Tomahawk Mk.IIa (P-40C with .303 machine guns in the wings) flown by Lt. S.G.Ridniy of the 126 IAP, Moscow PVO (Air Defense Force) in the winter of 1941-42.
S.G.Ridniy was made Hero of the Soviet Union in August 1941 for action while 126 IAP was equipped with I-16's and MiG-3's. It is not known which he flew at the time.
126 IAP was the first Soviet unit to be equipped with P-40's (October 1941). They received their planes from England and they featured standard RAF scheme of Dark Green and Dark Earth over Sky. These colors were painted over with white once winter came. Between October 26th 1941 and April 25th 1942, 126 IAP claimed 29 German planes shot down and only 4 planes lost. 2 Pilots were killed in action, including S.G.Ridniy on February 17th.
