Aviation
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Continuing the theme of aircraft weapons, it is quite predictable to move on to aircraft guns of the Second World War. I'll make a reservation right away that the article is generally devoted to 20-mm cannons, and one and only 23-mm cannon got here because it is nevertheless closer in characteristics to 20-mm colleagues than to those about
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Indeed, why did you get into the bomber? To fly to carry out a combat mission or to correct physiological needs? Yes, usually "it" was placed in the tail. Away from the crew. It is clear that the former, but sometimes without the latter. If we talk about front-line dive bombers and attack aircraft
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Working on the cycle "Weapons of the Second World War", sometimes you shove through so much information that willy-nilly pulls to write more broadly about any moment. As, for example, happened with the story of Mark Birkier and his HS.404 cannon. In my articles on artillery, I somehow allowed myself the thought that in every
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
It is absolutely fair to talk about aviation engines when talking about aviation. The very "fiery engines" on which, in fact, our aircraft flew during the Second World War. In general, in the 30-40s, our industry, no doubt, made a huge leap forward. From direct photocopying
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
This material completes the topic of cannon and machine gun armament of aircraft of the Second World War. And here there will be a zest, which just needs to be paid attention to readers. We discussed machine guns and heavy machine guns. We talked about the cannons that made up the main power of the aviation of that time. And so
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
We're talking about aviation. We often talk about the development of aircraft, especially often - about the development of combat aircraft. I must say that not one of the branches and arms of the military has gone along such a path of development as aviation. Well, perhaps the rocket forces, but you must admit, how can we talk about
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Yes, they were very peculiar war workers, but now we will consider exclusively wheeled aircraft. For float torpedo bombers and flying boats carrying torpedoes, you will have to make a separate test, since there were more than enough original machines invented
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Historically speaking, about Italian combat vehicles, it was almost as if they were dead: either nothing or nothing at all. That is, they seemed to be, but they did not exist either. Something was flying there that was not good for anything initially. In fact, the truth was, as always, not where the celebration was
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
As strange as this statement may look, the controversial doctrine of Douai played the first role in the emergence of the branch of heavy fighters. It was Monsieur Douay that the inhabitants of Soviet, German, Japanese and English cities owe the massive bombing, since it was Douai who developed the theory
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
There will be no complete comparison here, but historical parallels will be present. It is not my goal to show the similarities between Yakovlev's and Messerschmitt's planes, but as the article progresses, you will be surprised how similar the history of these planes turned out to be. Another question, of course, was what was the finale. But that's what we are about too
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
In the first (it happened) part, we talked about a very original, as it turned out, aircraft: "Messerschmitt" Bf 109. The aircraft really turned out to be more than original. On the one hand, there are simply monstrous oddities in the design, borrowed from a sports plane, on the other, the possibility
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
This rather nondescript airplane - in fact, as many articles about the Soviet seaplane say - is a well-deserved veteran. The past fire, water, ice of all years of the Great Patriotic War. He was born in the head of the legend of Soviet seaplane aviation, Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev. Of a person who is not
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Actually, here it is. The most successful angle and the logical result. Nevertheless, the history of this aircraft is more than interesting. The main question, to which I will try to answer: why on the Eastern Front, the Fokker was treated with coolness, so to speak, while on the Western Front it was a true scarecrow for all pilots
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I will never compare a battleship and an aircraft carrier, for the former there is just Kaptsov, for the latter there is Andrey from Chelyabinsk. And no one forbids me to do this, you just need to understand your level of competence in these matters
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Of course, ask anyone today which plane was the best in Japan during the Second World War, and a mighty roar will be heard in response: "Zero !!!" And some "specialists" and "experts" also stubbornly push the A6M into all the charts regardless of who are the neighbors of the deck:
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
When there was a discussion of the Dewoitine D520 aircraft, many commentators expressed the opinion that the Morane-Saulnier aircraft were no worse than the Dewoitine fighters. I will venture to make out this moment as much as possible. To begin with, a little excursion into history, just to pay tribute
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
The story is simply magical, otherwise you cannot call it a miraculous transformation of a miracle into a monster. But in reality for Germany "Mosquito" became a headache that they could not neutralize. But it all started very, very sad. In the mid-30s, when tensions grew like
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
So we come to the finale. Aviation cannons, capable of evoking, if not respect, then amazement at the mere fact of their existence. Meanwhile, they fought with varying degrees of success. In general, an arms race in the air is a very peculiar business. And here progress has stepped very far
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Having written an article about domestic piston aircraft engines at the beginning of the summer, I was somewhat surprised by the reaction of readers. To my deepest regret, a greater number of readers are more interested in assessing not the history of aircraft engines, but AvtoVAZ. Combat aircraft. About aircraft motors, their own and not so much. But those who
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
What is happening today around the Russian transport aviation causes very ambiguous feelings. To put it mildly, sheer confusion, and in everything: forecasts, figures, statements, official reports. This causes at least concern, because if there is such a mess in their heads, then what
