ACES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR
The question about ASAH - not about the German gods (although... how to say... :-)), but about the highest class fighter pilots - from the Second World War remains open. Over the past twenty to thirty years, so much custom-made nonsense has been written on this topic (usually “from our side”!) that all the rather boring and monotonous Soviet agitprop on this topic, published in 1961-1985, has been drowned in it. Separating the “wheat from the chaff” there is obviously a pointless exercise, because opponents will cover their ears and, on the one hand, will stubbornly repeat about “the Safkov didn’t know how to fly planes in the fucking schools of the land lizrulyozz!”, and on the other hand, they will constantly mutter about “the Krauts, the cowards, the Japanese, the fanatics, the rest of them, they didn’t know how to conquer!” Listening to this is boring and embarrassing. I'm ashamed of the people who fought, you know. In front of everyone. Therefore, in the first part of this article (and the second part, in general, does not belong to me), I will simply present a summary table of the “leading three” for all the main warring countries. Only with numbers. Only with CONFIRMED and VERIFIED figures. So...
|
Quantity shot down enemy aircraft |
|
|
"Allies" |
|
|
USSR |
|
| A.L. Pokryshkin | |
| I.N.Kozhedub | |
| G.A. Rechkalov | |
|
British Empire |
|
|
Great Britain |
|
| D.E.Johnson | |
| V. Wale | |
| J.R.D.Braham | |
|
Australia |
|
| K.R. Caldwell | |
| A.P. Holdsmith | |
| John L. Waddy | |
|
Canada |
|
| G.F.Burling | |
| H.W.McLeod | |
| W.K.Woodworth | |
|
New Zealand |
|
| Colin F. Gray | |
| E.D. Mackey | |
| W. W. Crawford-Campton | |
|
South Africa |
|
| Marmaduke Thomas St. John Pattle | |
| A.G. Mallon | |
| Albert G. Lewis | |
|
Belgium |
|
| Rudolf deHemricourt deGrun | |
| Vic Ortmans | |
| Dumonso deBergandal | |
| Richard Gere Bong | |
| Thomas McQuirey | |
| David McCampbell | |
|
France |
|
| Marcel Albert | |
| Jean E.F. deMaze | |
| Pierre Closterman | |
|
Poland |
|
| Stanislav Skalsky | |
| B.M. Gladysh | |
| Vitold Urbanovich | |
|
Greece |
|
| Vassilios Vassiliades | |
| Ioannis Kellas | |
| Anastassios Bardivilias | |
|
Czechoslovakia |
|
| K.M.Kuttelwascher | |
| Josef Frantisek | |
|
Norway |
|
| Svein Höglund | |
| Helner G.E. Grün-Span | |
|
Denmark |
|
| Kai Birkstead | |
|
China |
|
| Lee Kwei-Tan | |
| Liu Tsui-Kan | |
| Lo Chi | |
|
"Axis" |
|
|
Germany |
|
| Gerhardt Barkhorn | |
| Walter Nowotny | |
| Gunther Rahl | |
|
Finland |
|
| Eino Ilmari Juutilainen | |
| Hans Henrik Wind | |
| Antero Eino Luukanen | |
|
Italy |
|
| Teresio Vittorio Martinolli | |
| Franco Lucchini | |
| Leonardo Ferruli | |
|
Hungary |
|
| Dözhi Szentüdörgyi | |
| Győr Debrodi | |
| Laszlo Molnar | |
|
Romania |
|
| Konstantin Cantacuzino | |
| Alexander Serbanescu | |
| Ion Milu | |
|
Bulgaria |
|
| Iliev Stoyan Stoyanov | |
| Angelov Petar Bochev | |
| Nenov Ivan Bonev | |
|
Croatia |
|
| Mato Dukovac | |
| Tsvitan Galic | |
| Dragutin Ivanich | |
|
Slovakia |
|
| Jan Rezniak | |
| Isidor Kovarik | |
| Jan Herzover | |
|
Spain |
|
| Gonzalo Hevia | |
| Mariano Medina Quadra | |
| Fernando Sanchez-Ariona | |
|
Japan |
|
| Hiroyoshi Nishizawa | |
| Shoiki Sugita | |
| Saburo Sakai | |
Conclusion:
So, based on the above, we can come to the conclusion that ramming, as a form of combat, was characteristic not only of Soviet pilots - ramming was carried out by pilots from almost all countries participating in the battles. ... it must be admitted that the Japanese still surpassed us in the sphere of the “purely Soviet form of combat.” If we evaluate only the effectiveness of the "kamikazes" (operating since October 1944), then at the cost of the lives of more than 5,000 Japanese pilots, about 50 were sunk and about 300 enemy warships were damaged, of which 3 sunk and 40 damaged were aircraft carriers with a huge capacity. the number of aircraft on board.
I offer my colleagues to read the introductory part from my book “The Devil's Dozen Luftwaffe Aces.” Sergei Sidorenko Jr. wrote this material in the book at my request.
By 1939, Germany was fully prepared for revenge for the shame of the First World War. Aviation was especially proud, as it demonstrated convincing superiority over any enemy. The pilots - heirs to the traditions of the best aces of the last war - after the "Spanish triumph" and the victorious European "blitzkriegs" were surrounded by an aura of universal admiration and glory.
The definition of “ace” first appeared during the First World War - then an ace was called a pilot with five confirmed victories. This standard has been adopted by most states, except Germany. German pilots were considered aces only in overcoming the threshold of 10 enemy aircraft shot down. During World War II, Germany replaced the term "ace" with "expert". To gain the right to be called an “expert,” the pilot, first of all, had to demonstrate his professionalism in battle, and not shoot down as many enemy aircraft as possible. In terms of Allied standards, the Luftwaffe gave the world about 2,500 aces. The number of “experts” was much smaller - about 500.
What distinguished German pilots from pilots of other countries? Why is the number of their air victories disproportionately greater?
In past years, many materials have been published in foreign literature about the victories of the best Luftwaffe fighter pilots in the period 1939-1945. The much larger number of planes shot down by German pilots compared to Allied aviation pilots gave rise to persistent distrust of this fact not only on the part of aviation historians, but also by the participants in air battles themselves. At the end of the Second World War, a large number of Luftwaffe “experts” were taken to England, where specialists carefully compared their testimony about personal victories with the data and circumstances of their own losses. Until now, these protocols are classified.
As a result of research, especially recently, a significant part of aviation historians, even among former opponents of Nazi Germany, are increasingly convinced of the reality and plausibility of the victories of German fighter pilots. The British are known for their pedantic attitude towards recording victories and dividing them into half, quarter and even eighth. However, there is no reason to believe that if the allied aviation aces do not have such a number of downed aircraft to their credit, then the Germans cannot have this either.
The technical equipment, training and fighting spirit attributed to the Luftwaffe "experts" cannot sufficiently explain the huge number of their victories. One of the main factors that makes it possible to clarify this confusing problem can be the significant number of combat missions that German pilots made during the war, compared to Allied aviation pilots. The number of combat sorties, for example, that of Erich Hartmann, among allied aviation pilots has no analogues at all. He flew 1,400 combat missions and fought 800 air battles. Gerhard Barkhorn fought 1,100 fights. Günter Rall scored his 200th victory in his 555th combat mission. The result of Wilhelm Butz, who achieved 237 victories in his 455th combat mission, was surprising.
On the Allied side, the most active fighter pilots flew between 250 and 400 combat missions. Based on this fact alone, German pilots had a much better chance of winning (and being defeated!) in battle.
These data alone show that German “experts” spent tens of times more time in the air than their rivals on the other side of the front. They could not be recalled from the front after achieving a certain number of sorties, as was the case in American aviation. German ace pilots moved up the hierarchy very slowly, which meant that the war was long and difficult for them, so the more and more they flew, the better and better they became and, as a result, achieved a high level of professionalism inaccessible to others. In the Luftwaffe, the division of pilots into two categories was clearly visible: aces, making up 15-20% of the total number, and middle-class pilots, who were also very strong and practically not inferior in skill to the pilots of the allied aviation. There was also the “old guard of the Luftwaffe,” which had been forged for a long time in the crucible of the European sky, bombarded pilots, each of whom had 3-4 thousand flight hours. Most of them went through the school of war in Spain and consistently participated in all European conflicts. They knew the war down to the last detail and were in absolute command of their machines, so meeting them in the air was extremely dangerous for any enemy.
Due to their national mentality, the Germans strictly and unquestioningly carried out the orders of the command - zeal, multiplied by skill, made them the most dangerous rivals. Their motto is "victory or death." However, not everyone could obtain the right to be called an “expert”. Experienced fighter pilots, “experts,” generally have a special combination of personal qualities. He must have extraordinary endurance and excellent vision. The ability to accurately fire at an enemy indicates his training and sniper qualities. Only quick reaction and a sense of danger developed at the level of instinct can guarantee life in an air battle. Fluency in an aircraft helps you gain self-confidence in a combat situation and focus on the enemy's actions. The courage characteristic of infantry soldiers and officers is replaced in aviation by a more important quality - self-control. And although aggressiveness is an important character trait for a fighter pilot, it should not be allowed to prevail over vigilance. However, it cannot be said that these qualities were characteristic only of German pilots. The main differences were in tactics, techniques and methods of conducting air combat, the system for counting air victories, the number of sorties and the theater of operations. “It was easier to fight in the East. When the war began, the Russians were not ready for it either technically or psychologically. They did not have such effective fighters as ours, our advantage was especially great in 1941-42. Closer to the middle of the Second World War war, in 1943-44, the Russians accumulated extensive experience in combat operations and they had vehicles that met the requirements of those days" (Günter Rall).
