Some aircraft in World of warplanes are equipped with a rear turret controlled by gunner. How to turn on the turret? Why doesn't my gunner shoot down anyone? Such questions can often be seen in the game chat. Let's try to figure out what's the matter. Firstly, the side of the shooters is always on, it does not need to be activated in any way, it is controlled by AI, that is, it is a bot and shoots itself.
Secondly, the rear turret guns are different on different aircraft, one should not hope that a powerful rear machine gun will be installed on the 2PA-L light fighter.
And thirdly, the gunner's side can fire far from the entire sector behind the aircraft, for example, the targets below us for the gunner's side will be inaccessible in level flight. If the enemy sees our plane as shown in the picture, our gunner will not be able to hit it.
The gunner doesn't fire?
Also, players are often confused by the fact that the gunner in WoWP is stationary. Don't worry, it works, it's just not animated, the developers promise to revive it in the future.
The task of the pilot is to control the aircraft in such a way that the enemy, hanging on the tail, is in the sector of destruction of the side gunner, and at the same time minimize damage to his own aircraft. It's not easy, but there are tricks that can help in such a situation. To get started, check out the . Then try applying . It is also desirable to master. Combine, combine the learned techniques, and you will be able not only to ensure the effective work of the gunner, but also reduce damage to your aircraft.
What skills to choose for a gunner
There are currently six gunnery skills available in World of warplanes, these are stamina, enhanced vision, firefighting, keen eye, mentor, dead eye. Moreover, the first three skills can be learned immediately upon reaching 100% of the level of proficiency in the main specialty, but accuracy, vigilance and a mentor can be selected only after having studied two skills.
Thus, the first choice to be made is between endurance, firefighting, and visibility. The choice largely depends on which aircraft you fly. For the Il-2d gunnery, I chose endurance as the first skill, because the gunner is outside the armored hull and he is often wounded. The second skill you can choose is firefighting, if your plane burns often, my Il-2d was set on fire quite often.
The third skill I plan to take is a dead eye, because I think it is important that the shooter hits, and not scares away flying birds. The fourth skill is better to choose vigilance, also an excellent skill that will help improve the effectiveness of the gunshot.
Will it be possible to control a gunner in World of warplanes in the future?
According to the information available to date, the developers do not plan to add control of the side gunner. In the foreseeable future, this possibility will not be for sure.March 15th, 2016 03:14 am
Ivan Kozhedub
Three times a hero of the Soviet Union, he has 64 victories in his track record. He flew on La-5, La-5FN, La-7, Il-2, MiG-3 aircraft. First air battle Kozhedub spent on La-5 in March 1943. Paired with the leader, he was supposed to protect the airfield, but after taking off, the pilot lost sight of the second plane, received damage from the enemy, and then also came under his own anti-aircraft artillery. Kozhedub hardly landed the plane, in which more than 50 holes were counted.
After an unsuccessful battle, they wanted to transfer the pilot to ground service. However, he firmly decided to return to the sky: he flew as a messenger, studied the experience of the famous fighter Pokryshkin, from whom he adopted the battle formula: "Altitude - speed - maneuver - fire." In his first battle, Kozhedub lost precious seconds to recognize the plane that attacked him, so he spent a lot of time memorizing the silhouettes of aircraft.
Having been appointed deputy squadron commander, Kozhedub took part in air battles on Kursk Bulge. In the summer of 1943, he received his first Order of the Red Banner of War. By February 1944, the number of aircraft shot down by Kozhedub exceeded three dozen. The pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
They say that Kozhedub was very fond of his planes, considered them "alive". And never once during the entire war did he leave his car, even when it was on fire. In May 1944, he was given a special La-5 FN aircraft. Vasily Viktorovich Konev, a beekeeper from the Bolshevik agricultural artel of the Budarinsky district of the Stalingrad region, transferred his personal savings to the Defense Fund and asked them to build an aircraft named after his deceased nephew, fighter pilot, hero of the Soviet Union Georgy Konev. On one side of the plane they wrote: "In the name of Lieutenant Colonel Konev", on the second - "From the collective farmer Konev Vasily Viktorovich." The beekeeper asked to transfer the aircraft to the best pilot. It turned out to be Kozhedub.
In February 1945, the ace shot down a German Me-262 jet fighter, and attacked the last enemy aircraft in April. In total, Kozhedub made 330 sorties and conducted 120 air battles.
Alexander Pokryshkin
Three times Hero of the Soviet Union, who personally shot down 59 enemy aircraft and six aircraft in a group. He flew the MiG-3, Yak-1, P-39, Aerocobra.
The genius of flying received a baptism of fire in the first days of the war. Then he was the deputy squadron commander of the 55th air regiment. There was a misunderstanding: on June 22, 1941, Pokryshkin shot down a Soviet Su-2 short-range bomber. The plane landed on the fuselage in a field, the pilot survived, but the navigator died. Pokryshkin later admitted that he simply did not recognize the plane: "Dry" appeared in military units right before the war.
But the very next day, the pilot distinguished himself: during a reconnaissance flight, he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf.109 fighter. This was Pokryshkin's first combat victory. And on July 3, he was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery over the Prut. By that time, the pilot had won at least five victories.
While in the hospital, Pokryshkin began to take notes in a notebook, which he entitled "Fighter tactics in battle." It was in it that his science of winning was described. Many of Pokryshkin's combat and reconnaissance sorties were unique. So, in November 1941, in conditions of limited visibility (the edge of the clouds dropped to 30 meters), he obtained information about tank divisions in the Rostov region. On the eve of the 1942 offensive, the pilot was awarded the Order of Lenin. Then he had already been shot down twice and had 190 sorties.
In the air battle in the Kuban in the spring of 1943, Pokryshkin for the first time widely used the Kuban bookcase battle formation, which was later distributed to all fighter air units. The pilot had many original tactics to win the battle. For example, he came up with a way out from under the blow of the enemy on a downward "barrel" turn, with a loss of speed. The enemy was then on target.
By the end of the war, Pokryshkin was the most famous pilot on the fronts. Then the phrase was spread: "Akhtung! Akhtung! Pokryshkin is in the air!". The Germans actually warned the pilots about the flights of the Russian ace, warning them to be careful, to gain altitude so as not to risk it. Until the end of the war, the famous pilot was the only hero of the Soviet Union three times: he was awarded the third Golden Star on August 19, 1944, after 550 sorties and 53 official victories. Georgy Zhukov became a hero three times on June 1, and Ivan Kozhedub on August 18, 1945.
By the end of the war, Pokryshkin made more than 650 sorties and took part in 156 air battles. According to unofficial data, the ace had more victories - up to a hundred.
Nikolay Gulaev
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. personally shot down 57 enemy aircraft and four aircraft - in the group. He flew on Yak-1, Il-2, La-5, La-7, P-39, Aerocobra aircraft.
At the beginning of the war, Gulaev was assigned to the air defense of one of the industrial centers located far from the front line. But in March 1942, he, among the top ten best pilots, was sent to the defense of Borisoglebsk. On August 3, Gulaev took the first battle: he took off without an order, at night, shot down a German Heinkel bomber. The command announced a penalty to the pilot and immediately presented him with an award.
In February 1943, Gulaev was sent to the 27th Fighter Aviation Regiment, in which he shot down more than 50 enemy aircraft in a year. He was extremely productive: he shot down up to five aircraft a day. Among them were twin-engine bombers 5 He-111 and 4 Ju-88; FW-189 spotters, Ju-87 dive bombers. The other pilots of front-line aviation had mostly downed fighters in their service records.
On the Kursk Bulge, in the Belgorod region, Gulaev distinguished himself especially. In his first battle, on May 14, 1943, the pilot single-handedly entered into battle with three Ju-87 bombers, which were covered by four Me-109s. At a low altitude, Gulaev made a "hill" and shot down from the first stage, first the leader, and then another bomber. The pilot tried to attack the third plane, but he ran out of ammunition. And then Gulaev decided to go to the ram. The left wing of the Yak-1, on which he flew, hit the plane of the Ju-87. The German plane crashed. The Yak-1, having lost control, went into a tailspin, but Gulaev was able to straighten it out and land it. The infantrymen of the 52nd Rifle Division, who carried the wounded, as they thought, pilot, from the cockpit in their arms, were witnesses of the feat. However, Gulaev did not receive a scratch. He did not tell the regiment anything - what he had done became known several hours later, after the report of the infantrymen. After the pilot complained that he was left "horseless", he was given a new plane. And later awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
Gulaev made his last sortie from the Polish airfield Turbya on August 14, 1944. Three days in a row the day before, he shot down one plane at a time. In September, the ace was forcibly sent to study at the Air Force Academy. He served in aviation until 1979, until he retired.
In total, Gulaev made 250 sorties and 49 air battles. His performance was considered a record.
05/23/2018 - last, unlike reposts, topic update
Each new message at least 10 days highlighted in red, but NOT NECESSARY
located at the beginning of the topic. The section "SITE NEWS" is being updated REGULARLY, and all its links - ACTIVE
NB: active links to similar topics: "Little Known Facts about Aviation", "Double Standards in Allied Bombing"
The theme consists of sections for each of the major participating countries. At the same time, I cleaned up duplicates, similar information and information that caused frank doubts.