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
The review will be quite challenging. It seems to me that night fighters were the strangest category of aircraft of that time. To begin with, during the entire war, one night fighter was purposefully created and produced in series. Purposefully - this means that it was created exactly as a night
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Continuing the theme of "night lights", after we walked through the technique of the Third Reich, we begin to look at everyone else. Before starting, however, it is worth saying a few words that I may have missed in the first part: The aircraft we are looking at are night fighters. Accordingly, it is necessary
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Who doesn't know this plane? A flying log with an attached lantern? Perfectly identifiable even by non-specialists F4U "Corsair" from the "Chance-Vout" company. The best (in the opinion of the Japanese) and almost the best (in the opinion of everyone else) carrier-based fighter of the Second World War. But start our conversation today
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Indeed, ANT-42, aka TB-7, aka Pe-8, the most powerful bomber of the Red Army Air Force, how was it in terms of comparison with analogues? And was it even possible to compare it? But in order to compare, you first need to really go through the history of the aircraft. History began around the mid-30s of the last
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
According to the materials of the "Expert" publication, Anatoly Serdyukov, head of the Rostec aviation cluster, has begun a total optimization of "excess production capacities" at the enterprises controlled by the holding. It is controversial, but not unreasonable, if you seriously look at it. On the one hand, like
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
So, heavy monsters carrying tons of bombs over great distances. Yes, they are. Four-engine colossus, bristling with barrels, with large crews, armored and in general - the beauty and pride of any aviation. Not all countries have been able to create such an aviation. The French, for example. They had a very and
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Well, the moment of understanding has come that one can compare in different ways. You can wholesale, as in OBM, you can differently. Yes, all these "AK versus M-16" are eternal, but still, some personalized comparisons make sense. Although in this case, I'm not even sure why I brought it to court
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Probably on that day, August 17, 1943, the crews of British ships from the convoy from Gibraltar to Great Britain witnessed one of the strangest events of World War II
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
It is safe to say that China has also joined the fascinating process of measuring how fifth or not fifth generation modern aircraft are. Why this is necessary is understandable without equivocation. The steeper the plane (this applies not only to fighters), the easier and more profitable it can be
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Not so long ago we had an article about this aircraft, written by a battleship expert. Yes, of course, as an opinion, it has the right to life, although, of course, there were comparisons in it … Well, okay, this is the lyrics, let's talk about the plane, which we will consider full-face and in profile, and not through the chimney of the ship. Lightning. Highly
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Weapons have always attracted attention and were not only a way to send a person to the next world, but also a source of pride. Speaking about the brainchild of Ernst Heinkel No.219, we can definitely say that Mr. Heinkel had something to be proud of. The plane turned out to be very successful, moreover, I consider it the best
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
In the comments to the article We Are The Mighty: 10 Fighters That Changed the War in the Air, one of the readers said that if we had a rating, it would be completely different. I completely agree, and since my colleague Ryabov showed just miracles of diplomacy, commenting on this
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
For a very long time, I confess, I was getting close to this plane. No wonder, very, very little has been written about the Pe-3. If there is a book about the Pe-2, at best the Pe-3 will be given a chapter. They say it was. If an article, a few sentences will be enough. But there are no books and more or less serious studies. True, there is a hint of a certain
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Continuing the conversation about the planes that changed the war in the air and on the ground. In the first part we looked at the aircraft of the first half of the 20th century, now, of course, the turn for the second. In the second part we will consider (attention!) The aircraft that had a real impact on the conduct of hostilities
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
What can you say about the brainchild of "Junkers", more precisely, Heinrich Evers and Alfred Gassner? Only one thing: they did it. 15,000 aircraft produced. This is an admission that the car came out very, very good. It all started back in the now distant 1935, when the Luftwaffe thought about changing
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
So, "Heinkel" No.111. Labels "blitzkrieg symbol" and "beauty and pride of the Luftwaffe" will not cling to, but the plane was very remarkable. At least only by the fact that he plowed the whole war, from the first to the last day, and this already says a lot. In fact, no. It happened, and it turned out very much
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Close your eyes for a minute and try to imagine … yourself. In a dream, in a fantasy novel, in an eerie fairy tale, you are a pilot. You go to your plane to take flight. With you, everything is more or less clear, but we are looking at the plane. Multiple Survival Engines? No. One. Yes
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
I would like to start with this: with a question. And the question is not simple, but golden. Why do we, speaking of airplanes, immediately draw in our heads the image of a fighter, and with it a fighter pilot? That is, when we talk about the Hero-pilot, who immediately appears? That's right, Pokryshkin or Kozhedub. Yes, that's right. But
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
All according to the laws of the genre. Or show business. If people start to forget about the star, it is necessary to make a scandal. Our hero is not a star at all, therefore scandals are not needed, but some media outlets, with a light filing of the same “Zvezda”, suddenly started talking. It would seem, who needs it?
Last modified: 2025-01-24 09:01
Why not admire? Yes, at one time the plane received from the pilots a not very flattering nickname "stringbag", that is, "string bag" if translated within the meaning. Younger generations may not know what it is, Google will help. In general, Suordfish is a remarkable and delightful machine in every way