flying review - 1958 june - soviet air force

8/7/2019 Flying Review - 1958 June - Soviet Air Force

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Flying Review

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* D u n lo p A v ia tio n D iv is io nextends its wllrmestcongrlltuilltions to A . V.Ro e .& Co . L ttL ,ont"e IIc"ieRments 01

II most noteworthy hllil-century 01 progress.

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I 9 0 8 -- I 958

= FIFTY YEARSricar'er the Sky

Fifty years ago, A. V. Roe flew the first Avro aeroplane. Today theworld's most advanced and effective bomber, the delta-winged Avro Vulcan,is playing ,a vital operational role with the R.A.F.

From wood and wire to supersonic speeds: Avro's Golden Jubilee ofaircraft marks half a century of unparalleled achievement during whichthe Company has produced over thirty different types of aircraft, amongthem the Avro 504 of the Kaiser War~at first Britain's only long-rangebomber; later the most famous trainer in the world; the Avro Avian, inwhich Bert Hinkler made the first solo flight to Australia, and in whichWinifred Brown became the only woman to win the King's Cup Air Race ;the faithful Anson, of which J J ,020 were built during 17 years of con-tinuous production; the Lancaster which carried two-thirds of all bombsdropped by the R.A.F. between 1942 and 1945; and the Shackleton,the defender of our country's life-lines on the sea.

A fine record. A' fine pedigree. Together they assure a fine future.

=

A.-V. ROE & CO. LIMITED', MANCHESTERMEMBER,OF HAWKER SIDDELEY

ONE OF TH:E WORLD'S INDUSTRIAL LEADERS

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4 R oy o_ l A ir"Force


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Flying Re.,iew

IUJVUJW

The JourQal ofThe Royal Air Fo..ce

*Is.6d. MONTHLYJUNE, 1958VOL. 13. No. 10

Published by:The Royal Air Force Review

Ltd.Editorial, Advertisement and

Publishing Offices:Mercury House,

109-119 Waterloo Road.London, S.E.I, England

Telephone : Water loo 3388.

*Royal Air Force Liaison Officer:Royal Air Force Flying Review,Adastral House,

Theobalds Rd., London ..W.C.I.Telephone: HOLborn 3434 (t: :xt . 7118)

*THE ROYAL AIR FORCE FLYING REVIEWis published monthly with the co-opera-t ion of t he Air Minist ry. Its circulationis world-wide. Obtainable at book-stal ls throughout the United Kingdom.and in the Home and Overseas Com-mands at all units and formations ofthe Royal Air Force. the RoyalAuxiliary Air Force, the Royal AirForce Volunteer Reserve, Squadrons ofthe Air Training CorDS and Cent res oft he Royal Observer Corps. Addit ion-ally. it is obtainable from NAAFIestabl ishments, the cinemas of the RAPCinema Corporation, on troopshipsand through Service Clubs and branches

of Royal Air Forces Association. Allservice correspondence from within theRoyal Air Force should be addressedto Royal Air Force Liaison Officer atthe above address. Al l other communi.cat ions, including art icles f .or publ ica-tion and subscription correspondence,should -be addressed to the Publ ishersat (he address shown above.

*Posta; Subscription Rates for 12Cepies r United Kingdom and Eire-20s. oa . USA and CanaJa-S3.50.All other countries-c-zfls.. or localcurrency equivalent Subscribers shouldgive six weeks' advance notice of achange of address.

*.The views expressed in articlesappearing in this publication arethose of the authors concerned.They do not necessari ly repre-sent the views of the editor orofficial opinions or policy.

*rHE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THISJOURNAL ARE PROTECTED BYCOPYRIGHT AND MAY NOT BEREPRODUCED WITHOUT PRIOR

CONSENT.

*Credit.: Acknowledgment is made tothe Air Ministry for permission to re-produce copyright photographs appear-mg in this issue.

B E TW E E N YO U AN D M E

O U R R U S S IA N IS S U E

I

INTERESTED IN CAME,RAS?If so you need Wallace Heaton's BLUE BOOK-160 pages-SSOillustrations - all about new C AM ERA S, A CC ESSO RIE S. SERV IC ES,etc.1/- post free. Special export edition shows taxless prices for overseas

customers

WALLACE HEATON Ltd.127 New Bond Street. London. W.1

ARTIST Dennis Punnett put down hisbrush and came up for air. Technicalwriter William Green slammed his type-writer keys on the last few words andwent out for a whisky. Endsleigh Castle,

Gert Heumann, Kenneth Gatland, JackWood and all the rest of us who haveworked likc Trojans on this specialRussian Issue gave a gigantic sigh ofrelief. It was done! Now it was left toour gallant band of compositors, photo-engravers and machine-minders tostruggle through the complexities ofdrawings, captions and "copy." The resultis in your hands at this moment.

You'll forgive us, then, if we sit backand take some pride in our achievement.And we'll say here and now that whatyou have got for your money this month isthe most comprehensive modem surveyof Russian aviation yet pulJlished! Andwe're quite willing to bet a pint of vodkato a penny that copies of this issue willbe snapped up like hot cakes all over theworld.

We trust that you are one of the sen-sible chaps who has placed a definiteorder, but if you know any poor unfor-tunates who haven't been able to get holdof this issue ... let them glance overyour shoulder-and tell them to take nochances in the future!

LAST FIGHTER?

ANOTHER thing the Russians wouldlike to know-and we share their curio-sity-is whether the English ElectricP.IB is, in fact, to be the last British

manned fighter. Chatting with Sir Der-mot Boyle and Air Vice-Marshal Kyle atthe "Prospect .. Conference on May 6,we formed the impression that this is the64-dollar question even within the AirCouncil.

True. present policy lays down missilesas successors to the P.I, but Kyle re-minded us that circumstances changerapidly and that we could easily have achanged threat which would call for along-range fighter to operate beyond therange of surface-to-air guided weapons.A "second generation" of V-bombersmight also be needed to retain flexibilityand discretion in the delivery of a weaponfrom outside the enemy's perimeter de-fences. Some pretty rapid thinking willobviously have to be done on this thornyquestion. Because of it'Svital importance,we shall publish a full survey of theproblem in our next issue.

FIRST HOP

JUST fifty years ago. on June 8th, 1908,Mr. A. V. Roe (facetiously known as.. Roe the Hopper" because of his in-ability to remain airborne for any lengthof time) confounded all the grinning criticsby making such a lengthy "hop" thatmany people have since described it-notwithout controversy-as the first sus-tained British flight. Two years later.this epoch-making event culminated inthe formation of the famous A. V. Roe& Co. Ltd., which, under the popular" Avro" label, has been a household word

in aviation ever since.Avro's connection with the RAF hasbeen a long and glorious one. In fact, asreaders of our RAF Anniversary Issuemay have noted. the Royal Air Forcesince its inception in 1918 has never beenwithout an Avro aeroplane.Their names resound like a roll of

drums through the historic events ofBritish aviation: Avian, Anson, Avenger,Buffalo, Manchester. Lancaster, Tudor,York, Lincoln, Shackleton and finally theVulcan. In addition, in the post-WWIIera, the name of Avro has become amajor part of the aeronautical scene inCanada, resulting in the production of theCF-IOO and Arrow all-weather fighters.On this anniversary, Britons everywhere

should proudly salute the achievements ofthe Avro enterprise. The Edd;;.,.

5

FACTS FROM THE EAST

LIKE as not, someone will want to knowwhy the Journal of the Royal Air Forceshould devote an entire issue to theaviation of the Soviet Union. The answeris simple. In these troubled days it ismore than ever necessary that we in theWest should have the fullest possibleknowledge and understanding of airafIairsbehind the Iron Curtain. Rumoursand half-truths may lead to false con-jectures and misunderstandings, to unduecomplacency or fear.

In this issue we have set out neither toglorify nor disparage the Russian AirForces, but have endeavoured to assemblethe facts as far as they can be ascertained.We believe our estimates are accurate andour facts are correct, but naturally wecannot say more than this. And we mustmake it quite clear that' the informationin this issue is the result of our ownindependent investigations and does notstem from any official source. Doubtlessthe Russians would like to know just howmuch information on their aircraft ispossessed by our own Air Ministry. Wecannot enlighten them. We don't know!


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AN ADVISORY BUREAU FOR AEROPHILES

Pollkll.rlJOll'S H Ntdusha "

In the article entitled -"Franco's FinestAce" in the May, 1957, issue, mentionwas made of the Pollkarpov R-5 andR-Z. I shall be glad if you will publishsome details of these types-R. BENNETfS,GRANTHAM, LINes.

Pollkarpov R5

~

I UU I :: Du'bbed" Natasha " in Spain where,during the civil war, it fought on the sideof the Republican government, the R-5reconnaissance-bomber biplane flew 'in

6

prototype form in 1927, and was subse-quently produced in large numbers anda variety of versions. The 'accompany-

ing drawings, published by courtesy ofA viation Magazine, depict the majorvariants 'of the R-5. The R-Z, or R-Zet,was a modified version of the basic R5intended for the assault role. The 680 h.p.M-17 engine was replaced by a 750 h. p.AM-34N, a canopy was fitted over thepilot's 'and observer"s 'seats, 'and 'armamentcomprised a single manually-operated7.62-mm, ShKAS machine gun and a fixedforward-firing PV-I guo. The underwingbomb load compr ised eight IIO-lb. bombs,four 220-lb. bombs or two 550-Fb. bombs,and performance was: maximum speed,180 m.p.h. at 11,480 ft., cruising 'speed,124 m.p.h., range, 62.1 miles, ceiling,

_26,245 ft. Empty and 'loaded weightswere '5,357 lbs, and 7,054 lbs, respectively,and overall dimensions were: span, 50 iflt.10Yz in., length, 31 it. 10 in., wing area,453 sq.ft. Another version of the R-5intended for ground strafing was' desig-nated LRand carried four forward-firingmachine guns firing 'a't an angle O 'f30 deg.from the horizontal.The DI-2 two-seat fighter of 1929 was

another R5 variant powered by a 680 h.p.M-17 engine and carrying {me fixedforward-firing 7.62-mm. machine gunand twin 7.62-m-m. guns in I~herear cock-pit. The overall dimensions of tlhisversion were substantially reduced, being;span, 38 ft. 8Y zin., Iength, 26 ft. 11 .in.,height, 10 ft. 10 in., wing area, 343 sq.ft.Empty and loaded weights were 2,970 lbs.and 4,216 lbs., and performance was;maximum speed, 168 m.p.h. at 16,405 ft.,159 rn.p.h, at sea level; time to 16,405 ft.,14 min. 12 sees. The P-5of 1928 was acivil version of the R-5 which carried an880lb. freight 'load. The P-5bis of 1930was a further development with an en-closed 'cabin providing accommodationfor six passengers; the PR-5 6f 1934 wasa progressive development of ~he P-5bis,

and 'the ARK-5 was a specially modifiedversion employed for Arctic explorationduring the late 'thirties, one version ofwhich was fined with a 950 h.p. AM-34engine.

