German military aircraft of the Second World War. Soviet WWII aircraft

This section of the site is dedicated to combat aircraft that took part in the war and were built in the pre-war period and during the war. If the production of aircraft continued in the post-war period, data on their number was excluded from the total number of production. The total number of production of a particular aircraft does not mean that all aircraft built took part in combat operations. When describing tactical and technical characteristics Data from the latest modification were given unless otherwise indicated in the text. Civil aircraft that were used for military purposes but did not undergo conversion were not considered in this section. Aircraft transferred or received from one country to another (including under Lend-Lease agreements) were not taken into account, just as captured aircraft were not taken into account.

Military aviation - view armed forces, whose main weapons are combat aircraft. The first aircraft suitable for military purposes appeared shortly after the birth of aviation itself. The first country to use aircraft for military purposes was Bulgaria - its aircraft attacked and conducted reconnaissance of Ottoman positions during the First Balkan War of 1912-1913. The first war in which aircraft were assigned important role in offensive, defensive and reconnaissance, there was the First World War. Both the Entente and the Central States actively used aircraft in this war. By the end of the war, the armies of the main warring states already had about 11 thousand aircraft, including over a thousand in the Russian one. During the First World War, the first types of military aviation were created: bomber, fighter, reconnaissance. The speed of the aircraft used gradually increased from 100-120 to 200-220 km/h, the highest flight altitude (ceiling) - from 2-3 to 6-7 km, the combat load reached 2-3.5 tons.

During the interwar period military aviation Among all types of weapons, it has gone the longest way in its development, having changed radically, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Thus, in the design of aircraft they moved from biplanes to a monoplane design, careful aerodynamic “fine-tuning” of gliders, the introduction of laminated wing profiles and pressurized cabins into practice, increasing the load on the wing and complicating the landing mechanization, the use of a three-wheeled landing gear with a nose support, the device of teardrop-shaped cockpit canopies, armoring and protection of fuel tanks, the use of ejection systems for leaving the aircraft, replacing wood and fabric with aluminum.

Piston engines were brought to practical perfection. Two-stage centrifugal superchargers and turbochargers began to be used to increase the altitude of engines, forced engine operating modes were introduced to briefly increase the power of the aircraft during takeoff and in combat, the two-bladed propeller was replaced with a propeller with a large number blades. Water-cooled gasoline engines were replaced by air-cooled rotary and radial engines. They tried to use experimental jet engines and rocket take-off boosters.

The aircraft's weapons system has also undergone significant changes. Rifle-caliber machine gun armament was replaced by large-caliber machine guns and cannons. Turret-mounted rifle installations were replaced by turret-type installations, sometimes with remote control. Mechanical sights have been replaced with gyroscopic ones. Rockets began to be used.

Use on airborne aircraft radar stations(radars) was the main qualitative change in the technical revolution of aircraft manufacturing. The aircraft were able to fly at any time of the day, in any weather conditions, and detect the enemy in advance in the air, at sea and under water.

Specialized aircraft appeared - aviation was divided into land and sea. By the beginning of the war, a clear classification of combat aircraft had developed: fighters, bombers, attack aircraft, coastal sea-based aircraft and carrier-based aircraft, float planes, flying boats and amphibious boats, training aircraft, military transport and auxiliary aircraft. Some countries used military gliders and airships.

During the war years, contrary to a widely held point of view, there was no qualitative leap in the development of aviation technology. Moreover, there were fewer fundamental innovations in aircraft design during the war than in the previous six years. This is explained by the fact that in most cases the leadership of the countries involved in the intense struggle had little interest in developments aimed at the long term; the main task was to satisfy the immediate requirements of the front. In Germany, they even introduced a ban on the proactive development of new aircraft by design departments of companies. In all countries, the number of prototypes and experimental models has sharply decreased, and the development of civil aircraft has completely stopped. However, driven by the demands of combat, the best aircraft were built during the war.

The main impact of the war on aviation was not the acceleration of technological progress, but the increase in the production volume of aircraft. During the war, the number of aircraft in individual countries increased 10-20 times compared to its beginning.

As a result, aviation has become a powerful type of weapon, capable, in some cases, of exerting a decisive influence on the course of military operations. As you know, fighter planes saved Great Britain from a planned German invasion in 1940. Another example decisive role aviation may be served by the defeat of Japan, which capitulated under the pressure of American air attacks before US troops landed on its territory.

Characterizing military aviation as a weapon of the Second World War in the air, it should be noted that airplanes were the main impact force both on land and on water. Military aircraft were used both as offensive and defensive weapons. Military aviation performed both independent tasks and took part in combat operations of other branches of the military.

It should be noted that the developed military doctrines different countries before the start of the Second World War turned out to be untenable, the unfolding hostilities brought into them dramatic changes. However, not all countries managed to make timely and complete adjustments to the development of military aviation.

The fight for air supremacy, the destruction of enemy industrial centers, the support of ground troops, the destruction of enemy ships and submarines- all these tasks served as an incentive to improve aircraft and increase the scale of their production. The development of aviation was also influenced by changing views on the use of the Air Force during the war, the expansion of the geography of the theater of operations, the improvement of air defense systems, the problems of limited industrial and human resources and a number of other circumstances. Thus, the evolution of aviation technology during the war years was closely related to a whole range of external factors.

The advent of jet aircraft, of course, was a technical breakthrough, which no country was able to put into practice during the war years. The number of aircraft was meager, the technical quality was imperfect, there were no experienced pilots, and tactics were just emerging. All this prevented the new type of weapon from having any influence on the course of the war.

