Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1782005544
Total Pages : 147 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

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Book Synopsis Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2 by : George Mellinger

Download or read book Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2 written by George Mellinger and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-20 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the end of 1941 the Soviet Union was near collapse and its air force almost annihilated, leaving large numbers of surviving pilots with no aircraft to fly. To help prevent this collapse the UK eventually supplied a total of 4300 Hurricanes and Spitfires to the USSR. After the United States entered the war, the Americans extended Lend-lease to include direct supply to the Soviets as well as the British, and among the aircraft sent were almost 10,000 fighters. Although the aircraft were outdated and often unsuitable to Russian conditions, they served when they were needed, and a number of Russian pilots became Heroes of the Soviet Union flying Lend-lease aircraft. The Soviet government tried to conceal or minimize the importance of Lend-lease fighters well into the 1980s, and the pilots who flew them were discriminated against as 'foreigners'. Only in recent years have these pilots felt free to admit what they flew, and now the fascinating story of these men can emerge.

Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1782005862
Total Pages : 97 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

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Book Synopsis Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2 by : George Mellinger

Download or read book Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2 written by George Mellinger and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-20 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the end of 1941 the Soviet Union was near collapse and its air force almost annihilated, leaving large numbers of surviving pilots with no aircraft to fly. To help prevent this collapse the UK eventually supplied a total of 4300 Hurricanes and Spitfires to the USSR. After the United States entered the war, the Americans extended Lend-lease to include direct supply to the Soviets as well as the British, and among the aircraft sent were almost 10,000 fighters. Although the aircraft were outdated and often unsuitable to Russian conditions, they served when they were needed, and a number of Russian pilots became Heroes of the Soviet Union flying Lend-lease aircraft. The Soviet government tried to conceal or minimize the importance of Lend-lease fighters well into the 1980s, and the pilots who flew them were discriminated against as 'foreigners'. Only in recent years have these pilots felt free to admit what they flew, and now the fascinating story of these men can emerge.

Soviet Aces of World War 2

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1472800575
Total Pages : 159 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (728 download)

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Book Synopsis Soviet Aces of World War 2 by : Hugh Morgan

Download or read book Soviet Aces of World War 2 written by Hugh Morgan and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-01-20 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No single volume in English has ever appeared in the West dealing with this intriguing subject area, but now that restrictions have relaxed in the former Soviet Union, records of the deeds of the elite pilots of the various Soviet Air Forces are coming to light. Although initially equipped with very poor aircraft, and robbed of effective leadership thanks as much to Stalin's purges in the late 1930s as to the efforts of the Luftwaffe, Soviet fighter pilots soon turned the tables through the use of both lend-lease aircraft like the Hurricane, Spitfire, P-39 and P-40, and home-grown machines like the MiG-3, LaGG-3/5, Lavochkin La-5/7/9 and the Yak-1/3.

Yakovlev Aces of World War 2

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1782005536
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

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Book Synopsis Yakovlev Aces of World War 2 by : George Mellinger

Download or read book Yakovlev Aces of World War 2 written by George Mellinger and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-20 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Yak-1 entered Soviet service in 1941, one of three modern types of aircraft accepted for production just prior to the German invasion of the USSR. Despite initial shortcomings, it soon proved to be the thoroughbred of the Soviet Airforce. Indeed, it remained in production until the end of the war, modernized but fundamentally recognizable. By VE-day about 33,100 Yakovlev fighters had been built. Virtually all Soviet fighter regiments flew at least one variety of Yak for a time, including those which gained their fame identified with other aircraft, and consequently many pilots known as Airacobra or Lavochkin aces also scored victories with the Yak. Many other famous aces were exclusively 'Yak patriots', including the French Normandie pilots. This book focuses on the Soviet aces who scored all, or most of their victories in the Yak, drawing informaion from official unit histories and memoirs of the Soviet pilots themselves.

Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 178096885X
Total Pages : 155 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2 by : Yuriy Rybin

Download or read book Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2 written by Yuriy Rybin and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-08-20 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the destruction wrought on the Red Army Air Forces during the first days of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Soviet Union found itself desperately short of fighter aircraft. Premier Josef Stalin duly appealed directly to Prime Minister Winston Churchill for replacement aircraft, and in late 1941 the British delivered the first of 3360 Hurricanes that would be supplied to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease agreement. Specifically requested by the USSR, the Hurricanes were quickly thrown into action in early 1942 – the Soviet Air Forces' most difficult year in their opposition to the Luftwaffe. Virtually all the Hurricanes were issued to Soviet fighter regiments in the northern sector of the front, where pilots were initially trained to fly the aircraft by RAF personnel that had accompanied the early Hawker fighters to the USSR. The Hurricane proved to be an easy aircraft to master, even for the poorly trained young Soviet pilots, allowing the Red Army to form a large number of new fighter regiments quickly in the polar area. In spite of a relatively poor top speed, and only a modest rate-of-climb, the Hurricane was the mount of at least 17 Soviet aces.

Lend-Lease and Soviet Aviation in the Second World War

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Author :
Publisher : Helion
ISBN 13 : 9781914059599
Total Pages : 576 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (595 download)

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Book Synopsis Lend-Lease and Soviet Aviation in the Second World War by : Vladimir Kotelnikov

Download or read book Lend-Lease and Soviet Aviation in the Second World War written by Vladimir Kotelnikov and published by Helion. This book was released on 2021-12-15 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seventy years have passed since the Second World War yet the books and articles still keep coming in a never-ending stream discussing the question of what role the deliveries of arms and materials by Soviet allies played in the victory of the Red Army. In Russia, the American Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter along with the Studebaker US6 truck and canned stewed meat became the symbols of Allied help to the USSR during the Second World War. Other aircraft which arrived to the country under the Lend-Lease program are less known but also made a valuable contribution to the victory. The author of this book for the first time has assembled a huge volume of information related to the delivery of aviation equipment from the UK and USA. Based on documents from Russian and foreign archives, museums, and veterans' recollections, the author has made a qualitative and quantitative appraisal of the influence of these deliveries upon the Soviet war effort and airpower during the conflict. The book details the routes of the aircraft deliveries to Russia, the modifications which were done in order to suit the demands of the Russian climate and specifics of their front-line use, as well as the process of the new aircraft being mastered by the units of the Red Army Air Force. The first foreign aircraft arrived in the Soviet Union with No. 151 Wing RAF in 1941, and their use expanded rapidly - they took part in the counteroffensive near Moscow, the battles for Stalingrad and the Kursk salient, and operations of the war up to the battle for Berlin and the capitulation of Japanese forces in the North China. The author includes the results of the combat assessments of the aircraft, which were done at the Scientific Testing Institute of the Air Force, as well as reports from front-line regiments, and multiple combat episodes, detailing the views of the Soviet designers and pilots on the British and American aircraft. A separate chapter provides information about the aircraft which were not officially delivered but appeared in the Soviet Union accidentally. For the first time an attempt has been made to assess the influence of the deliveries of material and equipment upon the Soviet aviation industry and war effort. The author's impressive text is supported by nearly 700 color and b/w photographs, 100 color aircraft profiles, plus maps, charts etc.

Russian Aces of World War 1

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1780960611
Total Pages : 213 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis Russian Aces of World War 1 by : Victor Kulikov

Download or read book Russian Aces of World War 1 written by Victor Kulikov and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-04-20 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the Russian Imperial Army Air Service consisted of no more than four BAGs (Boevaya Aviatsionniy Gruppa – battle aviation groups), each controlling three or four smaller AOIs (Aviatsionniy Otryad Istrebitelei – fighter aviation detachments) equipped with a variety of aircraft types, its fighter pilots nevertheless gave a good account of themselves. Indeed, during three years of war they claimed more than 200 Austro-Hungarian and German aircraft shot down, creating 13 aces – these elite aviators accounted for around half of the victories claimed on the Eastern Front. Pilots flew a variety of fighter types, with French Nieuport scouts and SPAD VIIs proving to be the most popular, and effective, aeroplanes to see service on this front. The exploits of these aces are detailed here, with information based on material newly sourced by the author from Russian military and private archives. Many previously unpublished photographs are used to illustrate this book, supported by full-colour profiles that reveal how striking some of the aces' fighters were in this often-forgotten theatre of World War 1.

