Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2

Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Yuriy Rybin
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178096885X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
In 1942, about 80 per cent of the fighters serving with Air Forces of the Karelian and Northern Fronts were Hurricanes. This book explores the bitter struggle against well-drilled Luftwaffe and Finnish units flying in the polar regions of northern Russia. Following the destruction wrought on the Red Army Air Forces during the first days of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Soviet Union found itself desperately short of fighter aircraft. Premier Josef Stalin duly appealed directly to Prime Minister Winston Churchill for replacement aircraft, and in late 1941 the British delivered the first of 3360 Hurricanes that would be supplied to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease agreement. Specifically requested by the USSR, the Hurricanes were quickly thrown into action in early 1942 – the Soviet Air Forces' most difficult year in their opposition to the Luftwaffe. Virtually all the Hurricanes were issued to Soviet fighter regiments in the northern sector of the front, where pilots were initially trained to fly the aircraft by RAF personnel that had accompanied the early Hawker fighters to the USSR. The Hurricane proved to be an easy aircraft to master, even for the poorly trained young Soviet pilots, allowing the Red Army to form a large number of new fighter regiments quickly in the polar area. In spite of a relatively poor top speed, and only a modest rate-of-climb, the Hurricane was the mount of at least 17 Soviet aces.

Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2

Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Yuriy Rybin
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178096885X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
In 1942, about 80 per cent of the fighters serving with Air Forces of the Karelian and Northern Fronts were Hurricanes. This book explores the bitter struggle against well-drilled Luftwaffe and Finnish units flying in the polar regions of northern Russia. Following the destruction wrought on the Red Army Air Forces during the first days of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Soviet Union found itself desperately short of fighter aircraft. Premier Josef Stalin duly appealed directly to Prime Minister Winston Churchill for replacement aircraft, and in late 1941 the British delivered the first of 3360 Hurricanes that would be supplied to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease agreement. Specifically requested by the USSR, the Hurricanes were quickly thrown into action in early 1942 – the Soviet Air Forces' most difficult year in their opposition to the Luftwaffe. Virtually all the Hurricanes were issued to Soviet fighter regiments in the northern sector of the front, where pilots were initially trained to fly the aircraft by RAF personnel that had accompanied the early Hawker fighters to the USSR. The Hurricane proved to be an easy aircraft to master, even for the poorly trained young Soviet pilots, allowing the Red Army to form a large number of new fighter regiments quickly in the polar area. In spite of a relatively poor top speed, and only a modest rate-of-climb, the Hurricane was the mount of at least 17 Soviet aces.

Soviet Aces of World War 2

Soviet Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Hugh Morgan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472800575
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
At the time of publication, no single volume in English had ever appeared in the West dealing with this intriguing subject area. Once restrictions relaxed in the former Soviet Union, the records of their elite pilots' deeds - detailed in this book - came to light. Although initially equipped with very poor aircraft, and robbed of effective leadership thanks as much to Stalin's purges in the late 1930s as to the efforts of the Luftwaffe, Soviet fighter pilots soon turned the tables through the use of both lend-lease aircraft like the Hurricane, Spitfire, P-39 and P-40, and home-grown machines like the MiG-3, LaGG-3/5, Lavochkin La-5/7/9 and the Yak-1/3.

Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2

Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: George Mellinger
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782005544
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 147

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Book Description
The Soviet government tried to minimize the importance of Lend-lease fighters well into the 1980s. Only in recent years have these pilots felt free to admit what they flew, and now the fascinating story of these men can emerge. By the end of 1941 the Soviet Union was near collapse and its air force almost annihilated, leaving large numbers of surviving pilots with no aircraft to fly. To help prevent this collapse the UK eventually supplied a total of 4300 Hurricanes and Spitfires to the USSR. After the United States entered the war, the Americans extended Lend-lease to include direct supply to the Soviets as well as the British, and among the aircraft sent were almost 10,000 fighters. Although the aircraft were outdated and often unsuitable to Russian conditions, they served when they were needed, and this book tells how a number of Russian pilots became Heroes of the Soviet Union flying Lend-lease aircraft.

Brewster F2A Buffalo Aces of World War 2

Brewster F2A Buffalo Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Kari Stenman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1849082499
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
A complete survey of all of the pilots who achieved Aces status using the Brewster F2A Buffalo. Although designed and built for the US Navy, the F2A fought in only one major US engagement, the battle of Midway, in which F2A pilots managed to shoot down a number of Japanese fighters. Soon replaced by the navy, the F2A was exported to Britain, where it was nicknamed the 'Buffalo' thanks to its stubby appearance. The British sent most of these fighters to the Far East where they were used in the defence of Singapore and Malaya. It was in the Winter War, however, that the F2A truly found a home. Calling the plane simply the Brewster, the Finnish flew it against the invading Russians. As this volume shows, overall 37 Finns achieved ace status flying the Brewster, and it was the Finnish fighter of choice until succeeded by the Bf 109 in 1943.

MiG-3 Aces of World War 2

MiG-3 Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Dmitriy Khazanov
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780960298
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
The complete story of the pilots who 'made ace' while flying the original MiG fighters. The MiG-1/3 family of fighters was built to satisfy a Soviet Air Force requirement for an advanced, fast, high-altitude fighter. Entering service in the spring of 1941, the problematic MiG-1 had its handling issues rectified with the hasty production of the MiG-3. Many of these were destroyed on the ground when the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa. Nevertheless, enough examples survived to allow pilots such as Stepan Suprun and Aleksandr Pokryshkin to claim a number of victories in the type. This book tells the complete story of the men who made ace in the first examples of the famous MiG fighter.

