Dedicated to connoisseurs of aviation history.
Selection criteria are important when compiling ratings. A recent opus on the most dangerous fighters of the Second World War turned out to be quite comical, because the author used a win-win logic. Take five aircraft of the final period of WWII, which, due to technological progress, were faster, more powerful and more advanced than those that were used at the initial stage of the war.
Despite being faithful in terms of characteristics, the previous selection did not fit the topic. The Second World War lasted six years, during which several generations of aviation managed to change in battle. From Gloucester Gladiator biplanes to Me-262 jet Swallows.
Which of them, due to the current situation in the theater of operations, the peculiarities of combat use and the totality of their own characteristics, became a nightmare for the enemy for some time?
Our superfighter was undoubtedly the Yak. The legendary family of combat vehicles, which has rightfully become a symbol, pride and basis of Soviet fighter aircraft during the Second World War.
"I am" Yak ", a fighter, My motor is ringing
The sky is my abode !!!"
Yak-9T, the plane of the Soviet aces. Why exactly he, and not La-5FN or La-7? Now I will try to temper emotions and tell in more detail why the Yak-9 of the "T" modification has earned such a high assessment.
The Yak-9T had the strongest armament among all serial fighters during the Second World War.
A feature of the "T" modification was an automatic 37 mm cannon. Many will ask: what's wrong with that? A gun of the same caliber was regularly installed, for example, on American Airacobras.
Common to the Yak cannon and the American M4 was only the caliber. The Soviet NS-37 had a much longer barrel (2300 mm versus 1650 mm), and its muzzle energy was almost twice as high! In terms of the initial projectile velocity and power, this unique aircraft weapon surpassed even the German Pak 36 anti-tank gun.
The mass of the projectile increases in cube with increasing caliber, so unexpectedly that an inexperienced reader may not trust the figures presented. Comparison with smaller caliber guns is meaningless. The projectile of the NS-37 cannon weighing 735 grams was two and a half times heavier than the projectiles of the most powerful of the German aircraft cannons mounted on fighters (MK.108, 30 mm caliber, 330 g projectile weight). AND eight times harder projectile of any aircraft cannon of 20 mm caliber! One hit to the "Messer" or "Junkers" tore off the plane or cut the enemy in half.
It is worth noting that due to its unsatisfactory ballistics, the short-barreled MK.108 with twice the initial velocity is not an argument here at all. Of the serial samples of a similar caliber, the Germans only had the BK 3.7, but it was never intended for air combat.
An exhaustive answer to the question of what made the Yak-9T stand out and why its power went beyond the imaginations of foreign creators of aviation weapons.
Unlike the British 40-mm "Vickers-S" and other large-caliber air cannons, the NS-37 was sufficiently balanced to be used as a standard weapon on a serial modification of a fighter in harsh front-line conditions. The flatness of the trajectory of her shots made it possible to confidently aim and hit aerial targets. Without too long a procedure for choosing a lead and overshoot (in fact, shooting with a canopy), which made all foreign systems of a similar caliber ineffective, due to the low initial velocity of the projectiles and unsatisfactory ballistics.
Again, we are not talking about some exotic modifications that did not leave the air force research centers. Fighters in the Yak-9T variant were built 2,700 units, this is more than the British Tempests of all modifications combined!
In addition to a weapon with unique characteristics, the Yak used the best of the existing weapon placement schemes, in which the gun was located in the collapse of the engine block. The placement of weapons along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft provided the best accuracy and efficiency of firing. In addition to the supercannon, there was a 12.7 mm machine gun, which, according to the participants in those events, was worth two German short-barreled MG-13s in battle.
The pilots noted that the Yak, unlike Lavochkin, was easier to fly, and its development was accompanied by fewer incidents. Of course, the newcomers did not fly the Yak-9T. The potential of a heavily armed fighter could only be unleashed in the hands of an experienced pilot.
Almost all Yakov modifications were distinguished by a longer flight duration and, in this regard, were better suited for escorting strike aircraft and front-line work than La-5FN, which, with all its advantages, had a fuel supply of only 40 minutes of flight.
In terms of maneuverability, the Yak-9 was inferior to most fighters of its era. It was a fairly large and heavy vehicle (the empty weight was 500-700 kg heavier than the Japanese Zero) with a significant wing load (175-190 kg / m2; for comparison: the Spitfires of that period had only 130 kg / m2) That, coupled with the modest power of the engine, turned the fighter … in general, there were complaints. This statement was leveled in relation to the Yak-9T. Due to the relatively low thrust-to-weight ratio of all piston fighters, gravity played a special role in battle. In practice, this was expressed in the dynamics and organization of the battle, in the ability to convert height into speed, and speed into height. The super-armed Yaks, as a rule, were flown by experienced pilots who were fluent in this skill.