Berle.,' If BoutlfCan you publish details and a three-

view drawing of the MDR-6 (Be-4) war-time, flying boat ?-M. B. PASSINGHAM,NEW SOllTHGATE, LONDON,N.ll.

Would YOIl please publish injormotionconcerning the MBR-2 and MDR-6 flyingboats ?-T. SIMKIN, WEDNESBURY, STAFFS.

Would YOIl please give some lniorma-tion and a three-view drawing of theMDR-6, and fell me if it ever enteredsepvice with the SovAF ?-T. ROBERTSON,QLASGOW, S.E.

The Be2 or MBR-2 single-enginedshort-range reconnaissance flying boat wasdesigned by G. M. Beriev in 1932, andwas originally fitted with a 680 h.p. M-17engine. This was replaced in 1934 by an860 h.p, AM-34. In addition to servingwith the Soviet Navy's air. forces, the VVS-VMF (now A-VMF), it was utilised byA erof io t as a transport under the designa-tion MP-!. The MBR-2 had a maximum

speed of 136.7 m.p.h., a maximum cruis-ing speed of 121 rn.p.h., and a maximumrange of 745 miles. Overall dimensionsincluded a wing span of 43 ft. II Y z in.,

and a length of 30 ft. 2~ in. Armamentcomprised a single7.62~mm. machine gunin a manually-operated dorsal turret anda single 7.62-mm. gun in an .open bowturret, A crew of five was carried andlight bombs were slung under the wings,inboard of ,the floats. A number 'ofMBR-2 (alias Be-2) flying boats are now

~ERIEV Be4

Roya l A ir Force


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.AFTER TRANS-ATLANTIC DELIVERY FLIGHT

The first squadron of Avro CF-IOO Mark 5' aircraft for the Belgian AirForce has been delivered for operational service.The Avro CF-IOO Mark 5 was designed to meet specifications for a long-range, high alti tude, rocket f ir ing. day or night al l-weather interceptor, withautomatic fire control, for the lead-collision course attack technique. It hasproved its operational performance in air force squadron service on both'sides of the Atlantic,

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used for fishery patrol and, although nolonger serving with the A-VMF, thetype has been allocated the NATO codename More.The MDR-6 'or Be-4 (see three-view

drawing) was developed by G. M. Berievin 1938-9 as a ' long-range reconnaissancebombing flying boat powered by two1,100 h.p, M-63 radia1engines which,

mounted on the wing leading edges .at avery marked angle of attack, gave theMDR-6 a characteristic nose-down flightangle. Carrying a crew of five or six anda defensive armament of one 7.62-mm.

_ .machirte gun in each of the nose anddorsal manually-operated turrets, the'MDR-6 had a maximum speed of 192.6rn.p.h., and its overall dimensions includeda span of 64 ft. I I ~ in., and a 'length IOf48 ft. 2~ in. It is believed that 'theM'DR-6 was built in relatively smallnumbers. It is of interest to note thatBeriev wasalso responsible for rhe design ,of the pre-war KOR-I two seat-reconnais-sance float biplane powered by a 950 h.p,M-62 radial engine, and its development,the KOR-2 of 1940, which had a 1,100 h.p,M-63 radial,

Pre-War GiantWould you kindly print information,

photos and a three-view drawing of theTu polev L-760? -VAUGHAN COTTRELL,OULT9N, NR.. LEEDS.

Tupolev ANT.10bls (P5-ll")

AN.TlD .~Maxim Gorki ..

The aircraft to Which Mr. Cottrellrefers was the ANT-20bis or PS-124'with registration SSSR-L760. The ANT-20bis was a development of the ANT-20Maxim Gorki (see photograph) which waspowered by eight 900 h.p. AM-34Rengines, two mounted in tandem above'

~a,e , I

8

LAVOCHKIN'SN

ow fifty-eight years of age, SemyonAlexse'evich LavDchkin suddenlyachieved prominence during thewar years with an excellent series

of single-seat fighter monoplanes whichdid much tD turn the tide of the airwar over the Eastern Front in favourof the Soviet Air Forces. The fighterfrom which this series stemmed wasinitially known as the 1-22 and flewfor the first time on March 30, 1939,with test pilot P. N. Nikachine at thecon tro Is. Redesignated LaGG-l '(theinitials indicating that Lavochkin hadbeen assisted by engineers Gorbunovand Gudkov), this neat little mono-plane was unusual in that it was en-tirely of wooden construction at a timewhen contemporary designers had,almost without exception, switched tometal construction. Flight tests re-vealed the need for certain modifica-tions and, as the LaGG-3, the fighterentered production in 1940.Although Finnish test pilots who were

later to examine captured examples of theLaGG-3 were critical of its accelerationand a tendency to spin in sharp turns,the fighter was unquestionably superior toits contemporary, the MiG-3, was simpleto build and called for the use of fewstrategic materials. At the end of 1941,Lavochkin modified the LaGG) air-frame to take a Shvetsov M-82A (ASh-82A) IS-cylinder radial engine of 1,600h.p. The modified aircraft flew for thefirst time early in 1942 and proved to be25-30 m.p.h, faster than the Luitwaffe'sMesserschmitt Bf 109F, at that time themost troublesome German fighter beingencountered. In consequence, immediateproduction of the re-engined fighter wasordered under the designation La-5, andthe Russian counter-offensive in the

BESTStalingrad area at the end of October,1942, provided the opportunity to intro-duce the new fighter on aIarge scale.Initial production La-Ss possessed an

identical fuselage to the earlier LaGG-3,but later machines introduced a cut-downrear fuselage to remove a dangerous blind

spot. During 1943, the La-5 was re-engined with the ASh-82FN which, em-ploying direct fuel injection, developed1,640. h.p, Known as the La-5FN, thenew model appeared in massive quantitiesduring the Battle of Kursk, proving to beextremely manoeuvrable with few vices,with a better initial climb rate than eitherthe Fw 190A or Bf 109G and superiorlow altitude manoeuvrability to the Ger-man fighters. '

A logical development of the La-5FNwas the La-7 which flew in 1943. Essen-tially similar to the La-5FN externally,apart from the transfer of the oil coolerfrom under the engine to a position aftof the wing, the La-7 was of mixed con-struction and armament comprised three20-mm. ShVAK cannon (although somemachines, like the La-5FN, had only twocannon) , all mounted over the engine, twoto port and one to starboard, The La-7was flown by several of Russia's leadingfighter aces during the later stages of thewar, including Ivan Nikitievich Kojedubwho gained the last of his 62 victorieswhile flying an La-7 and whose fighter isil lustrated on these pages.The La-7 was powered by a Shvetsov

ASh-82FN radial engine with a maximumoutput of 1,775 h.p. Maximum-speed was413 rn.p.h., loaded weight was 7,495 lbs.,and overall dimensions were: span, 32 ft.

Royal A ir F o rc e '


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I} in. length, 27 ft. lOt in. Several de-velop~ents of the La-7 were evolved, in-cluding one in which a liquid-fuel rocketmotor was mounted in the rear fuselagefor combat boost, and the La-7UTItandem two-seat conversion trainer and

liaison aircraft.Further fighters in Lavochkin's seriesincluded the La-9 which differed prin-cipally in having a lengthened fuselageand an armament of four 20-mm.ShVAK can non, and the La-ll, the last ofLavochkin's piston-engined fighters, whichstill serves' with the Sino-Communist andNorth Korean air arms. By 1947, Lav-ochkin had switched his attention toturbojet-dri.ven fighters, producing theLa-160 (design bureau designation), asingle-jet fighter with 35 swept wingsand a maximum speed of 652 m.p.h., fol-lowing this with the La-IS which; pro-duced in small quantities, had a maximumspeed of 637 m.p.h. on the 3,500 lb. thrustof an RD-500 (Rolls-Royce Derwentcopy) turbojet.

LAVOCHKINLA-7

Flown byIVAN KOJEDUB

F ly in g R ev ie w


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/

To fly Britain's V-Bombers calls for a highly developed

sense of responsibility, and the men who' fly them' must

also have more than a fair share of skill and initiative.

How does an R.A.F. flying career begin? What, briefly.,

are the stages before you join the V-Bomber Force?

The Royal Air Force Flying ...andacareerHow to .Jo in. You can join the R.A.F.through the Direct Commission scheme,which offers you the choice of a permanentcareer right up to pension age or a twelve-year engagement with the option of leavingafter eight. (If you, leave after twelve yearsyou take back to civilian life a tax-freegratuity of 4,000.) Alternatively, there's afive-year Short Service Commissior\. Which-ever you choose, the pay is good. The new

increases in pay and allowances, effectivefrom the 5th April, mean that a FlightLieutenant of 25 can, with full allowances,earn more than 1,500 a year. If you arebetween 17 i and 26, if yOU have the. GeneralCertificate of Education, the Scottish LeavingCertificate, or their equivalent, then write, stat-ing age and education, to the Air Ministry,Dept. (VR13a), Adastral House, London.W.CI. We will send you all you need to know.

to

Panina : Ou t.Advanced flying training takesyou to aerobatics, formation flying andinstrument flying. Once you successfullycomplete your course on Vampire jets, thegreat moment comes, at the passing 'putparade, when you step forward for your 'wings'

.J o in in ll a S q ua dr on .First you go to anOperational Gonversion Unit. Soon afteryou qualify you are, shaking hands with yournew squadron commander. Your life in abomber squadron has begun.