Approximate number of aircraft by country and type, built in pre-war times and during the war (excluding transferred/received)

Countries	Types of aircraft
		Sturmov. 2	Bombard. 3	M/P aircraft 4	Hydrosam. and years. boats 5	Scouts
Australia		757	—	—	—
Argentina		—	14	—
Belgium		—	—	—	—
Bulgaria		—	—	—	—
Brazil		—	—	—	—
Great Britain		942	51814	21517	2051
Hungary		—	—	—	—
Germany		878	38785	85	1887
Spain		—	236	—	—
Italy		261	4820	1746	1446
Canada		—	—	—	932
Lithuania		—	14	—	—
Netherlands		—	16	—	75
Norway		—	—	—	29
Poland		—	442	—	—
Romania		—	193	—	8
USSR		43341	33276	331	1955
USA		2044	62026	71621	10718
Finland		—	—	—	—
France		386	10292	99	374
Czechoslovakia		—	19	—	—
Switzerland		152	—	—
Sweden		—	391	—	56
Yugoslavia		—	—	—	109
Japan		3700	11327	21244	5137
TOTAL		52461	213665	116643	24777

Table continuation

Countries	Types of aircraft
	Transport. aircraft	Military gliders	Academic/training airplanes 6	Rec. planes 7
Australia		14	200	—
Argentina		—	267	—
Belgium		—	—	66
Bulgaria		—	12	—
Brazil		—	28	—
Great Britain		5192	23830	7409
Hungary		—	10	—
Germany		2719	17793	1500
Spain		—	40	—
Italy		—	3087	—
Canada		—	601	—
Lithuania		—	19	—
Netherlands		—	257	—
Norway		—	—	—
Poland		—	1045	—
Romania		—	200	—
USSR		1068	23915	—
USA		15709	58351	7232
Finland		—	40	—
France		—	246	589
Czechoslovakia		—	130	—
Switzerland		—	—	—
Sweden		—	—	—
Yugoslavia		—	81	—
Japan		886	15610	23
TOTAL		25588	145762	16819

Note

1 Fighters

2 Stormtroopers

3 Bombers

4 Sea and carrier-based aircraft

5 Seaplanes and flying boats

6 Training aircraft

7 Auxiliary aircraft

In the pre-war period and during the war, 25 countries built 974.9 thousand aircraft and military gliders, incl. in years about 800 thousand. At the same time, the five leading countries (Great Britain, Germany, USSR, USA and Japan) produced 95% of the total number of aircraft. In the total production of aircraft, fighters accounted for 32%, bombers - 22%, sea and carrier-based aircraft - 12%. Of all aircraft built, 15% was used for pilot training.

History... Everything flows, everything changes. Only memory remains.

The Second died down in volleys World War, and we, remembering the battles in which we did not participate, argue about the topics of the best weapons, the best warriors.

Let's talk today about the planes that cleared our skies during the Great Duel. Fighters are the great cleansers of the skies. Who can be called the best warrior in the sky?

The beginning of the war found almost all Soviet fighter aircraft at airfields. Almost 900 aircraft were burned by the Germans on the ground in the first hours of the war. I-16s were burning, “rats”, as the Germans dubbed them at the beginning of the war in Spain, apparently because there is a “donkey”, like a rat, if it grabs onto it, it will not let go, from its strong teeth. Chadili I-15, “snub-nosed”, as the Spanish Republicans called them.

The flames cheerfully devoured the planes of the Mig-3 and Yak-1, which did not have time to rise into the sky. What they managed to save was burning in the sky, crossed out by smoky plumes, going to ram, directed by heroes who did not know how to conduct an air battle, who shot in vain their meager ammunition.

But, stocks great country were truly inexhaustible. Air regiments armed with new LaGG-3s were quickly transferred from the eastern borders. But that didn’t help either Soviet Union from the overwhelming air superiority of the Luftwaffe.

Yak-1

Fighter designed by Yakovlev. Lightweight, maneuverable, easy to control, but poorly armed. One 20 mm cannon and one 12.7 mm machine gun.

MiG-3

Fighter designed by Mikoyan and Gurevich. A very ugly story happened with its predecessor, the MiG-1, or I-200, as the King of Fighters Polikarpov conceived it. The designers simply took credit for the development of the I-200 while Polikarpov was in Germany on an excursion trip to German aircraft factories.

But Polikarpov designed the I-200 for the AM-38 engine, and Mikoyan and his friend Gurevich installed the weaker AM-35 engine on the car. Trouble happened to the MiG-3. His heart was so unreliable that it could fail at any moment, and it did. Not only Luftwaffe aces pilots died, but Stalin’s falcons often died “from their horses”

At the end of 1941, Stalin ordered the MiG-3 to be taken out of production, although a Moscow air defense regiment was formed from the remnants of the MiG-3. The pilots in the regiment were test pilots. They

The restive MiG was somewhat rehabilitated. For the sake of objectivity, I note that the Germans did not allow the MiG-3 to show itself with the best side. MiG-3 is a high-altitude aircraft. All of him best qualities appeared at altitudes above 4500 meters. Having learned this, Goering's aces, when meeting with MiGs, simply moved away from the attack, to heights where the MiG lost all its advantages.

LaGG-3 - “Lacquered Guaranteed Coffin”

This name was given by Soviet pilots who flew this plane. Weak engine, heavy structure, weak weapons. Poor management behavior. Weak landing gear sometimes simply broke under the plane standing on the ground. Often this stubborn little hunchbacked horse, just on a turn, fell into a tailspin, from which he emerged with great reluctance.

This was the USSR fighter fleet. I won’t say anything about I-16, I-15 at all. Moral and physical elders. All aerial victories in the second half of 1941 and the first half of 1942 are due to Soviet pilots who fought for their homeland during this period. Many did not return to their airfields.

In mid-1942, the troops received new fighters, the Yak-7, a training aircraft, and a repurposed air desk. Yak-1B, improved Yak-1, and Yak-9.

Yak-9

This was already a car. The guns on it were different. 20 mm, 37 mm and 45 mm. The flight range in other modifications reached 1,400 km. He could easily escort the bombers to the target and kick the tails of the Messers who dared to approach. The Yak-9's ability to modernize has truly become its main trump card.

Yak-9 K - aircraft with anti-tank gun on board is a 45-mm NS-45 cannon. Because of the gun so large caliber, in combat the plane could turn around, so it was recommended to fire in short bursts. But if several shells hit the target, the enemy was doomed.

