‘Swastika in the Gunsight: Memoirs of a Russian Fighter Pilot 1941-45’ by Igor A. Kaberov Page 3

By RacerGT on February 7, 2007 in _air9, hide

Book Review: Swastika in the Gunsight

One sentence that you would never find in an RAF account runs as follows: “The Commissar flew more than us, managed to organise meetings, give lectures or reports, showed an interest in new literary trends, talked with pilots and technicians and visited the sailors’ quarters.” You can just imagine an RAF pilot’s views of the new literary trends!

Another episode that starkly illustrates the differences comes when Kaberov makes a series of mistakes before a flight and thereby puts his comrades in danger, even though he fights bravely. The brigade commissar wants him charged with cowardice, effectively a death sentence. However his squadron party committee hear the case first, a technician telling the brigade commissar to be quiet as “here you are just a Party member like everyone else”. They decide to admonish Kaberov but not expel him, meaning the Commissar has to back down. It is a scene inconceivable in other air forces, a technician telling a Colonel to pipe down. Kaberov has no illusions about it either — he is terrified the night before the hearing, as is one of the technicians who contributed to the error.

A book like this stands or falls on the pilot’s descriptions of air combat. Here Kaberov really shines. His description of bringing a damaged Yak in to land, of escorting bombers who disappear into cloud, of road strafing missions and fighter duels are as good as any I’ve read. At the beginning his unit are brave but overwhelmed; as the army air force nearer the front collapses, his regiment and then his squadron are dispersed to cover the many towns and bases of the Baltic. The I-16’s are scarcely a match for the Messerschmitts of the enemy. Later, with experience and better equipment, they begin to hold their own.

Kaberov is not boastful. Indeed, he often seems in awe of the other pilots, especially Sturmovik pilots who press home anti-flak and anti-shipping attacks. He is always quick to credit the achievements of others. Yet by the end of the book he commands a squadron and is awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Although his victory claims must be treated with some doubt (and let us remember that the RAF were overclaiming by four times during this period) there is no doubt he was a brave pilot and a decent man. It is interesting to read this book alongside Hannig’s “Luftwaffe Fighter Ace” as they sometimes flew in the same combats: Hannig can come across as the more likeable figure, but is that just because we find him more similar to ourselves?

I warmly recommend this book to anyone interested in the air war on the Eastern Front.