A very strong point of the German Air Force was tactics. Such recognized “experts” as Galland and Mölders have been working on its improvement since the Spanish War. They resolutely fought against the outdated tactical principles of the First World War and developed new techniques for conducting group and individual air combat that corresponded to the technical capabilities of the aircraft of their time. Unsurpassed individual combat tactician, Erich Hartmann. said: “In an air battle, you should remain unnoticed by the enemy for as long as possible. It is advisable to start an attack from the direction of the sun. After a rapid dive, you need to be behind and slightly below the enemy, so that he cannot see your plane from the cockpit. When approaching the enemy, you need to be extremely "Attentive, especially when attacking a bomber, fearing the tail gunner. It is important to be the first to open fire - this will give a huge psychological advantage over the enemy. It is better to shoot in short bursts and preferably for sure." And one more thing: “...the attack should be carried out in four stages: be the first to detect the enemy, assess the situation and take an advantageous position for a surprise attack, carry out the attack itself and try to quickly leave “... for a cup of coffee.” If the enemy is the first to find you, it is necessary to break away from him and (or) take a wait-and-see position, or even leave the battle."
After the war, the German aces themselves were looking for an answer to such a complex question: why did the Allied aviation pilots have a significant lag in the number of victories won? “The Americans, for example, considered an ace to be a pilot who had five downed planes in his combat account. Just think - five! For us, such a number, to put it mildly, was not a source of pride. How did German pilots manage to shoot down a hundred or more planes? "The fact is that we were looking for the enemy, and not he for us. It was a risky endeavor, but the end often justified the means. Many Americans flew fifty or more combat missions over German territory, but never shot down a single one of our aircraft. Moreover, they couldn't even detect us. So the first thing is to find the enemy. Constant combat sorties allowed us to maintain our skills, and this was also the key to the success of the Luftwaffe. We often lacked experienced pilots, and therefore the number of sorties was much more than planned. The same Americans, having completed fifty flights, were sent back to the states as heroes.The British, after several combat missions, returned home either for retraining or for examination in a hospital. But we were placed in more stringent conditions, and we had to take risks" (Günter Rall).
Walter Krupinski also recalled on this occasion: “American and English pilots, after completing their missions, returned to their homeland. Their lives were not exposed to the same danger that we or the Russians had to experience. Having completed a hundred flights, I only had to my credit two downed enemy planes. This suggests that I learned the basics of air combat rather slowly, but at the same time, accumulated the necessary experience. After all, one does not become an ace right away, but gradually acquires combat skills in war... Later, I trained myself fighter pilot training, which consisted of simply taking with me on a mission one of the newcomers who arrived. One of my students was Hartman, who later became a famous ace... Experience is of paramount importance for a fighter pilot...".
Since German pilots were not recalled from the front to train young recruits or after completing a certain number of combat missions, as was the case with many ace pilots of the Allied aviation (we can also mention here the promotion of distinguished pilots, which took them out of active combat operations), it is obvious that the formation of an elite corps of German pilots with huge personal victories was inevitable. The air combat experience gained by these pilots is unmatched by pilots of any other country.
Flight performance
Modification FW 190A-3 FW 190A-8 FW 190D-9
Aircraft length, m 8.84 8.84 10.24
Wingspan, m 10.5 10.5 10.5
Wing area, m2 18.3 18.3 18.3
Engine power, l. With. 1770 2100 2240
Empty weight, kg 2900 3170 3590
Flight weight, kg 3970 4430
+ 500 bombs 4300
+ 500 bombs
Maximum speed, km/h 644 653 685
Ceiling, m 10 500 11 400 12 000
Flight range, km 980 800 840
In preparation for war, the Germans had high hopes for the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters, which were built in large series. In other countries, the air force, as a rule, had two or three types of fighters. They had different designs and had different capabilities. And although Goering’s military department believed that the Messerschmitt fighter had no equal in the world, it was nevertheless interested in developing another machine that was different from the Bf 109.
In 1937, a group of designers from the Focke-Wulf company, led by Kurt Tank, began creating such an aircraft. The 12-cylinder 1550-horsepower air-cooled BMW-139 engine was chosen as the power plant for the new car. Although it had a larger cross-sectional area compared to the DV-601 water-cooled engine installed on the Bf 109, it was almost one and a half times more powerful. Naturally, this could not but affect the flight performance of the new machine.
On June 1, 1939, the company's test pilot, Captain Hans Zander, took off the first prototype of the aircraft, designated FW 190. It showed a speed of 595 km/h - almost 30 km/h more than the production Bf 109E of the same year. But this was not the limit. German engine manufacturers launched a new 14-cylinder BMW 801C engine with a power output of 1,660 hp. With. Many aircraft were equipped with the power plant, including the FW 190. With such an engine, even production fighters began to fly faster.
During flight tests, it turned out that the FW 190 is significantly superior to the Messerschmitt in a number of indicators. For example, few people know that at speeds over 600 km/h the Bf 109 became practically uncontrollable. Due to the high speed pressure, the pilots could not deflect the ailerons even by a few degrees. Naturally, there could be no talk of any maneuverability here.
All positive reviews about the excellent maneuverability of the Messerschmitt related to speeds of about 300-500 km/h, at which air battles were fought at that time. The Focke-Wulf 190 had good controllability throughout the entire range of flight speeds, up to maximum. By the way, one of the features that characterizes the effectiveness of the control system of this aircraft is the absence of trim tabs on the control surfaces. Instead, there were small perforated adjustment plates that could be bent by a technician on the ground.
The plane turned out to be easier to pilot during takeoff and landing. Moreover, large, widely spaced landing gear allowed the pilot, if necessary, to perform even a rough landing. It was also noted that the Fokker had no tendency to bonnet—turn over on its back over the nose during sudden braking (especially on a muddy dirt airfield).
The design of the airframe was quite interesting. For example, the wing was assembled from two parts - upper and lower, which ensured simple open riveting of the skin panels to the frame. This technology made it possible to rivet consoles (as well as the keel and stabilizer) in huge quantities with minimal labor costs. When the German front and air defense units began to require more and more fighters, aircraft factories were able to sharply increase the production of Focke-Wulfs.
The oil cooler was mounted in an unusual way. It was located in a ring around the air intake and was covered in front by an armored shell. The radiator was cooled in the following way: part of the air entering the hood made a 180-degree turn in front of the engine cylinder heads, passed through the radiator honeycombs and exited through a gap in the front hood ring. During takeoff, the intensity of airflow to the radiator and engine was increased with the help of a fan installed behind the propeller. Its blades rotated in the same direction as the propeller, but at 3 times the speed. At high flight speeds, the fan slowed down the air flow and prevented the oil and engine from overcooling. In other words, it performed the function of air dampers and louvers that were installed on other aircraft.
The fighter's armament turned out to be extremely powerful. It consisted of four 20 mm cannons. Two synchronized MG 151/20 with 200 rounds of ammunition were installed in the wing root. Two MGFFs with 60 rounds of ammunition were placed in the wing, outside the propeller sweep zone. In addition, two 7.92 mm machine guns with 1000 rounds of ammunition were installed in the fuselage. Of course, the destructive effect of the machine guns was insignificant. They mainly performed other functions. Thus, in various literature of a memoir nature there are often statements that the German pilots could not stand their nerves and they opened useless fire from long distances. In fact, the pilots, approaching the target, carried out zeroing in short bursts of tracer bullets, and when they were convinced that the enemy was in the affected area, they fired from all barrels. This method was especially effective for attacks on low-maneuverable bombers and attack aircraft.
A few words need to be said about the cabin. Kurt Tank paid great attention to the problem of good visibility. And if the forward visibility of the FW 190 was not better than that of the Bf 109 fighter, then to the sides, up and back it was simply magnificent. Not a single fighter during the initial period of the war had such a good overview. The sliding portion of the cockpit canopy was made from a large piece of plexiglass and had a shape that was virtually distortion-free. To reduce glare on the glass, the entire cabin inside was painted with matte black paint, and a special visor hung over the dashboard. When the British managed to capture the first captured FW190, they were quite surprised that, despite the usual oil leaks and abrasions for a combat aircraft, the cockpit canopy was particularly clean. So the technical staff monitored the glazing of the cabin.
By the way, one trick was used in the FW190 flashlight, which is still of interest to many aviation enthusiasts and especially aircraft modellers. The question concerns how the canopy moves, because its guides are not parallel and taper towards the tail. This is not the case on any other aircraft in the world. It turns out that the engineers of the Focke-Wulf company, having provided the pilot with a good view back, at the same time did not want to spoil the aerodynamics of the aircraft with a protruding canopy. They fit its contour into the general contours of the fuselage and forced it to narrow when moved back. In order for the lantern to “breathe” and the plexiglass not to crack when deformed, a slit about 20 centimeters long was cut in it. The free ends were then secured using a movable ramrod connection.
