The best German aircraft of the Second World War. Soviet aircraft of the Second World War. Fighter that could fly at high altitudes

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Combat aircraft - predator birds sky. For more than a hundred years they have been shining in warriors and at air shows. Agree, it is difficult to take your eyes off modern multi-purpose devices stuffed with electronics and composite materials. But there's something special about World War II planes. It was an era of great victories and great aces who fought in the air, looking into each other's eyes. Engineers and aircraft designers from different countries came up with many legendary aircraft. Today we present to your attention a list of the ten most famous, most recognizable, most popular and best aircraft of the Second World War.

Supermarine Spitfire (Supermarine Spitfire)

The list of the best aircraft of the Second World War opens with the British fighter Supermarine Spitfire. He has a classic look, but a little awkward. Wings - shovels, a heavy nose, a lantern in the form of a bubble. However, it was the Spitfire that saved the Royal Air Force by stopping German bombers during the Battle of Britain. German fighter pilots, with great displeasure, found that British aircraft were in no way inferior to them, and even superior in maneuverability.

The Spitfire was developed and put into service just in time - just before the outbreak of World War II. True, an incident came out with the first battle. Due to a radar failure, the Spitfires were sent into battle with a phantom enemy and fired on their own British fighters. But then, when the British tasted the advantages of the new aircraft, they did not use it as soon as they were used. And for interception, and for reconnaissance, and even as bombers. A total of 20,000 Spitfires were produced. For all the good things and, first of all, for saving the island during the Battle of Britain, this aircraft takes an honorable tenth place.

Heinkel He 111 is exactly the aircraft that the British fighters fought. This is the most recognizable German bomber. It cannot be confused with any other aircraft, thanks to characteristic form wide wings. It was the wings that gave the Heinkel He 111 the nickname "flying shovel".

This bomber was created long before the war under the guise of a passenger aircraft. He showed himself very well back in the 30s, but by the beginning of World War II he began to become obsolete, both in speed and in maneuverability. For a while, he held out because of his ability to withstand big damage, but when the Allies conquered the sky, the Heinkel He 111 was "demoted" to an ordinary transporter. This aircraft embodies the very definition of a Luftwaffe bomber, for which it receives the ninth place in our rating.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War German aviation did what it wanted in the sky of the USSR. Only in 1942 did a Soviet fighter appear that could fight on an equal footing with the Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs. It was "La-5" developed in the design bureau Lavochkin. It was created in great haste. The plane is so simple that the cockpit does not even have the most basic instruments like the artificial horizon. But the La-5 pilots immediately liked it. In the very first test flights, 16 enemy aircraft were shot down on it.

"La-5" bore the brunt of the battles in the sky over Stalingrad and the Kursk salient. Ace Ivan Kozhedub fought on it, it was on him that the famous Alexei Maresyev flew with prostheses. The only problem of "La-5" that prevented him from climbing higher in our rating is appearance. He is completely faceless and expressionless. When the Germans first saw this fighter, they immediately gave it the nickname "new rat". And that's all, because it strongly resembled the legendary I-16 aircraft, nicknamed the "rat".

North American P-51 Mustang (North American P-51 Mustang)

The Americans in World War II participated in many types of fighters, but the most famous among them was, of course, the P-51 Mustang. The history of its creation is unusual. The British already at the height of the war in 1940 ordered aircraft from the Americans. The order was fulfilled and in 1942 the first Mustangs among the British Royal Air Force entered into battle. And then it turned out that the planes are so good that they will be useful to the Americans themselves.

The most notable feature of the R-51 Mustang is its huge fuel tanks. This made them ideal fighters to escort bombers, which they did successfully in Europe and in pacific ocean. They were also used for reconnaissance and assault. They even bombed a little. Especially got from the "Mustangs" to the Japanese.

The most famous US bomber of those years is, of course, the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress". The four-engine, heavy, machine-gunned Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber spawned many heroic and fanatical stories. On the one hand, the pilots loved him for his ease of control and survivability, on the other hand, the losses among these bombers were indecently high. In one of the sorties, out of 300 Flying Fortresses, 77 did not return. Why? Here we can mention the complete and defenselessness of the crew from fire in front and an increased risk of fire. However main problem became the conviction of the American generals. At the beginning of the war, they thought that if there were a lot of bombers and they were flying high, then they could do without any escort. Luftwaffe fighters disproved this misconception. The lessons they gave were harsh. The Americans and the British had to learn very quickly, change tactics, strategy and aircraft design. Strategic bombers contributed to the victory, but the cost was high. A third of the "Flying Fortresses" did not return to the airfields.

In fifth place in our ranking of the best aircraft of World War II is the main hunter for German Yak-9 aircraft. If the La-5 was a workhorse that endured the brunt of the battles of the turning point of the war, then the Yak-9 is the aircraft of victory. It was created on the basis of previous models of Yak fighters, but instead of heavy wood, duralumin was used in the design. This made the aircraft lighter and left room for modifications. What they just didn’t do with the Yak-9. Front-line fighter, fighter-bomber, interceptor, escort, reconnaissance and even courier aircraft.

