Wild_Bill_Kelso
Senior Master Sergeant
- 3,231
- Mar 18, 2022
One of my favorite WW2 aviation stories is the absolutely insane raid by TB-3 with I-16 parasite fighers, along with some Pe-2s, against the King Carol I bridge near Ploesti.
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Before Stalingrad, aviation was on the sidelines. There were few aircraft and pilots. The pilots who survived the initial period of the war, by Stalingrad, were already veterans. They already had a lot of downed planes, they knew the tactics of the enemy. Here's Pilot Safonov. A total of 234 battles before the summer of 1942. 13 shot down alone and 6 in a group... As you can see, the main work is to repel air attacks and ground attack forces. He fought in the North on I-16, then switched to Kittyhawk. The same Pokryshkin. By the time he fought in the Kuban, he already had his own tactics of fighting. There were many downed. But most importantly, he taught young pilots. And that was the main thing.
Then there was Kursk. A lot of Luftwaffe pilots were knocked out there. Both aces and young pilots were transferred from Germany to replace them. The same Hartmann. As noted, the Luftwaffe had erroneous tactics. The bombers were flying without fighter cover. The fighters waged their war in the air. But after huge losses, they changed their tactics. But even that didn't help much. Pokryshkin's regiment introduced layered tactics. One link covered the attack aircraft or bombers, the second hung above the formation and could immediately help if necessary. As we can see from the regiment's track record, the planes flew most of all to escort attack aircraft or bombers. After all, the main battle of the war was on earth. And the downed ones appeared if there was an attack on the assault group. It was later, after the Kuban and the Dnieper, that the fighters flew on a free hunt. They were already ready to face the enemy.
I must apologize for the slight inaccuracy. It was not the Pe-8 that began bombing Berlin, but the DB-3F aircraft. A total of 9 night sorties were made. 3 groups of 15 aircraft. The Pe-8 was continued, but already from Belarus. Just as the front was moving eastward. I read that a German general, I don't remember who wrote that the battle of Moscow was lost due to severe frost. Were the Russians in hothouse conditions?
Well, to be completely precise, the Soviets left the lands that were in the Yalta Conference agreement. They ceded these lands, which the Allies did not reach.
I don't want to offend anyone, but you have problems with the history of World War 2 ...) But isn't Germany bordered by Belgium and Switzerland. Does Yugoslavia border Italy? And it was not the Soviet aviation that was the best, but the entire Soviet army. Including aviation. This has been proven by the war. Berlin was taken by the Soviets.
Well, to be completely precise, the Soviets left the lands that were in the Yalta Conference agreement. They ceded these lands, which the Allies did not reach.
The P-39 is sort of an unofficial mascot of The Forum. You may see characteristics attributed to this aircraft occasionally that are not supported by history or even rationale thought.1. I will find a photo of the pilot captain
2. Yes, it is indeed a typo. The P-38 was never supplied under lend-lease.
3. I did not write that the Air Force was the best in World War II. But you know, chickens are counted in autumn...who survived, and who died.
4. Did I generalize that no one has a clue about the war on the eastern front? You seem to take my posts very personally. Wild_Bill_Kelso was right when he wrote that After all, as I keep pointing out, the Germans didn't win the war in the East, which may come as shocking news to some...
And more... I didn't understand about your statement about P-39. I seem to have offended you... But with what?
Great plane! It's a beautiful car. Only the US Army refused it. Well, I did not refuse, but there were very few purchases. Just like she had her own illnesses. And the Russians REALLY liked it. Pokryshkin ended the war on it. And the last thing...I'm not writing vaguely, I'm trying to write like a historian, you asked me for the name of the Russian captain, and I'll find him. I'm just on the forum. A forum with participants from different countries. And each participant has his own opinion about certain facts in history. Many people, including me, may have their own opinions and their own misconceptions. In almost all my posts, I didn't put pressure on anyone. I've only given you what I know. And I know that someone might not like it.
Someone wrote here that the Il-2 had a bad view from the cockpit.
View attachment 771922
In confirmation of what I have described. This is the Bobruisk airfield. What do we see? SB-2, Su-2, I-15 or I-153, and in the background a brand new Il-4.
View attachment 771914
This is the Tu-2, and below the Tu-2C
View attachment 771915
View attachment 771916
What happened?
Dear colleague, You forget one thing, that this is a pure stormtrooper. So what is a stormtrooper? It is an aircraft belonging to assault aviation and designed for direct support of ground forces and naval forces, as well as for targeted destruction of various land and sea targets.It is to storm the enemy's fortifications at LOW altitude. And therefore it should be moderately protected. Why would a stormtrooper pilot look back? There is an arrow to cover the tail. There were armor plates on the left and right. which protected the pilot from small arms. So the review was good for the pilot. Forward and sideways.
Oh, boy.Thinks got a lil out of hand. It was rather stupid, over nothing.
Long story short, after you all told our new friend to be a lil more modest when presenting his arguments, Bill made a lengthy post educating him about the forum. There were some thinly veiled jabs at our forum membership in it, and I pointed that out. He did nothing warranting a ban. He was not going to be banned. I did not attack him, nor did I threaten him.
He, however, went off on a huge insult laden tirade for no reason.
I found this book in Moscow when I arrived in '94. I don't remember what the park was called, they always sold old things there, and at the same time books. I bought not only her, but a lot of magazines. This is a collection of memories of the early days of the war. The book is called "Bug on fire." The Bug is a border river with Poland. I found this captain, and I'll give you an excerpt from this book.T Texnuk , maybe you should try to expose your opinions with more than some vagueness, perhaps some facts and sources.
Which pilot 8 german planes with the I-16 in the begining of the GPW? When? Where?
Of course the VVS was the better air force of the whole conflict, capable of day and night strategic bombing hundreds of miles behind the frontlines beside interdiction of communication lines and CAS.
Of course the MiG-3 was a capable interceptor at high altitudes. Sadly, it was not the way it was used at the start and the not so good high altitude interceptor P-39 (I guess your P-38 was just a typo) was highly useful in the sort of aerial combat that predominated in the Eastern Front.
Just because some people have a different opinion from you, don't think that nobody have a clue about the air war in the East in this forum.
Astomo pauk hinted, a modest approach in a new place is highly appreciated, here also.
Good pics, BTW.