Air Force of Tsarist Russia:
- during the years of WW1, 120-150 captured German and Austrian aircraft were captured. Most - double reconnaissance, fighters and twin-engine aircraft were rare (Note 28 *)
- at the end of 1917, the Russian army had 91 squadrons of 1109 aircraft, of which: 579 were available at the fronts (428 serviceable, 137 faulty, 14 obsolete), 237 loaded for the front and 293 in schools. This number did not include up to 35 aircraft of the Squadron of Airships, 150 aircraft of naval aviation, aircraft of rear forces, 400 aircraft of air fleets and in reserve. The total number of aircraft was estimated at 2200-2500 military aircraft (Note 28 *)
- in the summer of 1917, there were 71 aircraft (28 out of order) and 530 military personnel in the aviation of the Baltic Fleet, of which 42 officers (Note 90 *)
USSR Air Force:
- in 1937 there were 18 aviation schools in the Red Army, in 1939 - 32, as of 05/01/1941 - already 100 (Note 32 *). According to other sources, if in 1938 (Note 64 *) and 1940 there were 18 aviation schools and schools, then in May 1941 aviators were trained by 3 Air Force academies, 2 higher schools for navigators, 88 flight and 16 technical schools (Note 57 *), and in 1945 - 130, which made it possible to train 60 thousand pilots for the Second World War (Note 64 *)
- order No. 080 dated 03.1941: the training period for flight personnel is 9 months in peacetime and 6 months in wartime, flying hours for cadets on training and combat aircraft is 20 hours for fighters and 24 hours for bombers (a Japanese suicide bomber in 1944 was supposed to have 30 flight hours) (Note 12*)
- in 1939, the Red Army had 8139 combat aircraft, of which 2225 were fighters (Note 41 *)
- in 1939 the USSR daily produced 28 combat aircraft, in 1940 - 29 (Note 70 *)
- by the beginning of WW2 - 09/01/1939, the USSR had 12677 combat aircraft (Note 31 *)
- on 01/01/1940, there were 12,540 combat aircraft in the western military districts, excluding long-range bomber aircraft. By the end of 1940, these figures were almost doubled to 24,000 combat aircraft. The number of only training aircraft was increased to 6800 (Note 12 *)
- for the summer of 1940, there were 38 air divisions in the Red Army, and by 01/01/1941 they should have become and became 50 (Note 9 *)
- in the period from 01/01/1939 to 06/22/1941, the Red Army received 17745 combat aircraft, of which 3719 were new types, not inferior in terms of basic parameters to the best Luftwaffe vehicles (Note 43 *). According to other data, at the beginning of the Second World War there were 2739 aircraft of the latest types Yak-1 (412 were produced on 06/22/41 - Note 39 *), MiG-3 (1094 were released on 06/22/41 - Note 63 *), LAGG-3, Pe-2, of which half (of which 913 MiG-1\3, which amounted to 1/4 of all fighters - Note 63 *) was in the western military districts (Note 11 *). On June 22, 1941, the Air Force received 917 MiG-3s (486 pilots retrained), 142 Yak-1s (156 pilots retrained), 29 LAGGs (90 pilots retrained) (Note 4*)
- on 01/01/1941, the Red Army Air Force had 26,392 aircraft, of which 14,628 combat and 11,438 training aircraft. Moreover, 10565 (8392 combat) were built in 1940 (Note 32 *)
- on 06/22/41, the Red Army and Red Army Air Forces numbered 32 thousand aircraft, of which 20 thousand were combat: 8400 bombers, 11500 fighters and 100 attack aircraft (Note 60 *)
- on the eve of the Second World War, there were 20 thousand aircraft in the European part of the USSR, of which 17 thousand combat aircraft (Note 12 *), at the same time, 7139 combat aircraft were in the units of the Red Army Air Force of the border military districts, separately 1339 long-range bomber aircraft and 1445 Navy aviation aircraft, which in total amounted to 9917 aircraft
- 1540 new Soviet fighters, not much inferior to the "Messerschmitt" Bf-109, were in the western border districts by the beginning of the war. In total, by 06/22/1941, the USSR had 3719 aircraft of new designs (Note 81 *)
- by 07/22/41, there were 29 fighter regiments in the Moscow air defense system, armed with 585 fighters - about the same as the Germans had on everything Eastern Front(Note 19*)
- in June 1941, in the western military districts there were almost 1500 I-156 aircraft (1300 I-153 fighters + 6 regiments of I-153 attack aircraft), which out of 4226 was 1/3 of the entire combat aviation of the western districts (Note 68 *)
- on 06/22/41, the RKKF Air Force had 859 seaplanes, of which 672 MBR-2 (Note 66 *)
- on 06/22/41, the RKKF Air Force consisted of 3838 aircraft, 2824 of which were combat (Note 70 *). According to other sources, there were more than 2.5 thousand combat aircraft (Note 66*). According to other sources, in total, there were 6700 aircraft in the aviation of the USSR Navy in three fleets (BF, Black Sea Fleet and Northern Fleet) (Note 77 *): BF - 656 combat aircraft, of which 353 fighters (Note 73 *), Black Sea Fleet - 651 (Note 78 *) or 632 combat aircraft: 346 fighter aircraft, bomber - 73; mine-torpedo - 61; reconnaissance - 150 (Note 80 *)
- on 06/22/41, Soviet naval strike aviation: Baltic Fleet - 81 DB-3\3F, 66 SB and 12 AR-2; Northern Fleet - 11 SB; Black Sea Fleet - 61 DB-3 and 75 SB (Note 62 *)
- in June 1941, there were 108 I-153s in the naval aviation of the Baltic Fleet, 73-76 in the Black Sea Fleet and 18 in the Northern Fleet (Note 68 *)
- on the eve of the Second World War, 1/4 of the naval aviation of the RKKF were seaplanes, so there were 54 cars in the Northern Fleet, 131 in the Baltic Fleet, 167 in the Black Sea Fleet, 216 in the Pacific Fleet (Note 89 *)
- with the beginning of the Second World War, 587 aircraft of the Civil Air Fleet were at the front as special-purpose air groups, and then were consolidated into air regiments (Note 92 *)
- at the beginning of the Second World War, 79 air divisions and 5 air brigades were formed, of which 32 air divisions, 119 air regiments and 36 corps squadrons were part of the Western Military District. Long-range bomber aviation in the western direction was represented by 4 air corps and 1 separate air division in the amount of 1546 aircraft. The number of air regiments by June 1941 increased by 80% compared to the beginning of 1939 (Note 11 *)
- The Second World War was met by 5 heavy bomber corps, 3 separate air divisions and one separate regiment of Soviet long-range bomber aviation - about 1000 aircraft, of which 2/3 were lost during the six months of the war. By the summer of 1943, long-range bomber aviation consisted of 8 air corps and numbered more than 1000 aircraft and crews. (Note 2*)
- by the spring-early summer of 1944, the ADD of the Red Army Air Force consisted of 66 air regiments, combined into 22 air divisions and 9 corps, which approximately amounted to 1000 long-range bombers (Note 58 *)
- at the beginning of the Second World War, 1528 long-range bombers DB-3 (Note 44 *) and 818 heavy bombers TB-3 (Note 41 *) were produced
- by the spring of 1942, the USSR reached the pre-war level of aircraft production - at least 1000 combat aircraft per month, from the second half of 1942 reached the production line of 2500 aircraft per month with a total monthly loss of 1000 aircraft. From June 1941 to December 1944, 97 thousand aircraft were produced (Note 9 *)
- as of March 1942, the Red Army Air Force had 19,700 combat aircraft, of which 6,100 were on the fronts and in air defense, 3,400 in rear districts, reserve and marching regiments (without schools), on Far East- 3500, in flight and technical schools - 6700. Of the new types: 2920 aircraft at the fronts, in reserve and marching regiments, 130 - in the Far East, 230 - in the rear districts and 320 - in flight schools. On this date, there were 4,610 defective machines in the Air Force (Note 96 *)
- 34 thousand aircraft were produced in the USSR in 1943, 40 thousand in 1944, and in total for the Second World War - 125 thousand aircraft (Note 26 *). According to other sources, 115,600 combat aircraft were produced in 1941-45, of which about 20 thousand bombers, 33 thousand attack aircraft and almost 63 thousand fighters (Note 60 *)
- from the second half of 1942, reserve aviation corps were created in the Red Army, so from September to the end of 1942, 9 such corps were created, and later - 23 more, each of which consisted of 2-3 divisions (Note 48 *)
- on 06/22/1942, 85% of all Soviet long-range bomber aviation was 1789 DB-3 aircraft (from the DB-3f modification it was called IL-4), the remaining 15% - SB-3. These aircraft did not fall under the first German air strikes, as they were based relatively far from the border (Note 3 *)
- over the years of production (1936-40) 6831 Soviet SB bombers were built (Note 41 *)
- 79 (93 - Note 115 *) four-engine Pe-8 bombers were produced during the Second World War (Note 104 *) and 462 also four-engine bombers Er-2 (DB-240) were produced during the Second World War (Note 115 *). All of them were used exclusively in the ADD (Note 115 *)
- 10292 I-16 biplanes and its modifications were produced from 1934 to 1942
- a total of 201 (600 - according to Yakovlev) Yak-2 and Yak-4 aircraft were produced (Note 82 *)
- 16 thousand Yak-9s were produced during the war
- 6528 LAGG-3 fighters were produced during the Second World War (a controversial aircraft in many respects)
- 3172 MiG-1 \ 3 were built in total (Note 63 *)
- 36 thousand Il-2 attack aircraft were produced in 1941-45 (Note 41 * and 37 *) Losses of attack aircraft during the Second World War amounted to about 23 thousand.
- 4863 ADD Li-2 night bombers (Soviet military version of the licensed American Douglas DC-3-186 "Dacota") were produced from the beginning of 1942 until the end of the Second World War (Note 115 *). According to other sources, 11 thousand aircraft of this type were produced during this period.