The Focke-Wulf 190 had good survivability. Firstly, the air-cooled engine withstood significant damage and, in addition, protected the pilot from fire from the front hemisphere. Secondly, all fuel tanks were located only in the fuselage. As you know, when an aircraft is fired upon (especially from the ground), most of the bullets, shells and fragments hit the wing due to its larger area. Accordingly, the probability of damage to fuselage tanks is less than to wing tanks.
Thus, the new FW 190 fighter that appeared with the Germans in 1941 posed a truly great danger. Hitler's propaganda was not slow to use this fact to intimidate the enemy. However, the new formidable fighter did not live up to the invincible hopes placed on it. No, the plane wasn't bad. But at the moment when it appeared at the front (on the Western - in the summer of 1941, on the Eastern - in March 1942), new aircraft began to arrive into service with the Allied Aviation, as well as the Red Army Air Force, which were in no way inferior to the Fokkers in terms of flight performance. characteristics. The first air battles with Soviet La-5 fighters, which already during the Battle of Stalingrad successfully fought air battles against the latest German aircraft, turned out to be especially unpleasant for the German aces.
The air battles that erupted in the front-line skies forced German designers to seriously address issues of increasing the combat capabilities of their aircraft. Already in 1942, the FW 190 was equipped with an improved BMW 801D engine with a power of 1770 hp. With. (FW 190 A-3). A little later, A-4 series fighters began to arrive at the front, equipped with a system for injecting a water-methanol mixture into the engine cylinders. This made it possible to briefly increase the power of the power plant to 2100 hp. s, and flight speed up to 650 km/h.
Vehicles appear with improved armor and more powerful weapons. So, starting with the FW 190A-5, the wing consoles began to install more effective MG 151/20 20 mm caliber guns and even 30 mm MK-103 and MK-108 guns instead of the old MGFF cannons. On individual series aircraft, the armament consisted of six cannons (two synchronized and four twin wing). Starting with the modification of the A-7, the fuselage 7.92 mm machine guns were replaced with large-caliber 13 mm MG 131. On the aircraft, a fuselage holder appeared, on which an additional fuel tank or bomb weighing up to 500 kg was suspended. Many air defense fighters were armed with rockets, which allowed them to more successfully fight Anglo-American strategic bombers.
During its development, the FW 190 aircraft became the basis for the creation of a whole family of aircraft for a completely different purpose. Thanks to their ability to carry a significant bomb load, Focke-Wulfs were increasingly used to strike ground targets. However, a high-speed fighter could not operate as effectively on the ground as “pure” bombers or attack aircraft. Therefore, in 1942, a special attack version of the aircraft was created - the armored low-altitude fighter-bomber FW 190F. There were no wing cannons. They were replaced by 2-4 beam bomb holders. Vehicles of certain series were armed with underwing anti-tank guns or unguided rockets (up to 24 units).
Another direction in the development of the FW 190 was the “G” variant - a front-line bomber. The small arms and cannon armament was reduced to two guns, but on an external sling it could carry up to 1000 kg of bombs. The maximum combat load of the aircraft reached 1800 kilograms. In fact, in the second half of the war, these machines replaced the outdated Juncker Ju 87 dive bombers. Aircraft of the G-5, G-6, G-7 series were also used as torpedo bombers. A significant advantage of the FW 190G over other bombers was its ability, if necessary, to independently conduct defensive air combat after dropping bombs. True, in flight with a full bomb load they flew at low speed and were practically unable to maneuver. Due to the lack of rear-firing defensive weapons, loaded Focke-Wulfs were often shot down by enemy fighters that suddenly appeared from the rear hemisphere. A typical example of this is the air battle carried out three times by the Hero of the Soviet Union I.N. Kozhedub, who, together with his wingman, defeated a group of forty FW 190s.
However, the aircraft's capabilities had not yet been fully exhausted. Back in 1942, the Germans tried to install new in-line water-cooled engines on the FW 190. This direction turned out to be promising, and in 1944 the FW 190D fighter, equipped with a Yumo 213 engine, was put into serial production. The maximum power of the power plant was 2240 hp. With. The flight speed of the new car reached 700 km/h. Subsequently, improved versions were created on the basis of this aircraft, designated Ta-152. In their appearance and characteristics, the FW 190D and Ta-152 fighters differed from the Focke-Wulfs of modification A. In fact, these were new aircraft. (We will try to talk about them on the pages of future issues of the magazine).
During the war years, the German aviation industry produced 20 thousand FW 190 aircraft (of which 13,367 fighters and 6,634 fighter-bombers), which were extremely widely used on the Soviet-German front and, together with Messerschmitt fighters, were our main opponents in the air.
German fighter-bomber ME-110
Performance characteristics of Bf.110 S-1
Range, m 16, 28
Length, m 12, 07
Height, m 4, 13
Wing area, m2 38, 40
Empty weight, kgf: 4885
Takeoff weight, kgf: 6028
Cruising speed, km/h 350
Maximum speed at an altitude of 4000 m, km/h 525
Climb time 6000 m, min 10, 2
Rate of climb, m/min 660
Range, km 1410
Ceiling, m 10000
Crew, people 2-3
The first tests of the Me-110 began in the spring of 1935 (the first flight was on May 12, 1935), and in 1937 the Me-110 fighter was adopted by the Luftwaffe and put into mass production. A pre-production batch of four vehicles was manufactured the same year. It was an all-metal twin-engine monoplane with a low wing and a spaced tail.
The fuselage of the aircraft was a metal monocoque with an oval cross-section. The entire front and middle parts of the fuselage were occupied by a spacious cockpit. The pilot's seat was located in front of the beam, which was a continuation of the nose stringer, and the gunner's seat was located behind the beam to which the wing spar was attached. In addition to the pilot and gunner, a third crew member, the navigator, could be placed in the cockpit. The cabin was closed with a sliding plexiglass canopy. It should be noted that at the time of its creation, the Me-110 had the best armor protection for the crew among German combat aircraft. The armor installed on it protected the pilot and gunner from fire from the front, rear and below. The cabin armor was made with separate steel plates with a thickness of 5 to 10 mm. In addition, the windshield of the canopy was a block of transparent armor 58–60 mm thick. The total weight of the armor installed on the aircraft was 177 kg.
The trapezoidal wing had a single-spar metal structure with a smooth working skin with secret riveting. It was equipped with slot-type ailerons, balanced using counterweights. The free space of the wing center section was occupied by four protected fuel tanks with a total capacity of 1820 liters. Cutouts were also made in the wing for retracting the landing gear and power elements were mounted for mounting the engines.
Prototypes of the Me-110 flew with DV-600A engines producing 910 hp each. every. With these engines, the planes reached speeds of up to 510 km/h. By the time serial production of the Me-110 began, the DV-600A engine was being replaced in production by the more powerful DV-601A (1050 hp). Therefore, on a small series of B cars, Yumo-210Da engines with direct fuel injection into the cylinders were installed. The power of these engines (680 hp) made it possible to reach a speed of only 430 km/h, as a result of which the B series aircraft, produced in fighter and photo-reconnaissance versions, were soon converted into training aircraft.
The bulk of production Me-110s were produced with 12-cylinder water-cooled DV-601 engines of various modifications with a power of 1050–1350 hp. The engines drove three-blade VDM propellers with electrically controlled pitch and the blades were set in a feathered position. Tunnel-type radiators were installed under the wing (the cooling mixture consisted of equal parts of water and glycerin). To regulate the temperature of the cooling mixture, the tunnels had adjustable air outlet slots. Oil radiators were located under the engines.
As noted above, four main fuel tanks for fuel were located in the wing center section: two in front of the spar and two behind it. The capacity of the front tanks is 375 liters, the rear tanks are 265 liters each. One additional fuel tank could be hung on the outer sides of the engine nacelles.
Oil tanks with a capacity of 43 liters were installed behind the engines. Oil radiators were located under the engines.
The main landing gear of the aircraft in flight was retracted into the engine nacelles using a hydraulic drive. A feature of the landing gear retraction system was that in the retracted and lowered positions the racks were held by pressure in the hydraulic drive, that is, there were no locks locking the chassis. In addition to the hydraulic drive for retracting the landing gear, there was also an emergency pneumatic drive. The tail wheel was non-retractable.
The aircraft's equipment was largely determined by its purpose. However, most machines were equipped with a set of instruments for long-distance flights; a Patin remote compass with electrical data supply to the pointer was mounted in the rear fuselage, and a Sperry gyrocompass was placed on the instrument panel in the pilot’s cockpit. Standard equipment was the FuG-10 radio station with short-wave and long-wave transceiver units, radio navigation and blind landing units. The total weight of the radio station was 162 kg.
The aircraft's armament was also determined by its purpose. The strike fighter modification was armed with four 7.92 mm MG-17 machine guns, two 20 mm MG-FF or MG-151/20 cannons and one movable 7.92 mm MG-81Z or MG-15 machine gun. The MG-17 machine guns were installed in the forward fuselage, and the designers took care to ensure good access to them for maintenance and reloading: the entire upper half of this part of the fuselage moved and tilted up.
