How the weapon of victory was forged

Glorifying the victories of Russian arms of all eras, historians, writers and poets have in mind primarily the valor of the sons of the Fatherland. However, this expression has another, direct and almost literal meaning.

Technical backwardness or superiority became the cause of the collapse or triumph of states in the twentieth century. The Second World War began long before September 1, 1939 , and the field of invisible battles was the culmination of design bureaus. The obvious inevitability of the world conflict was not concealed, the leaders of the countries spoke about it from the high tribunes, and they began to prepare for it ahead of time.

After the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR, the Soviet military doctrine underwent significant changes. Until June 22, 1941, the official strategic ideology, recorded in the regulations of the Red Army, said that the fighting in the upcoming war will be conducted "little blood" and "foreign territory". The reality was different.

The technical base required an urgent change. High-speed and floating tanks manufactured in the USSR from the end of the 30's to 1941 were practically unsuitable for operations on their own territory, the aircraft also did not fully meet the conditions under which air domination was only to be won. It was necessary to produce weapons of victory in huge quantities, and this was not easy, especially if we take into account the loss in the first year of a significant part of the European territory and a large share of industrial potential. It became clear to the country's leadership that there was a long war ahead.

Today it is clear to everyone how the weapon of victory was. T-34 and KV tanks, Il-2 attack planes, Lavochkin fighters, Katyusha Guards mortars, PPSh assault rifles were all produced in huge quantities, which history still did not know. Everything was done for the front. At the same time, we should not forget about the constantly arising need to modernize the models of military equipment, without reducing the plan for its production.

An example is the real weapon of victory, called the "black death" by the German invaders, the IL-2 attack aircraft. The uniqueness of its design consists of a bearing armored corps performing a dual function, it was both a defense and a power skeleton at the same time. Initially conceived as a two-seater machine, before the war the IL-2 was produced in a variant that excluded an arrow that protected the rear hemisphere. After the first losses, it was again equipped with a rear cab, sometimes in the field of repair shops. In the end, the double version was again put into production.

One more example. From 1940 to 1943, the T-34 medium tank was produced with a 76.2 mm caliber gun. It was enough to effectively combat any enemy armored vehicles. The appearance of heavy tanks by the Germans required an urgent modernization of the "thirty-quarters". The result was a real weapon of victory. The casted enlarged tower and long-barreled 85-mm cannon combined with other principal advantages of the design scheme led the Soviet tank to the category of the best in the Second World War.

In addition to the military vehicles mass produced in the rear and even in the besieged Leningrad, the Soviet Army required a lot of auxiliary equipment, which was no less important and important. Delivery of ammunition, food, fuel, medicines, that is all, without which it is impossible to conduct successful military operations, demanded transport. From the US were delivered remarkable trucks US6 "Studebaker" and jeeps "Willis", at that time the best in the world. Under the license of the firm "Douglas" before the war in the USSR production of transport aircraft Li-2 began. They were also the best, and we built them more than in America, and this was also the weapon of victory.

So the sword was forged, with which Nazism was crushed. Eternal glory to the Soviet workers of the rear!