Soviet aircraft of the Great Patriotic War

After the invention of the first flying machines and structures, they were used for military purposes. This is how combat aviation appeared, becoming the main part of the armed forces of all countries of the world. This article describes the most popular and effective Soviet aircraft, which made their special contribution to the victory over the fascist invaders.

The tragedy of the first days of the war

Almost all the samples of Soviet aviation were on the front, therefore, they were destroyed at the very beginning of hostilities, not having shown themselves in air battles. However, such a deplorable situation served as a huge incentive for the development and improvement of all classes of aviation - Soviet engineers had to not only fill the losses, but also develop new military and even more modern Soviet aircraft. In the critical circumstances of the shortage of resources and time, the developers created a powerful aircraft that was able not only to resist the Luftwaffe, but even surpassed it in many ways.

Biplane U-2

Perhaps the most recognizable and first Soviet aircraft that made its special contribution to the victory-the U-2 biplane-was fairly primitive and technologically unequipped. The reason for its non-modernity was the initial development of the aircraft as a training tool for piloting. Biplane could not bear any combat load due to its size, design, take-off weight, weak technical parameters of the engine. But with the role of the "training desk" the U-2 coped more than perfectly.

And, by the way, quite unexpectedly the biplane was found with a very real military application. The aircraft was equipped with mufflers and a holder for small bombs, and thus the biplane became an agile, insignificant and very dangerous bomber, firmly consolidating this new role until the end of the Patriotic War. After the first successful experiments with the U-2, a small-caliber machine gun was mounted on the aircraft. Prior to this, the pilots had to use only personal small arms.

Fighter aircraft

It is fair that aviation researchers of the Second World consider this period to be the golden age of fighters. At that time, there were no radar, computer hardware, thermal imagers and homing missiles. The role was played only by experience, the pilot's personal skill and, of course, luck.

In the 1930s, the USSR took a qualitative level in the production of fighter jets. One of the first fighter jets that left the Union's plants was the I-16. He was in service in 1941, but he could not resist the power of the Luftwaffe, alas. Soviet aircraft of the Great Patriotic War only after a long modernization gave a worthy rebuff to the enemy in the sky. Fundamentally different, technologically powerful fighters began to be created.

MiG-3 and Yak-9

The MiG-3 fighter was based on the MiG-1 corps, which was destined to become a thunderstorm of Soviet military aviation, a worthy opponent to German kites. The plane could accelerate the speed to 600 km / h (not all Soviet aircraft of the Great Patriotic War could afford such a speed). The MiG-3 rose to a height of 12 kilometers, which was unrealistic for previous models. It is this fact that determined the combat mission of the aircraft. It has established itself as a high-altitude fighter and operated in the air defense system. After the war, many Soviet aircraft were developed on the basis of the MiG.

But against the background of the positive sides of the MiG-3 had its drawbacks. So, at an altitude of more than 5 kilometers, the aircraft lost speed and was inferior to the enemy. Therefore, the developers began to replace it in this niche with the Yak-9 fighter. Such light combat vehicles as Yakovlev-9 possessed agility and very powerful weapons. The pilots literally admired this plane, flying on it was the limit of dreams. I liked the fighter and the French allies from the Normandie-Niemen regiment, having tested several models, they chose the Yak-9.

Both the MiG-3 and the Yak-9 were armed with machine guns caliber 12.7 or 7.62 millimeters. On some models, a 20 mm cannon was installed. But despite the fact that this weapon was considered powerful, Soviet WWII aircraft needed to improve their weapons.

La-5

Novelty from KB Lavochkin no longer had this defect, La-5 equipped with two cannons SHVAK. Also, an air-cooled engine was installed on the fighter. The motor was a little outdated, but it justified itself, especially compared to the engines of liquid cooling. The fact is that the liquid-cooled motor was compact though, but very gentle. It was enough for the smallest fragment to get into the engine and kill at least some tube, he immediately stopped work. It was this design feature that forced the developers to put on the La-5 a large but reliable air-cooling engine.

Quite frankly, during the development of Lavochkin, there were already very powerful and modern M-82 engines, later they got the widest distribution, many Soviet aircraft will be equipped with them. But at that time the engine had not yet passed the proper testing, and it could not be installed on the new La-5.

Despite all the difficulties, the La-5 was a solid step forward in terms of the development of fighter aircraft. The model was noted not only by Soviet specialists, but also pilots of the Luftwaffe. Lavochkin terrified German pilots, however, like all other Soviet aircraft of the Great Patriotic War.

Sturmovik Il-2

Perhaps, the most legendary Soviet attack aircraft is Il-2. Soviet WWII aircraft were manufactured in a typical design, the frame was made of metal or even made of wood. Outside, the plane was covered with plywood or fabric. Inside the structure, the engine and the corresponding weapons were installed. On this uniform principle, all Soviet aircraft of the war years were designed.

IL-2 was the first example of a new design scheme for aircraft. In the design bureau Ilyushin realized that this approach significantly worsens the design and makes it heavier. The new design approach gave new opportunities for more rational use of the aircraft mass. So there was Ilyushin-2 - the plane, which for its particularly sturdy armor earned the nickname "flying tank".

Il-2 created an incredible number of problems for the Germans. The aircraft was initially used as a fighter, but in this role proved not very effective. Weak maneuverability and speed did not give Il-2 the opportunity to fight with fast and smashing German fighters. Moreover, the weak protection of the rear part of the aircraft allowed the IL-2 to attack the German fighters from behind.