Two guns were located in the lower part of the fuselage; access to them was also provided in flight, which allowed the gunner or navigator, if necessary, to eliminate delays or replace magazines. All fixed cannons and machine guns were controlled using a pneumatic system. An electric light alarm was installed in the cockpit, informing about the complete depletion of the ammunition supply (the ammunition load of one MG-17 machine gun was 1000 rounds, one MG-15 machine gun – 750 rounds, the ammunition load of each gun was 180 rounds).
The 7.92-mm movable machine gun installed in the gunner's cockpit was the aircraft's defensive armament and was intended to protect against fighter attacks from the rear hemisphere. The machine gun was mounted on an Arado pivot mount, which allowed firing upward at 60° and in both directions at 60° in the horizontal plane. The fire of this machine gun was often of vital importance for the Me-110, since due to good armor protection and powerful weapons in the front part of the aircraft, enemy pilots sought to attack it from behind from above in order to disable the gunner and then hit the engines and tanks
In addition to the set of weapons described above, on some modifications of the Me-110, four MG-17 machine guns were replaced by two extremely powerful 30-mm MK-108 cannons; on other modifications, the machine guns were retained, but MG-FF cannons were replaced by MK-108 cannons. One of the modifications of the night fighter-interceptor was armed with two 30-mm MK-108 cannons in the forward fuselage and two of the same cannons mounted in the rear of the cockpit for firing up and forward (Schrage Musik scheme). This modification was used to attack Allied heavy bomber formations from below. Aiming was carried out by the pilot through a special collimator sight.
In addition to the built-in weapons, the Me-110 could also carry a variety of external weapons. When used in the fighter-bomber version, these could be 2 bombs of up to 1000 kg caliber under the fuselage and another four 50 kg bombs under the wing, which was more than 3.5 times the normal bomb load of the standard Soviet Pe-2 bomber. Sometimes, instead of bomb racks, containers with two 20 mm cannons or one 37 mm cannon were suspended under the fuselage. Night fighter-interceptors were also armed with four launchers of 210-mm Wgr-21 rockets.
A total of 6,170 Me-110 aircraft were produced in eight main modifications (A, B, C, D, E, F G H) and 67 variants. Of the total number of vehicles produced, 3028 were used as fighters, 2240 as night fighter-interceptors, and 494 were used for reconnaissance.
Despite good speed characteristics and powerful weapons. The Me-110 turned out to be unsuitable for combat missions as a fighter. In terms of climb rate and maneuverability, it was inferior to all the main enemy fighters, which was mainly due to the insufficient engine power for such a heavy vehicle. The plane climbed to an altitude of 5000 m in approximately 8.4 minutes, and completed a full turn at an altitude of 1000 m in 30 seconds. For comparison: the British Spitfire Mk, VB fighter climbed to a height of 6100 m in 6 minutes 24 seconds, and took 18.8 seconds to turn.
The heavy losses suffered by the squadrons armed with Me-110 fighters forced the Luftwaffe command to redirect them to conducting reconnaissance, bombing strikes and long-range interception of enemy bombers. However, the Me-110 was most successfully used as a night air defense interceptor fighter. In the forward fuselage of the Me-110 there was enough space to accommodate bulky radar equipment, and the increased aerodynamic drag due to antennas protruding in all directions was to some extent compensated by an increase in the power of the engines installed on the aircraft. In this capacity, the Me-110 turned out to be more effective not only than the Ju-88 and Do-217 bombers converted into interceptors, but also the newest Hs-219 fighter-interceptors. At the beginning of 1944, the Reich air defense system used 320 Me-110s of various modifications, which accounted for about 60% of the total number of air defense fighters.
Production of the Me-110 continued until March 1945 and was stopped only after Soviet tanks broke into the Messerschmitt plant.
German attack aircraft Yu-87
Among all the German combat aircraft of the Second World War, perhaps the most remarkable was the German Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber. It is still associated with the word “aggression” in all countries of the world. The plane became notorious in Spain and Poland, in France and the Balkans, in England and the Soviet Union, and became a symbol of fear, grief and destruction.
The history of the creation of this aircraft dates back to 1933. Then Germany purchased two Helldiver dive bombers (produced in 1928) from the USA, which Udet spectacularly demonstrated to Goering.
In January 1935, in Germany, the basic requirements for a diving combat aircraft (Sturzkampflugzeug - hence the second name of the Junkers Ju 87 - “Stuka”) were determined and a competition for the best project was announced. The companies Arado, Blom Voss, Heinkel and Junkers took part in it. Despite the presence of such strong competitors, it was the Junkers company that was closest to the goal.
Its leading designer, Hermann Pohlmann, began developing such an aircraft back in 1933, which received the designation Ju 87. And when the Ministry of Aviation published the requirements for the new dive bomber, they fit perfectly into the almost finished aircraft. She made her first flight in September 1935.
In his aircraft, Pohlman managed to combine such qualities as good controllability, excellent visibility and sufficient structural strength, which was extremely necessary for a dive bomber performing maneuvers with high overload. Not wanting to weaken the wing with cutouts for retractable landing gear niches (typical of the newest aircraft of that period), he made the struts non-retractable, and to reduce aerodynamic drag, he enclosed them in large fairings - “plans”. To reduce the height of the landing gear, a wing with a “reverse seagull” kink was used. It gave the “thing” a very distinctive appearance. Good maneuverability and controllability were facilitated by slotted ailerons and Junkers-type flaps and a double-finned tail. True, in one of the dive test flights the tail could not withstand the loads and collapsed. In this case, the test pilot and gunner were killed. On subsequent vehicles the empennage was converted to a single fin. A distinctive feature of the Ju 87 aircraft was its ability to dive vertically to the ground.
To prevent the “thing” from accelerating and exceeding speed limits, air brakes were installed in the form of two underwing deflectable plates. The problem of dropping bombs was solved quite interestingly. To prevent the bomb (placed under the fuselage) from catching the propeller, it was retracted to a safe distance by a special frame-type device, which had a simple and reliable design. The only thing that caused concern to the designers was the insufficiently powerful engine. The first prototype flew with an English Rolls-Royce Kestrel V with only 525 hp. With. Ju 87 V-2 and V-3 were equipped with German 610-horsepower Jumo 210A engines. The first production Ju 87A aircraft, produced at the beginning of 1937, were equipped with Jumo 210D engines with a power of 690 hp. With. But this was not enough. The Stuka had incredible difficulty lifting even a 500 kg bomb. In this case, the shooter had to remain on the ground. The normal bomb load, as a rule, did not exceed 250 kg. In December 1937, the Ju 87A was sent to Spain to assist General Franco.
The Stukas fought their first battle on January 7, 1938, and soon earned a good reputation among the flight crews and recognition from ground troops for their high accuracy of dive bombing (an experienced pilot would hit a bomb in a circle with a radius of 15 m). Here in Spain, the Germans managed to “test” a large number of bomber pilots in a combat situation. Their groups arrived from Germany, constantly changing each other. But most importantly, all the fears of skeptics from the Luftwaffe leadership were dispelled. When did the designers have the latest Jumo 211A engine with a power of 1100 hp at their disposal? s, there was no longer any doubt about the effectiveness of the new dive bomber.
The aircraft, designated Ju 87B, was qualitatively superior to its predecessor. A bomb load of 500 kg became normal. It could be placed not only under the fuselage, but also on four underwing bomb racks (4 bombs of 50 kg caliber). Small arms have also increased. Instead of one wing-mounted MG17 machine gun (7.92 mm), two were installed. Flight speed and climb rate have increased. True, the range was somewhat reduced due to the “gluttony” of the more powerful engine. By the summer of 1938, production of the Ju 87 modification A aircraft was stopped. All efforts were devoted to the production of a new car. Another one was connected to the two factories that previously produced Ju 87. After some success with the Ju 87 in Spain, the order for the “piece” was increased from 396 to 964 copies. Before the start of World War II in the summer of 1939, 9 air groups were armed with 348 Ju87s. 300 were fully combat ready. All aircraft are only modifications of the B-1. Older Ju 87As were transferred to training units.
The Eighty-Seventh operated behind enemy lines, destroying communications and military installations. But soon, as a result of complete impunity, the Stukas began to “hunt” even secondary targets using their wing machine guns. On September 8, they were involved in a strategic mission - about 140 Ju 87s carried out a massive raid on Warsaw. It is interesting that the first aerial victory in the Second World War was also won by the Ju 87 crew. Gunner Frank Neubert shot down a Polish PZL P.11.S fighter with a turret machine gun. Polish aviation was completely suppressed in the very first days of the war, and the Ju 87s acted quite brazenly. Their losses were insignificant - 30 vehicles. Of these, only 11 were shot down by fighters.
After Poland, the Germans began to prepare for a big war in the West. This, naturally, could not but affect the program for improving dive bombers. After all, if in Poland Ju 87s could strike at any area, then their range was no longer enough to operate against England and France. It was necessary to create a new version of the Ju 87R-1 aircraft, equipped with two 300-liter external fuel tanks, which increased the flight range from 800 to 1,400 km (although bombs were no longer hung under the wing). In the summer of 1940, an aircraft with a more powerful 1200-horsepower Jumo 211 Da engine, designated Ju 87B-2, began to enter service.