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the fuselage and the others installed onthe wing leading edges. At the time ofits appearance in 1934. the Maxim Gorkiwas the largest aircraft in the world. Con-struction had been commenced in 1933.and the first flight was made 'on May 19,1934. It provided accommodation for acrew of 20 and 43 passengers. and rt 'sequipment included a printing press anda photographic Iaboratory for the pre-paration of leaflets and news sheets, wire-less transmitting plant with loudspeakersfor broadcasting from the air. cinemaapparatus for projecting propagandaftlrns, and electr ical plant 'powering signsunder the wings (party slogan'S. etc.),Accommodation was provided in boththe fuselage and wings; there. Was apassenger lounge and buffet. a mess forthe crew. an editorial office and 'a wirelesstelephone exchange. The Maxim Gorkimade flights all over the Soviet Union forpropaganda purposes but was eventualtydestroyed on May 18. 1935. with the deathof 49 people. The accident was caused

by a collision with one of two 1-4 fightersthat were escorting the transport.The ANT-20 had it normal loaded

weight of 92.579 lbs .. and a maximumloaded weightof 116.844 lbs, Perform-

ance included a maximum speed df 161rn.p.h . a cruising speed 'of 137 m.p.h . arange of 1,243 miles. and a ceiling of19.865 ft. It could 'Climb to 3,280 ft. in3 min. 24 sees. Overall dimensions were:span, 206 ft. 8~ in., 'length. 106 ft . 6~ in .height 34 ft. 11 in . wing 'area, 5.233 sq. t't.

In 1935, Tupolev commenced the con-struction of a development of the ANT-20. the ANT-20bis.and the first mach'ineof this type (SSSR-L760) flew on May 6.1940. Like its predecessor, the ANT-20bis (illustrated by the accompanyingthree-view drawing which is publishedbycourtesy of A viation Magazine) wasintended for propaganda purposes. andpower was provided by six 1.100 'h.p.M-loo engines. It carried a crew of eightand 64 passengers, and 16 machines ofthis type were reportedly built and em-ployed. during World War II. as troopand freight transports.although it inaugu-rated a route between Moscow-Mineral-nie-Vodi in June, 1940. The ANT-20bishad a maximum speed of 186 rn.p.h . aneconomical cruising speed () f 129 m.p.h .a range of 1.800 miles, and a serviceceiling of 22,965 ft. Its loaded weightwas 102,956 llbs.. and dimensions were :span. 206 ft. 8~ in . 'length, 110 ft. It 'isbelieved that severe! transports of thistype were still in service in Russia in 1945.

I'lIkovlel"s ~tglltersI am enclosing a photo of a Yak-9P

fighter (code-named .. Frank ") whichpuzzles me as it bears U.S. insignia yetthe background is. beyond doubt. Russian.Could you please tell me how this ispossible ?-R. BERRY (No address).

I have seen photos of, a Yak-9P (Frank)in USAF markings with T2-3002 on thetail. Did the USAF use many of theseplanes ?-J. w. R. SMITH. SCARBOROUGH.YORKS. _

I should be glad if you would enlightenme as to the operational use of the Yak-9Pduring the Korean War. In what categorydid it serve ?-I. F. W.... RD. RINGWOOD.IIANTS.

I am planning a model of the Yak-9which served during World War II buthave been unable to obtain any informa-tion concerning the colour scheme. Canyou help ? -R. H. MOORE. HILTON. MIDDLE-SEX.

Captured Yak-9P

Yak9Ts

The Yak-9P served with the KoreanPeople's Armed Forces Air Corps as aninterceptor fighter durlbg the early stagesof the Korean fighting until supplantedby the MiG-15. One of'these aircraft wascaptured intact by 'the Americans and wasflight tested at the Wright-Patterson Field.This is me .aircraft beating the numberT23002. And. Mr. Berry, if you take acloser look at the photograph you sent us.you will find a large notice bearing thelegend" Armament Laboratory." HardlyRussian! Your photograph is anotherof the aircraft which was captured by theUSAF. _ -

Wartime Yak-9 fighters employedirregular dark earth brown and olive greencamouflage on lhe upper surfaces andpale grey or light blue . undersurfaces.The national insignia appeared on thewing undersurfaces and on the fuselage

TUPOLEV ANT-20b's

S'idesand verticai tail surfaces. outlinedin white, and a white number (either oneor two figures) appeared on the fuselagesides in front of, or behind the nationalinsignia.

i"ore I'oksWill your "Technical Gen" section

please publish some iniormatlon on theYak-3 fighter which I believe to havebeen used by the French during W.W.II ?--BRUCE MILLS. GR.... SSCROFT. NR. OLDHAM.Other readers \equesting information

on the Yak-3 fighter include R.I. HEAD.LONDON. E.cA; c. R. KENT. KENTlSH TOWN.N.w.3; and P. WERFEL. WILLESDEN. N.W.IO..Could you please publish a photograph

and details oi the Yak-I fighter?-.MAARTEN W .... CHTER. VOORBURG. HOLL.... ND.

Can you let me have some gen on theYak-I fighter used by the Russians in 1941 ?--PETER LLOYD. GOWERTON. SWAN-SEA.

Can you please explain the differencesbetween the Yak-I. Yak-7B. Yak-9D andYak-9T fighters? - ODILON H ....U BE.HAIN.... UT. BELOIUM.

Will you, please be kind enough topublish some information on the Y'ak-Tand Yak-7B aircraft ?-B. DAVIES, R.... MS-G....TE. KENT.

Can you tell me if the Yak-7 is still inservice. and publish some details of thisaircraft ?-M. sr .... NLEY. CROOKH.... M.....LDER-SH9T. H .... NTS.

Yak-I

Yak]

Alexander Yakovlev's series of single-seat fighters were among the, most im-portant aircraft in this category used bythe Russians during W.W.II. and morethan 10.000 had been delivered when thewar ended. Yakovlev turned his atten-tion to fighter design in 1938,~and the pro-totype Yak-I flew two years later. in1940. under the designation 1-26. It waspowered by a 1,100 h.p, M-I05PA enginedriving a three-bladed VISh-61P variable-"pitch airscrew, and carried an "armament

.pare 50 . .. ..


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THE ENGLISH ', ELECTRIC P.IBSUPERSONIC FIGH TER

, ,

ordered for the-,Royal Air F orce'. is powered, by

' R O L L S - R OYC Et AVONTURBO JETS

,

tROLLS-ROYCE LIMITED" DERBY, ENGLAND,

A E R O E N G I N E S ' M O T O R C A R S ' D I E S E L A N D P F T R O L E N G I N E S . R O C K E T M O T O R S ' N U C L E A R P R O P U L S I O N

12 ROYdlA ir Force


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F l yi ng R ev ie w

THE ?rg~nis~ti?nal structu.re o.~ anation s air forces IS a revealingguide to its strategic doctrines,and the Soviets are no exception.

Their military strategic concepts havebroadened in recent years to providegreater importance to the tong-rangeoffensive air arm and air defence, andthe Soviet air establishment has simi-larly been expanded. But with thissignificant development there has notbeen any lessening of the traditionalSoviet attention to powerful tacticalairpower for support of ground forces.

Single JriwtistryBut before examining Soviet Air Forces

organisation, let 's examine their DefenceMinistry, their over-all armed forcesagency. The basic organisational struc-ture of the Soviet armed forces is t'heirunity in a single powerful Ministry ofDefence. now under Marshal R. Ya.Malinovsky. The army and navy havepreviously alternated between separateand unified ministerial representation;the Air Forces have never had cabinetrepresentation.

Under the Minister of Defence are aseries of "administrations" and "chief

administrations." Among these are sixmajor operational commands: the chiefadministrations of the Air Forces, theGround Forces, the Naval Forces, theAir Defence Forces, the Long-RangeAviation, and the Airborne Troops.Among the first deputy min-isters ofdefence are the commanders in chief ofthe Ground Forces, the Air Forces; theNaval Forces, and the Air DefenceForces. Their functi.ons, however, vary;the commanders in chief of the NavalForces and Air Defence Forces have adirect operational command relationship

over all their component forces, includingrespectively the naval aviation and inter-'ceptor aviation components of thesecommands.

The Chief Administration of the AirForces (GU-VVS-SA or GU-VVS-VS)and its Commander-in-Chief, Marshal ofAviation Vershinin, have very far-reach-ing administrative responsibilities for thevarious aviation components of the mili-tary establishment, but no operationalcommand over any of the five militaryair forces. Nonetheless, direct responsi-bili ty for the tactical air forces extends

13


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Russio's longest-ranging bomber.Tupolev Tu-20

directly down to the field level subordina-tion of these forces to Front and MIlitaryDistrict ground force commanders. Also,a degree of command over the. Long-Range Air Forces may be exercised Inpractice. Finally, Vershinin representsthe air forces in highest level general de-cisions taken by the Minister of Defencewith his Military Council.

High Coulfltund

The Commander-in-Chief of the AirForces (an office that has existed since1937) represents all the air forces in theMilitary Council of the Ministry of De-fence, and for certain aircraft and ord-nance development and procurement andpersonnel training. But operational com-mand is limited to the tactical air forces,and this is shared with the correspondingsuperior Army units in the field. As wehave noted, the Long-Range Aviation isan autonomous command, and the Navy,Air Defence, and Airborne Troops avia-tion components are part of combinedcommands.The present commander in chief of the

Soviet Air Forces is Marshal of AviationKonstantin A. Vershinin, in the post sinceJanuary, 1957. This is the second tour inoffice for Vershinin. who occupied the

post from March, 1946, to July, 1949.Chief Marshal of Aviation Pavel F.Zhigarev served in the interim periodfrom 1949 until 1957 (the second tour forhim also; he had briefly and unsuccess-fully held the office from July, 1941, toMay, 1.942). Zhigarev now heads theCivil Air Fleet, and in listings of govern-mental officials is usually accorded a placehigher than his successor despite theevidently lesser real importance of hisnew post.

Chief 'Marshal of Aviation AlexanderA. Novikov, wartime chief of the airforce (from August, 1942, until March,1946) was imprisoned, after his suddenrelief by Stalin in 1946, until 1953. Fora time in 1954 he served as a deputy toZhigarev, but he is now in retirement.Marshal of Aviation Sergei I. Rudenkohas been first deputy commander in chiefsince 194';,: and chief of staff of the AirForce Stan for most of this period.