On the Yak-9, Soviet pilots fought on equal terms with the German aces, who were greatly frightened by its powerful guns. Suffice it to say that our pilots affectionately nicknamed the best modification of the Yak-9U the "Killer". "Yak-9" became a symbol Soviet aviation and the most massive Soviet fighter times of World War II. At factories, sometimes 20 aircraft were assembled per day, and in total, almost 15,000 of them were produced during the war.

Junkers Ju-87 (Junkers Ju 87)

Junkers Yu-87 "Stuka" - German dive bomber. Thanks to the ability to fall vertically on the target, the Junkers laid bombs with pinpoint accuracy. Supporting a fighter attack on the target, everything in the Stuka design is subordinated to one goal - to hit the target. Air brakes did not allow to accelerate during a dive, special mechanisms diverted the dropped bomb away from the propeller and automatically brought the aircraft out of the dive.

Junkers Yu-87 - the main aircraft of the Blitzkrieg. He shone at the very beginning of the war, when Germany was marching victoriously across Europe. True, it later turned out that the Junkers were very vulnerable to fighters, so their use gradually faded away. True, in Russia, thanks to the advantage of the Germans in the air, the Stukas still managed to make war. For their characteristic non-retractable landing gear, they were nicknamed "lappets". The German pilot ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel brought additional fame to the Stukas. But despite its worldwide fame, the Junkers Ju-87 was in fourth place in the list of the best aircraft of the Second World War.

In the honorable third place in the ranking of the best aircraft of World War II is the Japanese carrier-based fighter Mitsubishi A6M Zero. This is the most famous aircraft of the Pacific War. The history of this aircraft is very revealing. At the beginning of the war, he was almost the most advanced aircraft - light, maneuverable, high-tech, with an incredible range. For the Americans, Zero was an extremely unpleasant surprise, it was head and shoulders above everything they had at that time.

However, the Japanese worldview played a cruel joke with Zero, no one thought about its protection in air combat - gas tanks burned easily, the pilots were not covered by armor, and no one thought about parachutes. When hit, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero flared up like matches, and the Japanese pilots had no chance to escape. The Americans eventually learned how to deal with Zero, they flew in pairs and attacked from above, avoiding the fight on turns. They released the new Chance Vought F4U Corsair, Lockheed P-38 Lightning and Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters. The Americans admitted their mistakes and adapted, but the proud Japanese did not. Obsolete by the end of the war, Zero became a kamikaze aircraft, a symbol of senseless resistance.

The famous Messerschmitt Bf.109 is the main fighter of World War II. It was he who reigned supreme in the Soviet sky until 1942. The exceptionally successful design allowed the Messerschmitt to impose its tactics on other aircraft. He gained excellent speed in a dive. The favorite technique of the German pilots was the "falcon strike", in which the fighter swoops down on the enemy and, after a quick attack, again goes to the height.

This aircraft also had its shortcomings. He was prevented from conquering the skies of England by a low flight range. It was also not easy to escort the Messerschmitt bombers. At low altitude, he lost his advantage in speed. By the end of the war, the Messers were hard hit by both Soviet fighters from the east and Allied bombers from the west. But Messerschmitt Bf.109, nevertheless, entered the legends as best fighter Luftwaffe. In total, almost 34,000 pieces were made. This is the second largest aircraft in history.

So, meet the winner in our ranking of the most legendary aircraft of World War II. Attack aircraft "IL-2" aka "Humpback", aka "flying tank", the Germans most often called him "black death". The IL-2 is a special aircraft, it was immediately conceived as a well-protected attack aircraft, so it was many times more difficult to shoot it down than other aircraft. There was a case when an attack aircraft returned from a flight and more than 600 hits were counted on it. After quick repair"Humpbacked" again went into battle. Even if the plane was shot down, it often remained intact, the armored belly allowed it to land in an open field without any problems.

"IL-2" went through the whole war. In total, 36,000 attack aircraft were manufactured. This made the "Hunchback" the record holder, the most massive combat aircraft of all time. For its outstanding qualities, the original design and a huge role in World War II, the famous Il-2 rightfully takes first place in the ranking of the best aircraft of those years.

In the Great Patriotic War, we defeated an experienced, organized, cruel and well-armed enemy. However, in our literature throughout all the post-war years, there was practically no objective analysis German military equipment, including aviation. While preparing material about the La-5 and FW 190 fighters, I could not stop only at short description German aircraft, for it was one of our main opponents in the skies of war, really strong and dangerous.

But it seems to me that a whole generation of people who are more or less interested in aviation are used to thinking in certain stereotypes. So, without any doubt, we call the Spitfire aircraft the best English fighter of the Second World War period and disparagingly speak of the Hurricane. The American Airacobra has become almost our favorite aircraft, and at the same time we know almost nothing about the Hellcat. We are accustomed to treat the Mustang with respect and look at the fat, ugly Thunderbolt with obvious misunderstanding, without even thinking about why this particular fighter was the most massive aircraft in the US Air Force during the war years.

There is nothing surprising in the fact that we consider the Yak-3 the best fighter in the world. An equally stereotypical opinion exists regarding German aviation aircraft, because in almost all books we read the same words. Let's open, for example, the famous book of the aircraft designer A. Yakovlev " Soviet aircraft". He writes: “Our main Yak and La fighters, in terms of their combat qualities, throughout the war had an advantage over German machines of a similar purpose - Me 109 and FW 190.”

