Voronezh Front
In August 1942 he served as a P-39 Airacobra pilot on the Voronezh Front. On 12 August 1942 he was the first Airacobra pilot who used a ramming attack to down an opponent. His victim was possibly Fw. Franz Schulte of 6./JG 77, an ace with 46 victories. Both pilots were later buried in Novaya Usman, a village near Voronezh.