The most successful modification of the Yak-9 was the Yak-9U. Both the engine and the weapon were, as they say, “what the doctor ordered.” But he appeared in the army only in the fall of 1944.

P-39 Airacobra fighter

Since May 1942 appears at the front new fighter P-39 Airacobra. A large series of fighters, almost 5,000 units, delivered under Lend-Lease from the USA to the USSR, including 212 aircraft re-exported from England.. The first battle of the Cobras took place on May 16, 1942 in the Arctic. Then the Cobras fought in the Kuban and on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front. A.I. Pokryshkin made most of his fires from German planes on “my Kobryak,” as he called it. But was there a "cobra" the best fighter war? We'll see.

Cobra was created by Bell. In 1940, the Cobra was ordered for the Royal Air Force. But in England, only one combat sortie was made to attack on October 9, 1941, after which the Cobras did not fly in England, and the contract with the Bell company was terminated. It also did not take root in the US Air Force.

So, our American friends gave us for a little gold, according to the principle: “It’s on you, God, that it’s not good for me.”

The main drawback of the “cobra” was its selfless love for the corkscrew. And she loved the flat corkscrew so much that she didn’t want to get out of it. main reason The accident rate of “Cobras” in the Red Army Air Force was this very tailspin. And yet, the Cobra did not like it when the pilot left it with a parachute. Often, when jumping from a car, the pilot was hit by the stabilizer and was either injured or killed. This is how Hero of the Soviet Union N.M. Iskrin (May 1943) and Boris Glinka (July 1944) received leg injuries.

When overloaded, the tail itself also became deformed.

So: a short conclusion - American fighters of the Second World War are just rubbish. And if it weren’t for the catastrophic shortage of combat vehicles at the front, Pokryshkin, Glinka, Lavrinenkov, Skomorokhov, and many of our other aces simply would not have flown them. And the history of the “Cobras” would have ended on October 9, 1941. The Germans did not warn about the appearance of “cobras” in the air, they shouted: “Attention! Pokryshkin is in the air!!!”

About the “Kittyhawk” P-40, which is still praised by the Americans, I generally only remember that it was on it that the first Twice Hero in the Second World War, Boris Safonov, died on it, due to an engine stop, on May 30, 1942, while covering the PQ-16 convoy. The engine stopped and the pilot, who had the opportunity to become another thrice hero, crashed into the water.

P-51 "Mustang" - its engine was unprotected and any hit to it led to an immediate stop.

At the beginning of 1942, the threat that his country would no longer need him hung over S. A. Lavochkin. His LAGG-3 is not just bad car, pilots are afraid to fly it. The overweight design and weak heart of the machine are to blame. Lavochkin finds a brilliant way out.

Back in 1936, Arkady Shvetsov developed his M-62 engine for the Su-2 aircraft. Already in 1941, due to a number of modifications, Shvetsov created the M-82, later the ASh-82. The engines of this model were intended only for the Su-2, but when the Su-2 was discontinued in early 1942, a large number of engines remained in storage.

And so Lavochkin, having simply redesigned the engine compartment of the LaGG-3 and somewhat lightened the design, received a completely new fighter. This work has already been carried out secretly. By the highest decision, the last plant, which Lavochkin supervised, is transferred to Yakovlev.

Mikhail Rodionov, first secretary of the Gorky Regional Party Committee, head of the state commission, learns about the new aircraft. But, the commission was assembled to test the Yak-3. Test pilot Ivan Fedorov squeezed everything out of the “yak”, to the last. And an inexperienced pilot was put on the La-5. The “Yak” seemed better to the commission and the decision was made in favor of the Yak-3. Fedorov decided to try out the La-5. Having scrolled through the entire cascade of figures on it, right after the flight, he saved the car with a personal call to Stalin.

So, in the fall of 1942, a stream of La-5s poured to the front. The Germans, having met him, dubbed him the “new rat” for his resemblance to the I-16. They still remembered how the I-16s burned at the beginning of 1941, Goering’s Aces relaxed, and the obedient, easy-to-control La-5 turned out to be a dangerous enemy. Not only did it, like the LaGG-3, have a strong structure and did not fall apart after dozens of direct hits, but it also had high maneuverability and speed. The turn time was 16.5-19 seconds, the speed exceeded 600. And the Russian rat turned out to be toothy - two 20-mm ShVAK cannons.

Hero of the Soviet Union S. Gorelov once returned to the airfield after a difficult battle. After landing, the technicians examined the car and issued a verdict: “It is beyond repair.”

Also, the main advantage of the La-5 during aerobatics was that, as a disciplined soldier, it did not perform the “corkscrew” aerobatics maneuver without a direct order from the pilot. And if he was in a tailspin, he got out of it on the first command. Now, with the help of a “corkscrew”, it was possible to escape from under fire.

The shock of the Luftwaffe after meeting the “new rats” was so strong that Goering’s secret directive prohibited attacking the La-5 without numerical superiority.

Since then, incomprehensible words began to litter the airwaves: “Akhtung! Achtung! In luft la funf!!!”

(Attention! Attention! There is la-five in the air!!!").

And so, against the backdrop of all this, since 1943, air supremacy from the Luftwaffe was wrested from two main types of aircraft, the Yaks and the Lavochkins.

All subsequent modifications of the La-5 are minor design alterations and the installation of new engines. ASh-82F and ASh-82FN. Accordingly: La-5F and La-5FN.

The German response to the appearance of the La-5 was the massive transfer of FV-190s from the western front. A vehicle weighing 6 tons, with powerful cannon and machine gun weapons. But they too lost to the La-5 in a maneuverable high-speed battle.

When our troops began to advance to the west, aviation sometimes lagged behind the front line for many kilometers and the small fuel supply reduced the time it took to cover the troops. Stalin called Lavochkin and ordered to increase the fuel supply on the La-5.