- during the years of the Second World War, 11 thousand Soviet attack pilots died (Note 25 *)
- in 1944, in parts for each Soviet attack pilot, there were two aircraft (Note 17 *)
- the life of an attack aircraft lasted an average of 10-15 sorties, and 25% of the pilots went down on the first flight, while at least 10 sorties were required to destroy one German tank (Note 9 *)
- about 19537 combat aircraft entered the USSR under Lend-Lease, of which 13804 fighters, 4735 bombers, 709 transport aircraft, 207 reconnaissance seaplanes and 82 training aircraft (Note 60 *)
- by the beginning of 1944, the USSR had 11,000 combat aircraft, the Germans - no more than 2,000. During the 4 years of the war, the USSR built 137,271 aircraft (there is also evidence that 97,000 combat aircraft were produced from June 1941 to December 1944) and received 18,865 under Lend-Lease aircraft of all types, of which 638 aircraft were lost during transportation. According to other sources, at the beginning of 1944 there were 6 times more Soviet combat aircraft than all German aircraft (Note 8 *)
- on the "heavenly slug" - U-2vs fought during the Second World War about 50 air regiments (Note 33 *)
- from the monograph "1941 - lessons and conclusions": "... out of 250 thousand sorties carried out by Soviet aviation in the first three months of the war against enemy tank and motorized columns ..." June 1942 was a record month for the Luftwaffe , when it was performed (according to the Soviet VNOS posts) 83,949 sorties of combat aircraft of all types. In other words, "destroyed and destroyed on the ground" Soviet aviation flew in the summer of 1941 with an intensity that the Germans were able to achieve in only one month during the entire war (Note 13*). So, only on August 16, 1941, the forces of the Red Army Air Force (464 combat aircraft, of which 100 YES bombers) made 2860 sorties (Note 115 *)
- during 1942, 6178 (24%) Soviet military pilots died, which is more than 1700 people more than died in 1941 (Note 48 *)
- The average survivability of Soviet pilots during World War II:
fighter pilot - 64 sorties
attack aircraft pilot - 11 sorties
bomber pilot - 48 sorties
torpedo bomber pilot - 3.8 sorties (Note 45 *)
- the number of combat sorties per combat loss of one aircraft increased for fighters from 28 in 1941-42 to 194 in 1945, for attack aircraft - from 13 to 90, and for bombers - from 14 to 133 (Note 112 *)
- the accident rate in the Red Army Air Force on the eve of the Second World War was huge - on average, 2-3 aircraft crashed per day. This situation was largely preserved during the war. It is no coincidence that during the war non-combat losses of aircraft were over 50% (Note 9 *)
- on the first day of the Second World War, 1200 aircraft were lost (Note 78 *), 800 of them at airfields (Note 78 *, 94 *), and in two days - 2500 (Note 78 *)
- in the first week of the Second World War, the Red Army Air Force lost 4000 aircraft (Note 64 *)
- for 6 months of the Second World War, the USSR lost 20159 aircraft of all types, of which 16620 combat aircraft
- "unaccounted for loss" - 5240 Soviet aircraft remaining at the airfields after they were captured by the Germans in 1941
- the average monthly losses of the Red Army Air Force from 1942 to May 1945 amounted to 1000 aircraft, of which non-combat ones - over 50%, and in 1941 combat losses amounted to 1700 aircraft, and total - 3500 per month (Note 9 *)
- non-combat losses of Soviet military aviation in the Second World War amounted to 60,300 aircraft (56.7%) (Note 32 *)
- in 1944, the losses of Soviet military aviation amounted to 24,800 vehicles, of which 9,700 were combat losses, and 15,100 were non-combat losses (Note 18 *)
- from 19 to 22 thousand Soviet fighters were lost in the Second World War (Note 23 *)
- ADD losses during the years of the Second World War amounted to 3570 aircraft: in 1941 - 1592, in 1942 - 748, in 1943 - 516, in 1944 - 554, in 1945 - 160. More than 2 thousand crew members died (Note 115 *)
- in accordance with the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 632-230ss of 03/22/1946 "On the rearmament of the Air Force, air defense fighter aircraft and naval aviation with modern domestic-made aircraft": "... withdraw from service in 1946 and write off: foreign fighter aircraft types, including "Aircobra" - 2216 aircraft, "Thunderbolt" - 186 aircraft, "Kingcobra" - 2344 aircraft, "Kittyhawk" - 1986 aircraft, "Spitfire" - 1139 aircraft, "Hurricane" - 421 aircraft Total: 7392 aircraft and 11937 obsolete domestic aircraft (Note 1 *)
German Air Force:
- during German offensive 1917 up to 500 Russian aircraft became German trophies (Note 28 *)
- according to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to scrap 14 thousand of its aircraft after the end of WW1 (Note 32 *)
- mass production of the first combat aircraft in Nazi Germany began only in 1935-1936 (Note 13*). So in 1934, the German government adopted a plan to build 4,000 aircraft by 09/30/1935. Among them there was nothing but junk (Note 52 *): Do-11, Do-13 and Ju-52 bombers had very low flight characteristics (Note 52 *)
- 03/01/1935 - official recognition of the Luftwaffe. There were 2 regiments of Ju-52 and Do-23 (Note 52 *)
- 771 German fighters were produced in 1939 (Note 50 *)
- in 1939, Germany produced 23 combat aircraft daily, in 1940 - 27, and in 1941 - 30 aircraft (Note 32 *)
- 09/01/1939 Germany began WW2 with 4093 aircraft (of which 1502 bombers (Note 31 *), 400 Ju-52 (Note 75 *). According to other sources, the Luftwaffe at the time of the attack on Poland consisted of 4000 combat aircraft: 1,200 Bf-109 fighters, 1,200 He-111 (789 - Note 94 *) and Do-17 medium-range bombers, about 400 Ju-87 attack aircraft and about 1,200 military transport aircraft, liaison aircraft and retired obsolete aircraft , which could come in handy in battles with Polish aircraft (Note 26 *)
- in 1940, 150 aircraft per month were produced in Germany (Note 26 *). By the spring of 1942, the production reached 160 aircraft per month.
- by May 1940, the Luftwaffe had recovered from Polish losses and consisted of 1100 He-111 and Do-17, 400 Ju-87, 850 Bf-109 and Bf-110 (Note 26 *)
- in 1940, the Luftwaffe lost 4,000 aircraft and received 10,800 new ones (Note 26 *)
- in the summer of 1941, the German aviation industry monthly produced over 230 single-engine fighters and 350 twin-engine combat aircraft (bombers and fighters) (Note 57 *)
- at the end of June 1941, the Luftwaffe in the West had only 140 serviceable Bf-109E-F fighters (Note 35 *)
- a little more than 500 Bf-109 had the Luftwaffe in the East to attack the USSR, since the remaining about 1300 aircraft were bombers or attack aircraft (Note 81 *), according to the then Soviet classification, out of 1223 bombers there were 917 horizontal bombers and 306 dive bombers (Note .86*)
- 273 (326 - Note 83 *) Ju-87s acted against the USSR, while 348 Ju-87s attacked Poland (Note 38 *)
- on the eve of the Second World War, Germany had 6852 aircraft, of which 3909 aircraft of all types were allocated to attack the USSR. This number included 313 transport aircraft (of which 238 Ju-52 (Note 37 *) or 210 Ju-52 (Note 74 *) and 326 communications aircraft. Of the remaining 3270 combat aircraft: 965 fighters (almost equally - Bf-109e and BF-109f), 102 fighter-bombers (Bf-110), 952 bombers, 456 attack aircraft and 786 reconnaissance aircraft (Note 32 *), which coincides with the data that on 06/22/41 the Luftwaffe included 3904 aircraft to attack the USSR of all types (3032 combat): 952 bombers, 965 single-engine fighters, 102 twin-engine fighters and 156 "pieces" (Note 26*). Bf-109; 179 Bf-110 as reconnaissance and light bombers, 893 bombers (281 He-111, 510 Ju-88, 102 Do-17), attack aircraft - 340 Ju-87 (according to other sources, 273 Ju-87 - Note 38 *), scouts - 120. Total - 2534 (of which about 2000 combat-ready). According to other sources, on 06/22/41, the Luftwaffe against the USSR: 3904, of which 3032 are combat: 93 2 bombers, 965 single-engine fighters, 102 twin-engine fighters and 156 Ju-87 attack aircraft (Note 26 *). And more data on the same topic: 2549 serviceable Luftwaffe aircraft were concentrated against the USSR on 06/22/41: 757 bombers, 360 dive bombers, 735 fighters and attack aircraft, 64 twin-engine fighters, 633 reconnaissance aircraft, including naval (Note 70 *). And again about the same thing - according to the Barbarossa plan, 2000 combat aircraft were allocated, of which 1160 bombers, 720 fighters and 140 reconnaissance aircraft (Note 84 *). And also no more than 600 aircraft of the German allies (Note 70 *)
- in the first week of the war with the USSR, the losses of the Luftwaffe amounted to 445 aircraft of all types; on 07/05/1941 - more than 800 combat aircraft (Note 85 *); for 4 weeks of battles - 1171 aircraft of all types, for 10 weeks of battles - 2789 aircraft of all types, for 6 months of battles - 3827 combat aircraft only
- in 1941, the Luftwaffe lost 3,000 aircraft in combat (another 2,000 were non-combat losses) and received 12,000 new ones (Note 26 *)
- if at the beginning of 1941 the number of Luftwaffe was 4500 aircraft, then at the end of the year, as a result of losses and their subsequent replenishment, their number did not exceed 5100 (Note 26 *)
- from 435 single-engine fighters in the first half of 1942, production increased to more than 750 in the first half of 1943 and to 850 in the second half of 1943 (Note 26 *)
- in 1943, the Luftwaffe lost 7,400 aircraft in combat (another 6,000 were non-combat losses) and received 25,000 new ones (Note 26 *)
- if at the beginning of 1943 the number of Luftwaffe was 5400 aircraft, then at the end of the year, as a result of losses and their subsequent replenishment, their number did not exceed 6500 (Note 26 *)
- as of May 31, 1944, the number of single-engine Luftwaffe fighters on the Eastern Front: 444 aircraft of the VF "Reich", 138 - in the 4th VF in Ukraine, 66 - in the 6th VF in Belarus (Note 58 *)
- from 22.06. to 27.09.41 2631 German aircraft on the Eastern Front were damaged or lost (Note 74 *)
- in the summer of 1941, the Germans produced over 230 single-engine fighters per month (Note 26 *)
- by 08/16/41, only 135 serviceable Non-111s remained on the Eastern Front (Note 83 *)
- in November 1941, due to losses, the number of Bf-109s on the Eastern Front was reduced by 3 times compared to their number in July 1941, which led to the loss of air supremacy, first in Moscow, and then in other directions (Note 83 * ), and on 12/01/41 the number of Bf-109Bf-110 became deplorable due to huge losses (Note 55 *)
- after the transfer in December 1941 of 250-300 aircraft of the 2nd Air Corps from the Eastern Front for operations in the region of Malta and North Africa, the total number of Luftwaffe on the Soviet front was reduced from 2465 aircraft on 12/01/1941 to 1700 aircraft on 12/31/1941. In December of the same 1941, the 10th Air Corps arrived in Sicily from the Eastern Front to strike at Malta instead of the Italians who did not justify their hopes (Note 88 *). In January 1942, the number of German aircraft was further reduced after the transfer of aircraft of the 5th Air Corps to Belgium (Note 29 *) Also: starting from the second half of 1941, several elite units of the Lufftwaffe were transferred from the Eastern Front to the Mediterranean theater of operations (Note 54 *)
- at the end of October 1942, the Luftwaffe had 508 fighters (389 combat-ready) on the Eastern Front (Note 35 *)
- in 1942, Germany produced 8.4 thousand (of which 800 single-engine fighters - Note 26 *) combat aircraft. According to other sources, the Germans produced only up to 160 aircraft per month.