The R-2 long-range dive bomber also corresponded to it. However, the war against England and France revealed a serious drawback of the Ju 87 - its vulnerability to enemy fighters. Already in the battles of Dunkirk, when the British temporarily seized air superiority, the Junkers, who did not have armor protection and good defensive weapons, suffered significant losses. This was greatly facilitated by the British Spitfires and Hurricanes, armed with eight machine guns each, and which were much more effective than the Polish fighters, with two to four machine guns. German dive bombers suffered even more serious losses during the Battle of England. Just 6 days after the start of this air operation, the Luftwaffe command decided to stop using the Ju 87 in this direction. Otherwise, this could lead to the complete destruction of all German dive bomber formations. The Stukas were deployed to the Balkans, Italy and North Africa. Here, in conditions of weak opposition from enemy aircraft, they again proved their high effectiveness, including when striking enemy ships. By the summer of 1941, a large number of Ju 87s were transferred to the borders of the Soviet Union.
These were mainly Ju 87B-2, since almost all aircraft of the B-1 modification by this time had been transferred to training groups. The beginning of the war against the USSR for the Germans followed the usual scenario: attacks on airfields, gaining complete air supremacy and unpunished actions of Ju 87 against ground forces and rear targets. Our navy also suffered heavy losses from precise attacks by German dive bombers. However, the military campaign in the East reminded the Germans little of Poland and France.
Even alone, Soviet fighters fought fiercely and skillfully. German aircraft, and primarily the Ju 87, began to suffer significant losses. The appearance at the front of a new modification of the “thing” (Ju 87D), equipped with a 1400-horsepower engine and having better survivability due to additional armor, did not help. The first Ju 87D-1 appeared at the front in January 1942 near Leningrad. They then took an active part in the German offensive at Stalingrad, where they carried out thousands of missions, almost completely destroying the city. At this time, the Germans had two new variants of the aircraft - the Ju 87D-2 glider towing aircraft and the D-3 attack aircraft with reinforced armor.
For the summer offensive of 1943 near Kursk, the Germans prepared improved Ju 87D-5 aircraft with an increased wing span and wing-mounted 20-mm cannons, as well as a Ju 87G tank destroyer, under the wing of which two 37-mm cannons were suspended. At the same time, Ju 87G were not mass-produced, but were converted from Ju 87D-3 and D-5, receiving the designation G-1 and G-2, respectively. However, the battle on the Kursk Bulge was the last for the Junkers. The low-speed “things” were successfully shot down by our fighters, despite the cover of the Messerschmitts. (It would be useful to remember the air battle in which junior lieutenant A. Horovets shot down nine Ju 87s). Since then, the Ju 87s were used as training aircraft, and those remaining in the army were equipped with flame arresters and transferred to night bomber units. By the fall of 1944, only Ju 87G attack aircraft were involved in daytime sorties. The dive bombers were replaced by the improved FW 190F and G aircraft. At this time, serial production of the aircraft also ceased. A total of 5,709 vehicles were built.
GERMAN STORMMAN XE-129
Technical data Hs 129B-1/R2
Crew - 1 person
Maximum take-off weight - 5,110 kg
Dimensions:
length x height x wingspan - 9.75 x 3.25 x 14.20 m.
Power point:
number of engines x power - 1 x 700 hp
Maximum flight speed
at an altitude of 3830 m - 407 km/h
Rate of climb - 6 m/s
Practical ceiling - 9,000 m
Flight range - 560 km
Weapons:
2 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns
2 x 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons
1 x 30 mm MK 101 cannon
To replace the Hs 123 semi-wing that was in service with the assault squadrons in 1937, the Luftwaffe command invited the companies Blohm and Voss, Focke-Wulf, Henschel and Gotha to take part in a competition for a new direct support aircraft (attack aircraft) .
According to the technical specifications, drawn up taking into account the experience of fighting in Spain, it was envisaged to create a small, maneuverable, well-armored and powerfully armed aircraft, equipped with two engines for greater survivability in battle. From the presented projects, projects from Henschel and Focke-Wulf were selected for the construction of prototype aircraft. Tests of these aircraft carried out in 1939 revealed the advantage of the Hs 129 attack aircraft developed by the designer of the Henschel company F. Nikolaus, which was put into mass production in 1940 under the designation Hs 129A.
However, as production aircraft began to arrive in flight units, pilots who already had combat experience quickly discovered insufficient engine power, weak armor, and such poor lateral visibility from the cockpit that group flight of aircraft was simply impossible due to the danger of a mid-air collision.
The Henschel company urgently made the necessary changes to the design of its aircraft, and already in September 1941, mass production of a new modification of the Hs 129B began, which became the standard Luftwaffe attack aircraft in the Second World War.
The Hs 129B was a single-seat, twin-engine, low-wing, cantilever monoplane.
The fuselage is an all-metal semi-monocoque of trapezoidal cross-section with a smooth working skin. It consisted of three parts connected to each other: bow, central and tail.
The most interesting part is the forward part of the fuselage, which houses the pilot's cabin. It is a one-piece armored box welded from steel sheets 6 mm thick. All sheets are flat, except for the top one, which is given a streamlined shape. On the side surfaces of the armored box, two grooves are pressed out for the passage of gun barrels. To give the forward part of the fuselage a streamlined shape, the armored box is covered from below and from the sides with removable duralumin fairings. Compared to the Soviet Il-2 attack aircraft, whose armored box itself is given a streamlined shape, these fairings can be considered as rather burdensome ballast.
The forward part of the fuselage is connected with bolts to the central part, to which the wing center section is also attached. The connection of the center section to the fuselage is made through the use of two power ribs, which pass into the sides of the fuselage. In the central part there is a gas tank with a capacity of 200 liters and small arms and cannon weapons.
The tail part of the fuselage, which carries the horizontal and vertical tail, is removable. It is fastened to the central part along the entire contour using bolts.
The canopy of the pilot's cabin is glazed with plexiglass. In the front part there is curved armored glass. To prevent icing of armored glass, warm air is blown from the oil radiator installed in the front part of the fuselage. When opened, the rear part of the canopy moves back along special guides; in the event of an accident, it was reset by means of an emergency release mechanism.
The necessary control and measuring instruments of the propeller-engine group and aeronautical equipment were installed in the aircraft cabin. The FuG 7A shortwave radio station was installed in the rear fuselage on a special frame that ensured quick removal and installation of all its elements. The aircraft's power plant consisted of two engines located on engine frames under the aircraft's wing. Initially, the aircraft was equipped with two 12-cylinder liquid-cooled Ag 410A engines from the German company Argus. Their power, amounting to 465 hp, turned out to be insufficient. Therefore, when the Wehrmacht captured in France a large number of more powerful radial two-row 14-cylinder GR 14 engines from the French company Gnome-Rhone, they were immediately used for the new modification of the Hs 129B.
The standard armament of the Hs 129B attack aircraft consisted of two MG 17 machine guns of 7.92 mm caliber and two MG 151 cannons of 15-20 mm caliber. The machine guns are located in the central part of the wing near the sides of the fuselage, and the cannons are located on the sides of the fuselage, above the wing, in special sockets covered by fairings protruding above the planes of the fuselage sides. Each machine gun has a supply of 1000 rounds of ammunition, and each cannon has 500 shells. The machine gun firing control is electric, reloading is electro-pneumatic. Firing and reloading controls are concentrated on the aircraft control stick; The switch on the handle allows you to fire separately from cannons and machine guns or from all weapons simultaneously. The sight is installed in front of the pilot's visor.
In May 1942, on the assembly line of the Schönefeld plant, aircraft of the B-1 modification replaced the Hs-129B-2. From December 1941 to 1942, the plant built 50 Hs-129B-l (W.Nr. 0151-0200). The transition to the new model did not cause a major restructuring of production, since the aircraft of the “B-2” variant differed from their predecessors only in the fuel system: a pressure regulator was installed in the fuel line between the filter and the fuel pump, and drainage holes appeared in the wing fuel tanks to prevent complete rupture filled tanks from expansion of fuel in hot conditions. The fuel system was also modified during serial production of the Hs-129V-2.
Externally, the first production Hs-129B-2 aircraft were no different from the Hs-129B-l. As serial production progressed, changes were made to the design of the Hs-129B-2, taking into account the wishes of front-line pilots. Starting with the aircraft W.Nr. 0301 the shape of the forward fuselage has changed. Aircraft W.Nr. 0331 and later aircraft were equipped with gasoline-powered cockpit heaters; the heater was located in the forward part of the fuselage. A striking external difference between aircraft equipped with stoves was the large air intake hole in the forward fuselage. Due to the installation of the heater, the Rb-24 photo-machine gun was shifted towards the starboard side.
Starting with the aircraft W.Nr. 0351 some Henschel Hs-129 began to be equipped with equipment for towing DFS-230 landing gliders. The equipment was mounted in the rear fuselage.
It was not possible to establish from which aircraft short engine exhaust pipes began to be installed instead of long exhaust pipes. During mass production, the attachment to the fuselage of the tension wire radio antenna changed - instead of a mast, the end of the antenna began to be attached to a small insulator mounted in the upper part of the fuselage. Some of the vehicles were equipped with radio semi-compasses that had characteristic round loop antennas. The rearview mirror on the cockpit canopy was initially installed only on vehicles equipped with towing equipment, but later it began to be mounted on almost all attack aircraft, including by technicians and on early production vehicles. A landing light under the left wing plane was only available on early aircraft.