Lavochkin begged the Supreme for some time. He replaced the wooden structural elements with aluminum ones, which significantly lightened the car. By reducing the weight of the structure, the weight of the fuel increased without affecting the flight performance. Aerodynamicists once again licked the design. The plane acquired slightly modified rapid forms. And it turned out to be La-7. Fast, maneuverable and with a large range. The speed and maneuverability of the La-7 allowed it to beat Fokkers and Messers, regardless of the weather and political situation.

Some later modifications carried 3 ShVAK cannons.

Soviet military aviation at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War

When the Nazis attacked the USSR, Soviet aviation was destroyed at the airfields. And the Germans dominated the skies in the first year of the war, as well as in the second. What kind of fighter aircraft were in service? Soviet army Then?

The main one, of course, was I-16.

There were also I-5(biplanes) received by the Nazis as trophies. Modified from I-5 fighters I-15 bis, which remained after the attack on the airfields, fought in the first months of the war.

"Seagulls" or I-153, also biplanes, lasted in the skies until 1943. Their retractable landing gear made it possible to increase flight speed. And four small caliber machine guns (7.62) fired directly through the propeller. All of the above aircraft models were outdated before the start of the war. For example, the speed of the best fighter

I-16(with different engines) was from 440 to 525 km/h. The only good thing was its weapons, two ShKAS machine guns and two cannons SHVAK(latest issues). And the range that the I-16 could fly reached a maximum of 690 km.

Germany was in service in 1941 Me-109, produced by industry since 1937, of various modifications, which attacked the Soviet borders in 1941. The armament of this aircraft was two machine guns (MG-17) and two cannons (MG-FF). The fighter's flight speed was 574 km/h, which was the maximum speed that the 1,150 hp engine could achieve. With. The highest lifting height or ceiling reached 11 kilometers. Only in terms of flight range, for example, the Me-109E was inferior to the I-16, it was equal to 665 km.

Soviet aircraftI-16(type 29) made it possible to reach a ceiling of 9.8 kilometers with a 900-horsepower engine. Their range was only 440 km. The take-off run length of the “donkeys” was on average 250 meters. German fighters have designer Messerschmitt the takeoff run was approximately 280 meters. If we compare the time it takes the plane to rise to a height of three kilometers, it turns out that the Soviet I-16 of the twenty-ninth type loses to the ME-109 seconds 15. In terms of payload weight, the “donkey” is also behind the “Messer”, 419 kg versus 486.
To replace "donkey" was designed in the USSR I-180, all metal. V. Chkalov crashed on it before the war. After him, tester T. Susi fell to the ground on the I-180-2 along with the plane, blinded by the hot oil ejected from the engine. Before the war, the serial I-180 was discontinued as a failure.

Polikarpov OKB also worked on the creation I-153, a biplane with an engine power of 1100 hp. With. But its maximum speed in the air reached only 470 km/h, it was not a competitor ME-109. We worked on creating modern fighters and other Soviet aircraft designers. Produced since 1940 YAK-1, which can fly at a speed of 569 km/h and has a ceiling of 10 km. A cannon and two machine guns were installed on it.

And Lavochkin’s fighter LAGG-3, with a wooden body and a 1050 hp engine. s, showed a speed of 575 km/h. But it, designed in 1942, was soon replaced by another model - LA-5 with a flight speed at six-kilometer altitudes of up to 580 km/h.

Arrived under Lend-Lease "Aerocobras" or P-39, which had the engine behind the cockpit, were all-metal monoplanes. On turns they went around "Messers", getting behind them. It was on the Airacobra that ace Pokryshkin flew.

In flight speed, the P-39 also exceeded the ME-109 by 15 km/h, but was inferior in ceiling by one and a half kilometers. And the flight range of almost a thousand kilometers made it possible to carry out deep raids behind enemy lines. The foreign aircraft was armed with a 20-mm cannon and two or three machine guns.

• Tupolevs: father, son and airplanes

By the beginning of the war, there were significantly more MiG-3 fighters in service than other aircraft. However, the “third” MiG was not yet sufficiently mastered by combat pilots, and the retraining of most of them was not completed.

Two MiG-3 regiments were quickly formed with a large percentage testers familiar with them. This partly helped in eliminating piloting deficiencies. But still, the MiG-3 lost even to the I-6 fighters, common at the beginning of the war. Superior in speed at altitudes above 5000 m, at low and medium altitudes it was inferior to other fighters.

This is both a disadvantage and at the same time an advantage of the “third” MiG. The MiG-3 is a high-altitude aircraft, all the best qualities of which were manifested at an altitude of over 4500 meters. It found use as a high-altitude night fighter in the air defense system, where its high ceiling of up to 12,000 meters and speed at altitude were decisive. Thus, the MiG-3 was mainly used until the end of the war, in particular, guarding Moscow.

In the very first battle over the capital, on July 22, 1941, Mark Gallay, a pilot of the 2nd Separate Air Defense Fighter Squadron of Moscow, shot down an enemy plane in a MiG-3. At the beginning of the war, one of the ace pilots, Alexander Pokryshkin, flew on the same plane and won his first victory.

Yak-9: the “king” of modifications

Until the end of the 30s, the design bureau of Alexander Yakovlev produced light, mainly sports aircraft. In 1940, the Yak-1 fighter, which has excellent flight qualities, was launched into production. At the beginning of the war, the Yak-1 successfully repelled German pilots.

Already in 1942, the Yak-9 began to enter service with our Air Force. New soviet car had high maneuverability, allowing for dynamic combat close to the enemy at low and medium altitudes.

It was the Yak-9 that turned out to be the most popular Soviet fighter of the Great Patriotic War. It was produced from 1942 to 1948, in total almost 17 thousand aircraft were built.

The Yak-9's design used duralumin instead of heavy wood, making the aircraft lighter and leaving room for modifications. It was the Yak-9’s ability to upgrade that became its main advantage. It had 22 main modifications, of which 15 were mass-produced. This is a front-line fighter, fighter-bomber, interceptor, escort, reconnaissance aircraft, passenger aircraft special purpose and a training aircraft.