In addition to Marshal Rudenko, thereare about ten .. deputy commanders inchief," including the four commanders ofthe active air combat forces not underVershinin's operational command, andthe deputy who in fact commands thetactical air forces, which are under hisoperational direction. These five mencurrently are': Marshal of Aviation V. A.

Sudets commander of the Long-RangeAviati~n (DAY (and former chief of. s~a~of the Air Forces under Vershinin searlier tour from 1946 to 1949); Colonel

General of 'Aviation 1. D. Klimov, com-mander of the Fighter Aviation of theAir Defence Forces (IA-PVO); ColonelGeneral of Aviation Yeo N. Preobrazhen-sky commander of the Naval AviationtA-VMF); Marshal of Aviation .N. S.Skripko, commander of the Aviation ofthe Airborne Troops (ANDV); andColonel General of Aviation Yeo F.Loginov, probably Vershinin's deputyfor the tactical, or, as it is now termed,Frontal Aviation (FA). .They are allcapable and experienced men; Klimovheld the same command during the war;Skripko was the deputy chief of theLong-Range Aviation (then ADD);Rudenko, Sudets, and Loginov filledvaried command and staff positions; andPreobrazhensky had various naval aircommands.

The other five deputies to Vershininhead responsible services of the air forces.One is the inevitable chief of the PoliticalAdministration - presently LieutenantGeneral of Aviation A. G. RylOV. Theincumbent chief of the Rear Services isunknown to the author. Colonel Generalof Aviation Engineering Service 1. V.Markov is chief of the Aviation Engin-eering Service. The chief Inspector,probably Colonel General of AviationN. S. Shimanov (once chief of the poli-tical adminstration in the air forces), andthe chief of Training are the other twodeputies.

Tltose 1J 7 ho Fell

Among other senior officers in the AirForces' high command are ColonelGeneral of Aviation I. M. Sokolov,deputy chief of staff; Colonel General-ofAviation F. A. Agal'tsov, a former asso-ciate of Zhigarev's and for a time chiefof staff while Rudenko apparently devotedfull attention to being first deputy com-mander in chief; and Colonel General ofAviation P. 1. Braiko, assistant to the

Commander - in - Chief. Gonefrom the scene, retired, aremany of the World War II chiefswho rose, and fell meteorically.In addition to Chief Marshal ofAviation Novikov, his wartimedeputies. Marshals of Aviation

'orozheikin, Kudiakov, and Astakhov

are all in retirement (as was Falaleev, whodied in 1955). Chief Marshal of Avia-tion Alexander Yeo Golovanov, head ofthe Long-Range Aviation from its estab-lishment in 1942 until 1948. is ill. Thechief of the Engineering Service duringthe war, Colonel General A. K. Repin,and the wartime Intelligence Chief,Colonel General D. D. Grendal, are nowretired. Several of these men-Novikov,Repin, and possibly Grendal and Khudi-akov-fell victims to Stalin's irritations,but they have now at least been rehabili-tated' into honorable retirement. ChiefMarshal of Aviation Zhigarev and Mar-shal of Aviation S. F. Zhavoronkov, war-

Royal A ir Fo".


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F ly jn f R ev je w

I I IL '1 1 1 4 'H E L I C O P T E R

given a combined one including bothballistic missile artillery and his presentstrategic bombers; but it is more likelythat a combined force will be establishedin the next year or two under a seniorMarshal of the Soviet Union (perhaps theone. who is both politically close toKhrushchev, and an artillerist, MarshalMoskalenko. This solution would paral-lel that which has occurred with the othermajor arm of increased significance: theAir Defence Forces.

A ir Defence "'orcesThe commander in chief of the Air

Defence Forces is a post which hasexisted for many years, but only recentlyhas it come to be considered to have par-ticularly great importance. During andafter the war, the commanders of this'force were invariably anti-aircraft artil-lery generals, even though tighter-inter-ceptor aviation had come to 'be regardedas the main means of active air defenceby the beginning of 1946.In 1954 or early 1955, in keeping with

the rising importance of the command,Marshal of the Soviet Union S. S.Biryuzov was named its 'head, and the Air'Defence Forces (PVO) came to occupya position of rough equality with theground forces. naval forces, and airforces. The PVO embraces all the com-ponents of the active air defence system:the radar and other warning system, thefighter aviation component, the conven-tional anti-aircraft artil lery (stil l retainedon a wide scale, in marked contrast torecent U.s and UK practice, and the newrocket ami missile anti-aircraft artilleryintroduced in Pecent years. ColonelGeneral of Aviation Klimov, commander'of the Fighter Aviation of Air Defence,

1 07 00 h .p . lIw.... v AJh. I1V . .. .. .. ..OH $aI Ik .'IIPCdtcIc.M aln .... ,hIM.Mlln r t c Iu c t . .. .III".... 'IIIH ! I J c I l ' l l u l l ct II II e l '1li1 ank.DI - ! c I n af l u i d _ I e .'1acI~ . ., ,_.Till 1 I o I f tI -_ TI'IIftIlll .Stall,"_.T.lllldcl.Intennecl .-..ct .... ,..,.AM I.torque ,. .I le duct l . .. . .. ,.Il.to, . n I I .StIII 'IIIII . , ." ,. ., . . .. .. . " .'_ .,I pto '" ..... I a .ea coflllllrtmtnt.Sol .Mlln I11 I II ., . " . .. ._lien.eallln;,.HoIJtIu a-hiI ..... n.

lillie chief of the naval air Iorces, are nowin a sense" retired" from the air forces,as the two chiefs of the Civil Air Fleet,Aeroflot, which has received so muchattention throughout the world lately ..

What have been the implications ofthis wholesale change of command?The main elements have been two: firstwas Stalin 's immediate post-war "purge"of the air force high command-parallel-ing a similar purge of the navy, and asimilar 'but 'less drastic shift in the army,The causes of this move, beyond Stalin'swhims and fears of the victory-flushedmilitary leaders in general, are obscure.The second element was a drive formodernisation of the air forces. On thisground, Vershinin was replaced byZhigarev in 1949-and in turn replacedhim in 1957 !Speculations in the West that Zhigarev

had personally favoured greater stress onlong-range missiles seem ill-founded inview of evident Soviet emphasis andachievement in this field, and Vershinin'sown comment that strategic aviation isinferior to missiles. But it remains P0:i-sible that Zhigarev had tried, and failed,to get for the Long-Range Air Forceoperational subordination of the long-range ballistic missiles '(intermediate orIRBM, and intercontinental or ICBM).For the indications are strong that aseparate ballistic missile force will becreated, since the Soviets consider ballis-tic rockets to be an advanced artilleryweapon. It may be that Marshal Ver-shinin's deputy, Marshal Sudets, will be

We gratefully acknowledge the co-operation at "A ir Force ,. Moeazine,Washington, D.C. , in allowing the repro-duction of the above mel/erial.

4. 7. t.

1 ' .11.o 12.11.14.11.16.17.11.It.10.21.11.11.14.21.16.27.

is a 'deputy to Marshal of Aviation Ver-shinin and simultaneously a deputy toMarshal Biryuzov, The interceptors are

organised in Fighter Air Armies (IA-PVO), and are assigned to joint air de-fence districts. These districts overlapand ignore military districts and politicalsubdivisions of the USSR, and are estab-lished only in key areas to be defended.The commander of each district is thedirect superior for all air defence instal-lations and forces in his district and isdirectly under Marshal Biryuzov, who inturn is under the Defence Minister. Thecommander of the key Moscow Air De-fence District is Colonel General P. F.Batisty (for much of the period from1.946 to 1953 the commander was Lieu-tenant General of Aviation Vassily Stalin.Information as to Stalin's son's presentrole is unavailable.) .

LOflg-Ht;.rtgc ltir ForceThe Long-Range Air Force (formerly

A viatsiia Del'nego Deistviia or ADD; nowsimply Dal'naia aviatsiia 'or DA) wasre-established in 1946, following a two-year period at the end of the war whenit was made the 18th Air Army of thetactical air forces. The long-rangebombers which comprise its strength areorganised in Air Armies (VA-DA), ofwhich three exist. These are each directlysubordinate to Marshal Sudets in Mos-cow, and he in turn to the DefenceMinister. The acquisition of the Tu-4

page 20 ... _~

15


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17/57

Ti le story 01 tile crllck 19t1 l Squ llt/ronD I the Imperilll Russilln A ir S ervice

by JEAN ALEXANDER

" IMUST warn you, Sir, that you areshortly to be shot!" LieutenantIvan Smirnoff, one of Russia'sfew fighter aces of the First World

War, sprang to his feet."What! But I thought that you were

all good friends of mine! .."We are, sir," replied the mechanic,

looking somewhat shamefaced, "butan order has come through that allofficers are to be shot. We are all yourfriends but we have no option but toobey the orders of the RevolutionaryCouncil, and they know no mercy! ..Thus the Bolshevik Revolution struck

the 19th Squadron, the crack combat unitof the Imperial Russian Air Service. Itwas November, 1917. Lenin and Trotskyhad deposed Kerensky's Provisional Gov-ernment and the second revolution hadbegun. The Bolsheviks were attemptingto conclude a separate armistice with theGermans and, in the meantime, Soldiers'Councils had been formed to organisethe retreat, and a general ban had beenplaced on flying in order to placate theGermans. Rank and discipline had beenabandoned, soldiers were humiliatingtheir officers, and the fuel tanks of the19th Squadron's aircraft had beenemptied by their mechanics.

Sentence of Death

The pilots could do nothing but hangaround the mess playing. cards and awaittheir fate. One officer, Who struck a ser-geant for insolence, was declared an

enemy of the people by the Soldiers'Council and sentenced to death. Heldprisoner in the officers' mess while await-ing execution of the sentence, he promptlyshot himself after pinning a note' to his :chest: '" Rather than be killed by theseswine 'I prefer to shoot myself. Long liveRussia."The 19th Squadron .had been formed

at Lutsk on the Central Front in thespring of 1916, commanded by Staff-Captain Alexander A. Kazakov, andrapidly established itself as the best fight-ing unit in the Imperia1 Russian Air Ser-

vice. Its aircraft sported the" skull andcross-bones" insignia on their rudders,and, dubbed the "Death or Glory"squadron, it suffered heavy casualties, itspilots lasting no more than two monthson an average, but its personnel includedthe best-known of Russia's World' WarOne fighter aces.