Attack of the Airacobras

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 410 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Attack of the Airacobras by : Dmitriĭ Fedorovich Loza

Download or read book Attack of the Airacobras written by Dmitriĭ Fedorovich Loza and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focusing on the combat operations and daily life of one unit - the 9th Guards Fighter Division - Loza refutes the myth that the P-39 was used mainly as a "tank buster" or "flying artillery." Instead, its primary mission was to protect Red Army operations from aerial attacks by the enemy. So despite the occasional strafing of trains, truck convoys, and troops, most P-39 operations involved attacks on Luftwaffe bombers and dogfights with their fighter escorts."--BOOK JACKET.

Attack of the Airacobras

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Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700616543
Total Pages : 385 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis Attack of the Airacobras by : Dmitriy Loza

Download or read book Attack of the Airacobras written by Dmitriy Loza and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2002-01-31 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During its titanic military struggle with Germany, the Soviet Union received a major boost with the arrival and deployment of nearly 5,000 Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter planes-courtesy of America's Lend-Lease program. The impact was dramatic, as the Soviets quickly adapted the planes into a devastatingly lethal force. Dmitriy Loza's account, admirably translated and edited by James Gebhardt, vividly re-creates the battle campaigns of this odd coupling of capitalist planes and Marxist pilots and shines a bright light on a little known part of the air war on the Eastern Front. The P-39 proved to be the right plane at the right time for a beleaguered Red Air Force. Built for short range and relatively low altitudes, the P-39 was equipped with a powerful engine and weapons that enabled it to outduel and eventually dominate the Luftwaffe from the Caucusus foothills to Berlin. Focusing on the combat operations and daily life of one unit-the 9th Guards Fighter Division-Loza refutes the myth that the P-39 was used mainly as a "tank buster" or "flying artillery." Instead, its primary mission was to protect Red Army operations from aerial attacks by the enemy. So despite the occasional strafing of trains, truck convoys, and troops, most P-39 operations involved attacks on Luftwaffe bombers and dogfights with their fighter escorts. Center stage in Loza's story are the P-39 pilots and ground crews themselves, including remarkable Captain Aleksandr Pokryshkin and Major Gregoriy Rechkalov, two of the Soviets' top four aces. In addition, Loza details the organization and operations of the unit's noncombat personnel-who refueled and maintained the aircraft, cleaned and reloaded the guns, packed the parachutes, treated the wounded, guarded the airfields, and commanded the squadrons and regiments. Based on interviews with Soviet veterans and extensive access to squadron histories and logbooks, Loza provides a rare and insightful look at what it was like to live and fight in this victorious air unit.

Soviet Air Power in World War 2

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Author :
Publisher : Midland Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 536 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis Soviet Air Power in World War 2 by : E. Gordon

Download or read book Soviet Air Power in World War 2 written by E. Gordon and published by Midland Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "From the team that published the 'Famous Russian Aircraft' series comes Soviet Air Power in World War 2, the authoritative guide to all of the aircraft flown by the Soviet Air Force during the conflict." "As well as exploring in-depth the individual aircraft types, this book also takes a closer look at the Soviet Air Force's structure and aircraft fleet. Included are all of the unit insignia of Soviet air armies, divisions and regiments, as well as the varied artwork and camouflage schemes used on individual aircraft. An extensive selection of unseen photographs and colour side views of all the aircraft types that operated in the immediate pre-war years and in World War 2 are featured, including many British and American aircraft flown by the Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Aviation. The book also reveals information about the Soviet Air Force commanders and famous aces of the period; the aces' aircraft and their personal insignia are illustrated, as well as the combat operations they flew against the Axis air forces between 1941 and 1945." "Written by an acknowledged expert in Soviet and Russian military aviation, and illustrated with photographs, profiles and detailed line drawings, this guide to the Soviet Air Force in World War 2 will be of interest not only to aviation and military history enthusiasts but to modellers of this period."--BOOK JACKET.