In addition, the FW 190 fighter is quite often shown as a clumsy overweight aircraft that cannot be compared with Soviet and foreign aircraft. Well, how can you doubt it? And suddenly, a quote from the book of the English researchers D. Richards and X. Sanders “The British Air Force in the Second World War 1939-1945” sounds dissonant.

"The Spitfire fighter in all its variants was little superior (if it had any superiority at all) in terms of flight and tactical data to the best German fighter Focke-Wulf 190."

Isn't it pretty interesting saying? So, in order to more clearly understand the issue, let's take a closer look at the flight performance of the Fokker in comparison with other aircraft, and above all with the La-5 fighter. Moreover, these aircraft not only constantly waged air battles among themselves, but were more or less close in size, flight weight and power plant power.

As you know, the main criterion that characterizes the perfection of any aircraft is its maximum flight speed. Let's see who had the advantage. Let's start from 1942 (since the appearance of these aircraft at the front). At this time, the maximum flight speed of the La-5 was 509 km / h near the ground and 580 km / h at an altitude of 6000 m. For a German aircraft, these figures were 510 and 610 km / h, respectively (data from the results of flight tests of the captured FW 190A-4 fighter at nominal engine operation). A year later, improved La-5FN and FW 190 aircraft of the A-5, A-8 and A-4 series appeared in the battles on the Kursk Bulge, many of which were equipped with the MW-50 system for injecting a water-methanol mixture into the engine cylinders. The maximum flight speeds of these machines were: for the FW 190 - 571 km / h at the ground and 654 km / h at an altitude of 6000 m. Without the use of the MW-50 system, the maximum speed was 10 km / h less. Thus, Soviet fighters had some advantage in speed at altitudes of less than 4000 m, where, as a rule, air battles were fought. However, there are certain subtleties here. So, in the book by A. Shakhurin "Wings of Victory" (who was then the people's commissar of the aviation industry), pilots are quoted about comparing the La-5 and FW 190 fighters.

In this regard, the pilots have repeatedly turned to the designers with a request to add another 20-30 km/h to the aircraft. In 1944, improved La-7 fighters began to arrive at the front, with a maximum flight speed of 680 km / h. However, here, for the sake of objectivity, it must be compared with a new version of the "Focke-Wulf" - the FW 190D fighter, also released in 1944 and appeared at the front. The flight speed of this aircraft reached 685 km / h. Speaking of size top speed flight, it should be noted that in air battles they were never achieved, since the aircraft constantly maneuvered, many of them had weapons on an external sling, worn out engines, patches in damaged areas, removed or torn off landing gear doors, which greatly reduced flight speed.

From the history air combat it is known that pilots tried to attack the enemy from above, gaining it in a dive, in order to increase their flight speed. In this regard, the Focke-Wulfam was unrivaled (at least on the Soviet-German front). Our pilots constantly noted the fact that the Germans often evaded pursuit by diving to the ground (if altitude allowed). At the same time, even in a rather gentle dive with an angle of thirty degrees, the FW 190 accelerated to a speed of 1045 km / h (one of the evidence of its good aerodynamics). Of all the Allied aircraft, only the Mustang and Thunderbolt could catch up with the Fokker on the descent. But in terms of maneuverability in close air combat, the FW 190 was somewhat inferior to our fighters.

As is known, the horizontal maneuverability (radius of the turn and the time it takes to complete it) is directly proportional to the specific load on the wing. In the FW 190, it was quite high and amounted, depending on the modification, to 210-240 kg / m2. At the same time, for all Lavochkin fighters, it did not exceed 190 kg / m2. Not surprisingly, the turn time of the La-5 and La-7 was 3-4 seconds less than that of the Focke-Wulf (19 instead of 22 seconds). The Yakovlev fighters had even better horizontal maneuverability.

The British Spitfire V and Spitfire IX fighters had the highest horizontal maneuverability among all Allied aircraft, since their specific wing load did not exceed 150 kg / m2. It would seem that these highly maneuverable high-speed fighters, which proved their complete superiority over the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters, should have had even greater advantages over the heavy Focke-Wulfs. However, this just did not happen. It was quite difficult for the Spitfire pilots to shoot down the FW 190.

The thing is that any aircraft, before performing a turn, must roll, that is, make a turn around the longitudinal axis. The roll rate of all aircraft was different. It depends on the effectiveness of the ailerons, the moment of inertia of the aircraft and the wingspan. Moreover, with an increase in the span, the roll rate decreases sharply. In this regard, the Spitfire, which has a larger size, lost to the Focke-Wulf. The German fighter quickly entered the turn, and when the Spitfire pursuing him began to overtake, the Focke-Wulf pilot quickly transferred the car from the right turn to the left or vice versa and again left the blow. True, the above does not mean that the FW 190 turned out to be more maneuverable. In the same way, the German pilots could not do anything with the Spitfire, which was leaving the fire in a sharp turn. In a word, for the British, the German fighter turned out to be a "hard nut to crack". It is enough to cite the words of F. Lloyd, one of the well-known English specialists in the field of aviation, said by him at the end of 1943.

“If the British planes do not equal the FW 190 in this respect (meaning high speed roll), then he will always be able to elude the attack.