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Initially, the carburetor air intake located under the engine was round in shape; during mass production it was replaced by a box-shaped air intake with a built-in particle filter.
Beginning in mid-1943, the Luftwaffe introduced a new six-digit factory numbering system for aircraft. Werke Nummern series 140000, 141000 and 162000 were assigned to the Henschel company, the last series to the Hs-129B-3.
The Hs-129B-2 variant was suitable for all “field modernization” armament options developed for the Hs-129B-l, but the aircraft was most often used as a tank destroyer, so outboard 30-mm guns were most in demand. There is some confusion in the designations of aircraft equipped with Rustsatz kits, but the most common examples are given below:
Hs-129B-2/R1 - equipped with bomb racks under the fuselage and under both wing planes, maximum bomb load option: four AB-24 containers under the fuselage and one AB-24 container under each wing plane.
Hs-129B-2/R2 - a variant with a ventral installation of a 30-mm MK-101 automatic cannon (from the summer of 1943, MK-103) with an ammunition load of 100 rounds. The MK-103 gun was a further development of the MK-101 gun; the MK-103 had a higher muzzle velocity and a flatter trajectory.
HS-129B-2/R3 - variant armed with a VK-3.7 cannon with 12 rounds of ammunition. The VK-3.7 gun was a modification of the Flak-3.7 anti-aircraft gun of 37 mm caliber. When installing the R3 kit, the standard fuselage machine guns of the attack aircraft were removed.
Few attack aircraft were armed with VK-3.7 guns, since the lighter MK-103 guns had more ammunition and were more suitable for fighting tanks. In addition, there was a certain shortage of 37-mm guns, which were primarily used for the anti-tank Ju-87G, two guns per aircraft). There is no information about the combat use of the Hs-129B-2/R3.
Attack aircraft armed with 75 mm VK-7.5 cannons were designated Hs-129B-3, but the designation Hs-129B-2/R4 was also encountered.
The most interesting anti-tank weapon used on the Hs-129B was the recoilless “special devices” - the Sondergerat SG-113A “Forstersonde”. Three such aircraft entered the Tarnowitz test center. The SG-113A device consisted of six 77 mm caliber barrels. muzzles facing downward at an angle of 15 degrees to the vertical. Each barrel was equipped with a double charge, one of which compensated for the recoil when fired. The 77 mm mild steel projectile had a hard alloy core with a diameter of 45 mm. The weapon, in theory, was activated automatically by a signal from a T-shaped magnetometer mounted on a rod in the front of the aircraft fuselage. It was assumed that in flight at an altitude of 5-15 m above the ground, the magnetometer would be capable of detecting large metal objects - tanks. No information has been preserved about the use of aircraft armed in this way on the fronts.
Beginning in the autumn of 1942, not only the number of Russian tanks constantly grew, but their quality also improved. The new versions of the KB and T-34 were superior in their characteristics to the German PzKpfw.III and PzKpfw.IV.
German bomber XE-111
In the history of aviation, there have often been metamorphoses such as the transformation of a transport aircraft into a bomber and vice versa, but rarely has an aircraft been created from the very beginning in two “faces” at once - as a commercial aircraft and as a bomber, without serious differences in the design of both models. It was this concept that was used as the basis for the aircraft that were later considered the first “modern” Luftwaffe bombers - the He.111 and Ju.86.
With the creation of the “Third Reich,” quite serious measures were taken to hide the scale of rearmament carried out on the foundation laid by the Reichswehr. The very appearance in the mid-30s of aircraft, which were first presented as high-speed passenger airliners, and were later declared prototypes of bombers, practically no different from their “peaceful” counterparts, was often cited as an example as a clear manifestation of German duplicity and resourcefulness. But in fact, these transport aircraft were not camouflaged prototypes of future bombers - they were conceived as both civilian and military vehicles at the same time, and both directions of their improvement developed in parallel. Both the He.111 and its contemporary Ju.86 were designed on the instructions of the Technical Department of the newly created Ministry of Aviation in close cooperation with Lufthansa. At the same time, the high-speed twin-engine aircraft had to meet in design and aerodynamics both the requirements of the Ministry of Aviation for a medium bomber and the requirements of Lufthansa for a 10-seat high-class airliner. Such contradictory demands were hardly compatible even at that time. Although Lufthansa considered the cost-effectiveness of such an aircraft to be of secondary importance, the emphasis on the combat qualities of the aircraft could make any commercial use of such an aircraft unacceptable. Nevertheless, these aircraft played an important role in increasing the international prestige of Germany's fledgling aircraft industry.
The basic requirements for a dual-purpose aircraft were transferred to Heinkel and Junkers at the beginning of 1934. In the spring, each of the companies received an order for five prototype aircraft in bomber and airliner versions. The first plane had to be combat, the second - civilian, etc. Heinkel presented an elegant, well-designed aircraft with high performance characteristics, whose pedigree from the He.70 was clearly discernible in its graceful lines. This aircraft temporarily put Germany at the forefront of medium bomber design. Unfortunately for the He.111, it had to serve beyond its service life - the German aircraft industry was unable to provide it with a worthy replacement. Indeed, it was already obsolete by the time it took on the brunt of the Battle of Britain, and despite constant upgrades and improvements, it could not keep up with the changing demands of air warfare.
The first civilian version of the He.111 was demonstrated publicly on January 10, 1936 in Tempelhof near Berlin. The He.111-V4 shown was the second experimental 10-seater passenger aircraft. The thin fuselage and elliptical wing, which has less air resistance, were clearly designed to achieve maximum speeds - passenger comfort came second, and efficiency was generally problematic. The passenger accommodations were extremely poor. In the front cabin, between the two wing spars, there was a cabin for four passengers, and behind the rear spar there was another cabin for six passengers.
It was stated that the He.111 was created on the instructions of Lufthansa as a high-speed aircraft with greater capacity. than He.70. This half-truth hid the true "polymorphy" of the aircraft's specifications, which were made with an emphasis on combat qualities.
Design work on the new aircraft was started by the Günter brothers in the first weeks of 1934. The He.111a prototype was ready for flight on February 24, 1935. Initial flight tests carried out by Gerhard Nitschke showed that the flight characteristics of the new aircraft were much better than those of the He .70. By design, it was a classic cantilever low-wing aircraft with working skin, the aerodynamics of which were the latest technology. The elongated, thin nose ended in a glass cone with a bombardier's cabin. There was a vertical slot in the nose for mounting a machine gun. It was planned to install the same machine guns on the upper turret and in the retractable lower turret - the “basket”. Bomb load - 1000 kg on a vertical suspension in the compartment. BMW-VI 6.0Z engines - 12-cylinder liquid-cooled, take-off power 660 hp. and 500 hp at par. Empty weight was 5795 kg, takeoff weight was 7600 kg. At the very beginning of the tests, the He.111a showed a speed of 347 km/h - quite comparable to the speed of fighters of that time. The ceiling was 5400 m, range 1500 km.
In parallel with the first prototype, two more were built, the first of which, the He.111c, was taken out of the shop just 16 days after the He.111a. Soon the He.111b was ready. If the wing on the He.111a had a truly elliptical shape, a span of 25 m and an area of 84.9 sq.m, then the He.111c received a new wing with a “trimmed” trailing edge of a smaller span - up to 23 m, but with a larger area - 85.7 sq.m. The He.111b wing was similar to the He.111c, but with different tips, reducing the span to 22.6 m and the area to that of the He.111a.
In addition to the wing, there were other differences - the He.111c (D-ALIX) was equipped as a commercial transport aircraft. The bomb bay became a "smoking lounge" for four people. Another passenger compartment was located behind the rear spar. The bow housed the post office. This aircraft was later delivered to Lufthansa under the name Rostock and was used as a mail aircraft over the South Atlantic. He.111b (D-ALES) was the second experimental bomber, differing from He.111a only in its wing and slightly larger weight - up to 7700 kg. This was actually the standard for the serial He.111a, the production of which began to be prepared at the end of 1935.
Meanwhile, Heinkel continued to work on the first “real” passenger aircraft - He.111-V4 (D-AHAO Dresden), which was modified based on the results of tests of the first machines. By this time, a unified numbering system for experimental aircraft was introduced - “ferzukh” numbers, instead of the alphabetic one used before. So He.111a became He.111-V1, but for some unknown reasons He.111b became He.111-V3, and He.111c became He.111-V2. The aircraft were equipped with BMW-VI 6.0Z engines with three-blade variable pitch propellers (He.111c - two-blade). He.111-V4 received a wing like the first experimental passenger aircraft, having a developed fairing behind the wing. The plane was designed for ten passengers. It took off at the end of 1935. It was considered the standard for the C series and was delivered to Lufthansa, but in 1937, together with the He.111c-03 (D-AXAV "Cologne"), it was taken to the "Rovel team". This team was directly subordinate to Goering and was led by Lieutenant Colonel Theodor Rovel. It was a reconnaissance unit whose civilian-registered aircraft, operating on airlines, carried out photographic reconnaissance of the territories of England, France and the USSR. Later, the He.111c (D-ALIX "Rostock") was also transferred to "Rovel's team" and crashed in one of these flights, but the secret was kept.