Alexei Kazakov himself was a cavalryofficer when Germany declared war onRussia on August I, 1914, and, trans-ferring to the Air Service, he learned tofly at the Sevastopol Flying School whichhad been founded in 1910 by the GrandDuke Alexander.His first two victories were scored

against Albatros two-seaters in February,1915, and by the time the 19th was dis-banded he was to have scored no fewerthan 17 victories and possess 16 decora-tions.

Nearly six feet in height and of quiet,modest demeanour, Kazakov was a bornpilot, combining daring with discipline.He was also highly inventive. An exampleof this inventiveness occurred , in June,1915, when Kazakov literally dragged aGerman aircraft from the sky!

He had conceived the idea of fitting hisaircraft with a five-pronged anchorweighted with an iron ball and suspended

from a long steel cable. He fitted thisapparatus to a Moranc-Saulnier Parasoltwo-seater monoplane and wailed hisopportunity. One day an Albatrossappeared over the nearby town of Dvinsk,and Kazakov took-off to intercept. Climb-ing above his antagonist, he unreeled hisanchor and gave pursuit.The anchor hooked on to the port wing

of the Albatros and the tail of the Ger-man aircraft dropped. The enemy pilot

struggled with his controls in a franticattempt to disengage his aircraft, but onlysucceeded in catching a wing tip on thetail of Kazakov's Morane.

Plu"ge to EatthFor a few brief seconds the two air-

craft flew locked together, and then theGerman pilot lost control and theAlbatros plunged downwards, draggingKazakov with it 1 Both aircraft plungedtowards the ground with their enginesscreaming when, suddenly, no more than200 fcet above the fields, the tremendous


18/57

R oy al Air F orce

strain tore the cable out of Kazakov'splane, taking most of the cockpit coamingwith it! Kazakov succeeded in pullingup the nose of the Morane and droppedinto the nearest field, Apart from thedamage caused by the cable, his aircraftsuffered nothing more than a broken air-screw. His antagonist was 1I0t so for-tunate!The large-scale "dogfights" that be-

came such a feature of aerial. warfareover the Western Front never manifestedthemselves in the East, although quitelarge formations sometimes appeared,For instance, on July 30, 1916, a force oftwelve German aircraft attacked Dvinsk.Twelve Russian aircraft. took-ott to inter-cept the enemy formation and, during theencounter that followed, Kazakov claimedhis seventh victim, an Albatros C.III.

lIore J1ictoriesBut not all Kazakov's victories were

over two-seaters. Earlier in 1916 he haddowned a couple of Fokker E.I fightermonoplanes, and in August and Septem-ber he shot down two more.

Early in 1917, the, 19th was moved tothe South-West 'Front, to Jassy inRumania, where it remained only a fewweeks, From there it was posted toStanislaw in Austria where it shared theairfield with a French squadron, andsometimes acted as escort to formations

of Ilia Mourometz bombers. The squad-ron's equipment comprised a heterogen-eous collection of French aircraft,including Morane Type N "Bullet"monoplanes, Nieuport lie-Is, MoraneParasol two-seaters and, late in the squad-ron's career, even two or three SpadS.7C-ls. Kazakov scored his last victoryon September 13, 1917, his seventeenth.

But he was not the only ace to servewith the 19th. Two others were Lieuten-ant Ivan Smirnoff and Staff-CaptainKruten. Smirnoff had joined the ImperialRussian Air Service during the winter of1915-16 as a sergeant-pilot, and had


19/57

out 01 tilesky - with aB aBellor!scored twelve victories by the time thesquadron was disbanded. Smirnoff re-counts the story of one of his combats asfollows:

"Two enemy aircraft had been re-ported in the vicinity, and Lipski and Iimmediately had our engines started.Lipski's engine was .giving trouble, so Idecided to take-off alone, assuming thathe would catch me up later. I soon foundmyself 600 feet above the two enemy air-craft which were reconnoitring our lines.I closed with one of the Germans andgave him a burst, noticing with excitementthat my 'bullets were finding their markdespite the fact that I was firing atextreme range. The German began toflutter down like a leaf, suddenly burstinginto flames and leaving a long trail of oilyblack smoke.

H lily Gun Janln&ed!"

"I turned towards the other German,but as I attacked, my gun jammed. 1was helpless. I could gain time bycircling above him, but it would have beenfoolish to attack him with only my re-volver. ..

" Suddenly, I saw Lipski! I continuedto distract the German's attention by fly-ing around him and executing all kindsof manoeuvres so that Lipski could slipin unnoticed. Before my opponent real-ised what was. happening, Lipski suddenlydived between us, sending a hail of bulletsinto the enemy fighter. The Germanpromptly burst into flames and followedhis compatriot down."Staff-Captain Kruten had six victories

to his credit when he lost his life on June21, 1917, being shot down as he came into land at his base after a patrol. Earlierthe same month, on June I st and 6th, hehad scored his fifth and sixth victories,the latter being one of three German air-craft that he intercepted on his own overMoletagal. Some time before this, anewcomer to the squadron, SergeantKedrov, was forced down behind theenemy lines, and the first that his com-patriots knew of his capture was when anAustrian pilot dropped a note on the 19thSquadron's base which read, "EngineStopped. Set fire to my aeroplane. Sendclean linen. Kedrov!"

When the" Death or Glory "' squadronwas f inally disbanded, those officers whosucceeded in escaping the executionsquads were intent on continuing theirflying careers, and among them wereKazakov and Smirnoff. The PeaceTreaty signed between the Bolsheviks andthe Germans was not recognised by theWhite Russians. To the Western Allies,the Treaty looked as though it wouldmean the loss of the Russian Army andthe release of strong German forces foruse on the Western Front. The Alliestherefore sent assistance to the WhiteRussian Armies to aid in their struggleagainst the Reds.

In May and June, 19 J8, a mixed forceof British, French and Americans arrivedin 'Murmansk. The only aircraft accom-panying the Allied Expeditionary Forcewere the sea planes of H.M.S. Narvana.

Flying Review

The first objectives were Archangelsk andBakeritza which were of considerablestrategic importance on the NorthRussian coast. The British seaplanesplayed an important role in silencing theguns on Modyuski Island before theAllied force landed at Archangelsk, andby the time the Reds were driven out ofBakeritza, a RAF contingent with eightD.H.4s had arrived. This contingent. in-cluded a number of former pilots andground staff of the Imperial Russian AirService and among them was the redoubt-able Kazakov.

In Bakeritza the Allied force discovereda number of Nieuport 17C-ls and Sop-with 1t-Strutters which had been de-livered to Russia a year or so previously.These were assembled by -RAP mech-anics and formed into two squadronswhich were staffed by Kazakov and bisRussians. In October, 1918, when theRed forces cut through the Allied lines,Kazakov and his men put their aircraft onsleighs and dragged them for two daysthrough heavy snows to the Convent ofSiy, continually fighting off Red patrols.Besieged in the convent for several days,they finally broke out and once againtook to the air, going to the rescue of aBritish battery and a battalion of WhiteRussian troops which had been cut off.In January, 1919, with his squadrons

re-equipped with Sopwith Camels, Kaza-kov added an enemy seaplane to his score.By 1une, 1919,f' ,azakov's Slavo-Brit ishunit included D.H.9s and 9As, and itsranks were being continually swelled byfugitive Russian airmen who flew acrossthe lines to join the White Russian forces.

,1'0 Top Cover

Still inventive, Kazakov conceived theidea of attacking a Red airfield with fiveRussian and three British D.H.9s with theaim of destroying the hangars and, if thisfailed, landing on tbe field and setting theinstallations alight. A Camel, a Nieu-port and two Snipes were to provide theattacking force with top cover, but whenzero hour arrived, the latter refused tostart. The Russians were finally orderedto take-off one-and-a-half hours after thescheduled take-off t ime.

One of the Russian pilots now toldKazakov that his engine was u/s. Kaza-kov promptly took-off in the" defective ':aircraft himself, and gave a display ofaerobatics over the field to press home hispoint. The British contingent now pre-pared to take-off, but one of the D.H.9staxied into another machine, and the thirdBritish D.H.9 suffered engine trouble im-mediately after take-off and promptlyended up with its nose in a hedge. Need-less to say, the whole operation wasabandoned.. On July 28, 1919, the first rumours ofan Allied withdrawal from Russia beganto circulate. Kazakov could not at firstbelieve these rumours, but when it was nolonger possible to ignore their basis offact, he became sullen and morose. Then,on August 3rd, the day on which a fare-well dinner was to be held in the Mess.Kazakov walked across to the hangars

Staff Captain Alexander Kazakav

and instructed the mechanics to push outhis Camel.

His behaviour was peculiar. Instead ofrevving up the engine gradually, heopened the throttle so sharply that theengine cut. The prop was again swung,the engine roared and the chocks werepulled away. The Camel took-off butKazakov made no attempt to gain alti-tude until he suddenly pulled the machineup into a sharp climb as if he intended toloop. The Camel stalled viciously anddived vertically into the centre of the air-field. Before the ambulance could arriveKazakov was dead!

Wing Commander Ira Jones, who wit-nessed this last flight, paid this tribute toKazakov : "He deserves to rank in his-tory alongside the greatest air aces of thewar. It is not overstating praise to placehim alongside men of the stamp of Man-nock, Ball, Guynemer, Barker, Fonck andVoss. He possessed the qualities ofleadership and command allied to a lov-able nature and patriotic zeal whichillustrated his tragic figure." .Like Kazakov, Smirnoff escaped the fir-

ing squads in 1918, and eventually joinedtheRAF. In 1922 he. began a dis-tinguished career as a pilot with the Dutchair line KLM. In 1933, he commandedthe Fokker F.XVIII Pelikaan on itsrecord-breaking flight from Amsterdamto Batavia, and in 1942 he was flying

Dutch refugees from Java to Australiawhen he was attacked by three Japanesefighters.

Although wounded in the arms and legs,Smirnoff succeeded in putting his badlydamaged aircraft down on a desertedbeach in North Australia. After sixdays, the survivors were rescued, andSmirnoff had a set of cufflinks made fromthe bullets taken from his body.Ivan Smirnoff retired from active fly-

ing in 1949, and died in Majorca inOctober, .1956, 'probably the last survivora the redoubtable .. Death or Glory"boys .