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“On a summer morning, a grenade fell into the grass, near Lviv the outpost lay in a ditch, the Messerschmitts splashed gasoline into the blue” (A. Mezhinsky).
The works of the war years are inextricably linked with these slippery, fast-moving machines with black crosses on their wings, as if escaping from the embrace of hell. For a long time, mod. Me-109F-4, with it were associated all the fears and losses that plagued our aviation in the first years of the war.
Submodification "F-4" was distinguished by the MG 151/20 motor-gun, caliber 20 mm.
At that time, "Frederick" seemed to be perfect. "At the present time we do not have a fighter with flight and tactical data, better or at least equal to the Me-109F," noted in December 1941 the head of the Air Force Research Institute, Major General P. Fedorov.
Briefly about its history. Even before entering the war, the Me-109E had accumulated questions that had to be resolved in the future modification "F". The main changes concerned aerodynamics: the designers thoroughly worked on the wing shape and, taking into account new knowledge, achieved an increase in efficiency and a decrease in the frontal area of the radiator. "Friedrich" received a retractable tail landing gear and lost the ugly horizontal stabilizer struts. The Me-109 fighter acquired its predatory finished appearance, as it went down in history.
Instead of wing-mounted 20-mm cannons with unsatisfactory characteristics (the muzzle energy of the Oerlikon MG-FF was less than that of the 12.7-mm UBS aircraft machine gun), the aircraft of the new modification were equipped with a bicaliber 15-20-mm "machinengever" placed like a Soviet cannon. Yaka ", in the collapse of the engine cylinder block. The reduction in the number of firing points was compensated for by a twice higher rate of fire and increased ammunition for the MG-151. Machine-gun armament remained unchanged.
"The patience of the machine is the limit, and its time has expired …"
By mid-1943, the Messerschmitt really should have left and not disgraced the honor of the Luftwaffe aces in battles with the new generation of aviation. But the Germans no longer had the strength to create a new machine capable of repeating the success of the Me-109F. The rapidly aging design continued to be modified (mod. "Gustav", "Elector"), trying to squeeze the last reserves out of it. But the "Messer" stopped bringing victories, then finally died and went to death.
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Mystical chestnuts, Mitsubishi emblem, ceremonial year 2600. Zero zero. "Zero" … Japanese supercar, long considered the strongest fighter in the Pacific theater of operations. In the hands of a samurai is a sword, the meaning of his life is death.
The main fighter of the fleet with a range of 3000 km. Suspended fuel tanks were a mandatory requirement of the customer - with them, the 1940 Zero could stay in the air for 6-8 hours!
In addition to the phenomenal combat radius, "Zero" was distinguished by a disproportionately large wing area (22 sq. M). The area, like the English "Spitfire", only the Japanese was a quarter lighter. Thanks to this, he could maneuver at low speeds and surpassed any rival in turns. The low stall speed (only 110 km / h) made it easier to land on aircraft carriers. On the whole, the rest of the performance characteristics of the "Zero" approximately corresponded to other fighters of the initial period of WWII, surpassing most of them in terms of the power of the installed weapons.
"Zero" of the first modifications suffered from unsatisfactory survivability (a very conventional term for aviation), subsequently increased due to the introduction of a carbon dioxide fire extinguishing system and armored elements of the cockpit.
The insufficient engine power gradually affected, and the archaic weapons of the fighter got stuck at the turn of the 30-40s. That, however, did not prevent the Zero from becoming a thunderstorm, a symbol and the most famous aircraft of the Pacific theater of operations.
During the war years in Japan, other fighter models were created, the most advanced of which was the N1K1-J "Siden". However, the high performance of the "Purple Lightning" no longer stood out against the background of other magnificent aircraft of the final period of the war.
The glory and pride of Japanese aviation remained forever associated with the era of "Zero".
* * *
The former designer of steam locomotives, with the money of an elderly aristocrat, created the most effective fighter of the Second World War. In fact, everything is more prosaic: Spitfire was the 24th development of the talented designer R. Mitchell, and his great success was the motors of the "falcon series" - "Merlin" and its further development - "Griffin". And money, 100 thousand lbs. Art. for the construction of the first prototypes, actually donated by Lucy Houston.