- in total, on 06/01/1943, the Germans on the Eastern Front had 2365 bombers (of which 1224 Ju-88 and 760 He-111) and over 500 Ju-87D attack aircraft (Note 53 *)
- in early November 1943, after the landing of the allies in North Africa, the Luftwaffe grouping in Norway, which acted against the Red Army in the north of the USSR, decreased many times (Note 99 *)
- in February 1943, the Germans for the first time were able to produce 2000 combat aircraft per month, and in March - even 2166 (Note 35 *)
- in 1943, 24 thousand aircraft were produced (Note 26 *), of which 849 fighters were produced on an average monthly basis (Note 49 *)
- in June 1944, the Luftwaffe lost 10 thousand aircraft in Operation Overlord and another 14 thousand in the next six months - at the end of 1944, the Luftwaffe had no more than 6,000 aircraft of all types, and only 1,400 of which were fighters (Note 26 *)
- from January to June 1944, the Germans produced 18 thousand aircraft, 13 thousand of which were fighters (Note 71 *). During 1944, about 40 thousand aircraft were produced, but many of them never took to the skies due to the lack of pilots (Note 26 *)
- 5 months before the end of the war, the German aircraft industry was able to produce only 7500 aircraft (Note 26 *)
- in 1945, the share of fighters from all military aviation produced in Germany was 65.5%, in 1944 - 62.3% (Note 41 *)
- 84320 aircraft of all types were produced by the Germans in 1941-45 (Note 24*): 35 thousand Bf-109 fighters (Note 14* and 37*), 15100 (14676 - Note 40* and 37*), Ju bombers -88 (Note 38*), 7300 He-111 bombers (Note 114*), 1433 Me-262 jets (Note 21*),
- in total, 57 thousand German aircraft of all types were destroyed during the years of WW2
- 1190 seaplanes were produced by the German aviation industry during WW2 (Note 38 *): of which 541 Arado 196a
- 2500 "Storch" ("Stork") liaison aircraft were built in total. According to other sources, 2871 Fi-156 "Storch" were produced, and in the summer of 1941 the Germans seized the factory for the production of its Soviet counterfeit copy OKA-38 "Aist" (Note 37 *)
- a total of 5709 Ju-87 "Stuka" were produced (Note 40 *)
- in 1939-45, 20087 (or almost 20 thousand - Note 69 *) FW-190 fighters were produced, while production reached its peak at the beginning of 1944, when 22 aircraft were produced daily of this type(Note 37* and 38*)
- 230 (Note 104 *) or 262 (Note 107 *) four-engine FW-200C "Condor" were produced before the end of WW2
in 1941, the loss of transport Ju-52s ("aunt Yu") for the first time exceeded their production - more than 500 aircraft were lost, and only 471 were produced (Note 40 *)
- having released 3225 transport Ju-52s since 1939 (1939 - 145, 1940 - 388, 1941 - 502, 1942 - 503, 1943 - 887, 1944 - 379 - Note 76 *) the German aircraft industry was forced to stop its production in 1944 (Note .40*)
- if in 1943 1028 transport aircraft were produced, including 887 Ju52 / 3m, then in 1944 this figure fell to 443, of which 379 were Ju-52 (Note 75 *)
- over the years of MV, 846 (Note 55 *) or 828 (Note 106 *) FW-189 ("Rama" - "Owl") were produced for the Luftwaffe at the factories of Germany, France and the Czech Republic
- a total of 780 scouts - spotters Hs-126 ("crutch") were released (Note 32 *). On 06/22/41, it was these single-engine parasol biplanes that made up the vast majority of the 417 German aircraft of the short-range reconnaissance units that were attached to the army and tank corps(Note 34*)
- 1433 Me-262 and 400 Me-163 - the total number of Luftwaffe jet combat aircraft produced by Germany during WW2
- German failed aircraft adopted by the Wehrmacht: 871 (or 860 - Note 108 *) attack aircraft Hs-129 (1940 release), 6500 Bf-110 (6170 - Note 37 *), 1500 Me-210 and Me- 410 (Note 15*). The Germans retrained the failed Ju-86 fighter into a strategic reconnaissance aircraft (Note 32 *). Do-217 did not become a successful night fighter (364 were produced, 200 of them in 1943) (Note 46 *). Produced in quantities of more than 1000 units (according to other sources, only 200 aircraft were produced, another 370 were at various stages of readiness, and parts and components were produced for another 800 aircraft - Note 38 *) the German He-177 heavy bomber due to numerous accidents often simply burned up in the air (Note 41 *). The Ne-129 attack aircraft turned out to be extremely unsuccessful due to heavy control, weak engine armor, weak stern weapons (Note 47 *)
- during WW2, the Germans launched 198 not entirely successful, heavy six-engine Me-323 military transport aircraft from converted Gigant gliders, which at one time were intended for landing (could carry 200 paratroopers or a certain number of tanks and 88mm anti-aircraft guns) to the territory England (Notes 41* and 38*)
According to other sources, 198 Me-323 "Gigant" of all modifications were produced, another 15 were converted from gliders. Thus, total number built aircraft was 213 (Note 74*)
- for 8 months (08/01/40 - 03/31/41) due to accidents and disasters, the Luftwaffe lost 575 aircraft and 1368 people died (Note 32 *)
- the most active Allied pilots made 250-400 sorties in WW2, while similar figures for German pilots fluctuated between 1000 - 2000 sorties
- by the beginning of WW2, 25% of German pilots had mastered the skill of blind piloting (Note 32 *)
- in 1941, a German fighter pilot, leaving flight school, had more than 400 hours of total flying time, of which at least 80 hours - on a combat vehicle. After that, in the reserve air group, the graduate added another 200 hours (Note 36 *). According to other sources, each Luftwaffe graduate pilot had to independently fly 450 hours, at the end of the war only 150. Usually, during the first 100 (!) sorties, a novice was only supposed to observe the battle from the side, study the tactics, habits of the enemy and, if possible, evade from the battle (Note 72 *). In 1943, the training time for a German pilot was reduced from 250 to 200 hours, which was half that of the British and Americans. In 1944, the training time for a German pilot was reduced to 20 hours of piloting training (Note 26 *)
- during the Second World War there were 36 German pilots, each of whom shot down more than 150 Soviet aircraft and about 10 Soviet pilots, each of whom shot down 50 or more German aircraft (Note 9 * and 56 *). Another 104 German pilots shot down 100 or more enemy aircraft (Note 56 *)
- the ammunition of the Bf-109F fighter is enough for 50 seconds of continuous firing from machine guns and 11 seconds from the MG-151 cannon (Note 13*)
USAF:
- out of 9584 Aircobra fighters produced before the end of production in 1944, about 5 thousand were delivered to the USSR under Lend-Lease (Note 22 *)
- after WW1, in November 1918, 1172 "flying boats" were in service in the USA (Note 41 *)
- at the beginning of WW2, the USA had 1576 combat aircraft (Note 31 *), of which 489 fighters (Note 70 *)
- during the years of WW2, the US aviation industry produced over 13 thousand "Warhawks", 20 thousand "Wildcat" and "Hellcat", 15 thousand "Thunderbolt" and 12 (or 15 - Note 109 *) thousand "Mustang" (Note .42*)
- 13 (12726 - Note 104 *) thousand B-17 "Flying Fortress" bombers were produced in WW2 (Note 41 *), of which 3219 were shot down in the European theater (Note 59 *)
- 5815 B-25 Mitchell bombers were produced during the war, of which 862 were delivered under Lend-Lease to the USSR (Note 115 *)
- in total, in 1942-44, losses during sorties over Romania amounted to 399 aircraft, incl. 297 four-engine bombers, of which 223 were shot down during raids on Ploiesti. 1706 pilots and crew members died and went missing, 1123 people were captured (Note 27 *)
- by March 1944, the 15th US Air Force (based in England) had about 1500 bombers and 800 fighters (Note 27)
British Air Force:
- 759 (of which 93 monoplanes) aircraft were fighter aircraft of England in 1938 (Note 70 *)
- if in October 1937 England produced 24 "Spitfire" and 13 "Hurrycane" monthly, then in September 1939 already 32 "Spitfire" and 44 "Hurrycane" (Note 79 *)
- at the beginning of WW2, the British Air Force had 1000 fighters, a little more than half of which were modern "Hurrycane" and "Spitfire" (Note 79 *)
- 09/01/1939 England began WW2 with 1992 combat aircraft (Note 31 *)
- the most massive English bomber 2 MB "Wellington" was produced in the amount of 11,461 aircraft (Note 51 *), and Halifax - 6000 vehicles (Note 104 *)
- already in August 1940, England produced 2 times more fighters daily than Germany. Their total number subsequently so much exceeded the number of pilots that it soon allowed some of the aircraft to be mothballed or transferred to other countries under lend-lease (Note 31 *)
- from 1937 until the end of WW2, more than 20 thousand British Spitfire fighters were produced (Note 41 *)
- in total, in 1942-44, losses during sorties over Romania amounted to 44 bombers, while 38 of them were shot down during raids on Ploiesti (Note 27 *)
Air forces of other countries:
- The Hungarian Air Force on 06/26/41 had 363 combat aircraft, including 99 Falko CR-42 biplanes purchased from Italy (Note 88 *)
- The Italian Air Force at the beginning of WW2 Italy had 664 bombers, of which 48 Cant Z.506 seaplanes (Note 97 *), 612 SM-79 bombers, which accounted for 2/3 of all multi-engine aircraft of the Italian Air Force (Note 93 *)
- from 07/10/1940 to 09/08/1943, the Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) lost 6483 aircraft, incl. 3483 fighters, 2273 bombers, torpedo bombers and transport aircraft, as well as 277 reconnaissance aircraft. 12,748 people died, went missing or died of wounds, including 1,806 officers. During the same period, according to official Italian data (more than doubtful - ed. note), 4293 enemy aircraft were destroyed during the hostilities, of which 2522 were shot down in air battles, and 1771 were destroyed on the ground (Note 65 * )