Allies in Wartime

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 168 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Allies in Wartime by : Alexander B. Dolitsky

Download or read book Allies in Wartime written by Alexander B. Dolitsky and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a collection of articles, essays and speeches that together illuminate a remarkable chapter in human history: the Alaska-Siberia Airway during World War II.

Aviation Lend-lease to Russia

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Author :
Publisher : Nova Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9781560724179
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (241 download)

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Book Synopsis Aviation Lend-lease to Russia by : I. P. Lebedev

Download or read book Aviation Lend-lease to Russia written by I. P. Lebedev and published by Nova Publishers. This book was released on 1997 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aviation Lend-Lease To Russia Historical Observations

Sovetskie voenno-vozdušnye sily v Velikoj Otečestvennoj Vojne

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Author :
Publisher : Garden City, N.Y : Doubleday
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 478 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Sovetskie voenno-vozdušnye sily v Velikoj Otečestvennoj Vojne by : Ray Wagner

Download or read book Sovetskie voenno-vozdušnye sily v Velikoj Otečestvennoj Vojne written by Ray Wagner and published by Garden City, N.Y : Doubleday. This book was released on 1973 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Red Star Airacobra

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Author :
Publisher : Helion & Company Limited
ISBN 13 : 9781874622789
Total Pages : 196 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (227 download)

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Book Synopsis Red Star Airacobra by : Evgeniy Mariinskiy

Download or read book Red Star Airacobra written by Evgeniy Mariinskiy and published by Helion & Company Limited. This book was released on 2006 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evgeniy Mariinskiy, a Soviet fighter ace and Hero of the Soviet Union, shot down 20 enemy planes in aerial combat over the Eastern Front between 1943 and 1945. He frequently engaged enemy fighters and bombers, shot down many but was himself shot down several times. This is his extraordinary story. His vivid inside view of the ruthless war in the air on the Eastern Front gives a rare insight into the reality of fighting and tactics of the Red Army Air Force. In his own words, and with a remarkable clarity of recall, Evgeniy Mariinskiy describes what combat was like in the air, face to face with a skilled, deadly and increasingly desperate enemy. The reader can follow his career from an unskilled novice who has just arrived at his regiment through to him becoming an ace, and Hero of the Soviet Union, under the leadership of experienced commanders. The terrifying moments of action, engagements with enemy fighters, forced landings, nervous strain before attacks, loss of comrades and everyday life of pilots - all these aspects of a Soviet fighter pilot's experience during the Great Patriotic War are brought dramatically to life in his memoirs. In his memoirs Mariinskiy describes tactics which enabled him to have an upper hand in dogfights against experienced German pilots. The grand strategy of the campaigns across the Eastern Front is less important here than the sequence of engagements that were the firsthand experience of the author. It is this close-up view of combat that makes Evgeniy Mariinskiy's reminiscences of such value. Key sales points: A gripping and superbly readable memoir of the war in the air over the Eastern Front 1943-45, penned by a Hero of the Soviet Union and air ace credited with 20 victories / Covers the author's full aviation career including training and his initial experiences over the front, as well as his increasingly successful combat with a skilled enemy / Evgeniy Mariinskiy served with the 129th Guards Fighter Regiment 1943-45, undertaking 210 sorties, participating in 60 air-to-air engagements and shooting down 20 enemy aircraft. In 1945 he was awarded the Gold Star of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Russian Aces of World War 1

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1780960603
Total Pages : 97 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis Russian Aces of World War 1 by : Victor Kulikov