Spitfire fighters account for a third of all downed Luftwaffe aircraft. In general, a logical result for 20 thousand "Ardent", who for almost six years, day after day, participated in battles with the enemy.
14 modifications of "Spitfire" held up with dignity throughout the war, unrecognizably changing their appearance under the influence of time. Were tried all options for weapons - from "garlands" of rifle-caliber machine guns, firing a total of 160 bullets per second, to mixed weapons from 20-mm cannons and large-caliber "Browning" on later machines.
The only unchanged feature of all Spitfires was the well-recognized elliptical wing.
But the main guarantee of a long and successful career was the motor. When the last reserves of the Merlin were exhausted, Rolls-Royce specialists bored out the V12 cylinders, increasing its displacement by 10 liters. But this is only half the battle. The British were able to "remove" more than 2000 liters from the 37-liter "Griffin" in operating mode. with. ("Spitfire" MK. XIV with the "Griffin-61" engine). Outstanding performance for a relatively compact (900 kg) liquid-cooled aircraft engine.
The German Engineers howled in frustration. Even the 42-liter star-shaped BMW-801 (Focke-Wullf engine) with air cooling and a dead weight of more than a ton did not have such indicators. The best German engines could develop 1900-2000 hp only for a short time (in an emergency mode, for a few minutes). with. with mandatory injection of a nitrogen mixture.
The Spitfire's other records include the highest altitude ever achieved on a piston-engined aircraft of that era. Having taken off for weather reconnaissance, the fighter climbed almost 16 kilometers.
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He flew in from the future. Inside Mustang there were such things that are associated with a much later era of jet aircraft. An overload suit, a friend or foe responder for coordinating the work of ground radars, and even such a surprise - albeit a primitive, but very useful AN / APS-13 radar, which warned of the appearance of an enemy on the tail (the same equipment was used as a radio altimeter in the design of the first nuclear bombs).
"Mustang" was equipped with an analog computer sight K-14, which determined the difference between true and gravitational acceleration, while taking into account the position of the enemy. This made it possible to automatically determine the moment to open fire. Lock the target in the crosshair and wait. The green light comes on - press the trigger; the paths of bullets will intersect with the target. Combat experience and understanding of how to aim and shoot in combat, for which our pilots often paid in blood, went to the American cadet along with a certificate of graduation from flying school.
Due to all the technical innovations, the newbie pilots on the Mustang got a chance to survive and gain experience in the first battles with the enemy.
In addition to the laminar wing, the Yankees used a turbocharger driven by exhaust gases (that is, without diverting the useful power of the engine), as a result, the fighter received a "second wind" at high altitudes. During the war years, the United States became the only nation that managed to design and master the mass production of such a system. And the motor … the heart of the Mustang was a licensed Rolls-Royce Merlin, without it no Mustang would have worked.
Another little-known feature was the Mustang's streamlining and aerodynamics, better than those of its peers: instead of rough camouflage paint, the Mustang shone with polished aluminum. There was no one to fear in the air.
The Yankees did not use cannons, instead "coaching" aces and novice pilots to shoot long bursts of "Browning" 50-caliber, making a total of 70-90 rounds per second. This technique made it possible to inflict sufficient damage to destroy the enemy from a distance of more than 100 meters (for example: 90% of victories in aerial battles on the Eastern Front were won at distances of less than 100 meters due to the need for accurate aiming).
Dense machine-gun fire from a solid distance by the standards of that time seemed to the Americans an effective and correct solution, moreover, the Mustangs were not faced with the task of fighting multi-engine bombers.
What else is there to add?
Who would doubt that the country, whose GDP exceeded the total GDP of the Axis countries, had the most technically advanced fighter.
The P-51 "Mustang" of the "D" modification is still 1944, the crown of the evolution of piston aircraft. Its takeoff weight was two tons higher than the normal takeoff weight of the Yak and Messerschmitt. Therefore, putting it on a par with the Yak, Zero and Me-109 is simply tactless. Nevertheless, appearing late in the war, the P-51D still managed to make a splash in the theaters of operations.
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Agree, the rating turned out to be hot. But we tried to be objective.
There were many of the best fighters. However, hardly any of them could count on the glory of aircraft from this five. And hardly anyone else had the advantage in performance and combat use, which in certain periods was observed in the "special purpose" Yak, Me-109F, "Zero", "Spitfire" and "Mustang".