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13

1U P O LE r 1U -1 1 4 R O S S IYA

Organlsation

of the SovietA ir Forces-----from page 15 - -- --

lB-29 type) four-engined bombers in theperiod from 1947 to 1953 gave this forceits first real reason for existence. Thesubsequent modernisation and procure-ment in large numbers of the twin-jetBadger, four-jet Bison, and four-turbo-prop Bear long-range bombers has madethis force a potent threat to the UnitedStates as well as to the United Kingdomand other Western powers. As suggestedearlier, the introduction of long-rangeballistic missiles may lead to a combinedforces organisation, possibly entirely in-dependent of Vershinin's air forces.(Submarines equipped for launching mis-siles against strategic targets may also betaken from the navy and assigned to sucha combined strategic str iking force.)

A'rborne ForcesThe Aviation of the Airborne Troops

(A-VDV) has been under Marshal ofAviation Skripko since 1950. It is ex-clusively transport aviation, recentlyincluding large helicopters as well asairplanes. The 500 or so aircraft assignedprovide a substantial airlift, though theyare at present still of relatively small{twin-engined piston) types. They areorganised in air transport regiments.

Nallu' Air ForcesThe Naval Air Forces have always

been an Integral component of the navy,and they so remain. There are no air-craft carriers, nor any planned, in theSoviet Navy: .The fleet air. forces are each subordin-

ate to the corresponding fleet comman-ders (Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet, BlackSea Fleet, North Pacific Fleet, PacificFleet), and under the naval aviation chiefin Moscow.

Frontal AviutionFrontal Aviation is the somewhat awk-

ward title the Soviets have used to re-christen their tactical air forces. Morethan half of all Soviet military aircraftare in the twelve or more Frontal AirArmies (FVA). Usually a Frontal AirArmy includes about three fighter, threefighter-bomber or ground support, andthree light-medium 'bomber air divisions.Thus the total force may be twenty-sevenair regiments. One such. Air Army isordinarily assigned to each Front (ArmyGroup) of the ground forces, to providecover, support, interdiction, and recon-naissance for the appropriate sector ofthe front. In peacetime, those military

20

1. Gla:zed nOle cone.2. Navilator'. station.1. Fli,ht deck.4. Aerial.5. Radio equipment .6. Crew entry door.7. Pr.ssure bulkhead.

Forward toilets.9. Forward cabin entry door.10. Forward cabin.II. Coat and n&ht bal.,.e compartment.11. Vestibule. '

14 15 16

40.41.42.

43 .44.45.

46.47.

12

43 42

Cabin-air ram intak e.Ice protection strip.Forward baa"le compartment .

Nose-lear bay.No -gear doors.Rearward-retractlnl, levered-suspen-sion nose-gear.Aerials.Navla.tlona' rad,r.

districts designated for activation asfronts in wartime are generally each as-signed a tactical air army. The other,especially interior, military districts havean "Aviation of the Military District."to administer such tactical and trainingair force units and installations within it.All Frontal Air Armies are administeredfrom Air Force headquarters in Moscow,but operationally subordinate to thesenior ground force commander (front,group of forces, or military district com-mander).

Headquarters

The Chief Administration of the AirForces (GU-VVS) is composed of thecommander in chief, the military council(composed of his senior deputies), the.main staff or general staff, the inspector,the chief administrations of engineering

service, and rear services, and a host ofother subordina-te administrations forpersonnel, aircraft, engines, armament,aviation academies, maintenance, man-agement, navigation, meteorology, stra-tegy and tactics, aerial photographs, air-field servicing, industrial orders, training,

communications, medical services, andstill others.The main staff of the VVS (as it is

officially called in 1958. although it hasalso .been termed in 1955 the ".generalstaff" of the VVS) is composed of sevensections: operations, intelligence, organ-isation, air transpor t, meteorological, in-ternal (administrationj.and ciphers. Thework of these sections is generally self-evident. They are in most instances inclose touch with the superior generalstaff of the armed forces (the formergeneral staff of the Soviet Arlny re-christened to reflect i ts combined military

Royal A;r force


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1 3 .14.15.16.17.18.19.

Aerial.Main-spar fusela,e fra~ Central cobin.Parollel skin planks.Double strip lilhting.Servin. area.Pantry servic', door.

forces representation and competence).Thus, the intelligence section is closely

tied to the intelligence division of thegeneral staff for many of its sources ofinformation and for co-ordination. Theoperations section is responsible for tacti-cal air forces and training forces opera-tions-but within the framework of thejoint service programme established inthe operations division of the generalstaff (under General of the Army M. S.Malinin). The other sections are moreautonomous in their relation to thesuperior staff by virtue of their duties,although liaison is of course necessary.

Hear Ser"icellThe chief administration of the rear

services has very wide responsibilities forthe whole supply and maintenance func-tion. It is co-ordinated' with the rear

F ly in g R ev ie w

20.n.l2.23 .24.25.16.

Cabin._. RoomettH" each containi nl twodivans ~nd one foldln. bunk.Rear cabin.Cloakroom.Rear cabin entry door.Washrooms.Toilets.

17.18.19.3d.

31.n33 .34.35.3 6 .3 1 .38.

n.

Illustration by courtesyo f Ii Aviation" Mag


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ARE the Russians losing their lea.d inthe space race? On the face of it;they appear to be slow in follow-ing up their initial advantage but,

in fact, there has been a great deal ofrocket activity in the USSR in the pastfew months. On February 21, forexample, a single-stage research rocketwith' a heavy load of instruments wassuccessfully fired to a height of 293miles to study the upper layers of theearth's atmosphere. A large number ofsimilar launchings are being made aspart of the I.G.Y. research programme.And much significant work continues inthe launching of dogs to the fringe ofspace.

Sputnik 2, with the ill-fated Laikaaboard, took the Russians some way alongthe road to human space travel, but alarge partof the experimental resu lts waslost because the animal could not be re-cove reg for physical examination. Lastmonth the Russians claimed to have senta dog on a return flight to a height of131 miles, and from the informationreleased it is now possible to build upa picture of the detachable nose-sectionof this rocket, together with informationon how the Russians are tackling the re-entry problem.

The artist's conception on this pageshows the devices which help to reducethe speed of the nose-section as it re-enters the atmosphere-petal-like brakeswhich open out at the tail. These alsohave the effect of stabilising the body asit falls, rather like the flight-feathers of ashuttlecock. When its speed has beenreduced sufficiently, "ribbon" para-chutes are released to complete the finalstage of the journey and land the dogsafely back on earth.

These dog-carrying rockets do not, of

course, reach the high speeds necessaryfor satell ite flight, merely rising into spaceand falling back to the ground. But theyare providing practical experience in oneof the major problems of space research-that of preventing satellites burning uplike meteors when they return at highspeed through the atmosphere.There can be little doubt that both

R ussia and America regard experimentsof this kind as essential preliminaries tomanned space-flight. Indeed, in Aprilthis year the Americans announced theirintention of sending chimpanzees aloft i.nsatellites to investigate the many physio-

22

logical problems that remain unsolvcd+-for example, the difficulties of eating,drinking and sleeping under weightlessconditions. But there is still one kind ofexperiment that cannot be made untilsatellites are built which will return toearth in one piece. What scientistsdesperately want to know is the effectprolonged exposure to cosmic radiationwill have on living creatures.

EXJ)loded StarsCosmic rays can be compared with the

highly penetrating radiation emitted byH-bomb explosions. Their source is stillone of the primary mysteries of physics,although one recent theory suggests thatthey may originate in supernovae-starsthat become unstable and explode.Although something of the energy andintensity of these high-energy rays can belearnt by sending Geiger counters aloft inartificial satellites, experimental resultsobviously cannot be obtained unless theorganism in question is recovered.

Early cosmic ray experiments weremade in America with fruit-flies placed in

canisters and fired in V-2 rockets; fruit-flies were chosen because of their highrate of reproduction, which enable scient-'ists to study possib le genetic changes overseveral generations. Occasionally micehave been sent up In high-altitudebaLloons and, on one occasion, after anexperimental balloon had remained at aheight of 17 to 20 miles for 36 hours,scientists were disturbed to find that thehair of black mice had turned grey inpatches owing to damage to the pigmentcells. The question that remains un-answered is whether cosmic rays willcause similar damage to nerve cells and

ACCESS TOOXYGEN EQUIPMENT

other vital. parts of the body.Hence the need for a return-

able animal satell ite.The jump from this to a man-

carrying satellite is a big one-but the Americans' are confident thaithis stage can soon be reached. In theworkshops of North American Aviation,in Los Angeles, a rocket powered air-craft is being built for the express purposeof carrying a man out beyond the earth'satmosphere" The mach me, known SImplyas the X-15, has been evoived from thesuccessful series of research planes whichgave America her vital lead in high-altitude flight-the Bel! X-I, X-la, X-2and the Douglas Skyrocket. .

Engineers working on the project referto their brain-child as a " ballistic missilewith wings ,. but to Scott Crossfield, theman who will fly it, it's just another high-

performance aeroplane to be put throughits paces. He has worked with itsdesigners right from the stage when it wasa pencil sketch on a drawing board, hasfollowed its progress as a wind-tunnel.model and then as a full-size woodenmock-up; and now, with the machine tak-ing shape in reality. he is familiarizinghimself with every minute detail of itsconstruction.

To find out how he will react to thestresses and strains of rocket travel, he hassubmitted himself to tests 00 the humancentrifuge at the Naval Air DevelopmentCentre in JohnsvilJe, Pennsylvania.Whirled around at high speeds in aspherical gondola on the end of a SO ft.arm, Crossfield has endured the maxi-mum accelerations the aircraft is built to

withstand. As the gondola, its interiorequipped like the X-IS's cockpit, wastilted backward, sideways and forward,he experienced almost every sensation ofhigh-speed flight-climbing, rolling anddiving.

Crossfield has spent hours being fittedwitha new kind of pressure suit designedto keep him alive in space; should thepressure-cabin fail, the suit will inflateautomatically, giving him his own life-saving atmosphere at altitudes where hewould otherwise perish.

