guards Tank Army of the Soviet Red Army attacked the II SS-Panzer Corps of the German Wehrmacht in one of the largest … The Battle of Kursk took place in 1943 and was one of the most crucial battles fought on the Eastern Front.

Hitler’s aim was to split the Allies in their drive toward Germany. Both sides exaggerated numbers in this battle, but the attack destroyed enough key airplanes to impair Luftwaffe reconnaissance.In the meantime, as Germans waited for tank deliveries, the Soviets dug trenches, strung barbed wire, laid landmines, built tank traps, and positioned the heaviest concentration of gun emplacements in the history of warfare.With reports that the Soviets would strike on July 5, the Red air force took to the air long before dawn. I shot a glance back and saw an enormous hole in the wing root and the fuselage…. The Soviet armored assault had been blunted solely through air power.It was a victory that could not be easily repeated. Get kids back-to-school ready with Expedition: Learn! But at the same time, the Soviets had also begun an artillery barrage, and to counter it, the Luftwaffe had been dispatched to bomb the gun emplacements. These were almost evenly matched against Soviet Yaks and Lavochkins. The twin-engine Henschel Hs 129 also helped provide close air support—but not very much; its two weak engines required constant maintenance.At Kursk, the job of protecting the German bombers fell mainly to Messerschmitt Bf 109 G and Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighters.

They were needed. Unquestionably. On the first day of combat at Kursk, he made it 150.In the Soviet corner, Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik dive bombers were aided by sturdy Petlyakov Pe-2s, less numerous but more maneuverable than the heavily armored Ilyushins.

Using high-velocity 30mm cannons specially designed for armor piercing, the planes swept the forest, pumping shells into the rears of the tanks, where their armor was thinnest. In July 1943, the Soviets had deep reserves; more than 2,800 Il-2s were available. Ferocious fighting ensued as the Germans fough… The Germans attempted a small offensive in the south known as Operation Roland but were unable to breach the Red Army’s might and withdrew after a few days.In the meantime, the Soviets launched a counteroffensive, Operation Kutuzov, north of Kursk on July 12. The battle was Germany’s last chance to regain dominance on the Eastern Front during World War II and would be their final blitzkrieg offensive. The Germans, however, spotted the attackers on their field radar and prepared to intercept. But the German tank columns got entangled in the deep minefields that the Soviets had laid, forewarned by… The Battle of Kursk was fought between the Germans and Soviets on the Eastern Front.