Serial He.111a
From the very beginning of design, the main version of the He.111 was a bomber. By the end of 1935, Heinkel was asked to prepare an pilot batch for military testing. The standard for the 10 pre-production He.111a-0 was the He.111b). He.111a was distinguished by a fuselage extended to 17.5 m with a more complete glazing of the nose. The BMW-VI 6.0Z engines had three-bladed variable pitch propellers. Defensive armament consisted of three MG-15 machine guns in the nose, on the fuselage and in a retractable lower “basket”. The maximum bomb load was 1000 kg, but take-off weight increased from 7700 to 8225 kg. As a result, the bomber clearly lacked engine power.
In the spring of 1936, He.111a-02 and A-03 were delivered to Rechlin for official testing. Pilot reports were disappointing. If the unloaded He.111a retained normal controllability, characteristic of experimental aircraft, then with a full combat load the aircraft became slow and reacted poorly to the rudders. At the best altitude, with full throttle and with the gunner's basket completely retracted, the maximum speed was 307 km/h, the cruising speed was 270 km/h - hardly more than that of the previous generation of bombers. As a result, there was no question of accepting the He.111a into the Luftwaffe.
This decision was not unexpected for Heinkel, who was already preparing the much more powerful He.111-V5 for testing. The Ministry of Aviation treated the latter more favorably. At the same time, Heinkel received a purchasing commission from China in Marien, which urgently needed a modern bomber due to the deterioration of relations with Japan. RLM gave permission for export. As a result, all 10 He.111a-0s were sold after the standard Luftwaffe equipment was removed. The planes were dismantled and sent to China.
He.111b series
Until 1935 The German aircraft industry had one serious drawback - the lack of a reliable, powerful liquid-cooled engine suitable for installation on a combat aircraft. Therefore, the appearance of the Daimler-Benz DB-600 in the 1000hp category was greeted with great enthusiasm. Heinkel immediately tried to get two pre-production samples of the engine for installation on the He.111. The first DB-600 aircraft - V5 D-APYS had a He.111a-0 airframe. It was completed at the beginning of 1936 at the Marien plant. A prototype of the B series, the new V5 demonstrated the best flight performance in its class. Although the maximum take-off weight was 8600 kg, the speed reached 338 km/h with a full combat load. As a result, Heinkel, just as he had previously had no doubt about the rejection of the He.111a-0, was confident that the new version would be accepted by the Luftwaffe. Moreover, it was decided to continue the production of He.111a-0 to gain work experience before launching production of the DB-600. By this time, RLM decided to organize a new production facility in Oranienburg specifically for the He.111.
The pre-production He.111b-0 differed from the He.111a-0 only in engines. The first aircraft was delivered to Rechlin in the fall of 1936, where a certain ineffectiveness of the ailerons was revealed in some flight conditions. This deficiency was quickly corrected. After some rearrangement of the equipment, the aircraft was accepted by the Luftwaffe almost immediately. Deliveries of He.111b-1 to the 154th Bomber Squadron "Behlke" (later KG.27) in Hanover began in the first weeks of winter.
The take-off weight of He.111b-1 was 9325 kg. If the first aircraft that came off the assembly line had the DB-600Aa, then subsequent aircraft began to be equipped with the DB-600C with a take-off power of 880 hp and 850 hp at an altitude of 4000 m. The Luftwaffe had no doubt that the new bomber was by no means the last in its class, but the high command still considered it necessary to test the aircraft in real combat conditions. The Spanish Civil War turned out to be a testing ground for new technology and new tactics. As a result, it was decided to equip two bomber units of the Condor Legion with the He.111b. The first 30 bombers arrived in Spain in February 1937, and they made their first combat mission on March 9 during a raid on the airfields of Alcala and Barayas. At the end of the same month, the first squadron with He.111b, together with the main forces of the rebel aviation "Agrupacion Hispaniola" and the Italian "Aviazione Legioneria", took part in raids on the "iron belt" of Bilbao, and with great success - the high speed made it possible to escape from almost everyone Republic fighters
When flying at minimum range, the bomb load reached 1,500 kg, and the relatively weak defensive armament of three MG-15 machine guns was considered quite sufficient by the legion to repel rare fighter attacks. The lower “basket”, in which the radio operator was located, was released only over enemy territory or even only when enemy fighters appeared - the resistance created by the tower was very large. Since May 1937 The plant in Oranienburg joined the production of He.111b. By this time, factories were already producing He.111b-2, which immediately arrived in Spain. The He 111b-2 featured 950 hp DB-600CG engines. on takeoff and 910 hp. at an altitude of 4000 m. The ineffectiveness of the cooling system on the He.111b-1 forced the installation of additional radiators on the sides of the engines under the wing on the B-2. This modification, following the B-1, began to arrive from the beginning in the 154th Bomber Squadron, where by the end of autumn 1937 they were in service with the headquarters and I/KG.154 in Hanover, II/KG.154 in Wünstorf and III/KG .154 in Dalmenhorst. Each air group had three squadrons with 12 bombers.
Any war is a terrible grief for any people that it affects in one way or another. Throughout its history, humanity has experienced many wars, two of which were world wars. The First World War almost completely destroyed Europe and led to the fall of some major empires, such as the Russian and Austro-Hungarian ones. But even more terrible in its scale was the Second World War, in which many countries from almost all over the world were involved. Millions of people died, and many more were left homeless. This terrible event still affects modern man in one way or another. Its echoes can be found everywhere in our lives. This tragedy left behind a lot of mysteries, disputes over which have not subsided for decades. The heaviest burden was assumed in this life-and-death battle by the Soviet Union, which was not yet fully strengthened from the revolution and civil wars and was only expanding its military and peaceful industry. An irreconcilable rage and desire to fight the invaders who encroached on the territorial integrity and freedom of the proletarian state settled in the hearts of people. Many went to the front voluntarily. At the same time, the evacuated industrial facilities were reorganized to produce products for the needs of the front. The struggle has assumed a truly national scale. That is why it is called the Great Patriotic War.
Who are the aces?
Both the German and Soviet armies were well trained and equipped with equipment, aircraft and other weapons. The personnel numbered in the millions. The collision of such two war machines gave birth to its heroes and its traitors. Some of those who can rightfully be considered heroes are the aces of World War II. Who are they and why are they so famous? An ace can be considered a person who has achieved heights in his field of activity that few others have managed to conquer. And even in such a dangerous and terrible matter as the military, there have always been their professionals. Both the USSR and the Allied forces, and Nazi Germany had people who showed the best results in terms of the number of enemy equipment or manpower destroyed. This article will tell about these heroes.
The list of World War II aces is extensive and includes many individuals famous for their exploits. They were an example for an entire people, they were adored and admired.
Aviation is without a doubt one of the most romantic, but at the same time dangerous branches of the military. Since any equipment can fail at any time, the job of a pilot is considered very honorable. It requires iron endurance, discipline, and the ability to control oneself in any situation. Therefore, aviation aces were treated with great respect. After all, to be able to show good results in such conditions when your life depends not only on technology, but also on yourself is the highest degree of military art. So, who are these ace pilots of World War II, and why are their exploits so famous?
One of the most successful Soviet ace pilots was Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub. Officially, during his service on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, he shot down 62 German aircraft, and he is also credited with 2 American fighters, which he destroyed at the end of the war. This record-breaking pilot served in the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and flew a La-7 aircraft.
The second most productive during the war was Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin (who was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union three times). He fought in Southern Ukraine, in the Black Sea region, and liberated Europe from the Nazis. During his service he shot down 59 enemy aircraft. He did not stop flying even when he was appointed commander of the 9th Guards Aviation Division, and achieved some of his aerial victories while already in this position.
Nikolai Dmitrievich Gulaev is one of the most famous military pilots, who set a record of 4 flights per destroyed aircraft. In total, during his military service he destroyed 57 enemy aircraft. Twice awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
He also had a high result. He shot down 55 German aircraft. Kozhedub, who happened to serve for some time with Evstigneev in the same regiment, spoke very respectfully of this pilot.
But, despite the fact that the tank forces were one of the most numerous in the Soviet army, for some reason the USSR did not have ace tankers of the Second World War. Why this is so is unknown. It is logical to assume that many personal scores were deliberately inflated or underestimated, so it is not possible to name the exact number of victories of the above-mentioned masters of tank combat.
German tank aces
But the German tank aces of World War II have a much longer track record. This is largely due to the pedantry of the Germans, who strictly documented everything, and they had much more time to fight than their Soviet “colleagues.” The German army began active operations back in 1939.
German tanker No. 1 is Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittmann. He fought with many tanks (Stug III, Tiger I) and destroyed 138 vehicles throughout the war, as well as 132 self-propelled artillery installations from various enemy countries. For his successes he was repeatedly awarded various orders and badges of the Third Reich. Killed in action in 1944 in France.
You can also highlight such a tank ace as For those who are in one way or another interested in the history of the development of the tank forces of the Third Reich, the book of his memoirs “Tigers in the Mud” will be very useful. During the war years, this man destroyed 150 Soviet and American self-propelled guns and tanks.