- The French Air Force on 09/01/1939 had 3335 aircraft (Note 31 *): 1200 fighters (of which 557 MS-406 - Note 91 *), 1300 bombers (of which 222 modern LeO-451 - Note 98 *) , 800 scouts, 110,000 personnel; According to other sources, by 09/03/1939, France had 3,600 aircraft, of which 1,364 were fighters. These included 535 MS.405 and MS.406, 120 MB.151 and MB.152, 169 H.75, two FK.58 and 288 twin-engine R.630 and R.631. To this we can add 410 obsolete fighters D.500, D.501, D.510, Loire-46, Blériot-Spud 510, NiD.622, NiD.629, MS.225. And already on 05/01/1940, its fighter units consisted of 1076 MS.406, 491 MB.151 and MB.152, 206 (about 300 - Note 103 *) H.75, 44 C.714 and 65 D.520. 420 of these aircraft could fight on equal terms with the German Bf-109E (Note 95 *). 40 V-156F bombers for the French naval aviation arrived from the USA (Note 111 *)
- The Japanese Air Force in 1942 had 3.2 thousand combat aircraft; and during the war years, 2426 G4M Mitsubishi twin-engine bombers were produced (Note 105 *)
- The Polish Air Force at the beginning of WW2 consisted of 400 first-line combat aircraft (in combat units), of which 130 R-11 underbone monoplane fighters and 30 R-7 biplane fighters. In total, with the reserve and training units, there were 279 fighters (173 R-11 and 106 R-7). (Note 100 *) or, according to other sources, had 1900 aircraft (Note 8 *). According to German data, the Poles had 1000 combat aircraft (Note 101 *)
- The Bulgarian Air Force in 1940 was 580 aircraft (Note 27 *)
- Romanian Air Force on 06/22/1941: 276 combat aircraft, including 121 fighters, 34 medium and 21 light bombers, 18 seaplanes and 82 reconnaissance aircraft. Another 400 aircraft were in flight schools. It makes no sense to specify the types of aircraft due to moral and physical obsolescence. On the eve of the war, the Germans retrained 1500 Romanian aviation specialists and agreed to supply modern Bf-109U and He-111E to Romania. On the eve of the war, 3 (2 - consisting of 24 aircraft - Note 87 *) squadrons were re-equipped with the new Romanian IAR-80 fighter (Note 7 *). According to other sources, 672 aircraft were the Romanian Air Force on the eve of the attack on the USSR, of which 253 aircraft were allocated to participate in hostilities on the Eastern Front (Note 27 *). Romanian 250 (205 combat-ready) aircraft (among them 35 He-111 bombers - Note 94 *), allocated against the USSR, were opposed by about 1900 Soviet aircraft (Note 27 *). On the eve of WW2, 48 SM-79 bombers were purchased in Italy (Note 93 *)
- The Yugoslav Air Force on the eve of WW2 had 45 SM-79 bombers purchased before the war in Italy (Note 93 *)
- Belgian Air Force at the beginning of WW2: 30 Hurrycane monoplane fighters (half bought in England), 97 two-seat Fox Vi biplane fighters and 22 English-built Gladiator-2 biplane fighters, 27 CR-42 biplane fighters Italian-built, 50 "Firefly" biplane fighters - English project Belgian-built (Note 102*), as well as 16 British-built Battle bombers (Note 110*)
- The Finnish Air Force at the beginning of WW2 had 50 Fiat G-50 fighters purchased in Italy
- The Dutch Air Force at the beginning of WW2 had 16 Fokker T.V medium bombers, which were completely destroyed during the fighting
OTHER:
- from the statistics of the production of WW2 four-engine bombers: if the British were able to produce 6000 Halifaxes, the Germans - 230 Condors, the USSR - only 79 Pe-8s, then the USA - 12726 B-17s (Note 104 *)
- the weight of a minute salvo (continuous fire for a minute from all types of weapons) Yak-1 was 105kg, La-5 - 136kg, "Aircobra" - 204kg (Note 22 *)
- Messerschmitt spent 4500 man-hours on the production of one Bf-109, while the assembly of one Italian C.200 already took 21 thousand man-hours, or 4,6 times more (Note 65 *)
- in the "battle for England" the Germans lost 1733 aircraft (Note 30 *). According to other sources, the losses amounted to 1792 aircraft, of which 610 Bf-109 (Note 37 *) and 395 He-111 (Note 94 *). British losses amounted to 1172 aircraft: 403 Spitfires, 631 Hurricanes, 115 Blenheims and 23 Defiants (Note 37*). 10% (61 aircraft) of German Bf-109E losses fell into the English Channel due to lack of fuel (Note 79 *)
- by the end of September 1940, 448 Hurricanes were shot down, and in October 1940 - another 240, in the same two months 238 Spitfires were shot down and another 135 damaged (Note 79 *)
- more than 200 P-36 fighters (Note 41 *) and 40 V-156F bombers (Note 111 *) the United States manufactured for France before WW2
- in September 1944, there is a peak in the number of allied bombers in Europe - more than 6 thousand (Note 36 *)
- 250 million aviation cartridges received under Lend-Lease were remelted (Note 9 *)
During the years of the Second World War, the Finns (VVS-Air Defense) claim 2787 (according to other sources, Finnish pilots during 1939-44 won 1809 victories, while losing 215 of their aircraft - Note 61 *), Romanians - about 1500 (about 1500, while losing 972 people killed, 838 were missing and 1167 were injured - Note 27 *), Hungarians - about 1000, Italians - by 150-200 (88 Soviet aircraft were destroyed on the ground and in the air in 18 months of fighting in the USSR according to the official statements of the Italian pilots themselves, 15 of their own were lost. A total of 2557 sorties or 72 sorties were made for each of the destroyed Soviet aircraft (Note 113 *), the Slovaks - for 10 downed Soviet aircraft. Another 638 downed Soviet aircraft are listed on combat accounts of the Slovak, Croatian and Spanish (164 victories and about 3 thousand sorties - Note 27 *) fighter squadrons. According to other sources, the German allies collectively shot down no more than 2400 Soviet aircraft (Note 23 *)
- about 3240 German fighters were destroyed on the Soviet-German front, of which 40 were accounted for by the allies of the USSR (Air Force-Air Defense of the Poles, Bulgarians and Romanians since 1944, the French from Normandie-Neman) (Note 23 *)
- on 01/01/1943, 395 German day fighters operated against Soviet 12300 aircraft, on 01/01/1944 - 13400 and 473, respectively (Note 23 *)
- after 1943, from 2/3 to 3/4 of all German aviation counteracted the aviation of the anti-Hitler coalition in Western Europe (Note 23 *) Formed at the end of 1943, 14 Soviet air armies put an end to the dominance of German aviation in the skies of the USSR (Note 9 *) . According to other sources, Soviet aviation achieved air superiority in the summer of 1944, while the Allies achieved local Normandy air superiority in June 1944 (Note 26 *)
- losses of Soviet aviation in the first days of the war: 1142 (800 were destroyed on the ground), of which: Western District - 738, Kyiv - 301, Baltic - 56, Odessa - 47. Losses of the Luftwaffe in 3 days - 244 (of which 51 in first day of the war) (Note 20 *). According to other sources, as a result of German attacks on 66 front-line airfields and fierce air battles, the Red Army Air Force lost 1,200 aircraft by noon on June 22, 1941 alone (Note 67 *)
- in 1940, 21447 aircraft engines were produced in the USSR, of which less than 20% was the share of domestic developments. In 1940, the average repair life of Soviet aircraft engines was 100-150 hours, in reality - 50-70 hours, while this figure in France and Germany is 200-400 hours, in the USA - up to 600 hours (Note 16 *)
- at the beginning of the war in the European part of the USSR, the Soviet Air Force had 269 reconnaissance aircraft from total 8,000 aircraft against German 219 long-range and 562 short-range reconnaissance aircraft out of a total of 3,000 aircraft (Note 10 *)
- the allied air force in the Mediterranean theater after the fall of Tunisia, estimated at 5000 aircraft, was opposed by no more than 1250 "axis" aircraft, of which roughly half were German and half were Italian. Of the German aircraft, only 320 were suitable for action, and among them 130 Messerschmitt fighters of all modifications (Note 8 *)
- aviation Northern Fleet USSR in 1944: 456 combat-ready aircraft, including 80 flying boats. German aviation in Norway consisted of 205 aircraft in 1944 (Note 6 *)
- the German Air Force in France lost 1401 aircraft, the French lost only fighters - 508 (257 fighter pilots died) (Note 5 *)
- 10/20/42 for the first time, the BW-190 began to operate on the Eastern Front (Note 35 *)
- if in September 1939 the French aviation industry monthly produced about 300 combat aircraft, then by May 1940 it reached the line of 500 aircraft per month (Note 95 *)
NOTES:
(Note 1 *) - M. Maslov "YAK-1: From dawn to dusk" magazine "Wings" 2 \ 2010
(Note 2 *) - V. Reshetnikov. GSS "What was - that was"
(Note 3 *) - V. Kotelnikov "illegitimate" bomber, magazine
(Note 4 *) - "Legends of Aviation" issue No. 2 "Fighter MiG-3" "History of Aviation" 5 \ 2001
(Note 5 *) - A.Stepanov "Pyrrhic victory of the Luftwaffe in the West" magazine "Aviation History" 4 \ 2000
(Note 6 *) - V. Shchedrolosev "Destroyer "Active", magazine "Midel-Shpangout" issue 2 \ 2001
(Note 7 *) - M. Zhirokhov "At the signal" Ardyalul ", Aviation and Time magazine 6 \ 2001
(Note 8 *) - D. Pimlott "Luftwaffe - Air Force of the 3rd Reich"
(Note 9 *) - V. Avgustinovich "The battle for speed. Great War aircraft engines"
(Note 10 *) - A. Medved "Soviet reconnaissance aviation in the initial period of the war" Aviation magazine No. 8 (4 \ 2000)
(Note 11 *) - A. Efimov "The role of the Air Force in the Great Patriotic War"
(Note 12 *) - I. Bunich "Thunderstorm" bloody games dictators"
(Note 13 *) - M. Solonin "Barrel and hoops or when the war began"
(Note 14 *) - almanac "History of Aviation" No. 64
(Note 15 *) - A. Haruk "Destroyers of the Luftwaffe"
(Note 16 *) - V. Kotelnikov "Motors of the Great War" magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 7 \ 2002
(Note 17 *) - E. Chernikov "IL-2 - the pride of domestic aviation" magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 5 \ 2002
(Note 18 *) - V. Beshanov "The Blood-Red Army. Whose fault is it?"
(Note 19 *) - M. Solonin "The False History of the Great War"
(Note 20*) - Dossier "Collection 03\2010. Combat badges. USSR Air Force-Germany"
(Note 21 *) - V. Suvorov "Shadow of Victory"
(Note 22 *) - V. Bakursky "Air Cobra" magazine "World of technology for children" 12 \ 2005
(Note 23 *) - A. Smirnov "Falcons washed with blood"
(Note 24 *) - W. Schwabedissen " World War. 1939-1945"
(Note 25 *) - M. Filchenko "Vin comrades with Kozhedub and Marєs" evim ... "(interv" with a veteran of the VVV, Air Force Colonel Marchenko K.P.)