By the way, the cut ends of the wings on some modifications of the Spitfires, apparently, can be explained by the desire to increase the roll rate. As for the Soviet fighters, they were much better in this regard, since they had a smaller wing span, as well as a small moment of inertia - after all, the guns on Soviet aircraft were in the fuselage, and not in the wing, like all British aircraft.

A few words about vertical maneuverability. Of course, the rate of climb of the FW 190 was not very high - 12-14 m / s, while for other fighters it was 15-20 m / s, and naturally, in maneuverable air combat, the La-5 fighters had complete superiority. However, the following point must be taken into account. It turns out that the rate of climb when performing a vertical maneuver depends not only on the specific load on power (the ratio of the mass of the aircraft to the power of its power plant - for the La-5 this value was approximately 2.3 kg / hp, and for the FW 190 - 2.5 kg / hp), but also on the ratio of the flight mass to the total aerodynamic drag of the aircraft. When an aircraft begins to climb steeply after a dive or after flying at high speed, the first part of the climb is due to its inertia. In other words, than more mass aircraft and flight speed and the lower its resistance, the faster the aircraft will gain altitude at the first moment. And in this regard, the German pilots had a certain advantage over the enemy. In any case, their first attack and exit from it were always swift.

Engaging in close maneuverable air combat was considered inappropriate, since during sharp maneuvering the heavy Focke-Wulf quickly lost speed and its rate of climb dropped sharply. In addition, the practice of warfare showed that in group air battles, the advantages of some aircraft over others could not be fully manifested, since the pursuers themselves were often attacked by the enemy. By the way, in the memoir literature, German pilots who evaded air combat are called chickens. However, in this they had their own calculation. The FW 190 could not conduct a maneuverable battle with our fighters at low speed, and the Germans, of course, did not get involved in such battles, especially since a maneuverable battle, in general, is defensive, not offensive. During the war years, the Germans, on the contrary, preferred the tactics of "hunters". And here we come to the most interesting...

It turns out that we and the Germans had a different approach to the actions of fighter aircraft. The main task facing the Soviet pilots was to cover the ground forces from enemy aircraft and escort their bombers. This alone forced them to conduct mainly defensive battles with German fighters. At the same time, the German fighter pilots faced another primary task - the destruction of enemy aircraft, and ground troops should have relied more on own funds air defense which they had in abundance. With this approach, German pilots more often used free hunting tactics and chose bomber and attack aircraft as targets. Not surprisingly, many of them had 100, 200 and even 300 or more air victories.

As for the FW 190 fighter, it was just quite well suited for just such purposes. From the fire defensive weapons bombers (which, as a rule, were machine guns) FW 190 was well protected. And the powerful 20-mm MG151/20 cannons made it possible to hit targets at a slightly greater range than the machine guns on the bombers.

Special mention should be made of the armament of the FW 190 aircraft. According to such a criterion as the weight of a minute volley, the machines of even the first modifications - A-3 or A-4 were almost twice as superior to La-5. Judge for yourself: this value was 275 kg / min for the FW 190, 150 kg / min for the La-5, 202 kg / min for the Spitfire IX, and 160 kg / min for the Aerocobra (version with a 37-mm cannon) - 160 kg / min. After the Focke-Wulf replaced machine guns and wing cannons with more advanced ones, the weight of a one-minute salvo increased to 350 kg / min, and the FW 190 became the most powerful single-engine fighter in the world. True, the American Thunderbolt had the same weight of a minute salvo, but it was armed only with machine guns, and damaging effect bullets were lower than that of an exploding projectile. When, at the end of the war, the FW 190 fighters began to install the latest 30-mm MK108 cannons, in which the projectile mass was three times greater than that of the 20-mm MG 151 cannons, the weight of a minute salvo increased to almost 600 kg / min. For comparison, for a heavy twin-engine fighter "Mosquito", equipped with four cannons and four machine guns, this value was 345 kg / min. Thus, even without taking into account the use missile weapons, FW 190 fighters posed a serious danger not only to front-line, but also to heavy strategic bombers.

Summing up the results of the analysis, it should be noted that, on the one hand, the FW 190, of course, is not the best fighter in the world (as Hitler's propaganda represented it), since it had no advantage in air battles with Soviet fighters, but on the other hand, one cannot underestimate strengths this truly formidable fighting machine.

And finally the last. At the end of the war, German aviation, although it posed a certain danger, did not conduct active hostilities. The latest modifications of the FW 190 aircraft appearing in the air were successfully shot down by Soviet, British and American fighter pilots. This did not mean that the German planes were worse than the enemy planes. On the contrary, at that time the Germans had really good cars. By the way, when at the beginning of April 1945 the advanced British units captured Professor K. Tank himself, it was clear from his testimony that the German designers had made significant progress.

However, under the conditions of complete air supremacy of the allied aviation, no most advanced aircraft could change the nature of the war. German fighters only defended themselves in extremely unfavorable conditions for themselves. In addition, there was practically no one to fly them, since the entire color of the German fighter aircraft "fell to pieces" on the Eastern Front in fierce battles with Soviet pilots. And this is precisely what, of course, should be considered the main and decisive reason for the complete defeat of the Luftwaffe.