Download or read book Russian Aces of World War 1 written by Victor Kulikov and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-04-20 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the Russian Imperial Army Air Service consisted of no more than four BAGs (Boevaya Aviatsionniy Gruppa – battle aviation groups), each controlling three or four smaller AOIs (Aviatsionniy Otryad Istrebitelei – fighter aviation detachments) equipped with a variety of aircraft types, its fighter pilots nevertheless gave a good account of themselves. Indeed, during three years of war they claimed more than 200 Austro-Hungarian and German aircraft shot down, creating 13 aces – these elite aviators accounted for around half of the victories claimed on the Eastern Front. Pilots flew a variety of fighter types, with French Nieuport scouts and SPAD VIIs proving to be the most popular, and effective, aeroplanes to see service on this front. The exploits of these aces are detailed here, with information based on material newly sourced by the author from Russian military and private archives. Many previously unpublished photographs are used to illustrate this book, supported by full-colour profiles that reveal how striking some of the aces' fighters were in this often-forgotten theatre of World War 1.

MiG-3 Aces of World War 2

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Author :
Publisher : Osprey Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781849084420
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (844 download)

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Book Synopsis MiG-3 Aces of World War 2 by : Dmitriy Khazanov

Download or read book MiG-3 Aces of World War 2 written by Dmitriy Khazanov and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-24 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Created by ex-Polikarpov designers Ivanovic Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich, the MiG-1/3 family of fighters was built to satisfy a Soviet Air Force requirement for an advanced, fast, high altitude fighter. Entering service in the spring of 1941, the problematic MiG-1 had its handling problems rectified with the hasty production of the MiG-3 - the latter had its Mikulin engine moved further forward, increased outer wing dihedral and a strengthened fuselage. As of 22 June 1941, Air Force manoeuvre units in the five borderline military districts could field 917 MiG-3s. Many of these were destroyed on the ground when the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa. Nevertheless, enough examples survived to allow pilots such as Stepan Suprun (Twice Hero of the Soviet Union), Aleksandr Pokryshkin (Thrice Hero of the Soviet Union) and Lev Shestakov (Hero of the Soviet Union) to claim a number of victories on the type. Early successes by units such as 23rd and 28th IAPs resulted in 35 aerial victories being claimed by MiG-3 pilots in the first eight days of the Great Patriotic War. Other units enjoyed similar levels of success, with MiG-3-equipped 15 and 31st IAP proving themselves to be the most combat-ready fighter units on the Northwestern Front. By the end of 1941, a handful of pilots had 'made ace' flying the MiG-3, despite the Soviet air forces having taken a fearful beating at the hands of the Luftwaffe. In 1942 MiG pilots actively participated in the defence of Leningrad, Moscow, Odessa, Kiev and Sevastopol, with still more aviators becoming aces as the year progressed. Amongst them was Aleksandr Pokryshkin, the second-highest scoring Russian ace with 59 victories to his name. He claimed his first five kills while flying a MiG-3 with 55th IAP. Stalin terminated MiG-3 production in October 1941, although the fighter remained in frontline service in large numbers until mid-1942. Surviving examples continued to serve with national air defence regiments until 1943.

MiG-3 Aces of World War 2

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1849084432
Total Pages : 97 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (49 download)

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Book Synopsis MiG-3 Aces of World War 2 by : Dmitriy Khazanov

Download or read book MiG-3 Aces of World War 2 written by Dmitriy Khazanov and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-05-20 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The MiG-1/3 family of fighters was built to satisfy a Soviet Air Force requirement for an advanced, fast, high-altitude fighter. Entering service in the spring of 1941, the problematic MiG-1 had its handling issues rectified with the hasty production of the MiG-3. Many of these were destroyed on the ground when the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa. Nevertheless, enough examples survived to allow pilots such as Stepan Suprun and Aleksandr Pokryshkin to claim a number of victories in the type. This book tells the complete story of the men who made ace in the first examples of the famous MiG fighter.