Kursk 1943: Airpower in the Eastern Front’s Most Pivotal Battle

A history and analysis of the fierce air war over the huge battlefield of Kursk, where the Soviets for the first time fought the all-conquering Luftwaffe to a standstill.

The battle of Kursk was the last opportunity for the Luftwaffe to fully support a large-scale offensive, and was the Soviet air forces’ first success in battling their opponents to a standstill during summer months. Aiming to gain a success to stabilize the Eastern Front for the summer, Hitler ordered a concerted attack intended to cut off and destroy Red Army forces holding the Kursk salient. It turned into the greatest tank clash of the war.

In this book Soviet military expert William E. Hiestand explains how the complex air war over Kursk played out. With both sides deploying new aircraft specifically designed for destroying tanks, massive engagements took place above the clashes of armor. It was a simultaneous struggle to attain air superiority while bringing their Stukas, Hs 129s, and Il-2 Shturmoviks down for repeated low-level attack runs in the face of enemy fighters and antiaircraft fire. But the campaign also involved strategic bombing behind the front lines, attacking airfields and rail junctions.

Offering a day-by-day examination of the air forces’ actions, this book reveals the scale and intensity of the combat over the Kursk salient, the great turning point of the Eastern Front campaign.

William E. Hiestand has worked for over 30 years as a US Department of Defense analyst, focusing on military issues and serving in a wide variety of analytic, leadership and representational roles. He holds an MA in History from Cornell University, and has a lifelong interest in military history with a particular focus on Soviet military history. He lives in Virginia near Washington DC.
Graham Turner is a renowned illustrator and member of the Guild of Aviation Artists.