Crimean Front
4. and 8. "Staffel" also supported the attacks. Of note was 4.(Pz)'s attack on VVS airfields in the opening days. On 9 May the 15 operational Hs 129s of 8. "Staffel" claimed 40 Soviet aircraft destroyed on the ground. The wing scored "outstanding" successes against Soviet airfields at this time. The 743 IAP destroyed all of its aircraft save for one I-153. Major General Skripko, a staff officer attached to the VVS Crimean Front, remarked, "After dealing heavy strikes against out airfields, the enemy's aviation started blocking them - preventing our fighters from taking off." The airfield—Marfovka—was crowded with aircraft. The Hs 129s left 40 aircraft burning. They also supported the breakthrough of the 132nd Infantry Division which approached the airfield as the air attack unfolded. The division captured 30 Soviet fighters when an advanced motorised party overran the airfield.