(Note 26 *) - M. Pavelek "Luftwaffe 1933-1945. Basic facts and figures about the Goering Air Force"
(Note 27 *) - M.Zefirov "Aces of WW2. Allies of the Luftwaffe: Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania"
(Note 28 *) - V. Shavrov "History of aircraft designs in the USSR until 1938"
(Note 29 *) - article "Fracture", Encyclopedia "World Aviation" issue No. 153
(Note 30 *) - F. Mellenthin "Tank battles. Combat use tanks in WW2"
(Note 31 *) - V. Kotelnikov "Spitfire. The best Allied fighter"
(Note 32 *) - V. Beshanov "Flying coffins of Stalin"
(Note 33 *) - V. Ivanov "Airplanes of N.N. Polikarpov"
(Note 34 *) - M. Bykov "Combat "crutch" Friedrich Nikolaus" magazine "Arsenal-collection" 6 \ 2013
(Note 35 *) - A. Medved "Focke-Wulf" FV-190 - multipurpose fighter of the Luftwaffe "
(Note 36 *) - "Operations in Europe and the Mediterranean" magazine "World Aviation" No. 65
(Note 37 *) - D. Donald "Luftwaffe combat aircraft"
(Note 38 *) - V. Shunkov "German Aircraft WW2"
(Note 39 *) - Kuznetsov "Yak-1 - our best fighter 1941"
(Note 40 *) - A. Firsov "Wings of the Luftwaffe. Part 4. Henschel - Junkers"
(Note 41 *) - D. Sobolev "History of aircraft 1919-45"
(Note 42 *) - K. Munson "Fighters and Bombers of the Second World War"
(Note 43 *) - B. Sokolov "M. Tukhachevsky. The life and death of the Red Marshal"
(Note 44 *) - S. Moroz "Speed, range, height" magazine "Science and Technology" 8 \ 2007
(Note 45 *) - Y. Mukhin "Aces and propaganda"
(Note 46 *) - article "Victory in the sky of France", magazine "World Aviation" No. 62
(Note 47 *) - Y. Borisov "Flying "coffin" magazine" Wings of the Motherland "8\2002
(Note 48 *) - N.Cherushev "Four steps down" magazine "Military Historical Archive" 12 \ 2002
(Note 49 *) - V. Galin "The political economy of war. The conspiracy of Europe"
(Note 50 *) - A. Speer "The Third Reich from the inside. Memoirs of the Reich Minister of War Industry"
(Note 51 *) - "Aviation collection. Special issue No. 2 \ 2002. Bombers 1939-45"
(Note 52 *) - V. Kotelnikov "Heinkel" -111. Blitzkrieg Bomber"
(Note 53 *) - M.Zefirov "Target ships. Confrontation between the Luftwaffe and the Soviet Baltic Fleet"
(Note 54 *) - "Bf-109f. Militant Friedrich" magazine "World Aviation" No. 52
(Note 55 *) - A. Zablotsky "In the sight of FW-189"
(Note 56 *) - F. Cheshko "Eastern Front: "Aces" against "experts" magazine "Science and Technology" 6 \ 2012
(Note 57 *) - S. Manukyan "How the war began" magazine "Science and Technology" 6\2012
(Note 58 *) - A.Isaev "Operation" Bagration: Blitzkrieg to the West "Popular Mechanics" magazine 5 \ 2014
(Note 59 *) - "B-17.Flying Fortress. Operations in Europe-part 2" magazine "World Aviation" No. 52
(Note 60 *) - I. Drogovoz "Air Fleet of the Country of Soviets"
(Note 61 *) - M.Zefirov "Aces of World War II. Allies of the Luftwaffe: Estonia, Latvia, Finland"
(Note 62 *) - A. Zablotsky "To aim for transport in ports" magazine "Aviapark" 2 \ 2009
(Note 63 *) - A. Chechin "MiG-3: speed and height" magazine "Model designer" 5 \ 2013
(Note 64 *) - "100 battles that changed the world. Air war on the Eastern Front" No. 141
(Note 65 *) - M.Zefirov "Aces of World War II. Allies of the Luftwaffe: Italy"
(Note 66 *) - A. Zablotsky "Catalina seaplanes in Soviet naval aviation during the war years" Science and Technology magazine 1 \ 2013
(Note 67 *) - "History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union"
(Note 68 *) - collection "Air collection: fighter I-153 "Seagull" 1 \ 2014
(Note 69 *) - Yu. Kuzmin "How many FV-190s were in total" Aviation and Cosmonautics magazine 3 \ 2014
(Note 70 *) - A.Stepanov "Development of Soviet aviation in the pre-war period"
(Note 71 *) - "Encyclopedia of WW2. Opening of a second front (spring-summer 1944)"
(Note 72 *) - S. Slavin "Secret weapon of the Third Reich"
(Note 73 *) - Y. Mukhin "Blitzkrieg - how it's done"
(Note 74 *) - C. Ailesby "Plan Barbarossa"
(Note 75 *) - D. Degtev "Wehrmacht air cabs. Luftwaffe transport aviation 1939-45"
(Note 76 *) - A. Zablotsky "Air bridges of the Third Reich"
(Note 77 *) - O. Greyg "Stalin could attack first"
(Note 78 *) - A. Osokin " Great Mystery Great Patriotic War"
(Note 79 *) - F. Funken "The Encyclopedia of weapons and military costume. WW2. 1939-45 (2 hours)"
(Note 80 *) - magazine "Sea Collection" 5 \ 2005
(Note 81 *) - Y. Sokolov "The Truth about the Great Patriotic War"
(Note 82 *) - N. Yakubovich "Soviet "mosquito" or how to become a deputy people's commissar", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 01 \ 1995
(Note 83 *) - A. Haruk "All Luftwaffe aircraft"
(Note 84 *) - V. Dashichev "Strategic planning of aggression against the USSR", magazine "Military History Journal" 3 \ 1991
(Note 85 *) - M. Maslov "The Seagulls" went halfway", the magazine "Aviation and Cosmonautics" 9 \ 1996
(Note 86 *) - P. Pospelov "History of the Great Patriotic War in the USSR 1941-45" v.2
(Note 87 *) - S. Kolov "In the backyard of the Luftwaffe" magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 10 \ 1996
(Note 88 *) - S. Ivannikov "Hawk" - an aged chick", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 05 \ 1996
(Note 89 *) - E. Podolny "Black Sea "Seagull", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 05 \ 1996
(Note 90 *) - V. Ivanov "Wings over the Baltic", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 3 \ 1996
(Note 91 *) - V. Kotelnikov "Trace" Werewolf ", magazine" Wings of the Motherland "3 \ 1999
(Note 92 *) - N. Kudrin "Aircraft with an enviable fate", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 10 \ 1999
(Note 93 *) - S. Kolov "Humpback "hawk" Marchetti", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 2 \ 2000
(Note 94 *) - S. Kolov "Classic "Heinkel", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 3 \ 2000
(Note 95 *) - V. Kotelnikov "Fighters of France", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 5 \ 2000
(Note 96 *) - V. Alekseenko "In the harsh years of the war", the magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 5 \ 2000
(Note 97 *) - S. Ivantsov "Large "diamond" of the Mediterranean", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 9 \ 1998
(Note 98 *) - S. Kolov "Many-faced "Frenchman", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 5 \ 2001
(Note 99 *) - M. Morozov "How the Skagerrak was missed" magazine "Arsenal-Collection" 8\2013
(Note 100 *) - V. Kotelnikov "On the eve of the Second World War", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 4 \ 2001
(Note 101 *) - E. Manstein "Missed Victories"
(Note 102 *) - V. Kotelnikov "Fighters of Belgium", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 1 \ 2002
(Note 103 *) - V. Kotelnikov "Model 75", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 2 \ 2002
(Note 104 *) - Y. Smirnov "Hero of "shuttle operations", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 6 \ 2002
(Note 105 *) - S. Kolov "Cigar" of the company "Mitsubishi", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 1 \ 2003
(Note 106 *) - S. Sazonov "Big-eyed owl" or "flying frame", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 8 \ 2002
(Note 107*) - N. Soiko "Flight of the Condor", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 1\2003
(Note 108 *) - E. Podolny "Attack aircraft that rushed to the front", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 5 \ 2004
(Note 109 *) - S. Kolov " Long life"Mustang", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 9\2004
(Note 110 *) - S. Kolov "Fairy "Battle" - an elegant loser", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 11 \ 1998
(Note 111 *) - S. Kolov "Quickly aged defender", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 5 \ 2006
(Note 112 *) - V. Alekseenko "In the harsh years of the war", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 5 \ 2000
(Note 113 *) - S. Kedrov "Makki" - avid warriors", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 6 \ 1999
(Note 114 *) - S. Kolov "Classic "Heinkel", magazine "Wings of the Motherland" 3 \ 2000
(Note 115 *) - collection "Long-range aviation of Russia"
When you look at the aces of the Second World War, a number of questions arise, and the main one is why the fighter pilots of Germany and Japan shot down more planes than the pilots of the victorious countries, the USSR and the USA. So, the 23-year-old "Aryan" Erich Hartmann officially shot down 352 enemy aircraft - of which 345 (according to other sources - 348) were Soviet. His comrades in the 52nd Luftwaffe Fighter Squadron Gerhard Barkhorn - 301 victories, Gunther Rall - 275 victories. For comparison, our best aces: Ivan Kozhedub shot down 64 enemy aircraft, Alexander Pokryshkin - 59.
Erich Hartmann.
In addition, the aces of the Reich had more than 3 thousand pilots - those who shot down more than 5 enemy aircraft, another 13 pilots shot down 200-275 aircraft, 92 aces - 100-200 aircraft, 360 people - 40-100. It turns out that the German fighter aces brought down our packs? On the pacific ocean it was the same, the Japanese aces shot down more than the American ones: Tetsuzo Iwamoto - 202 victories (according to other sources - 80), Hiroyoshi Nishizawa - 147-150 (according to others - 87), Shoichi Sugita - 120 (according to others - 70). The best American fighter pilots: Richard Ira Bong - 40 aircraft, Thomas Buchanan McGuire - 38, David McCampbell - 34.
