The Second World War was in many respects an unprecedented event not only in the world order in general, but also in the understanding of military art in particular. Military tactics of combat, attack and defense were rapidly developing, heavy equipment instantly became obsolete, and a new one was already coming off the conveyors in its place. A special place, of course, belongs to aviation, in which the Soviet industry made a real breakthrough for itself in a short time.
Her Majesty Aviation
WWII aircraft are one of the main military characters in terms of technology. At that time, this industry was just beginning to develop in the Soviet Union. How far Russia lagged behind was shown by the very first powerful raid of the enemy. The Soviet troops were not ready to attack. From the first minutes of the war, the Luftwaffe showed itself to be a very strong opponent, which was not easy to throw off from the Russian sky. He destroyed most of the Soviet aircraft, and they did not even have time to take off.
However, learning in the realities of war is happening rapidly. Experts are unanimous in their opinion that the aircraft created during the Second World War are the true heyday of aviation, which later affected the civilaviation. By creating WWII aircraft, the USSR won the right to be called a powerful aviation power.
Luftwaffe aircraft terrified with their low hum, bright colors and technical equipment. Soviet designers had to make a powerful and high-speed breakthrough so that the planes of the Second World War of the USSR could not only compete, but also drive the enemy out of their sky.
Test by the first fire
The first flight cockpit for almost all novice military pilots of that time was the famous "corn" U-2. WWII planes remain examples of military equipment to this day, but this biplane has become a legend, considering what a significant contribution it made to forging victory. It was difficult to use it in any other way than the training model. This was due to its low takeoff weight, design, minimum capacity.
Meanwhile, the designers were able to mount silencers and holders for light bombs into the aircraft. Due to its miniature, ste alth, it turned into a rather dangerous night bomber and was used in this capacity until the end of the war.
Fighter palm
Fighters were truly the hallmark of the aviation arsenal of all participants in hostilities. The most dangerous military aircraft at that time belonged, of course, to the Luftwaffe. It was necessary to create an aircraft that could fight them on an equal footing. The I-16 was significantly inferior to the German fighters in terms of its technical characteristics. The victories won on it were very expensive anddepended more on the skill and fearlessness of the pilot than on the aircraft itself.
It was then that MiGs appeared - a fundamentally new word in Soviet aviation, which to this day are improving their modifications and combat characteristics. Worthy opponents of the Germans in the struggle for the Soviet sky were the third modification - the MiG-3, recognized as truly the most dangerous flying machine of the war period. The maximum speed exceeded 600 km per hour, the flight altitude reached 11 km. This became his main advantage in the field of air defense.
Yak
Military aircraft must have a mass of combat characteristics, which, especially at that time, were difficult to fit into one machine. The MiGs could not compete with the Germans at a lower altitude. At the level of five kilometers, they lost in speed. And here he was perfectly replaced by the Yaks, who were very quickly modified. The final combat version - the Yak-9 - was equipped with a powerful ammunition load with the relative lightness of the aircraft itself. For this, he became the preferred vehicle not only for Soviet soldiers, but also for the allies. For example, the French pilots from Normandie-Niemen fell in love with him very much.
The main drawback that Soviet WWII aircraft had was poor combat equipment. These were machine guns, very rarely they put a 20-millimeter cannon. This problem was finally solved in the Shopkeeper's design bureau, from where the La-5 fighter with two ShVAK guns came out.
Air Armor
WWII aircraft to some extent had the same principleconstruction: a frame made of wood or metal, which was sheathed with metal, fabric or plywood, an engine, armor and a combat set were installed inside. Ilyushkin's design bureau revised the principle of weight distribution, replacing part of the aircraft's power structures with armor. The result of this was the creation of the IL-2. The plane as an attack aircraft terrified not only in the sky, but also on the ground. In the final configuration, a 37 mm caliber gun was installed on board, which provided him with a high level of destruction. German planes of World War II finally met a true rival.
Another integral member of the air clip - bombers. The Pe-2 was originally supposed to be a powerful fighter, but in the end, a dangerous aircraft emerged from the design bureau, distinguished by its dive efficiency. This modification appeared just in time. He dropped bombs precisely during the peak, then left it and left at high altitude.
However, Tu-2 had the largest number of modifications. It was used as a reconnaissance, bomber, interceptor, attack aircraft.
German planes of World War II took the Soviet defenses by surprise. They were terrifying. Meanwhile, the Soviet design bureaus accepted the challenge and responded relatively quickly.