Basically, the X-15 fuselage is a longcylinder with a pointed nose. Along the

, P ETAL' AlA BRAKES

ACCESS PAIUL TODOG-COMPARTMENT

HOUSI t


23/57

ILLUSTRATIONS BY J . W. WOOD

sides and large fairings which contain pipes and electrical wiring neces-esary for the aircraft's controls, while more than half-way back alongthe fuselage are stub-wings and further aft still the. tail-surfacesarranged


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24

I

~ . 'C Vw

. .!~-+_.-

0,W'HEUMANN

Royal Air For ce


25/57

DURING the past thirty years nofewer than 50,000 aircraft bear-ing Alexander "5.,Yak ovlev's labelhave poured from Russian f'ac-

tories, 30,000 of these, during the Sec-and World War. Indeed, 52-year-oldYakovlev is the most prolific of Sovietaviation designers; aircraft stemmingfrom the drawing boards of his designbureaux and currently in productionrange from primary trainers such as

the Yak-I8 series and light liaisonmonoplanes of the Yak-12 type to theYak-24 heavy assault helicopter andthe Yak-25 all-weather fighter.

Since 1941, when the Yak- l single-seatfighter entered service, Yakovlev-designedcombat aircraft have continuously formeda major part of the first-line equipmentof the Soviet Air Forces, while fledglingRussian pilots have received training onYakovlev's pr imaries since 1936 when theYa-IO, or UT-2, made its debut.Alexander Serge'evich Yakovlev began

designing aircraft at the age of 17 years,flight testing a glider in 1925, and his' firstpowered aircraft, a two-seat biplane, madeseveral outstanding flights two years later,including a round-trip Moscow-Karkov-Sebastopol- Moscow piloted byPiorxkov-skii which gained an FAl record.

Design followed design in the succeed-ing years; in 1929 his Ya-3 established anofficial Soviet distance record, and thissuccess was followed up by a variety ofnew light aircraft designs, such as the Ya-4two-seater; the neat Ya-5 four-seat high-wing cabin monoplane, and the Ya-7high-speed two-seat sports monoplanewhich, attaining 205 m.p.h. on a 450 h.p,engine, probably laid the foundations ofYakovlev's later fighter series. (Yakov-lev's early designs were also known as theAIR series=e.g. , AIR-3, AIR-4, etc,--- 'Eo.)

Yakovlev's fame was established with

y i ng Revi ew

the development of the Ya-1O two-seatprimary training monoplane which wasplaced in mass production as the UT-2for both the Soviet Air Forces and the

Osoaviakhim schools. In 1938, he turnedhis attention to the development of com-bat aircraft with the BB-22 which, as theYak-4, was to enter service in Limitednumbers with the VVS-RKKA (the pre-and wartime equivalent of the presentFrontal Aviation).

By this time, Yakovlev had spent sometime visiting British, French, German and

I talian aircraft factories, and he returnedto Russia to design the excellent 1-26, laterredesignated Yak-I. The promise of thenew single-seat fighter was such that Yak-

ovlev was promptly awarded the Orderof Lenin, a Zis automobile and 100,000roubles. During the war years, he waslargely preoccupied with the evolution ofhis fighter series, which wasto include theJak-7B, Jak-3 and Yak-S, but alsofound time to design the Yak-14 heavyassault glider, the Yak-12 liaison mono-plane and, during the closing stages of

25


26/57

the war, the Yak- J 8 primarytrainer as a successor to the UT-2.Simultaneously, he was workingon the development of one ofRussia's first generation of jet figh-ters, the Yak-IS which was an adapta-tion of the Yak-9 airframe to take acaptured Junkers Jurno 004'8 turbojet.

Apart from the Yak-IS fighter, Yakov-lev's first postwar design was the Yak-IIbasic trainer-aerodynamically a delight-fully clean tandem two-seat low-wingmonoplane of all-metal construction dis-playing a marked family resemblance tothe later Yakovlev piston-engined fighters.In the past twelve years, several thousandYak-II trainers have been produced, andit is currently O:1C of the most widely usedtrainers in the world, serving with the air. forces of Albania, Austria, Afghanistan,Bulgaria, China, Czechoslovakia, Egypt,Hungary, Poland, Rumania, Syria and the

Yemen, as well as the Soviet Air Forces.It is also built under licence in Czecho-slovakia as the C.II and C.llU, the latterhaving a nosewheel undercarriage.The existence of the Yak-II was first

revealed in the West when an examplewas accidentally crash-landed in Turkeyin March, '1948, but the merits of thetrainer were soon to be revealed by astring of FAl homologated records, in-cluding a SOO-km. closed-circuit record at292.85 m.p.h.; a I,OOO-km. closed-circuitrecord at 274.76 m.p.h.; a 2,000-km.closed ..circuit record at 223.69 m.p.h. , anda distance record in a straight line of1,236,64 miles.

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27/57

The Yak-II is powered by a ShvetsovASh-21 seven-cylinder air-cooled single-row radial engine driving a YISh-11 Y-20two-blade metal controllable pitch air-screw and rated at 730 h.p, for take-offand 615 h.p, Ior- continuous cruising. Asingle 7.7-mm. machine gun is normallyinstalled over the port side of the enginefor gunnery training, the oamera beingmounted above the windscreen. Thepupil and instructor are seated in tandemunder a continuous cockpit canopy withindividual sliding sections over each seat.Equipment includes full RSIU-JM radioreceiver and transmitter sets. Thestraight-tapered cantilever wing hasdihedral from the roots, and ailerons andsplit flaps extend across the whole trail-

is 79 Imp. galls. which is sufficient for anendurance of 4 hours 20 mins. or a rangeof 795 miles. Maximum speed is 264m.p.h. at sea level and 286 m.p.h. at7,380 ft.; cruising speed is 205 m.p.h.:service ceiling is 23,300 feet; landingspeed is 79 m.p.h., and take-off andlanding distances are 550 yards and

1,130 yards respectively. Emptyand loaded weights are 4,410 lbs.and 5,512 lbs, respective] y,

and overall dimensions are:span, 30 ft . 10 ins., length,27 ft. lOt ins., height,10 ft. 9 in., wing area,166 sq. ft.Yakovlev's latest pro-

geny include the single-seat ~Yak-18P and two-seat Yak-18A and Yak-20

primary trainers and the Yak-25 all-weather fighter and it derivatives. Witha variety of aircraft designs in quantityproduction ranging from' light primaryand basic training and liaison mono--planes to heavy assault helicopters,all-weather fighters -and light-bombers,Alexander Yakovlev must rank as one' ofthe most versatile as well 'as the mostprolific of the world's aircraft designers .

ing edge, meetingunder the fuselage.The wing profile is ofmodified Clark YA section.The Yak-II 's undercarriage is fully re-

tractable, the main legs and wheels re-tracting inwards to lie flush in the wing.The tailwheel is fixed, and the wheeltrack is 11ft. 3t in. The main under-carriage members are transferred fromthe forward to the rear spar on theYak-II U, and a retractable nosewheel isinstalled in a slightly lengthened fuselagenose.The internal fuel capacity of the Yak-II

yine Review 27


28/57

Cr.ews of a Tu16 medium bomber squadron

.T llese a re Russias AirForees (P art On e)

byWILLIAM GREEN

2 8 Royar Air Force


29/57

COUNTERPART of the USAF's Stra-tegic Air command . the Dal'riaiaAviatsiia

or DA, commanded byMarshal of Aviation Vladimir

Alexandrovich Sudets, is one of theKremlin's top priority weapcns=de-spite Nikita Krushchev's widely publi-cised boast that Russian ballistic mis-sile progress has rendered the mannedbomber obsolete. Paralleling theSoviet Union's immense missile pro-gramme are several manned bomberprogrammes, and there is much evi-dence to indicate that the Kremlinplanners have 00 intention of placingall their nuclear eggs in the ICBMbasket for at least a decade ahead.Altho~gh still smaller than the USAF's

strategic bombing force, the DA is being

increased in strength and potency and islikely to provide the backbone of Russia'soffensive power.Today both the DA and SAC can

attack a~y strategic target in their oppon-ent's home territory-e-providing that theycan penetrate the defensive screens-andreturn to their bases. But the Dai'naiaA viatsiia has virtually no background ofoperational experience. How potent aweapon would it be in war?

Fir.fit ill t.he I


30/57

Mainstay of the DA's medium bombing force, theTupo/ev T~-16. Some 800, are currently in service

Considerable impetus had been gainedby the long-range medium and heavyturbine-powered bomber, developmentprogrammes aimed at bringing the equip-ment of the Df into line with that of theUSAF's Strategic Air Command and sub-stantially increasing Russia's offensivepower. Russian jet bomber developmenthad lagged dangerously behind that ofthe USA, but the evolution of the hugeAM-3 turbojet by A, Mikuliri's designbureau provided the means by whichRussia could catch up, and a pair ofthese engines was installed in the firstproduction Soviet medium bomber, theTupolev Tu-Jo, which began to enter ser-vice with the' DA in 1954.The Tu-16 compared closely in per-

formance with the Boeing B-47 Stratojetwhich had entered service with the USAF

several years' earlier. Weighing approxi-mately 150,000 lbs. in maximum loadedcondition, the Tu-16 had a range of some4,250 miles without recourse to in-flightrefuelling; a combat radius of some 2,000miles, and a maximum speed of approxi-mately 560 m.p.h. at 43,000 feet. Duringthe same year, the first fruits of the heavybomber programme were revealed in theform of pre-production examples of amachine designed by V. M. Myasishchev(previously one of Russia 's leading expon-ents of pressure cabins and largely respon-sible for the outstanding success of thewartime Petlyakov Pe-2 attack bomber)driven by four AM-3 turbojets. DubbedBison under the NATO system of identi-fication names, the Myasishchev bomberpossessed a maximum range of about7,000 miles with a 10,OOO-lb,bomb load,could carry a 20,OOO-lb.bomb load over3,000 miles, and weighed in at no lessthan 352,750 Ibs.