Richard Ira Bong
During the war, very intense air battles were fought at Halkin Gol: the best Soviet pilot (in terms of downed enemies) Sergey Gritsevets - 12 Japanese aircraft, the Japanese ace Hiromichi Sinohara from May until his death on August 27 shot down 58 aircraft, on June 27, 1939 he shot down 11 Soviet aircraft in a day.
Various authors raised this issue, but did not come to a consensus, someone believes that the enemy pilots lied, in reality, about the same number were shot down as the best Soviet aces; others believe that the German pilots were simply better and shot down inexperienced enemy pilots by the dozens. Still others believe that the problem is in the method of calculation. But it is interesting that Japan and Germany lost the war, including the air one.
Günter Rall
Calculation methods
It is impossible to blame the Japanese and Germans for serious mistakes, possibly deliberate, with the calculation method. If you study air battles, it turns out that there are serious mistakes on all sides, and not just the German or Japanese.
So, after the battles at Khalkin Gol, the USSR announced that 588 Japanese aircraft were shot down and another 58 were destroyed on the ground, the Japanese announced the destruction of 1162 aircraft in the air and 98 on the ground. But in reality Soviet Union lost 207 aircraft in combat and another 42 non-combat losses, the Japanese reported 88 aircraft lost in combat and 74 were written off due to combat damage. That is, the Soviet data on the losses of the enemy were overestimated by 4 times, the Japanese by 6 times. This coefficient, approximately 1 to 4, was preserved in the Air Force of the Red Army and the Great Patriotic War.
The main reason for the discrepancy between reality and the pilots' reports is not their lies, but the very complexity of the battle and the uncertainty of the fate of the "downed" aircraft. Many planes were literally riddled, but returned to the airfields. Often the plane evaded the fight, for example: it ran out of fuel, ammunition, left the fight, fell into a tailspin, avoiding enemy fire, but then could level out - it could also be considered shot down. Hence the fantastic accounts of the shooters of the "flying fortresses": the German "Messerschmitts", when they left the attack, due to the characteristics of the engine, always smoked, they were also recorded as "downed".
So, in July 1941, Moscow's air defense aircraft made 89 battles, repelling 9 raids by enemy bombers, in August - 81 battles with 16 raids. They claimed to have shot down 59 planes in July, 30 in August. According to the Germans: in July, 20-22 aircraft were lost, in August - 10-12, that is, a discrepancy of about three times. The Germans made the same mistake: on June 30, 1941, an air battle took place over Dvinsk, our bombers, only 99 units, bombed the bridges, they were attacked by German fighters. They announced 64-65 downed aircraft, according to our data, 34 aircraft were lost, another 18 were able to successfully return to the airfields, that is, a discrepancy of about 2 times.
Another example, already the Western Front, on March 6, 1944, a raid on Berlin: the Americans (fighter pilots, bomber gunners) stated that they had destroyed 179 enemy aircraft (83% of the German aircraft reflecting the raid), while the Germans lost 66 fighters. German pilots claimed to have shot down 128 bombers and fighters, another 12 aircraft were allegedly shot down, in reality the Americans lost 69 bombers and 11 fighters.
The battle near Kharkov on May 13, 1942, the Germans said they shot down 65 aircraft, our losses on that day were 20 aircraft. On May 14, the Germans report 47 aircraft, of which Hermann Graf shot down 6, Adolf Dikfeld - 9 aircraft. Our real losses- 14 aircraft.
Moreover, an attempt to explain the difference with “points” and “victories” does not solve anything - these systems existed in the Luftwaffe in parallel - “points” (twin-engine aircraft - 2 points, four-engine - 4) were taken into account for awarding and for conferring titles. Also in the Soviet Air Force, in parallel with the accounting for "victories", there was a system of cash bonuses based on the value of the downed aircraft.
Gunther Rall (second from left) after his 200th aerial victory. Second right - Walter Krupinski.
Assistance from photomachine guns, VNOS posts
Photo machine guns improved the ability to correctly count, but also did not solve the problem. On our planes, the PAU-22 photo machine gun began to be installed even before the war. The photo machine gun shot at a slower speed than a movie camera - about 8-10 frames per second, and, most importantly, it stopped working after the fire control trigger was released, so it did not record the hit of the target with the last projectile, nor did it record the behavior of the enemy aircraft after the hit. In fact, he could record the death of an enemy aircraft only when he died in the process of firing. Their massive use has not changed anything, the problem remains.
Air surveillance, warning and communication posts (VNOS) also could not give correct picture, usually the battle went far, and it was difficult to determine the type of the downed and crashed aircraft visually. Just one example: on April 19, 1943, the battle near Murmansk, VNOS recorded 4 downed aircraft, they were recorded as “victories”. Later, search groups found 4 aircraft: one enemy "Messer" and three of ours.
What conclusion can be drawn from these data: the number of victories was overestimated several times on each side, and if the victories of the German aces are reduced several times, as they really shot down, the victories of the pilots of the anti-Hitler coalition must also be reduced. The gap still remains. So what's the reason? Were the Germans and Japanese better pilots than the Russians and Americans?
Messerschmitt Bf.109.
The main reason for the difference in downed aircraft
Germany made more intensive use of its Air Force, with approximately 6 sorties per day per pilot during major operations. Also, given that the enemy had more planes, they could be encountered more often by German pilots. So, Erich Hartmann made 1525 sorties, Gerhard Barkhorn over 1104 sorties, Walter Krupinski scored 197 air victories in 1100 sorties. For comparison: I. Kozhedub has only 330 sorties. As a result, if we divide the number of sorties from the German aces and the best pilot of the USSR, it turns out that for 4-5 sorties - 1 victory. If Kozhedub made as many sorties as the German aces, the number of his victories could also be two to three hundred.
But the command of the Air Force of the Soviet Union did not have to use pilots for "wear and tear", we had enough cars and pilots, so they made fewer sorties. German pilots fought almost continuously, the Third Reich simply did not have the resources to create required number aircraft and the training of a large number of pilots. In addition, Luftwaffe units were forced to constantly move from site to site. So, the first group of the 51st fighter squadron, re-equipped on the Focke-Wulfs, was thrown into battle near Leningrad in September-October 1942; then they participated in Operation Mars, upon its completion, until January 1943, they fought in the Velikiye Luki region; then operation "Baffel" - the withdrawal of the 9th Army of the Model from the Rzhev ledge. Or the first and second groups of the 54th Fighter Squadron "Green Hearts": from the beginning of the war until 1943 they fought in Army Group North, since May 1943 they were transferred to Army Group Center - battles in the Orel region, Operation Citadel ”, after the defeat - retreat to the “Hagen line”. Since August 1943, the first group has been fighting in the "South" army zone, they remain near Poltava until October; then transferred again to the Army Group Center - battles near Vitebsk, Orsha; in the summer of 1944 they were transferred to Army Group North. The second group was transferred to Ukraine, after Citadel, it returned to Army Group North in March 1944. Other fighter units were also transferred.
Soviet aviation units were mainly used only on "their" front, they did not shuffle, and every 1-2 months they were taken to the rear for reorganization - replenishment of materiel, rearmament. Only from the middle of 1943 did they begin to replenish the unit immediately at the front, like the Germans. So, the 16th Guards Aviation Regiment of A. Pokryshkin departed for retraining for the Airacobra at the end of December 1942, and returned to the front only on April 9, 1943. The 434th regiment of Major Klescheev (380 sorties, air victories 16 individual and 15 in a group) was reorganized three times from May to September 1942. Naturally, this reduced the possibility of replenishing a personal account.
The Japanese had the same problems at Khalkin Gol - 4-6 sorties a day, so the pilots of the Germans and the Japanese were "the most tired people of the war." They had more opportunities to become aces, but they lost the war, including the air one.
Bell P-39 "Aircobra" - Pokryshkin's aircraft in 1943-1944.
Ivan Ivanovich Kleshchev
Sources:
Isaev A. Antisuvorov. Ten myths of World War II. M., 2006.
Mukhin Yu. Asy and propaganda. Exaggerated victories of the Luftwaffe. M., 2006.
http://alexgbolnych.narod.ru/toliver_constable/index.htm
http://www.airforce.ru/history/khalkin-gol/index.htm
http://allaces.ru/p/people.php?id=13284
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aces_of_World_War_Second_War#.D0.AF.D0.BF.D0.BE.D0.BD.D0.B8.D1.8F
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... the squadron lost 80 pilots in a fairly short period of time,
of which 60 never shot down a single Russian aircraft
/Mike Speke "Aces of the Luftwaffe"/
With a deafening roar, the Iron Curtain collapsed, and a storm of exposés of Soviet myths arose in the media of independent Russia. The most popular theme was the Great Patriotic War - inexperienced soviet man was shocked by the results of the German aces - tankers, submariners and, especially, Luftwaffe pilots.
Actually, the problem is this: 104 German pilots have an account of 100 or more downed aircraft. Among them are Erich Hartmann (352 wins) and Gerhard Barkhorn (301), who showed absolutely phenomenal results. Moreover, Harmann and Barkhorn won all their victories on the Eastern Front. And they were no exception - Gunther Rall (275 victories), Otto Kittel (267), Walter Novotny (258) - also fought on the Soviet-German front.
At the same time, the 7 best Soviet aces: Kozhedub, Pokryshkin, Gulaev, Rechkalov, Evstigneev, Vorozheikin, Glinka were able to overcome the bar of 50 downed enemy aircraft. For example, Three times Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozhedub destroyed 64 German aircraft in air battles (plus 2 American Mustangs shot down by mistake). Alexander Pokryshkin is a pilot about whom, according to legend, the Germans warned by radio: “Akhtung! Pokryshkin in der Luft!”, chalked up “only” 59 air victories. The little-known Romanian ace Constantin Contacuzino has about the same number of victories (according to various sources, from 60 to 69). Another Romanian, Alexandru Serbanescu, shot down 47 aircraft on the Eastern Front (another 8 victories remained “unconfirmed”).
The situation is much worse for the Anglo-Saxons. The best aces were Marmaduke Pettle (about 50 wins, South Africa) and Richard Bong (40 wins, USA). In total, 19 British and American pilots managed to shoot down more than 30 enemy aircraft, while the British and Americans fought on the best fighters in the world: the inimitable P-51 Mustang, P-38 Lightning or the legendary Supermarine Spitfire! On the other hand, the best ace of the Royal Air Force did not have a chance to fight on such wonderful aircraft - Marmaduke Pettle won all his fifty victories, flying first on the old Gladiator biplane, and then on the clumsy Hurricane.