The most successful modification is considered to be the Yak-9U fighter, which appeared in the fall of 1944. Suffice it to say that his pilots called him “the killer.”

La-5: disciplined soldier

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, German aviation had an advantage in the skies of the USSR. But in 1942, a Soviet fighter appeared that could fight on equal terms with German aircraft - this is the La-5, developed at the Lavochkin Design Bureau.

Despite its simplicity - the La-5 cockpit did not have even the most basic instruments like an attitude indicator - the pilots immediately liked the plane.

Lavochkin's new plane had a strong design and did not fall apart even after dozens of direct hits. At the same time, the La-5 had impressive maneuverability and speed: turn time was 16.5-19 seconds, speed was above 600 km/h.

Another advantage of the La-5 is that, as a disciplined soldier, it did not perform the “spin” aerobatics without a direct order from the pilot, and if it got into a spin, it came out of it on the first command.

La-5 fought in the skies over Stalingrad and Kursk Bulge, ace pilot Ivan Kozhedub fought on it, it was on it that he flew famous Alexey Maresyev.

Po-2: night bomber

The Po-2 (U-2) aircraft is considered the most popular biplane in the history of world aviation. When creating a training aircraft in the 1920s, Nikolai Polikarpov did not imagine that there would be another, serious application for his unpretentious machine.

During World War II, the U-2 developed into an effective night bomber. Aviation regiments armed exclusively with U-2s appeared in the Soviet Air Force. These biplanes carried out more than half of all flights Soviet bombers during the war years.

“Sewing machines” – that’s what the Germans called the U-2s that bombed their units at night. One biplane could make several sorties per night, and given the maximum bomb load of 100-350 kg, the aircraft could drop more ammunition than a heavy bomber.

It was on Polikarpov’s biplanes that the famous 46th Guards Taman Aviation Regiment fought. Four squadrons of 80 pilots, 23 of whom received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. For their courage and aviation skill, the Germans nicknamed the girls Nachthexen - “night witches.” During the war years, the women's air regiment flew 23,672 combat missions.

In total, 11 thousand U-2 biplanes were produced during the war. They were produced at aircraft factory No. 387 in Kazan. Cabins for airplanes and skis for them were mass-produced at the plant in Ryazan. Today it is the State Ryazan Instrument Plant (GRPZ), part of KRET.

It was only in 1959 that the U-2, renamed Po-2 in 1944 in honor of its creator, ended its impeccable thirty-year service.

IL-2: winged tank

Il-2 is the most produced combat aircraft in history; in total, more than 36 thousand aircraft were produced. Il-2 attacks brought huge losses to the enemy, for which the Germans nicknamed the attack aircraft “Black Death”, and among our pilots they called this bomber “humpbacked”, “winged tank”, “concrete plane”.

The IL-2 entered production just before the war - in December 1940. The first flight on it was made by the famous test pilot Vladimir Kokkinaki. These serial armored attack aircraft entered service at the beginning of the war.

The Il-2 attack aircraft became the main strike force Soviet aviation. The key to excellent combat characteristics was a powerful aircraft engine, armored glass necessary to protect the crew, as well as rapid-fire aircraft guns and rockets.

The best enterprises in the country, including those that are part of Rostec today, worked on the creation of components for the most mass-produced attack aircraft in history. The leading enterprise for the production of ammunition for aircraft was the famous Tula Instrument Design Bureau. Transparent armored glass for glazing the Il-2 canopy was produced at the Lytkarino optical glass plant. The assembly of engines for attack aircraft was carried out in the workshops of plant No. 24, today known as the Kuznetsov enterprise. The propellers for the attack aircraft were produced in Kuibyshev at the Aviaagregat plant.

Thanks to modern technologies at that time, the IL-2 became a real legend. There was a case when an attack aircraft returned from a mission and was hit more than 600 times. After quick repairs, the “winged tanks” were sent into battle again.

The most mobile means by which the front commander influenced the course of the operation was aviation. The LaGG-3 fighter, which was put into service on the eve of the war, was inferior in flight characteristics to the main German Messerschmitt-109 fighter of modifications P and C. The LaGG was equipped with a more powerful engine, the design was lightened, some of the weapons were removed, the fuel supply was reduced and the aerodynamics were improved, thanks to which significantly increased the speed and rate of climb, and improved vertical maneuverability. The speed of the new LaGG-5 fighter in horizontal flight at sea level was 8 km/h greater than its predecessor, and at an altitude of 6500 m it was superior in speed

increased to 34 km/h, and the rate of climb was better. It was practically in no way inferior to the Messerschmitt 109. But most importantly, its simple design, lack of need for complex maintenance and unpretentiousness to take-off fields made it ideal for the conditions in which Soviet Air Force units had to operate 217. In September 1942, the LaGG-5 fighters were renamed La-5. In order to neutralize the actions of the Lavochkin, the Wehrmacht decided to mass produce the Focke-Wulf Fw-190 fighter 218 . By the beginning of the war, the MiG-3 was the most numerous new generation fighter in the Soviet Air Force. On the Soviet-German front throughout the war, air battles were fought mainly at altitudes up to 4 km. The high altitude of the MiG-3, which at first was considered its undoubted advantage, became a disadvantage, since it was achieved by deteriorating the aircraft’s flight qualities at low altitudes. Wartime difficulties in providing engines for armored Il-2 attack aircraft forced the end of 1941 to abandon the production of engines for the MiG-3 219 . In the first half of 1942, to improve flight characteristics, some of the weapons and equipment were removed from the Yak-1 aircraft. Since the summer of 1942, the Yak-1 began to be equipped with a more powerful engine, the pilot’s visibility was significantly improved by installing a teardrop-shaped canopy, and the armament was strengthened (instead of two ShKAS machine guns, one large-caliber BS was installed) 220. By the end of 1942, recommendations were introduced to improve the aerodynamics of the airframe. The Yak-7, according to its data, was very close to the Yak-1, but differed from it in better aerobatic qualities and more powerful weapons (two heavy machine guns BS).

