[OT] Russian things

[quoted original message omitted]

Derk Groeneveld schrieb:
> On Thu, 30 May 2002, Thomas Barclay wrote:

> lieutenant on the east front, is just how much grief the russian

Right. The Russians didn't have much of a Strategic air force (though they
occasionally bombed Berlin), but their tactical air force was quite up to the
job.

Overall, their aircraft designs were as good as those of the other powers, and
they kept up with developments. And they produced hordes of them.

I have read an account that as early as late 1941, German pilots reckoned the
air defences of Moscow to be "Tougher than London". And from that point on,
the Russian air force was able to hold its own against the Luftwaffe and
eventually to gain air superiority.

> (Including the curious rumour going about amongst the

Such rumours were rife among German forces late in WWII. So much so that, when
the Allies and Soviets exchanged notes and captured papers after the war, the
Allies censored any German texts alluding to such
rumours. (There is a paper by Glantz - American Eastern Front Expert -
on the subject).

Greetings

> --- KH.Ranitzsch@t-online.de wrote:
...
> > reading 'In Deadly Combat' by G.H. Bidermann, a

> Overall, their aircraft designs were as good as
------
Hordes YES, Quality NO! Early war Yak and Lagg fighters were equal in
performance/firepower/range to the 109E-4 series.
The Russians do not produce another comparable
fighter until the La-7 enters combat in Sep. 43.
Around Sep. 43 the allies entered the P47-D22,
P38J-25, F4U-1A, Spitfire 8E.
The axis entered the following into combat;
Me109G-6U3 (MW50 boost), MK108 enters combat,
Fw190A-7.
You will not the allied A/C are all high fighters,
the Germans are high/mid (109) and mid (190),
Russian fighters prior to the advent of the La-7
were all low/mid (LaGG-3/5, Yak-3/7) or mid (La-1)
Mig1/3 do qualify as high fighter with good
performance, but no effective weapons.

> I have read an account that as early as late 1941,

> --- "K.H.Ranitzsch" <KH.Ranitzsch@t-online.de> wrote:

> > Most good russian pilots were placed into 'guards'

The process of forming elite units by draining the future leadership of the
line units is counterproductive
in the long term.   Someone who might have been a good
squadron leader in a line unit now flies as a section leader in the guards
unit.

Bye for now,