He flew P-39K-1 "White-13" 42-4421 over the Kuban. He converted in late June to P-39N-0 42-9004 "White 100". "White 100" was damaged in August or September 1943. The only known photograph of 42-9004 dates from around this time: it shows the nose resting on a saw horse with the nose wheel main leg hyper-extended so the nose wheel rests on the ground. According to a VVS color scheme research website, 42-9004 was struck by inadvertent gunfire from a badly damaged Il-2 that had a rough landing, and on one of its last bounces the guns went off and, among other things, the gunfire struck, such as the aircrew dugout, hit the parked Airacobra.