Against this background, the results of the Finnish fighter aces look completely paradoxical: Ilmari Yutilainen shot down 94 aircraft, and Hans Wind - 75.
What conclusion can be drawn from all these figures? What is the secret of the incredible performance of the Luftwaffe fighters? Maybe the Germans just didn't know how to count?
The only thing that can be asserted with a high degree of certainty is that the accounts of all aces without exception are overstated. To extol the successes of the best fighters is a standard practice of state propaganda, which, by definition, cannot be honest.
German Meresyev and his "Thing"
As interesting example I propose to consider the incredible story of bomber pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel. This ace is less known than the legendary Erich Hartmann. Rudel practically did not participate in air battles, you will not find his name in the lists of the best fighters.
Rudel is famous for having made 2530 sorties. He piloted the Junkers-87 dive bomber, at the end of the war he moved to the helm of the Focke-Wulf 190. During his combat career, he destroyed 519 tanks, 150 self-propelled guns, 4 armored trains, 800 trucks and cars, two cruisers, a destroyer and heavily damaged the battleship Marat. In the air he shot down two Il-2 attack aircraft and seven fighters. He landed six times on enemy territory to save the crews of wrecked Junkers. The Soviet Union placed a reward of 100,000 rubles on the head of Hans-Ulrich Rudel.
Just the epitome of a fascist
He was shot down 32 times by return fire from the ground. In the end, Rudel's leg was torn off, but the pilot continued to fly on a crutch until the end of the war. In 1948, he fled to Argentina, where he became friends with the dictator Peron and organized a mountaineering circle. Made the ascent to the highest peak Andes - Aconcagua (7 kilometers). In 1953 he returned to Europe and settled in Switzerland, continuing to talk nonsense about the revival of the Third Reich.
Without a doubt, this outstanding and controversial pilot was a tough ace. But for any person accustomed to thoughtfully analyze events, one important question should arise: how was it established that Rudel destroyed exactly 519 tanks?
Of course, there were no camera guns or cameras on the Junkers. The maximum that Rudel or his gunner-radio operator could notice was the covering of a column of armored vehicles, i.e. possible damage to tanks. The exit speed of the Yu-87 from a dive is more than 600 km / h, while overloads can reach 5g, in such conditions it is unrealistic to see anything accurately on the ground.
Since 1943, Rudel moved to the Yu-87G anti-tank attack aircraft. The characteristics of this "lappet" are simply disgusting: max. speed in level flight - 370 km / h, rate of climb - about 4 m / s. Two VK37 cannons (caliber 37 mm, rate of fire 160 rds / min) became the main aircraft, with only 12 (!) shells per gun. Powerful guns mounted in the wings, when firing, created a large turning moment and rocked the light aircraft so that firing in bursts was pointless - only single sniper shots.
And here is a funny report on the results of field tests of the VYa-23 aircraft gun: in 6 sorties on the IL-2, the pilots of the 245th assault aviation regiment, with a total consumption of 435 shells, achieved 46 hits in the tank column (10.6%). It must be assumed that in real combat conditions, under intense anti-aircraft fire, the results will be much worse. Where is it German ace with 24 rounds aboard the Stukka!
Further, hitting a tank does not guarantee its defeat. An armor-piercing projectile (685 grams, 770 m/s) fired from the VK37 cannon pierced 25 mm of armor at an angle of 30° from the normal. When using sub-caliber ammunition, armor penetration increased by 1.5 times. Also, due to the aircraft's own speed, armor penetration in reality was about 5 mm more. On the other hand, the thickness of the armored hull of Soviet tanks was less than 30-40 mm only in some projections, and there was nothing to dream of hitting a KV, IS or heavy self-propelled gun in the forehead or side.
In addition, breaking through the armor does not always lead to the destruction of the tank. Echelons with damaged armored vehicles regularly arrived in Tankograd and Nizhny Tagil, which were restored in a short time and sent back to the front. And the repair of damaged rollers and chassis was carried out right on the spot. At this time, Hans-Ulrich Rudel drew himself another cross for the "destroyed" tank.
Another question for Rudel is related to his 2530 sorties. According to some reports, in the German bomber squadrons it was accepted as an encouragement to count a difficult sortie for several sorties. For example, the captured captain Helmut Putz, commander of the 4th detachment of the 2nd group of the 27th bomber squadron, explained the following during interrogation: “... in combat conditions, I managed to make 130-140 night sorties, and a number of sorties with a complex combat mission were credited to me , like others, for 2-3 departures. (protocol of interrogation dated 06/17/1943). Although it is possible that Helmut Putz, having been captured, lied, trying to reduce his contribution to attacks on Soviet cities.
Hartmann vs everyone
There is an opinion that aces-pilots filled their bills uncontrollably and fought "on their own", being an exception to the rule. And the main work at the front was carried out by pilots of medium qualification. This is a profound misconception: in a general sense, pilots of "medium qualification" do not exist. There are either aces or their prey.
For example, let's take the legendary Normandy-Neman air regiment, which fought on Yak-3 fighters. Of the 98 French pilots, 60 did not win a single victory, but the “selected” 17 pilots shot down 200 German aircraft in air battles (in total, the French regiment drove 273 aircraft with a swastika into the ground).
A similar picture was observed in the 8th Air Army USA, where out of 5,000 fighter pilots, 2,900 did not win a single victory. Only 318 people chalked up 5 or more downed aircraft.
The American historian Mike Spike describes the same episode related to the actions of the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front: "... the squadron lost 80 pilots in a fairly short period of time, of which 60 did not shoot down a single Russian aircraft."
So, we found out that aces pilots main force Air Force. But the question remains: what is the reason for that huge gap between the performance of Luftwaffe aces and pilots Anti-Hitler coalition? Even if you divide the incredible accounts of the Germans in half?
One of the legends about the insolvency of the big accounts of the German aces is connected with unusual system counting downed aircraft: by the number of engines. Single-engine fighter - one downed aircraft. Four-engine bomber - four downed aircraft. Indeed, for the pilots who fought in the West, a parallel offset was introduced, in which for the destruction of the "Flying Fortress" flying in battle formation, the pilot was credited with 4 points, for the damaged bomber, which "fell out" of the battle formation and became easy prey other fighters, the pilot was recorded 3 points, because. he did most of the work - breaking through the hurricane fire of the Flying Fortresses is much more difficult than shooting a damaged single plane. And so on: depending on the degree of participation of the pilot in the destruction of the 4-engine monster, he was awarded 1 or 2 points. What happened then with these reward points? They must have been converted into Reichsmarks somehow. But all this had nothing to do with the list of downed aircraft.
The most prosaic explanation for the Luftwaffe phenomenon is that the Germans had no shortage of targets. Germany fought on all fronts with the numerical superiority of the enemy. The Germans had 2 main types of fighters: Messerschmitt-109 (34 thousand were produced from 1934 to 1945) and Focke-Wulf 190 (13 thousand were produced in the fighter version and 6.5 thousand in the attack aircraft version) - a total of 48 thousand fighters.
At the same time, about 70 thousand Yaks, Lavochkins, I-16s and MiG-3s passed through the Red Army Air Force during the war years (excluding 10 thousand fighters supplied under Lend-Lease).
In the Western European theater of operations, Luftwaffe fighters were opposed by about 20 thousand Spitfires and 13 thousand Hurricanes and Tempests (this is how many aircraft visited the Royal Air Force from 1939 to 1945). And how many more fighters did Britain get under Lend-Lease?
Since 1943, American fighters have appeared over Europe - thousands of Mustangs, P-38s and P-47s plowed the skies of the Reich, escorting strategic bombers during raids. In 1944, during the landings in Normandy, the Allied aviation had a sixfold numerical superiority. “If there are camouflage planes in the sky, this is the Royal Air Force, if there are silver ones, the US Air Force. If there are no planes in the sky, it is the Luftwaffe,” the German soldiers joked sadly. How could British and American pilots have big bills under such conditions?
Another example - the Il-2 attack aircraft became the most massive combat aircraft in the history of aviation. During the war years, 36154 attack aircraft were produced, of which 33920 Ils entered the army. By May 1945, the Red Army Air Force included 3585 Il-2 and Il-10, another 200 Il-2 were part of naval aviation.
In a word, the Luftwaffe pilots did not have any superpowers. All their achievements are explained only by the fact that there were many enemy aircraft in the air. The allied fighter aces, on the contrary, needed time to detect the enemy - according to statistics, even the best Soviet pilots had an average of 1 air battle for 8 sorties: they simply could not meet the enemy in the sky!
On a cloudless day, from a distance of 5 km, a WWII fighter is visible like a fly on a window pane from the far corner of the room. In the absence of radars on aircraft, air combat was more of an unexpected coincidence than a regular event.
It is more objective to count the number of downed aircraft, taking into account the number of pilot sorties. Viewed from this angle, Erich Hartmann's achievement pales in comparison: 1,400 sorties, 825 dogfights, and "only" 352 aircraft shot down. This figure is much better for Walter Novotny: 442 sorties and 258 victories.
Friends congratulate Alexander Pokryshkin (far right) on receiving the third star of the Hero of the Soviet Union
It is very interesting to trace how aces pilots began their careers. The legendary Pokryshkin in the very first sorties demonstrated piloting skills, audacity, flight intuition and sniper shooting. And the phenomenal ace Gerhard Barkhorn did not win a single victory in the first 119 sorties, but he himself was shot down twice! Although there is an opinion that Pokryshkin also did not go smoothly: the Soviet Su-2 became his first downed plane.
In any case, Pokryshkin has his own advantage over the best German aces. Hartman was shot down fourteen times. Barkhorn - 9 times. Pokryshkin was never shot down! Another advantage of the Russian miracle hero: he won most of his victories in 1943. In 1944-45. Pokryshkin shot down only 6 German aircraft, focusing on training young personnel and managing the 9th Guards Air Division.
In conclusion, it should be said that one should not be so afraid of the high scores of the Luftwaffe pilots. This, on the contrary, shows what a formidable enemy the Soviet Union defeated, and why the Victory is of such high value.
Aces Luftwaffe World War II
The film tells about the famous German aces pilots: Erich Hartmann (352 downed enemy aircraft), Johan Steinhoff (176), Werner Mölders (115), Adolf Galland (103) and others. Rare shots of interviews with Hartman and Galland are presented, as well as unique newsreel of air battles.
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