Kurt Knispel is another record-breaking tanker. During his military service, he knocked out 168 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns. About 30 cars are unconfirmed, which prevents him from matching Wittmann's results. Knispel died in battle near the village of Vostits in Czechoslovakia in 1945.
In addition, Karl Bromann had good results - 66 tanks and self-propelled guns, Ernst Barkmann - 66 tanks and self-propelled guns, Erich Mausberg - 53 tanks and self-propelled guns.
As can be seen from these results, both Soviet and German tank aces of World War II knew how to fight. Of course, the quantity and quality of Soviet combat vehicles was an order of magnitude higher than that of the Germans, however, as practice has shown, both were used quite successfully and became the basis for some post-war tank models.
But the list of military branches in which their masters distinguished themselves does not end there. Let's talk a little about submarine aces.
Masters of Submarine Warfare
Just as in the case of aircraft and tanks, the most successful are the German sailors. Over the years of its existence, Kriegsmarine submariners sank 2,603 ships of allied countries, the total displacement of which reaches 13.5 million tons. This is a truly impressive figure. And the German submarine aces of World War II could also boast of impressive personal accounts.
The most successful German submariner is Otto Kretschmer, who has 44 ships, including 1 destroyer. The total displacement of the ships sunk by him is 266,629 tons.
In second place is Wolfgang Lüth, who sent 43 enemy ships to the bottom (and according to other sources - 47) with a total displacement of 225,712 tons.
He was also a famous naval ace who even managed to sink the British battleship Royal Oak. This was one of the first officers to receive oak leaves; Prien destroyed 30 ships. Killed in 1941 during an attack on a British convoy. He was so popular that his death was hidden from the people for two months. And on the day of his funeral, mourning was declared throughout the country.
Such successes of German sailors are also quite understandable. The fact is that Germany began a naval war back in 1940, with a blockade of Britain, thus hoping to undermine its naval greatness and, taking advantage of this, to successfully capture the islands. However, very soon the plans of the Nazis were thwarted, as America entered the war with its large and powerful fleet.
The most famous Soviet submarine sailor is Alexander Marinesko. He sank only 4 ships, but what ones! The heavy passenger liner "Wilhelm Gustloff", the transport "General von Steuben", as well as 2 units of the heavy floating battery "Helene" and "Siegfried". For his exploits, Hitler added the sailor to his list of personal enemies. But Marinesko’s fate did not work out well. He fell out of favor with the Soviet regime and died, and people stopped talking about his exploits. The great sailor received the Hero of the Soviet Union award only posthumously in 1990. Unfortunately, many USSR aces of World War II ended their lives in a similar way.
Also famous submariners of the Soviet Union are Ivan Travkin - he sank 13 ships, Nikolai Lunin - also 13 ships, Valentin Starikov - 14 ships. But Marinesko topped the list of the best submariners of the Soviet Union, as he caused the greatest damage to the German navy.
Accuracy and stealth
Well, how can we not remember such famous fighters as snipers? Here the Soviet Union takes the well-deserved palm from Germany. Soviet sniper aces of World War II had a very high track record. In many ways, such results were achieved thanks to massive government training of the civilian population in shooting from various weapons. About 9 million people were awarded the Voroshilov Shooter badge. So, what are the most famous snipers?
The name of Vasily Zaitsev frightened the Germans and inspired courage in Soviet soldiers. This ordinary guy, a hunter, killed 225 Wehrmacht soldiers with his Mosin rifle in just a month of fighting at Stalingrad. Among the outstanding sniper names are Fedor Okhlopkov, who (during the entire war) accounted for about a thousand Nazis; Semyon Nomokonov, who killed 368 enemy soldiers. There were also women among the snipers. An example of this is the famous Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who fought near Odessa and Sevastopol.
German snipers are less known, although several sniper schools have existed in Germany since 1942, which provided professional training. Among the most successful German shooters are Matthias Hetzenauer (345 killed), (257 killed), Bruno Sutkus (209 soldiers shot). Also a famous sniper from the countries of the Hitler bloc is Simo Haiha - this Finn killed 504 Red Army soldiers during the war years (according to unconfirmed reports).
Thus, the sniper training of the Soviet Union was immeasurably higher than that of the German troops, which allowed Soviet soldiers to bear the proud title of aces of the Second World War.
How did you become aces?
So, the concept of “ace of World War II” is quite broad. As already mentioned, these people achieved truly impressive results in their business. This was achieved not only through good army training, but also through outstanding personal qualities. After all, for a pilot, for example, coordination and quick reaction are very important, for a sniper - the ability to wait for the right moment to sometimes fire a single shot.
Accordingly, it is impossible to determine who had the best aces of World War II. Both sides performed unparalleled heroism, which made it possible to single out individual people from the general mass. But it was possible to become a master only by training hard and improving your combat skills, since war does not tolerate weakness. Of course, dry statistics will not be able to convey to modern people all the hardships and adversities that war professionals experienced during their rise to the honorary pedestal.
We, the generation that lives without knowing such terrible things, should not forget about the exploits of our predecessors. They can become an inspiration, a reminder, a memory. And we must try to do everything to ensure that such terrible events as the past wars do not happen again.
The First World War ended with the defeat of Germany. On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was concluded between Germany and the victorious countries, which summed up the results of this world war. One of the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles was a ban on military aviation in Germany. Moreover, for six months after the signing of the treaty, the German aviation industry was prohibited from producing or importing aircraft (any kind!) and spare parts for them. However, German military circles did not abandon the idea of recreating combat aviation. On June 15, 1920, Oberst General Hans von Seekt became the head of the military department (Truppenamt), which essentially performed the functions of the General Staff of the Reichswehr. He perfectly understood the importance of military aviation and knew that Germany would undoubtedly need it again in the future. Within the Reichswehr, von Seeckt created the Central Aviation Committee (Fliegerzentrale), which included 180 officers who had served in military aviation during the First World War. His main task was to compile reports that analyzed in detail all aspects of the air war. Among the officers of the committee were Walter Wever, who later became the first Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe, as well as Helmut Felmy, Hugo Sperrle, Albert Kesselring and Jürgen Stumpff, who served subsequently the positions of commanders of the Luftwaffe air fleets. On April 14, 1922, the Allies lifted the ban on aircraft production in Germany. At the same time, technical characteristics were clearly specified that German aircraft could not exceed. Top speed was limited to 177 km/h (110 mph), ceiling 4,876 meters (16 thousand feet), range 274 km (170 miles).
According to the Allies, such restrictions should have prevented the development of military aircraft in Germany. Compliance with these requirements was monitored by a special Allied military commission. Nevertheless, there were two sectors of German aviation that could easily develop even under Allied control. The first of these was gliding. Von Seecht appointed Hauptmann Kurt Student from the Central Aviation Committee responsible for this direction, who at the same time headed the semi-secret technical aviation department (Technisches Amt Luft) in the Reichswehr Armament Directorate (Heerewaffenamt). He did everything possible to support and develop interest in glider flying in Germany. The student, who participated in the First World War as a fighter pilot, was able to receive support among former military pilots and already in the summer of 1921 on the mountain slopes in the area of Gersfeld, 94 km northeast of Frankfurt am Main, The first gliding competitions took place. They became the first spark that awakened mass interest in sports aviation, and a whole network of gliding clubs quickly began to be created in Germany.
The second sector was civil aviation, which continued to grow at a rapid pace. In 1921, Professor Hugo Junkers, who had previously designed and built the six-seat all-metal F13 aircraft, founded his own aviation transport company, Junkers-Luftverkehrs AG. This company made flights to China, which, in addition to commercial benefits, also provided very valuable experience for the future development of long-range bombers.
To circumvent the Allied restrictions, the production of Junkers aircraft was later organized at factories in Limhamm in Sweden, in Fili near Moscow in the USSR and in Angora in Turkey. In 1922, Ernst Heinkel founded his own aviation company in the town of Warnemünde, located on the coast of the Mecklenburg Bay a few kilometers north of Rostock. In the same year, in Friedrichshafen on the shores of Lake Constance, Dr. Claudius Dornier founded his own company on the basis of the old Zeppelin plant. Dornier seaplanes were also manufactured at foreign aircraft factories: in the Swiss Altenrheim, in the Italian Pisa, in the Japanese Kobe and in the Dutch Papendrecht.
In 1924, Professor Heinrich Fokke and Georg Wulf founded the Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau aircraft manufacturing company in Bremen. Two years later, in 1926, the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke company was created in Augsburg, which was then transformed into the Messerschmitt AG company in 1938. Therefore, when in 1926 the Allies practically lifted all restrictions on the production of civil aircraft, it turned out that Germany already had a highly efficient aviation industry. It made it possible to produce aircraft at such a rapid pace that no other country in Europe could then afford.
: 03.01.2017 23:53
I quote the reader Major, forgive me for writing here, because I don’t remember on what thread we had a conversation about psychotropic drugs among the Germans. But searching for it would break the devil himself:/) On the Internet I came across a small note that the pilots’ diet included t .n.Fliegerschokolade, the ingredients of which included caffeine and... (like, theatrical pause:)) METHAMPHETAMINE!!!You were right - "Goering's chicks" were flying under the "stupidity"... Well, I guessed right)), it’s not for nothing that the fantastic number of German sorties seemed strange compared to our pilots and the Japanese |
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