The mass of a second salvo of the Yak-7 was more than 1.5 times higher than that of other Soviet fighters, such as the Yak-1, MiG-3 and La-5, as well as the best German fighter at that time, the Messerschmitt-109 ( Bf-109G). In the Yak-7B aircraft, instead of wooden wing spars, metal ones were installed in 1942. The weight gain was more than 100 kg. A. S. Yakovlev's new aircraft, the Yak-9, was close in speed and rate of climb to the best German aircraft, but surpassed them in maneuverability 222. The first vehicles of this series took part in the defensive battles of Stalingrad. At the beginning of the war, almost all Soviet fighters were inferior to German ones in terms of firepower, since they were mainly armed with machine guns, and German fighters, in addition to machine guns, used cannon weapons. Since 1942, the Yak-1 and Yak-7 began to use ShVAK 20 mm cannon armament. Many Soviet fighters decisively switched to air combat using vertical maneuver. Air battles were fought in pairs, sometimes in flights, and radio communications began to be used, which improved aircraft control. Our fighters were increasingly reducing the opening fire distance 223 . In the spring of 1943, the La-5F fighter with a more powerful M-82F engine began to arrive at the front, and visibility from the pilot’s cockpit improved. The plane showed a speed of 557 km/h at sea level and 590 km/h at an altitude of 6200 m - 10 km/h more than the La-5. The rate of climb increased noticeably: the La-5F climbed to 5 thousand in 5.5 minutes, while the La-5 gained this altitude in 6 minutes. In the next modification of this aircraft, the La-5FN, all measures were taken to further improve the aerodynamics, the weight of the structure was reduced and a new, more powerful M-82FN engine was installed (from 1944 - ASh-82FN), and the controls were modernized. Almost everything that could be achieved without significant changes in the design was squeezed out of the layout. The aircraft's speed reached 685 km/h, while the experimental La-5FN reached 650 km/h. The armament consisted of two synchronized 20-mm ShVAK 224 cannons. In terms of combat effectiveness, the La-5FN in 1943 became the strongest air combat fighter on the Soviet-German front. During the modification of the Yak-9 (Yak-9D), to increase the flight range, two gas tanks were additionally placed in the wing consoles, thanks to which maximum range flight increased by more than a third and amounted to 1400 km. The Yak-9T was equipped with such formidable weapons as the NS-37 cannon of 37 mm 225 caliber.

At the beginning of 1943, the Germans had the Messerschmitt-109G (Bf-109G) fighter with a high-power engine 226, but also Soviet troops Yak-1 and Yak-7B with powerful engines began to arrive, which compensated for the advantage of the Germans. Soon, the Messerschmitt-109G6 (Me-109G6) used a device for short-term injection of a water-methyl mixture, which briefly (10 minutes) increased the speed by 25–30 km/h. But the new La-5FN fighters were superior to all Me-109Gs, including those with a water-methyl mixture injection system. Since 1943, the Germans began to widely use FockeWulf-190A (FW-190A-4) fighters on the eastern front, which developed a speed of 668 km/h at an altitude of 1000 m, but they were inferior to Soviet fighters during horizontal maneuvering and when exiting a dive . At the same time, the Red Army fighters were inferior in terms of ammunition (the Yak-7B had 300 rounds, the Yak-1, Yak9D and LaGG-3 - 200 rounds, and the Me-109G-6 - 600 rounds). In addition, 30 mm RDX explosive German shells allowed it to have a damaging effect, like a 37-mm shell from Soviet cannons.

Germany also continued to develop new fighters with piston engines. In this sense, the Dornier-335 (Do-335), structurally unusual (thrust was provided by two propellers, one of which was in the nose and the second in the tail of the aircraft), showed itself quite well during its first flight in October 1943. a promising car, managing to reach a speed of 758 km/h; as weapons it had one 30-mm cannon and two 15-mm machine guns. Despite the strange layout, the Do-335 could become a good combat aircraft, but this project next year closed 227. In 1944, a new La-7 fighter entered testing. It became possible to install metal spars and reinforced armament on the aircraft, which consisted of three new 20-mm B-20 cannons. It was the most advanced fighter of S. A. Lavochkin’s design bureau and one of the best combat aircraft of the Second World War. The Yak-9DD, which was put into service in 1944, had an even greater flight range - up to 1800 km 228. The designers showed literally miracles of skill by placing another 150 kg of fuel in the wing and fuselage. Such ranges were in demand in bomber escort operations at the end of the war, when the relocation of airfields could not keep up with the rapid advance of our troops. The Yak-9M fighter had a unified design with the Yak-9D and Yak-9T. At the end of 1944, the Yak-9M began to be equipped with a more powerful VK-105PF-2 engine, which increased speed at low altitudes.

The most radical modification of the Yak-9 aircraft, the Yak-9U, appeared at the front in the second half of 1944. An even more powerful engine was installed on this aircraft. In the middle of the summer of 1944, the Yak-3 229 began to enter the troops, based on the Yak-1 fighter, while the wing dimensions were reduced, new, lighter metal spars were installed, and aerodynamics were improved. The effect of reducing weight by more than 200 kg, reducing drag, and installing a more powerful modification of the engine provided an increase in speed, rate of climb, maneuverability and acceleration characteristics in the altitude range where air battles were fought, which enemy aircraft did not possess. In 1944, Soviet fighters ensured superiority over German fighters in all ranges of air combat. These were the Yak-3 and La-7 with more powerful engines. At the beginning of the war, the Germans used higher quality C-3 gasoline. But in 1944–1945. they experienced a shortage of this gasoline and thus were even more inferior in engine power to our fighters. In terms of aerobatic performance and ease of control, our Yak-1, Yak-3, La-5 fighters in the second period of the Great Patriotic War had equal capabilities with the German ones. In 1944–1945 The aerobatic qualities of the Soviet fighters Yak-7B, Yak-9 and especially the Yak-3 were significantly improved. The effectiveness of Soviet fighters in the summer of 1944 became so great that the Germans transferred the Yu-88 (Ju-88) and Xe-111 (He-111) to work at night. The Xe-111 had powerful defensive weapons and was inferior in speed to the Yu-88, but was quite effective in defense. High bombing accuracy was also ensured by good sighting equipment.