"Wings of the Motherland" No. 5 1991

From the moment aircraft have evolved from single enthusiast designs to more or less mass-produced and fit for practical use aircrafts, aviation deserved the closest attention of the military, over time becoming an integral part military doctrine most developed countries.

The more difficult were the losses of the first days of the Great Patriotic War, when the vast majority of aircraft were destroyed before they even got off the ground. However, the current situation became the best incentive for the development of aircraft construction in all classes - it was necessary not only to replenish the Air Force fleet. In the current critical situation, with an acute shortage of time and resources, to create fundamentally different aircraft that could at least fight on equal terms with the Luftwaffe machines, and ideally surpass them.

combat teacher

One of the most recognizable Soviet aircraft of the Great Patriotic War, which brought a huge contribution to the Victory, was the primitive biplane U-2, later renamed Po-2. This two-seat airplane was originally conceived for primary piloting training, and practically could not carry any payload - neither the dimensions of the aircraft, nor its design, nor the take-off weight, nor the small 110-horsepower engine allowed. But the U-2 coped remarkably well with the role of a “training desk” all its life.

However, quite unexpectedly for the U-2, they found quite combat use. Equipped with silencers and holders for light bombs, the aircraft became a light, miniature, but stealthy and dangerous night bomber, firmly established in this role until the end of the war. Later, I even managed to carve out some free weight to install a machine gun. Prior to this, the pilots managed only with personal small arms.

air knights

Some aviation enthusiasts consider WWII to be the golden age of fighter aviation. No computers, radars, missiles with television, radio and heat guidance. Only personal skill, experience and luck.

In the late 30s, the USSR came close to a qualitative breakthrough in the production of fighters. No matter how loved and mastered the capricious Ishachok I-16, if he could resist the Luftwaffe fighters, it was only due to the heroism of the pilots, and at an unrealistically high price. At the same time, in the bowels of the Soviet design bureaus, despite the rampant repressions, fundamentally different fighters were created.

The firstborn of the new approach, the MiG-1 quickly transformed into the MiG-3, which became one of the most dangerous Soviet aircraft of the Second World War, the main German enemy. The plane could accelerate over 600 km / h, and climb to a height of more than 11 kilometers, which was clearly beyond the strength of its predecessors. This is what determined the niche of the MiG-a - it showed itself perfectly as a high-altitude fighter, acting in the air defense system.

However, at altitudes up to 5000 meters, the MiG-3 began to lose in speed to enemy fighters, and in this niche it was supplemented first by the Yak-1, and then the Yak-9. These light vehicles had a large thrust-to-weight ratio and powerful enough weapons, for which they quickly earned the love of pilots, and not only domestic ones - the soldiers of the French Normandie-Neman regiment, having tested several models of fighters from different countries, opted for the Yak-9, which they received as a gift from the Soviet government.

However, these relatively light Soviet aircraft had a noticeable drawback - weak armament. Most often, these were machine guns of 7.62 or 12.7 mm caliber, less often - a 20 mm cannon.

The novelty of the Lavochkin Design Bureau was devoid of this drawback - two ShVAK guns were installed on the La-5. Also on the new fighter, a return was made to air-cooled engines, which were abandoned during the creation of the MiG-1 in favor of liquid-cooled engines. The fact is that the liquid-cooled engine was much more compact - and, therefore, created less drag. The disadvantage of such an engine was its "tenderness" - it is enough for a small fragment or a random bullet to break a tube or radiator of the cooling system, and the engine immediately failed. It was this feature that forced the designers to return to bulky air-cooled engines.

By that time, a new high-power engine, the M-82, had appeared, which subsequently became very widespread. However, at that time, the engine was frankly crude, and caused many problems for aircraft designers who used it on their machines.

However, the La-5 was a serious step in the development of fighters - this was noted not only by Soviet pilots, but also by Luftwaffe testers, who eventually got a captured aircraft in good condition.

flying tank

The design of aircraft during the Great Patriotic War was typical - a wooden or metal frame acting as a power set and taking on all the loads. Outside, it was covered with sheathing - fabric, plywood, metal. An engine, armor plates, and weapons were mounted inside this structure. One way or another, but according to this principle, all the aircraft of the Second World War were designed.

This aircraft was the first new scheme construction. The Ilyushin Design Bureau realized that such an approach significantly overweights the design. At the same time, the armor is strong enough and can be used as an element of the power structure of the aircraft. New Approach opened up new possibilities for rational use weight. This is how the IL-2 appeared - an aircraft that, because of its armor protection, was nicknamed the "flying tank".

IL-2 was an unpleasant surprise for the Germans. At first, the attack aircraft was often used as a fighter, and in this role it proved to be far from brilliant - low speed and maneuverability did not allow it to fight the enemy on equal terms, and the lack of any serious protection of the rear hemisphere quickly began to be used by Luftwaffe pilots.

And for developers, this aircraft did not become problem-free. Throughout the war, the armament of the aircraft was constantly changing, in addition, the addition of a second crew member (initially the aircraft was single) shifted the center of gravity so much back that the aircraft threatened to become uncontrollable.

However, the efforts paid off. The original armament (two 20 mm guns) was changed to a more powerful caliber - 23 mm, and then 37 mm. With such armament of the aircraft, almost everyone began to be afraid - both tanks and heavy bombers.