Long-Range Cllp~bitityThe third of the trio of bombers

destined to provide the DA with its back-bone during the mid and late 'fifties madeits debut in 1955, the turbo-prop-dr ivenTupolev Tu-20 heavy bomber. Poweredby four 12,000 e.h.p, Kutsnetsov NK-I2turboprops, the Tu-20's overall per form-ar;tcewas substantially similar to the pure-

30

jet Myasishchev bomber, although rangeand service ceiling were superior, and thisaircraft is probably the only Russianbomber currently in service that can str ikeNorth American targets over the polarregions and return to its home base with-out in-flight refuelling.~ Both the Myasishchev and Tupolevheavy bombers began to supplant theTu-4 with DA units in 1956, and since thattime the numerical strength of the DA-reliably estimated at some 1,500 mediumand heavy bombers-has not increasedsubstantially owing to its immersion in' amajor conversion programme, but itsoffensive power has been drasticallyincreased, and it may be assumed thatwhen the current changeover to turbine-powered bombers is completed in mid-1959-there are currently some 500piston-

engined Tu-4s still serving with first-lineDA units-there wi l lbe a gradual increasein numerical strength,The major formation of the Dol'naia

A viatsiia is the Air Army of which thereare three in addition to an IndependentAir Corps, the latter probably being acombined radio countermeasures andpathfinder force. Controlled operationallyfrom the DA headquarters in Moscow,the Long-Range Air Armies are sub-divided into Air Corps and Air Divisionseach Corps having two or three Divi-sions which are' further subdivided intothree Air Regiments of three squadronseach. Each squadron has a normalstatutory strength of ten aircraft and con-sists purely of flying personnel, all majorservicing, administration and supply beingthe responsibility of ground organisationscontrolled separately by the Air ArmyHeadquarters.

The Air Armies have no fixed statutorystrength and can vary considerably in thenumber of personnel and aircraft com-prising each force. At the present time,the two Long. Range Air Armies based inthe Moscow and Carpathian and Kievareas are the largest, each possessing some550-600 bombers, while the third LongRange Air Army based in the Far Eastpossesses only some 300-350 aircraft, ahigher proportion of which are obso-

lescent Tu-4s. The DA possesses about200 turbine-driven four-engined heavybombers of the Bear and Bison types, andsome 800 twin-engined medium bombersof the Badger type, the remainder of theforce being made up of piston-enginedTu-4s. By mid-1959, this ' force is expectedto comprise approximately 450 heavybombers of the Bear and Bison and some1,100 medium bombers of the Badgertype. As the Tu-4s are phased out of first-line service with the DA many are beingconverted for transport duties with theA-VDVas interim equipment until deliv-eries of the Antonov An"16 and IlyushinII-IS begin next year, and others are con-verted for maritime reconnaissance dutieswith the A-YMF

During the past ten years the DA hasconcentrated on an immense round-the-clock training programme, and an entirelyseparate training organisation appears tohave been built up to train DA crews tooperational standards on Tu-4s and, sub-sequently, convert them to the 'laterturbine-powered bombers. Emphasis isplaced on navigation at high latitudes,utilising the various radio navigationalsystems which provide an almost un-broken coverage of Russia's northernareas, and bad weather and night bomb-ing, The DA crews average 30-40 hoursflying each month on training missionsduring which simulated attacks are made,and the key crew member is the sturmunwho combines the duties of navigator andbombardier, two being carried by theheavy bombers and one by the mediumbombers.

Att(fck Te(~II.'"ique."JDA attack techniques are now believed

to have attained a high standard, closelycomparable with those of the USAF'sStrategic Air Command, although it isnot known if the DA: yet possessessufficient fully experienced crews withwhich to launch and sustain a globaloffensive. However, it is certain that theday is not. far off when the DA will be

capable of mounting a major offensivewith nuclear weapons of all types, rang-ing from those with small yields to bombsup to' the multi-megaton size, Little isknown of current Russian bomb-aimingdevices but until comparatively recentlya computer based on the U.S. Nordenbomb sight coupled with an H2S type ofradar target location gear was used. Morerecently, there have been reports of Bisonand Badger aircraft fitted with . l ongerfuselage noses, lacking the glazed panel-ling of most machines and presumablyhousing a radar bomb sight.

Russian aerial refuelling capability fortheir turbojet-driven bombers was re-vealed during. 1956 and 1957. In 1956observers at Kubinko airfield near

Moscow saw TU-16s 'which employed arather similar system of aerial refuellingto the American "Buddy" arrangement,some Tu-16s being modified to accom-modate fuel tanks in their bomb bays,the tankers and receivers being joined bya hose from their wingtips. In 1957,Bisons practising for the abortive TushinoAir Display were seen over Moscow em-ploying a probe and drogue system, somemachines being fitted with a nose refuel-Ling probe. This development means thatthe standard DA turbojet medium and

Roya l Air Force


31/57

E S C A P E IN TH E SN OWHe crnuJled for

nineteen days

- lt1ith. broken legs 1

b" EDGAR MEOS

WHEN conscious.nes.s returned to his numbed brain,Maresyev found himself lying in the snow in themiddle of a pine forest and he was aware of aterrible gnawing pain in his feet. At first he could

not understand what he was doing there; then, as thefull recollection of those last ghastly moments in the airflooded back to him, the significance of that pain struckterror into his heart. Were his feet still there?He steeled his nerve to look. Crumpled under him

at an odd, unnatural angle, his legs seemed almost asthough they did not belong to him. But his feetwere there, still attached to his body, still clad in theheavy flying-boots. When he tried to lift himself onto them, however, the pain was like a hot needle,searing his flesh and every nerve in his body. Hefainted once more into a merciful unconsciousness.

It was several hours later when he came to hissenses again, and now the pain in his legs mingledwith the cold numbness of his exposure. Desperatelyhe forced himself to review his situation. He couldnot stay here, for that would surely mean death. Hemust get away, somewhere where there was warmthand food and medical attention. But where was he now-and where should he make for? His brain was slow

I n that split second he had tofire one shot that would kill


32/57

Guards Major A. P. Maresyev wasmade a Hero of the Soviet Union for

his dramatic escape

and it was agony to think. But dimly hetecalled the purpose of his mission. Withother Russian fighter pilots he had beendetailed to escort a formation of Ilyushinbombers on a raid on an airfield nearStaraya Russa which, in April, 1942. was

well behind the German lines. Atfirstit had been a successful and amusingoperation. He recalled with a grimpleasure the sight of two Ju 52s biting thedust on their own aerodrome after he hadriddled them with bullets. They hadhardly got into the air before he sealedtheir fate with two long bursts.

But then things had got a little moretricky. Nine Messerschrnitts of the famedRichtofen Geschwader began wreakingvengeance on their Russian attackers, andMaresyev found himself surrounded andsubjected to heavy fire. Now he wasfighting fot his life against heavy odds,but he was not giving in without astruggle, nor without taking at least oneof the Messerschmitts with him if it washumanly possible.

* * *T HE moment came. One of the Ger-man fighters flew full into hissights and Maresyev held his breath, lick-ing his lips nervouslyand waiting for theprecise second at which to fire. A dullclick sounded like a hammer in his ears,and his heart throbbed painfully. Hisammunition had run out!

Now he was on the run. Alone andunarmed save for the Army pistol at hisside, all he' could do now was to dodgeand weave in a desperate effort to throwoff his pursuers.

But it was no use. Bullets from oneof the Messerschmitts thudded into his

cowling and his engine spluttered andstopped. Then, as his aircraft shudderedand bucked and nose-dived towards theground, the fearsome whine of an aero-plane out. of control was the only thingthat reached his brain.

In the snow-covered ground beneathhim it was useless to search for a landingplace. The bleak; unyielding outlines ofpine trees loomed nearer and nearer.Maresyev was paralysed with fright; therewas nothing he could do, and the aircraftcrashed into the top of a tall pine treeand splintered to pieces and Maresyev wasflung out of the cockpit. ...

32

A rustle in the trees some distanceaway brought him quick.ly back tothe grim realities. of the present. Thesight that met hi s eyes completely took hisbreath away. A huge bear was advanc-ing slowly towards him, its eyes relent-lessly boring into him. When it was afew yards from him, it stopped in itstracks, sniffed the air and slowly raiseditself up on. its hind legs.

For the second time that day Maresyevfound himself stunned into a helplessparalysis. Was this, then, to be his end,after surviving the battle in the air andhis 'miraculous escape from death. in thecrash? Some hidden powers of resistancecame to his aid, and he felt his handsearching for the Army pistol at his side.He had no idea whether it would workor whether he could even hold it steadyin his shaking fingers, but it gave himrenewed confidence to feel it in his hand.He was not completely defenceless.

In that split second before the bearsprang at him, he had to take aim and fireone shot that would kill. The aim wasgood. With a sickening lurch, the hugeanimal slowly sank to the ground.

The encounter with the bear left himweak and exhausted and, in spite of theintense cold, his body was wet withperspiration. The agony in his legs wasnot so great now, however, and he sat

down in the snow to think things out.How far was he from the Russian Jines?Fifty miles? A hundred miles? He hadno means of knowing. His tactics in try-ing to avoid the Messerschmitts mighthave taken him many miles further into'German-held terr.itory. All he couldknow with certainly was that he musttravel East, ever East if he was to avoidcapture.

Fashioning a make-shift crutch from afallen branch, he staggered forward intothe snow, into the East ... , .

* * *I N the nineteen days that followed,Senior Lieutenant Alexei PetrovichMaresyev suffered agonies such as he badnever known. The pain in his legs wasterrible and he knew that he must havereceived severe injuries. He dared not un-lace his boots for he might never get themon again. After seven days, he couldno longer remain upright, and he couldonly maintain progress by crawling for-ward on all fours. Only his terrific physi-cal stamina kept him going; at 26, he wasat the peak of' his powers, and his bodywas tough,

Worse than the physical agonies, how-ever, was the mental torture. Was hegoing the right way? How much longercould he exist without food and medicalattention?

He could do nothing about his legs,but he could assuage his hunger from

time to time. On the seventh day hefound some hard, pithy berries which hegorged hungrily. Later on he stumbledon an old German dagger lying by thecorpse of an SS trooper. With this hewas able to kill a hedgehog. By thefifteenth day he was reduced to scoopingup handfuls of ants and stuffing themgreedily into his mouth.

It was on the fourth day after this, nearwhat had once been the little Russianvillage of Plavni, that he heard the soundof children's voices. He stopped andlistened carefully, unsure if his brain wasplaying him tricks. When he had located

the direction from which the sound camehe tried to' shout out. But his parchedthroat could utter no sound. Exhaustedand utterly miserable, his strength gaveout, and he collapsed

flying review - 1958 june - soviet air force

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