Fokker D.XXI Aces of World War 2

Fokker D.XXI Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Kari Stenman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780960638
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
Featuring stunning illustrations, this compact volume explores the early successes of the aircraft model and its aces. Although only built in modest numbers principally for the Dutch Air Force, the low-cost monoplane D.XXI fighter enjoyed its greatest success in combat with the Finnish Air Force. The Dutch D.XXIs saw less than a week of action following the German invasion of the west on 10 May 1940, with many of the country's 28 fighters being destroyed on the ground. However, those that survived the initial onslaught inflicted losses on the Luftwaffe. By then, however, the D.XXI had found everlasting fame in Finland during the Winter War of 1939-40. Proving itself a real thorn in the side of the Soviets, the fighter, operating in primitive conditions and against vastly superior numbers, Finnish D.XXIs racked up an incredible score against the Red Air Force. The D.XXI also has the distinction of producing the first 'ace in a single mission' in World War 2, when then 1Lt Jorma Sarvanto shot down six Ilyushin DB-3 bombers on 6 January 1940. Kari Stenman and Peter de Jong chart the history of the planes and their aces. After spending a year providing home defence and flying coastal patrols during the early stages of the Continuation War in 1941, all surviving Finnish Fokker D.XXIs were relegated to the reconnaissance role, which they performed through to the end of hostilities in September 1944.

Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153 Aces

Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153 Aces PDF Author: Mikhail Maslov
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 147280161X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
From the heat of Spain to the frozen wastelands of Finland, this book reveals the combat stories of the pilots who flew the Polikarpov fighters from 1936 until the end of World War II. The I-15, I-16 and I-153 fighters were the world's first mass-produced fighters. Some 17,000 Polikarpovs had been manufactured by the time production ceased in 1941. They served with the Republicans in the Spain, the Chinese against Japan in 1937–38, and the Soviets against both Japan in the Nomonhan Incident and Finland during the Winter War. By 1941, more than 20 Soviet pilots had made ace in Polikarpovs, and many more attained that status during the first months of the German invasion. Though thoroughly outclassed, this book shows how the Polikarpov was the backbone of the Soviet air force during the early months of the war in the east, and continued to serve, as training aircraft and as frontline fighters, some right through to 1945.

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front PDF Author: John Weal
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781855325180
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
Of all the fronts fought on by the Jagdflieger during World War 2, the Russian, or Eastern, was easily the most lucrative in terms of targets for the experten. Marry an abundance of targets with the Luftwaffe's best piston-engined fighter of the war – Focke-Wulf's Fw 190 'Butcher Bird' – and it quickly becomes apparent why so many Jagdflieger achieved kills that passed the 100 victories mark. Flying in variable weather on a battlefront that was constantly changing, the Fw 190 pilots fought virtually to extinction in both the pure fighter and the crucial Schlacht ground attack roles.

Russian Aces of World War 1

Russian Aces of World War 1 PDF Author: Victor Kulikov
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780960603
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
Featuring previously unpublished photographs, the story of the Russian air arm, which exclusively flew French- and British-designed fighters such as the Morane-Saulnier Type G, Nieuport Scouts and Sopwith 1⁄2 Strutters. Although the Russian Imperial Army Air Service consisted of no more than four BAGs (Boevaya Aviatsionniy Gruppa – battle aviation groups), each controlling three or four smaller AOIs (Aviatsionniy Otryad Istrebitelei – fighter aviation detachments) equipped with a variety of aircraft types, its fighter pilots nevertheless gave a good account of themselves. Indeed, during three years of war they claimed more than 200 Austro-Hungarian and German aircraft shot down, creating 13 aces – these elite aviators accounted for around half of the victories claimed on the Eastern Front. Pilots flew a variety of fighter types, with French Nieuport scouts and SPAD VIIs proving to be the most popular, and effective, aeroplanes to see service on this front. The exploits of these aces are detailed here, with information based on material newly sourced by the author from Russian military and private archives. Many previously unpublished photographs are used to illustrate this book, supported by full-colour profiles that reveal how striking some of the aces' fighters were in this often-forgotten theatre of World War 1.

V1 Flying Bomb Aces

V1 Flying Bomb Aces PDF Author: Andrew Thomas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780962932
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
Shortly after the Allied landings in France the Germans unleashed the first of their so-called 'revenge weapons', the V1 flying bomb. Launched from specially constructed sites in northern France, the fast, small, pulse-jet powered pilotless aircraft were aimed at London with the sole intent of destroying civilian morale to the point where the British government would be forced to sue for peace. This dangerous new threat drew an immediate response, and the Air Defence of Great Britain (as Fighter Command had been temporarily renamed) established layers of defence that included a gun line and balloon barrage. The main element, however, were standing patrols by the fastest piston-engined fighters available to the RAF – the new Tempest V and Griffon-powered Spitfire XIV. Other types were allocated too, most notably the Polish Mustang wing, while night defence was left in the capable hands of several dedicated Mosquito squadrons. Although pilotless, the V1 was no easy foe thanks to its speed, powerful warhead and sheer unpredictability. Nevertheless, 154 pilots became V1 aces, 25 of whom were also aces against manned aircraft.