The Russian Air Force in the Eyes of German Commanders by Generalleutnant Walter Schwabedissen

Author:Generalleutnant Walter Schwabedissen [Schwabedissen, Generalleutnant Walter]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Eschenburg Press
Published: 2017-06-28T04:00:00+00:00

D. Russian Fighter Aircraft, their Armament and Equipment.

Soviet fighter aircraft in 1942-43 were in the midst of a progressive and even at times remarkable development of aircraft models, armament, and equipment. Modern airplanes encountered by the Germans gave very striking evidence of this evolution, which was accentuated by the increasing employment of Allied fighter aircraft.

Single-engine aircraft were still being used exclusively in fighter aviation; they were armed with machine guns and one cannon, sometimes even two cannons. German Air Force officers generally agree{444} that the older models—I-153 and I-16—had disappeared by the summer 1942. From that time on the various types of Mig, Lagg, and Yak models were encountered; by 1943 these were increasingly supplemented by Allied aircraft, such as Hurricane, Spitfire, Tomahawk, Kittyhawk, Airacobra, and even some Lightning models.

Among the Soviet-constructed aircraft, the La-5, Yak-7B{445} and Yak-9 were the most advanced, being almost equal to the German Bf-109F and 109G models as well as to the subsequently committed FW-190’s. The La-5’s were capable of closer and faster turns than their German counterparts, which were unable to catch up with them in straight flight; the German fighters were faster only in oblique dives. The Lagg-3’s and Yak-9’s were equal to the Bf-109’s in speed and armament (two machine guns and one or two cannons); these two types and the La-5 were the favorite Soviet aircraft, while the Mig-3’s gradually disappeared.

The speed and rate of climb of the above-mentioned Allied aircraft, which played a decisive role in the Russian theater by 1943, were slightly below the Bf-109G’s and FW-190’s, even though there were certain differences between individual models.

According to available data Mig-3’s, Lagg-3’s, La-5’s, Spitfires, PE-2’s, and PE-3B’s were used as night fighters. Statements by prisoners of war indicated that modern single and twin-engine night-fighter aircraft were being developed. The Soviet Air Force command considered the ideal prototype for night fighting to be a twin-engine, fast and maneuverable aircraft with a good rate of climb and good high-altitude performance as well as strong fire power. But no such aircraft were being mass-produced because final selection of a model had not been made.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.