Dogfight over the Eastern Front

29th September 1943: A Luftwaffe fighter ace has a lucky escape

The Yak-9 started arriving in Soviet fighter regiments in late 1942 and played a major role in retaking air superiority from the Luftwaffe's new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and Messerschmitt Bf 109G fighters during the grand Battle of Kursk in summer 1943.

On the Eastern Front, even as their ground forces pulled back the Luftwaffe remained a potent force, still ca…