Problems with the plane experienced and the developers. During the entire period of the Great Patriotic War, the Il-2 armament was constantly changing, and a place for a co-pilot was also equipped. This threatened by the fact that the aircraft could become generally unmanageable.

But all these efforts yielded the desired result. The original 20-millimeter guns were replaced with large-caliber 37-millimeter guns. With such a powerful attack aircraft, almost all types of ground forces began to fear, from infantry to tanks and armored cars.

According to some recollections of the pilots who fought on the IL-2, shooting from the guns of the stormtrooper led to the fact that the aircraft literally hovered in the air from a strong recoil. In the event of an attack by enemy fighters, the tail gunner covered the unprotected part of the IL-2. Thus, the attack aircraft became a virtual flying fortress. This thesis is confirmed by the fact that the stormtrooper took on board several bombs.

All these qualities were a great success, and Ilyushin-2 became simply an indispensable aircraft in any battle. He became not only the legendary stormtrooper of the Great Patriotic War, but also broke records of production: in all during the war, about 40 thousand copies were produced. Thus, Soviet-era aircraft could compete with the Luftwaffe in all respects.

Bombers

The bomber, from a tactical point of view, is an indispensable part of combat aviation in any battle. Perhaps the most recognizable Soviet bomber of the times of the Great Patriotic War is Pe-2. It was designed as a tactical superheavy fighter, but over time it was transformed and made a dangerous dive bomber.

It should be noted that Soviet bomber planes made their debut during the Great Patriotic War. The appearance of bombers was caused by a number of factors, but the main one was the development of an air defense system. Immediately developed a special tactic for the use of bombers, which implied approach to the target at high altitude, a sharp decrease to the height of the bomb drop, the same sharp departure into the sky. Such tactics gave their results.

Pe-2 and Tu-2

Dive bomber drops bombs without following a horizontal line. He literally falls on his own target and drops the bomb only when there are some 200 meters to the target. The consequence of this tactical move is impeccable accuracy. But, as you know, aircraft at low altitude can hit anti-aircraft guns, and this could not but affect the bomber design system.

Thus, it turned out that the bomber must combine an incompatible one. It should be as compact and maneuverable as possible, while carrying heavy ammunition. In addition, the design of the bomber was supposed to be strong, capable of withstanding the impact of an antiaircraft gun. Therefore, the Pe-2 was very suitable for this role.

The bomber Pe-2 was complemented by a very similar in the parameters of the Tu-2. He was a twin-engine dive, which was used according to the tactics described above. The problem of this aircraft was in the minor orders of the model at the aircraft factories. But by the end of the war the problem was fixed, the Tu-2 was even modernized and successfully used in battles.

Tu-2 performed a variety of combat missions. He worked as a stormtrooper, bomber, scout, torpedo bomber and interceptor.

IL-4

Tactical bomber Il-4 rightly deserved the title of the most beautiful aircraft of the Great Patriotic War, thanks to which it is difficult to confuse it with any other aircraft. Ilyushin-4, despite the complicated control, was popular in the Air Force, the aircraft was even used as a torpedo bomber.

Il-4 was fixed in history as an aircraft that carried out the first bombing of the capital of the Third Reich - Berlin. And it happened not in May 1945, but in the autumn of 1941. But the bombings did not last long. In the winter, the front moved far to the East, and Berlin became out of reach for Soviet dive-bots.

Pe-8

The bomber Pe-8 in the war years was so rare and unrecognizable that sometimes it was even attacked by its anti-aircraft defense. However, it was he who carried out the most complex military tasks.

The long bomber, although produced in the late 30-ies, but was the only aircraft of its class in the USSR. Pe-8 had the highest speed of movement (400 km / h), and the fuel in the tank allowed to carry the bombs not only to Berlin, but also to go back. The aircraft was equipped with the most large-caliber bombs up to five-ton FAB-5000. It was Pe-8 bombed Helsinki, Koenigsberg, Berlin at the time when the front line was in the Moscow area. Because of the working range, the Pe-8 was called a strategic bomber, and in those years this class of aircraft was only being developed. All Soviet WWII aircraft belonged to a class of fighters, bombers, scouts or transport workers, but not to strategic aviation, only the Pe-8 was a kind of exception to the rules.

One of the most important operations carried out by the Pe-8 is the transportation of the USSR Foreign Minister V. Molotov to the USA and Great Britain. The flight took place in the spring of 1942 along a route that passed through the territories occupied by the Nazis. Molotov traveled on the passenger version of Pe-8. There were only a few such aircraft developed.

To date, thanks to technical progress, carry tens of thousands of passengers daily. But on those days of war, every flight was a feat, both for pilots and passengers. There was always a high probability of being shot down, and a downed Soviet plane is a loss of not only valuable lives, but also a great damage for the state, which it was very difficult to repay.

Concluding a short review, which describes the most popular Soviet aircraft of the Great Patriotic War, it should be mentioned that all developments, construction and air battles took place in the conditions of cold, hunger and lack of personnel. However, each new machine was an important step in the development of world aviation. The names of Ilyushin, Yakovlev, Lavochkin, Tupolev will always remain in military history. And not only the heads of design bureaus, but also ordinary engineers and ordinary workers made a huge contribution to the development of Soviet aviation.