The appearance of the La-7 with three 20-mm B-20 cannons provided superiority in firepower, but these aircraft were few in the overall fighter fleet. It must be admitted that practically in terms of firepower throughout the war, German fighters in their mass either exceeded or were equal to the Soviet ones. It should be admitted that Nazi Germany was ahead of the Soviet Union in the creation of a new generation of aviation. During the war years, the Germans created and began to produce three jet aircraft: Messerschmitt-262 (Me-262), Heinkel-162 (He-162) and Messerschmitt-163 (Me-163). The turbojet Me-262 was capable of reaching speeds of up to 860 km/h at an altitude of 6 thousand m with an initial rate of climb of 1200 m per minute. “With a combat range of up to 480 km, it represented a giant leap in aircraft technology, since it surpassed in its characteristics most aircraft with piston engines... (although it must be remembered that the British were also completing the development jet fighter, the first of which, the Gloucester Meteor, began to enter flight squadrons at the end of July 1944)" 230. The USSR also worked on creating a jet fighter. Already in May 1942, tests were carried out on the world's first jet fighter BI-1, designed by V. F. Bolkhovitinov. But the Soviet Union was unable to create a reliable jet engine. I had to start copying captured equipment, fortunately several copies of German ones were exported from Germany jet engines. In the shortest possible time, documentation was prepared for the production of “clones” under the designations RD-10 and RD-20. Already in 1946, the MiG-9 fighter with a turbojet engine, created by a team of scientists under the leadership of A. I. Mikoyan and M. I. Gurevich 231, was put into serial production. On the eve of the war, the design bureau of S.V. Ilyushin created a special type of aircraft - the Il-2 attack aircraft, which had no analogues in the world.

An attack aircraft is a low-speed aircraft compared to a fighter, optimized for flight at extremely low altitude - low level flight. The plane had a well-armored body. The Luftwaffe only used the Junkers 87 (Ju-87) dive bomber "stuka" (Sturzkampflugsaig - dive combat aircraft) as a battlefield aircraft. The appearance of the armored Il-2 attack aircraft at the front came as a complete surprise to the enemy, who, as a result of serious losses and demoralizing effects, soon nicknamed it the “Black Death” 232 . And Soviet soldiers dubbed it a “flying tank.” A variety of weapons (two 7.62 mm machine guns, two 20 mm or 23 mm cannons, eight rockets caliber 82 mm or 132 mm and 400–600 kg bombs) ensured the destruction of a wide variety of targets: columns of troops, armored vehicles, tanks, artillery batteries, infantry, means of communication and communication, warehouses, trains, etc. The combat use of the Il-2 also revealed its major drawback - vulnerability to fire from enemy fighters attacking the attack aircraft from the rear unprotected hemisphere. The S.V. Ilyushin Design Bureau modified the aircraft, and in the fall of 1942, the Il-2 appeared at the front for the first time in a two-seat version. The air-to-ground missiles adopted by the Il-2 in 1942 played a major role in increasing the firepower of the attack aircraft when attacking ground targets. The high survivability of the Il-2 attack aircraft should also be noted. When it hit the gas tank, the plane did not catch fire and did not even lose fuel - it was saved by the fiber from which the gas tank was made. Even after several dozen bullet hits, the gas tank retained fuel. Neither the Henkel-118 nor the Henschel-129 anti-tank aircraft, which appeared in 1942, were able to rise to the level of the Il-2 attack aircraft 233 . Since 1943, the IL-2 was produced with a more powerful engine. To improve the stability characteristics, the wing of the attack aircraft was given a slight sweep. As the main striking force of Soviet aviation, the Il-2 attack aircraft played an outstanding role in the war and had a significant influence on the course of hostilities on the Soviet-German front. This combat vehicle successfully combined powerful weapons and reliable armor protection for the cockpit, engine, and fuel tanks.

The constant increase in the combat capability of the Il-2 was largely determined by the continuous improvement of its weapons in the interests of increasing the effectiveness of the fight against tanks and assault guns enemy. In 1943, the Il-2 began to be equipped with two 37 mm cannons under the wing. Equipping these guns with 37-mm armor-piercing incendiary shells BZT-37 and NS-37 aircraft guns made it possible to disable any German tank. In addition, the creation in 1943 of the anti-tank cumulative action bomb PTAB-2.5-1.5 designed by I. A. Larionov using the ADA bottom fuse significantly expanded the capabilities of the Il-2 attack aircraft in the fight against tanks and other armored vehicles. When such bombs were dropped by one attack aircraft from a height of 75–100 m, almost all tanks in a 15x75 m zone were hit, and the PTAB bomb penetrated armor up to 70 mm thick. Since the summer of 1943, Il-2KR aircraft equipped with photographic equipment and a more powerful than usual radio station 234 were used to adjust artillery fire and reconnaissance. The successful operations of the Il-2 attack aircraft at the front gave a powerful impetus to the further expansion of development work on aircraft of this class. The work proceeded in two directions.

The first came down to enhancing the bomber properties of the aircraft and enhancing its armor protection: such a heavy attack aircraft was built (Il-18), but its testing was delayed, and it was not mass-produced. The second direction implied a sharp improvement in flight performance with the same artillery and small arms armament and armor protection as the Il-2. The Il-10, which was built in 1944, became such an attack aircraft. Compared to the Il-2, this aircraft had smaller dimensions, significantly better aerodynamics and a more powerful AM-42 liquid-cooled engine. Four guns were installed on the aircraft: at the first stage - 20 mm caliber, later - 23 mm caliber, eight RS-82 rockets were located on the wing beams.

