During the war, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics significantly increased and improved the base of its air fleet. If in the thirties the air fleet was dominated by foreign-made aircraft, by the middle of the war Russian military aircraft dominated.
Prerequisites for the development of Soviet military aviation
The construction of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics assumed the complete autonomy of any of the sectors, be it industrial, agricultural or military. However, at the turn of the twenties and thirties, the aircraft fleet consisted of imported aircraft. And Russian aircraft were represented only by the created ANT-2 and ANT-9 produced by the Tupolev Design Bureau. The problems of the Red Army air armament in those days were:
- outdated models of vehicles;
- poor technical condition of the aircraft;.
The formation of military aviation before World War II
Positive changes in the industry came with the creation of the Moscow Aviation Institute. The appearance of the educational platform gave a significant increase in the number of specialists for aircraft factories and design bureaus.
The Soviet government invested large personnel and financial resources in Russian aircraft. Already by the second pre-war five-year plan, aircraft manufacturers had a wide production base of a full cycle. The task of Secretary General Stalin to create modern aviation was carried out. In the mid-thirties, test flights of the first Soviet bomber, hidden under a civilian transport ship, took place. The first Russian aircraft, which later took part in the hostilities of the Second World War, was prepared by such aviators as Levanevsky, Vodopyanov, Grizodubov and others.
Tests of fighters were also carried out abroad. For example, in Spain in 1937. Then Polikarpov's planes, the I-15 and I-16 brands, were tested. However, the results were disappointing. Cars significantly lost to their German competitors.
Stalin did not skimp on bonuses and resources allocated to designers for Russian aircraft. The fighters received radio equipment, as well as new mixed designs due to the development of materials science, which significantly improved the performance characteristics of combat vehicles.
Aircraft industry on the eve of the war
The speech of the People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov at the Plenum shows well the pre-war state of the aviation military industryCentral Committee in March 1939. His report talked about a significant increase in the Aviation of the Soviet Union. In particular, the Air Force, compared with 1934, has grown by 138 percent. And the number of aircraft increased by 1.3 times.
Ratio. Bombers and fighters
Special emphasis was placed on heavy bombers. It was believed that this was the main trump card in the fight against Western troops. Therefore, heavy bombers occupied a significant percentage of the fleet. The fleet of fighters was also increased by 2.5 times.
Due to the designers, Russian aircraft were brought to a significantly new level. Also, the M-25 motors with a capacity of 715 horsepower, air-cooled, and the M-100 with a capacity of 750 horsepower, which used a water cooling system, were also developed and put into operation. The maximum flight altitude also increased and amounted to 14-15 thousand meters. Aircraft acquired a more streamlined shape, the air resistance of the vehicles decreased. The growth in production was spurred on by the introduction of stamping and flow casting.
By 1941, of the fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union, the Mig, Yak and LAGG were considered the most successful. IL-2 was recognized as problematic, which was constantly modified. According to the Clear Sky strategy, it was planned to produce about 100,000 SU-2 aircraft, for which an unprecedented call to the air force was carried out.
Start of war
In the starting 8 hours of the German attack on the SovietSoyuz, 1200 Soviet aircraft were destroyed, including several airfields with all storage facilities. In the first year and a half, German aviation dominated the Soviet one. Aircraft I-15, I-16 significantly lost to the latest fascist Messerschmidts and Junkers. Sometimes even on obsolete aircraft it was possible to achieve victories in air duels. In a month, Russian aircraft destroyed about 1,300 German air units.
After six months of hostilities, the production of aircraft was reduced by almost four times. This was due to the fact that the Germans came close to Moscow, and had to evacuate significant production facilities that were engaged in the production of parts for the aircraft industry. Therefore, in 1941, the plan for the production of all types of military aircraft was only 40 percent fulfilled.
With the launch of the evacuated enterprises, the situation improved significantly, and by 1944, airfields received about 100 combat vehicles daily. Modernization received absolutely all models. Of the improved ones, it is worth highlighting the Yak-3, LA-5, IL-10, PE-2, Yak-9.
Growth rates can be tracked by year:
- 1942 - 25,400 vehicles.
- 1943 - 34,900 cars.
- 1944 - 40,300 cars.
By 1944, the Soviet Union surpassed Nazi Germany in the number of aircraft by 2.7 times. One factor was build speed. The design of our fighters was much more primitive than that of German and American manufacturers. Of course, the quality of the manufactured aviation products was not always in favor of the Soviet aviation industry.
Russian aircraft Secondworld. SU-2
The machine has been developed since 1937 at the Tupolev Design Bureau under the leadership of Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi. Initially, the aircraft was called "near bomber-1" and was produced with an M-88 engine with a capacity of 1100 horsepower. Su-2 was produced at three factories. The flight speed of the Su-2 was over 490 km / h, and the flight altitude was 6000 meters. 6 machine guns were placed on board. The bomb load of the SU-2 varied.
SU-2 is one of the first bombers to enter the war. Performed a variety of tasks. Subsequently upgraded to SU-4.
YAK-9
Of the fighters that participated in the Second World War, it is worth highlighting this particular model. Even if we compare photos of Russian aircraft, the Yak-9 has its own external style. It was developed in 1942. The Yak-7b fighter became the base. By replacing wooden parts with aluminum, the weight of the fighter was significantly reduced. The armament on board consisted of a heavy machine gun and one cannon. The aircraft had excellent aerobatic qualities, maneuvered well and was easy to control. He also outperformed previous models in maximum speed and range. These figures set a record for all aircraft of the 1944 class. All these properties made it possible to adequately fight with the enemy's leading military aircraft.
The production of the aircraft was carried out for several more years after the end of hostilities. In total, about 16,800 combat vehicles were produced in several modifications.