According to the recollections of the pilots, while firing from such guns, the plane literally hovered in the air due to recoil. The tail gunner successfully covered the rear hemisphere from fighter attacks. In addition, the aircraft could take several light bombs with it.

All this was successful, and the IL-2 became an indispensable aircraft on the battlefield, and not only the most popular and recognizable attack aircraft of the Great Patriotic War, but also the most massive combat aircraft - more than 36 thousand of them were produced in total. And if we consider that at the beginning of the war there were only 128 of them in the Air Force, then there is no doubt about its relevance.

Destroyers

A bomber has been an integral part of military aviation almost from the very beginning of its use on the battlefield. Small, large, super-large - they have always been the most technologically advanced type of combat aviation.

One of the most recognizable Soviet aircraft of the Second World War of this type is the Pe-2. Conceived as a super-heavy fighter, over time this aircraft was transformed, becoming one of the most dangerous and effective dive bombers of the war.

It is worth saying that the dive bomber, as a class of aircraft, made its debut in the Second World War. Its appearance was due to the evolution of weapons: the development of air defense systems forced the creation of more and more high-altitude bombers. However, the higher the bombing height, the lower the accuracy of the bombing. The developed tactics of using bombers meant breaking through to targets at high altitude, descending to bombing altitude, and leaving again at high altitude. The idea of ​​dive bombing was only a matter of time.

The dive bomber does not drop bombs in level flight. It literally falls on the target, and resets from a minimum height of literally hundreds of meters. The result is the highest possible accuracy. However, at low altitude, the aircraft is most vulnerable to anti-aircraft guns - and this could not but leave an imprint on its design.

It turns out that the dive bomber must combine the incompatible. It should be as compact as possible to minimize the risk of being shot down by anti-aircraft gunners. At the same time, the aircraft must be roomy enough, otherwise there will simply be nowhere to hang the bombs. Moreover, we must not forget about strength, because the loads on the aircraft structure during a dive, and especially the withdrawal from a dive, are enormous. And the failed Pe-2 fighter did an excellent job with his new role.

The "Pawn" was supplemented by his relative in the Tu-2 class. A small twin-engine bomber could "work" both from a dive and according to the classic bomber method. His problem is that at the beginning of the war the plane was very, very rare. However, the machine turned out to be so effective and successful that the number of modifications created on its basis is perhaps the maximum for Soviet aircraft of the Second World War.

Tu-2 was a bomber, attack aircraft, reconnaissance, interceptor, torpedo bomber... In addition to all this, there were several different variations that differed in range. However, these machines were far from really long-range bombers.

To Berlin!

This bomber is perhaps the most beautiful of the aircraft of the war years, making the IL-4 impossible to confuse with anyone. Despite the difficulty in control (which explains the high accident rate of these aircraft), the IL-4 was very popular among the troops and was used not only as a "land" bomber. Despite the excessive flight range, the aircraft was used in the Air Force as a torpedo bomber.

However, the IL-4 left its mark in history as the aircraft that carried out the first combat missions to Berlin. It happened in the autumn of 1941. However, soon the front line shifted to the East so much that the capital of the Third Reich became inaccessible to the IL-4, and then other aircraft began to “work” on it.

heavy and rare

During the Great Patriotic War, this aircraft was so rare and “closed” that it was often attacked by its own air defenses. But he performed perhaps the most difficult operations of the war.

The Pe-8 long-range bomber, although it appeared in the late 30s, but for a long time was not just the most modern aircraft of its class - it was the only one. The Pe-8 had a high speed (more than 400 km / h), and the fuel supply made it possible not only to fly to Berlin and back, but also to carry large-caliber bombs, up to the five-ton FAB-5000. It was the Pe-8s that bombed Koenigsberg, Helsinki, Berlin, when the front line was dangerously close to Moscow. Because of the “working range”, the Pe-8 is sometimes called a strategic bomber, and then this class of vehicles was just in its infancy.

One of the most specific operations performed by the Pe-8 is the transportation of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V. M. Molotov to the UK and the USA. The flights took place in the spring of 1942, the route crossed the occupied territories of Europe. The People's Commissar traveled on a special, passenger version of the Pe-8. In total, two such aircraft were built.

Nowadays, aircraft operate several dozen intercontinental flights daily, carrying thousands of passengers. However, in those years, such a flight was a real feat not only for pilots, but also for passengers. It's not even that there was a war, and the plane could be shot down at any moment. In the 1940s, comfort and life support systems in aircraft were very, very primitive, and navigation systems, in the modern sense, were completely absent. The navigator could only rely on radio beacons, the range of which was very limited, and there were none over the occupied territories, and on his own experience and the special instinct of the navigator - after all, on long-haul flights, he, in fact, became the main person in the plane. It depended on him whether the plane would fly to a given point, or would stray over a poorly oriented and, moreover, enemy territory. Say what you like, but the courage of Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was not to take.

Concluding this short review Soviet aircraft of the Great Patriotic War, it would probably be useful to recall all those who, in conditions of hunger, cold, lack of the most necessary (often even freedom), developed all these machines, each of which was a serious step forward for all world aviation. The names of Lavochkin, Pokryshkin, Tupolev, Mikoyan and Gurevich, Ilyushin, Bartini will forever remain in world history. Behind them will forever be all those who helped the chief designers - ordinary engineers.

