Russia’s Air Strength

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 23 September 1941, Page 3

Russia’s Air Strength

STILL OI'KUATINt;

After Him* niontlts of int.-n <• tight ! "ig against Hie < ierillil II I .lift Wil ITe, I lie | Kussian Air Force is t il] i M In-in;.. . 111 <I appears to In; opera I ing ns :m orgiroi/.i'd whole. That is the I test testimony !o its quality ami cllhiniey. It h;rs .Sintered severe losses, hut it innloiihtedly lias taken a In-avy toll of (o-rman aircraft. <»|xraliiig along a front of While Sea to the Bl.uk Sea, the Bu ian of itself, and against tin Luftwalie its that, of the Ko.val Air Force of (treat Britain. How lona it ran stand the tierce campaign, linn- atom- will show. It has proved itself heller able to stand "I> to l lie might and ellieieney of the Luftwaffe than many authorities expected. Unknown Quantity In all the British and American jourforce at the hegiuniiig of tin- campaign in .1 iine was remarkably guarded. It was generally staled that like the other services the liiissian air force had liecii developed under a cloak of secrecy. Tim usually well informed "Aeroplane'’ said that information about the .strength and equipment of the Led air licet has been more scarce than that on any other major Power, for in.Mancc, more was known about the jealously guarded secrets of the Japanese air force than those of Jiussia up to the time of the tiiTinirn attack. Now that a British military mission is in Moscow ollicial British (piatteis will hi* fully informed. The aeronautical correspondent, of "The Times” said it. was known that Bussia had been "hard at work for years trying to build up a huge force, but what that effort has produced is somewhat doubtful. Probably Kussia has somewhere about 10,01)0 Service aircraft of all types, with a front-line , strength of boon machines. Tim rather I impressive total is apt to be misleading, however, for many of tlie types are obsolescent and even obsolete, while it is generally believed that she has no great reserves, that the general standard of her pilots and Hying crews is not high, that the workmanship in the factory and maintenance units is not up to Western standards, ami that her rate of production is small by comparison with the huge industry that has been built up.” Estimates Of Strength The “Aeroplane said lhal according to tile most reliable of many unreliable estimates, the operational .strength of the lied Air Fleet was around SHOO “JlrsL line” aeroplanes, of which about DUO are seaplanes. The total strength was probably about live times mis figure. Mo reliable reports of total casualties have been obtained as yet from either side, but the German inures are obviously fantastic exaggerations. Writing in January, BHO, an officer of the French Air Ministry gave the operational strength of the Bed Air Fleet on the European front as between 5000 and 0000 machines immediately available, lie quoted German sources for the following figures for numbers of aircraft available of various types on the European Frontier. Between 3000 and 2000 1-10 singieseat lighter monoplanes. Between 1200 and 1500 SB-2 twomotor bombers. About 1200 II 3, B-5 and B O two-seat reconnai.ssa nce biplanes. Between 200 and 300 CKB-2G twomotor bombers. About 200 1)1-0 two-seat fighter biplanes. Between 150 and 200 1-17 single-seat tighter monoplanes.

Fighters And Bombers In the fighting so far two Russian types seem to have done well—the 1-1 S lighter, which resembles the Spitfire, uul the TB-G four-motored bomber, i'he great L-7GO bomber has Also been reported in action. The J-1S is a single-seat fighter—a ow-wing monoplane with a single M--100 111-cylinder Yee liquid-cooled motor aid to develop 1100 h.p. The top speed s reported to be about 300 in.p.li., amt he armament eight machine-guns in he wings. Undoubtedly, Comrade Policarpov, its designer, studied the pubJis bed information on both the Spitfire and the Me 100 in developing the 1-18, though, unlike either, the wheels retina inward into the centre section. The TB-G is a four-motor mid-wing derearriage. in its latest form, with four M-100 motors, the top speed is quoted as 274 m.p.ii. at 10,000 ft., and the range 1210 miles with 440u1b. of bombs. The loaded weight is around 50.0001 b. According to the “Aeroplane.” one of the greatest dangers of the Berman attack is that Germany should capture some of the larger Russian factories more or less intact and be able to turn them over to the production of Berman aircraft out of range of the R.A.F. Aircraft works are situated at Moscow (Plant No. 1), Odessa (No. 15), Vormesh (No. 18), Niskni Novogcrod (No. 21), Fill (No. 22). Leningrad (No. 23), Taganoy (No. 31), Sebastopol (No. 45), Tuskiui (No. 81), Khemki (No. 84), Kozou and, among many others, four in Siberia. Training Of Personnel The aeronautical correspondent of “The Times” said the Soviet Air Force lost many of its officers and experienced men in the “purge” of 1937-38, and although picked pilots and crews gave quite a good account of themselves in Spain and Finland, the general standard of efficiency suffered through lack of good leaders. Tlie training facilities also appeared to be rather haphazard and inadequate, relying to a considerable extent in a protracted war lack of highclass pilots and crews was likely to prove a serious handicap, though civilian dying has been developed in the Union to such an extent that large numbers of men and women could be transferred for war duties. From time to time it lias been rumoured that Russian women already hold air force ranks. Whatever the strength of the Russian Air Force may have been, the operations on the Eastern Front since ! June 22 have called for a major effort on the part of the Luftwaffe, whose main strength has been concentrated against the Russians. How the Russian aircraft industry is meeting the problem of production it is not possible to say, but it is certain that in taking the full weight of Germany's onslaught as she has done throughout the northern summer, Russia can do with the maximum assistance from Great Britain and tli-e United States.