Sergeant Alek Pavlikov had hardly any flying hours under his belt but still felt ready to join in the fight against the Luftwaffe in the battle for supremacy of the skies above Kursk.

His dreams of heroism were soon overtaken by a dawning realisation that a surprising number of his fellow rookies were dying on their first mission.

Alek wondered if a ruthless superior officer had something to do with it. Was his fearsome major, Yuri Zaleski – the Red Ace – willing to risk Alek’s annihilation in a quest for personal glory?