For the first time, the Messerschmitt Bf.109 took off into the sky on May 28, 1935. It was he who was destined to become not only the most massive winged machine of the Second World War, but also to acquire the status of a legend. And although the countries - opponents of Germany, of course, had their own planes, not every one of them could at least fight on equal terms with the "German". Most often, their performance characteristics were no match for the Messerschmitt Bf.109.

Before the start of the war, the design bureau of Alexander Yakovlev produced, basically, only sports winged cars. Only in 1940 did the Yak-1 fighter enter mass production. In addition to aluminum, canvas and wood were also used in its construction.

Yak-9 competed on equal terms with the "Messers"

When the war broke out, the Yak-1 showed itself with better side. He could not compete only with the Messerschmitt Bf.109. Therefore, the question of modernization arose. And in 1942 in Soviet army the Yak-9 appeared, which could already adequately resist the "Messers". It is curious that in close combat at low altitudes the Soviet fighter was better. But at high altitudes Bf.109 "recouped".

Yak-9 became the most massive Soviet fighter. Until 1948, about 17 thousand of these winged machines were produced in 18 different variations.

Willy Messerschmitt's starting position was far from ideal. He was in a strained relationship with the Secretary of State of the German Air Ministry, General Erhard Milch. Therefore, when a competition was announced for the creation of a promising fighter, Messerschmitt had no false illusions. He understood that he needed to create an ingenious winged machine so that even the biased attitude of the commission could not affect the result.

Willie was expectedly not allowed to compete. Perhaps another person would have given up, but not him. Messerschmitt signed a contract with one of the Romanian enterprises to create an aircraft. When they found out about this, a terrible scandal erupted. The designer was accused of treason, and the Gestapo became interested in him. Only the personal intervention of Rudolf Hess allowed Willy to take part in the competition.

Messerschmitt created the best fighter by the beginning of World War II

It is interesting that in the conditions of the competition they prescribed a technical task, which the new fighter had to comply with. But Messerschmitt decided not to pay attention to him, because he considered that Germany did not need such an aircraft. And he created the fighter exactly the way he wanted to see it himself.

The designer is wrong. His Bf.109 turned out to be the best, especially at the beginning of the Second World War. At the time of the defeat of Germany, a little less than 34 thousand fighters in thirty different modifications were produced. Therefore, the 1945 model aircraft was significantly superior to its 1937 counterpart.

Of course, the British also succeeded in flying. And although Reginald Mitchell was a self-taught designer, this did not stop him from creating a decent aircraft.

His first brainchild - Supermarine Type 221 - appeared in 1934. During the test flight, the aircraft managed to accelerate to 562 km / h and climb 9145 meters in just 17 minutes. None of the winged machines of that time could boast of such outstanding results. The "Englishman" had no competitors in terms of firepower either.

In 1938, another ingenious "child" of Mitchell, the Supermarine Spitfire, was put into mass production for the British Royal Air Force. But the designer himself did not live up to this moment. He died in 1937 from cancer.

Supermarine was constantly worried, so to speak, "restyling". Work on improving the fighter was carried out by the company's designers.

So, the most massive fighter in Britain was a variation of the Supermarine Spitfire MkI. IN total over 20 thousand of these winged machines were created. This aircraft showed all its power in the Battle of Britain.

There was something to brag about and the Japanese. But unlike other countries participating in the war, their carrier-based fighter has become the most massive fighter. And it was called Mitsubishi A6M Reisen, nicknamed "Zero". At the end of the Second World War, the Japanese managed to release about 11 thousand "zeros".

The mass character of the carrier-based fighter is simply explained - Japan had an impressive aviation fleet. There is also a second reason. It was "Zero" that began to be used as a kamikaze aircraft. Naturally, their "population" is constantly declining.

The most massive fighter jet in Japan was created by Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi A6M Reisen could accelerate to 500 km / h at an altitude of 4000 meters. The duration of his flight approached the mark of 8 hours, and the takeoff was 70 meters.

By the way, it was Zero on December 7, 1941, that took part in the attack on the American base at Pearl Harbor.

The Americans were not far behind. In 1942, by order of the British government, the company North American created the P-51 Mustang fighter. Only his purpose was somewhat different. Unlike other winged vehicles, the Mustang was entrusted with escorting long-range bombers. Accordingly, the designers thoroughly worked on the practical range of the aircraft, increasing it to 1,500 kilometers. But the distillation was as much as 3,700 kilometers.

P-51 Mustang nicknamed "flying Cadillac"

Such a phenomenal range was achieved due to the fact that the P-51 was the first to use a laminar wing. And for high level comfort fighter was nicknamed the "flying Cadillac".

During the Great Patriotic War, the main striking force of the Soviet Union was combat aviation. Even taking into account the fact that about 1000 Soviet aircraft were destroyed in the first hours of the attack by the German invaders, all the same, our country very soon managed to become the leader in the number of aircraft produced. Let's remember the five best aircraft on which our pilots defeated Nazi Germany.

At altitude: MiG-3

At the beginning of hostilities, there were much more of these aircraft than other combat aircraft. But many pilots at that time had not yet mastered the MiG, and the training took some time.