The bomb bay and external suspension allowed the use of different-caliber bombs with a total weight of up to 600 kg. At maximum horizontal speed, the IL-10 outperformed its predecessor by 150 km/h. Several air regiments armed with the Il-10 took part in the combat operations of the final stage of the Great Patriotic War. Subsequently, the IL-10 was widely used in the war with Japan. In Germany, since 1944, an assault version of the FW-109F fighter was used, which was significantly inferior in combat effectiveness to the Il-2. At the same time, it should be noted that German attack aircraft had a fairly high efficiency of bomb and cannon strikes (a more powerful bomb salvo and higher accuracy from a dive). The main Soviet front-line bomber from the beginning of the war was the Pe-2, but it had a rather weak bomb load - only 600 kg, since it was converted from a fighter. German front-line bombers Yu-88 and Xe-111 could take on board up to 2-3 thousand kg. The Pe-2 used mostly small caliber bombs of 100–250 kg and a maximum caliber of 500 kg, while the Yu-88 could lift a bomb up to 1800 kg. In 1941, the Pe-2 reached a speed of 530 km/h and was superior to German bombers in this regard. Repeated armoring and reinforcement of armament, as well as skin sheets, which were supplied from rolled stock, with a thickness of 1–1.5 mm, made the aircraft’s structure heavier (before the war, 0.8 mm rolled stock was supplied), and this led to the fact that the real maximum speed did not exceed 470 –475 km/h (like the Yu-88). In July 1941, a decision was made to adopt a new front-line dive bomber, the 103U. In terms of speed at medium and high altitudes, flight range, bomb load and the power of defensive weapons, it was significantly superior to the Pe-2 dive bomber that had just been launched into production. At altitudes of more than 6 km, the 103U flew faster than almost all production fighters, both Soviet and German, second only to the domestic MiG-3 fighter. However, in the conditions of the outbreak of war and the large-scale evacuation of aviation enterprises, the aircraft had to be converted to use different engines.

Testing of a new version of the aircraft, called 10ZV, and then Tu-2 236, began in December 1941, and already in 1942 it began to enter service with the troops. Front-line pilots rated extremely highly new bomber. They liked its good aerobatic qualities, the ability to fly confidently on one engine, a good defensive fire pattern, a large bomb load, and the increased survivability of air-cooled engines. To support future offensive operations, the Tu-2 was an indispensable aircraft. The first vehicles appeared at the front in September 1942. The Tu-2, despite its lighter weight than the Yu-88 and Xe-111 (11,400–11,700 kg versus 12,500–15,000 kg), had the same bomb load. In terms of flight range, the Tu-2 was also at the level of German bombers and was twice as long as the Pe-2.

The Tu-2 could take 1 thousand kg of bombs into the bomb bay, while the Yu-88 and Xe-111 could only be carried on an external sling. Produced from the end of 1943, the Tu-2 with more powerful engines, enhanced defensive weapons and a simplified design was superior to all bombers used on the Soviet-German front. Tu-2 front-line dive bombers of the second edition have participated in battles since 1944. In June of this year they were used in the Vyborg operation. The air division of Colonel I.P. Skok, armed with the Tu-2, flew during the day, worked perfectly and had no losses 237. Despite its relatively modest contribution to the defeat of the enemy, the Tu-2 nevertheless remained in history as one of the outstanding aircraft of its time. Among other similar aircraft, both allied and enemy, the Tu-2 did not stand out for any record performance. Its superiority lay in an exceptionally successful combination of the main components of combat effectiveness, such as speed, flight range, defensive capability, bomb load and the ability to throw bombs of one of the largest calibers of that time. This determined its very high combat effectiveness. Main bomber aircraft fascist Germany in 1941 there were single-engine Yu-87 and twin-engine Yu-88 and Xe-111 238. Do-17s also fought in 1941.

The Yu-88 could dive at an angle of 80 degrees, which ensured high bombing accuracy. The Germans had good preparation pilots and navigators were bombed mainly with precision, and not over areas, especially since they used bombs of 1000 and 1800 kg caliber, which each plane could hang no more than one. Weak point Soviet aviation in the Great Patriotic War had radio communications. In the first half of 1942, 75% of flights were made without the use of radios, and by the end of the year the vast majority of fighters did not have radio communications. The lack of communication dictated dense battle formations.

The inability to warn each other led to great losses. The planes had to be within line of sight, and the commander set the task - “do as I do.” In 1943, only 50% of the Yak-9s were equipped with communications, and on the La-5 radio stations were installed only on command vehicles. All German fighters were equipped with radio communications High Quality since pre-war times. The Il-2 attack aircraft also lacked reliable radio equipment; until 1943, radio stations were installed only on command vehicles. All this made it difficult to organize large groups; IL-2s most often flew in threes, fours or eights.

In general, the quantitative and qualitative growth of the Soviet Air Force and the expansion of its combat capabilities were one of the main factors that contributed to the development of the domestic military strategy and the achievement of victory in the war. The increase in the combat effectiveness of aviation was facilitated by equipping aircraft with radio stations and more advanced small arms and cannon weapons. Most new aircraft types by range the most important indicators had a clear advantage over the Luftwaffe. IN English sources it was noted that “the Luftwaffe ... hopelessly lagged behind the enemy, and not only numerically. While Soviet technologies were constantly being improved when new types of aircraft were put into operation, the Germans, in pursuit of increasing production volumes, currently had to sacrifice quality for quantity - instead of presenting advanced design solutions, constantly modernize existing models, increasing their armament, increasing survivability and increasing engine power, which ultimately led them to a dead end. Maintaining air superiority in such conditions became completely impossible, and since aviation could no longer guarantee this, ground troops became vulnerable and ultimately doomed to defeat.”

Great Patriotic War 1941–1945. In 12 volumes. T. 7. Economy and weapons
war. - M.: Kuchkovo pole, 2013. - 864 pp., 20 l. ill., ill.