 Between 12 December 1942 and 25 February 1943, it was credited with downing 114 Axis aircraft, destroying fourteen tanks, ten halftracks, and 21 vehicles, in addition to killing around 800 Axis soldiers.The 658th Regiment was detached to the 3rd Guards Army in February.In March, its units provided air defense for bridgeheads on the western bank of the Seversky Donets near Svyatogorsk, Izyum, and Balakleya, repulsing large German air raids.