Lend Lease Air Support

[SpitfireXI]

I did a search on this and found nothing. What was the reason for not including Lend Lease aircraft for the Russians?

[Foreigner]

My guess: a judgement call that Lend-Lease aircraft were not used often enough in CM-style settings to warrant inclusion in the already long list of options.

The main reason for such a decision might be the lack of sufficient and verifiable data on Lend-Lease aircraft employment in CAS role. On one hand, for quite a long time Lend-Lease contribution to the Soviet war effort, while not denied outright, was generally downplayed when not ignored, and studies of it were certainly not encouraged.

On the other hand, it is very likely that Lend-Lease aircraft were indeed seldom used for CAS of ground forces, for various reasons. The Soviets were not very enthusiastic about the fighter-bomber concept: their fighters for most of the war had their hands...er...wings, full of typical fighter duties; they had dedicated ground attack airplanes in the Il-2 family - considerably more effective, less vulnerable, and in ever greater numbers (I believe total production run was around 36,000 - more than any other combat plane model, ever, AFAIK!); they had their own dive bombers to supplement them. So when they used fighters in a ground attack role, it was either in desperation (at the very start of the war), or when they gradually started to run short on air targets towards the end, although they never quite reached the crushing level of air superiority that the Western Allies enjoyed by that time.

In addition, a sizeable proportion of Lend-Lease fighters seem to had been grouped and used for duties outside the scope of CM, such as high-altitude interception, area air defense, and to a smaller extent naval warfare and air cover for ship convoys.

And if you are not tired of reading this post yet, here's a potpourri of factoids about WWII Soviet air power and CAS...

The venerable "Katyusha" MLRS family started with 82mm rockets developed for air-to-air combat, and they are credited with aerial kills (some from I-16s?). But, being unguided, they were soon used almost exclusively against land targets. Later, rockets were introduced for ground and naval forces as well. However, the first truck-based rocket system was 132mm; later, 82mm "came to the ground", while 132mm "went up in the air".

The Soviets did develop figther-bomber versions, most notably some "Yak"-7 and -9 modifications, but their production was fairly limited, and some models never made it past trial phase. Of note are two "Yak"-9 prototypes, "Yak"-9T "Tankbuster" in 1943 with a 37mm cannon, and "Yak"-9K "Large-Caliber" in 1944 with a 45mm(!) cannon. Ostensibly for anti-tank role (IMO, by that time the Soviets pretty much had it covered), more appropriate targets for such fighters would be heavy bombers. Germany never fielded them; were the Soviets secretly preparing for a possible confrontation with B-17s?

Some sources claim Lend-Lease P-39 Airacobras were used in a ground attack role by the Soviets; most emphatically deny it. I tend to agree with the latter, as the Soviets' main preoccupation seems to had been with "Junkers" and "Heinkel" bombers at low and medium altitudes where P-39's lack of supercharger wasn't a problem, and its 37mm cannon could wreak havoc on the big and slow targets.

Most WWII Soviet fighter pilots in their memoirs (at least the ones I'm aware of) seldom mention attacking ground targets, but have a grudging respect for German FLAK autocannons. When ground attacks are mentioned, they were usually "plinking" at targets of opportunity in the enemy's rear. Their favorite - motorcycle riders - even if you miss them, chances are in their haste they will get injured.

[Michael Emrys]

In addition to fighters, the US also sent a fair number of A-20 Havocs to the USSR, but I have no idea what the Soviets used them for. Probably as light bombers against logistical targets (i.e., outside the scope of CM), but I don't know.

Michael

[Mad Russian]

One of the top Soviet fighter aces flew P-39's in air combat. I believe it was their highest scoring ace. There was no mention of him using it in a ground attack role.

Good Hunting.

[Guest Mike]

The Russians received about 18,000 a/c from the west - about 10% of their own production.

The totals are at http://www.battlefield.ru/library/lend/intro.html

[SpitfireXI]

I do remember thinking when I first started playing CMBB that it would be an awesome sight to see a squadron of P-39's taking out a group of Tigers. But now I know how unrealistic that really is. I have used the P-39 in CMAK and realized that it would take a lot more than just 37mm rounds to take out that beast. But it still would have been nice to see P-40's, P-39's, and P-47's in CMBB even with massive rarity.

[Sergei]

Originally posted by Panther Commander:

One of the top Soviet fighter aces flew P-39's in air combat. I believe it was their highest scoring ace. There was no mention of him using it in a ground attack role.

Kinda expectable. You don't become the highest scoring ace by shooting at ground targets.

[Vergeltungswaffe]

Originally posted by Panther Commander:

One of the top Soviet fighter aces flew P-39's in air combat. I believe it was their highest scoring ace. There was no mention of him using it in a ground attack role.

Good Hunting.

Ivan Kozhedub was the highest scoring Soviet (and Allied for that matter) ace with 62 kills. He flew the La-5 early on, then the La-7 for most of his 146 sorties. 30 odd of his missions, iirc, were "ground cover", which MIGHT have included actually attacking ground targets, but likely did not.

[Foreigner]

Seems this site has some, but definitely not all of the answers about lend-lease aircraft on the Eastern Front. In a nutshell, I was left with the impression that A-20s were used mainly in naval aviation in the Northern TO, e.g. as torpedo bombers, and as medium level bombers for striking enemy communications and softening up defenses before a CM scenario kicks in.

As far as the premier P-39 ace, he is A. Pokryshkin, one of the only two Triple Heroes of the Soviet Union in the VVS, officially credited with 59 kills (second highest only to Kozhedub's 62 among all allied pilots), although unofficially he is rumored to have a score over 100 (in particluar, towards the end of the war he was allegedly crediting some of his kills to his long-time wingman in an effort to get him a "Hero" as well). While the overwhelming majority of his victories were scored in P-39s, his first "Me-109" he shot down in a "MiG-3", and he finished the war in a "Yak".

"Ground cover" mentioned in the previous post most likely refers to "air cover for ground troops", which mostly involved chasing away enemy bombers and ground attack aircraft. Success for the Soviets was judged not so much by the numbers of planes shot down, but whether the bombers were forced to abort their mission (preferrably forcing them to dump their bombload on territory occupied by their own troops).

[ October 13, 2004, 10:57 AM: Message edited by: Foreigner ]