Soon, the vast majority of testers still learned to fly the aircraft, which helped to eliminate the problems that had arisen. At the same time, the MiG was losing in many respects to other combat fighters, which were very numerous at the beginning of the war. Although some aircraft were superior in speed at an altitude of more than 5 thousand meters.

The MiG-3 is considered a high-altitude aircraft, the main qualities of which are manifested at an altitude of more than 4.5 thousand meters. He has proven himself as a night fighter in the air defense system with a ceiling of up to 12 thousand meters and high speed. Therefore, the MiG-3 was used until 1945, including for the protection of the capital.

On July 22, 1941, the very first battle took place over Moscow, where the MiG-3 pilot Mark Gallai destroyed an enemy aircraft. The legendary Alexander Pokryshkin also flew the MiG.

"King" modifications: Yak-9

During the 1930s of the 20th century, Alexander Yakovlev's design bureau produced mainly sports aircraft. In the 40s, the Yak-1 fighter was put into mass production, which had excellent flight qualities. When did the second World War, Yak-1 successfully fought with German fighters.

In 1942, the Yak-9 appeared in the Russian air force. The new aircraft was distinguished by increased maneuverability, through which it was possible to fight with the enemy at medium and low altitudes.

This aircraft was the most massive during the Second World War. It was manufactured from 1942 to 1948, more than 17,000 aircraft were produced in total.

The design features of the Yak-9 were also distinguished by the fact that duralumin was used instead of wood, which made the aircraft much lighter than numerous analogues. The ability of the Yak-9 to various upgrades has become one of its most important advantages.

Possessing 22 main modifications, 15 of which were built in series, it included the qualities of both a fighter-bomber and a front-line fighter, as well as an escort, interceptor, passenger aircraft, reconnaissance, training flight machine. It is believed that the most successful modification of this aircraft, the Yak-9U, appeared in 1944. The German pilots called him the "killer".

Reliable soldier: La-5

At the very beginning of the Second World War, German aircraft had a significant advantage in the sky of the Soviet Union. But after the appearance of the La-5, developed at the Lavochkin design bureau, everything changed. Outwardly, it may seem simple, but this is only at first glance. Even though this aircraft did not have such devices as, for example, the artificial horizon, the Soviet pilots liked the air machine very much.

The strong and reliable design of Lavochkin's latest aircraft did not fall apart even after ten direct hits by an enemy projectile. In addition, the La-5 was impressively agile, with a turn time of 16.5-19 seconds at a speed of 600 km/h.

Another advantage of the La-5 was that it did not perform a corkscrew aerobatics without a direct order from the pilot. If he did get into a tailspin, he immediately got out of it. This aircraft participated in many battles over the Kursk Bulge and Stalingrad, the famous pilots Ivan Kozhedub and Alexei Maresyev fought on it.

Night bomber: Po-2

The Po-2 (U-2) bomber is considered one of the most popular biplanes in world aviation. In 1920, it was created as a training aircraft, and its developer Nikolai Polikarpov did not even think that his invention would be used during the Second World War. During the battle, the U-2 turned into an effective night bomber. At that time in air force The Soviet Union appeared special aviation regiments, which were armed with U-2. These biplanes flew over 50% of all combat aircraft sorties during World War II.

The Germans called the U-2 "Sewing Machines", these planes bombed them at night. One U-2 could carry out several sorties during the night and, with a load of 100-350 kg, it dropped more ammunition than, for example, a heavy bomber.

The famous 46th Taman Aviation Regiment fought on Polikarpov's planes. Four squadrons included 80 pilots, 23 of whom have the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The Germans called these women “Night Witches” for their aviation skills, courage and bravery. 23,672 sorties were made by the Taman air regiment.

11,000 U-2s were produced during World War II. They were manufactured in the Kuban at aircraft factory No. 387. In Ryazan (now it is the State Ryazan Instrument Plant), air skis and cabins for these biplanes were produced.

In 1959, the U-2, which was renamed Po-2 in 1944, completed its brilliant thirty years of service.

Flying tank: IL-2

The most massive combat aircraft in the history of Russia is the Il-2. In total, more than 36,000 of these aircraft were produced. The Germans nicknamed the IL-2 "Black Death" for the huge losses and damage caused. And the Soviet pilots called this aircraft "Concrete", "Winged Tank", "Humpback".

Just before the war in December 1940, the Il-2 began to be mass-produced. Vladimir Kokkinaki, the famous test pilot, made his first flight on it. These bombers immediately entered service with the Soviet army.

Soviet aviation in the face of this Il-2 gained its main strike force. The aircraft is a combination powerful features providing the aircraft with reliability and service life. This armored glass, and rockets, and rapid-fire aircraft guns, and a powerful engine.

The best factories of the Soviet Union worked on the manufacture of parts for this aircraft. The main enterprise for the production of ammunition for the IL-2 is the Tula Instrument Design Bureau.

Armored glass for glazing the Il-2 canopy was manufactured at the Lytkarino Optical Glass Plant. The engines were assembled at plant number 24 (Kuznetsov enterprise). In Kuibyshev, at the Aviaagregat plant, propellers for attack aircraft were produced.

With the help of the most modern technologies at that time, this aircraft turned into a real legend. Once, more than 600 hits by enemy shells were counted on an IL-2 returning from battle. The bomber was repaired and sent back to combat.