Tupolev SB in Soviet Service. Part Four.

 

The Tupolev PS-41 was a civilian version of the SB 2M-103. It was developed by Aeroflot in 1939 and by December 1940 forty-nine machines were in service. As civilianized as it was, every defensive armament, as well as armour plating and bomb release systems were deleted, with the exception of the cartridge case ejector tunnel, which remained in the nose. Many PS-41s had an additional antenna mast placed in front of the canopy frame. When serving with Aeroflot, most of them were left in bare metal with civil registration codes and Aeroflot's logo (albeit not always present), painted in black.

From early 1940 onwards, many PS-41s were assigned to Aviaarktika (Aeroflot's Polar Aviation Division). This organization served in the USSR's most northern region under extreme conditions, hence the non-retractable ski undercarriage the PS-41 were equipped with. Most of them were painted in orange or had their noses or engine cowlings painted red to increase their visibility. 

Shortly after the German Invasion of the USSR in June 1941, Aeroflot's PS-41 were pushed into service with the Civil Air Fleet (GVF in Russian acronym) under VVS (Soviet Air Force) command. Some PS-41s were assigned to liaison squadrons, operating from bases in Moscow and northern USSR. They were used for liaison duties between the Central Military Headquarter in Moscow and the Transcaucasian Front. They were also employed as liaison to link Moscow with the newly established industrial centers east of the Ural mountains. 

In combat, the PS-41 was also used, taking advantage of its high speed, to resupply beleaguered Soviet defenses in the Leningrad area, to supply the city with mail, medicines and military staff. 

As more modern Soviet bombers as the Tupolev Tu-2 or the Petlyakov Pe-2 became available, some former SB 2M-103 bombers were converted to PS-41 standard and assigned to GVF, to ease the acute shortage of transport planes the VVS suffered all along World War 2. 

Overall, the PS-41 served well and became VVS' main high speed transport during the war. It was kept on service for a short period of time after the conflict, until it was gradually replaced by more modern types like the Ilyushin Il-12 or the Lisunov Li-2.

There was an extended range sub-variant, called PS-41 bis designed for mail transport. It featured a pair of external wing mounted fuel depots in lieu of the bomb racks. Those depots allowed for an increased range of 1.180 km (733 miles). 

The Tupolev SB-RK was a regular SB 2M-100A fitted with two Klimov M-105R engines. This served as the initial prototype for the ground attack variant of the SB which eventually became the Arkhangelsky Ar-2. 
The Tupolev SBB was an attempt made by Arkhangelsky to modernize the SB design. It featured smaller wings and an almost complete new redesign with twin tail. The only prototype flew for the first time in September 1940. It was tested against the Pe-2 prototype and the Yakovlev Yak-4 and was discarded due to unsatisfactory performance. Some few attempts were made to attract VVS' attention on the type but the interest was lost.

There was another test aircraft based on the frame of the Tupolev SB. Igor P. Tolstikh an engineer from TsAGI (Central Aero and Hydrodynamics Institute) led a team to investigate a tricycle undercarriage (based on implanting a nose-wheel) in 1940. This landing gear configuration, however, wasn't new in the USSR as another aircraft, Kharkov KhAI-4 employed a nose-wheel back in 1934. 
A heavily modified SB 2M-103 was the basis for the nose-wheel arrangement. This experiment was never intended to be put into mass production, as it was just an study to improve future Soviet bombers.
The nose section was heavily modified to incorporate a large nose-wheel with two bracing struts. The main non-retractable undercarriage was repositioned to the rear.
It was test flown by the famous Soviet test pilot Marc L. Gallai on taxiing and landing flights, who praised the new arrangement as it made it much easier to take off and land, than the conventional tail-wheel bombers. 
TsAGI's prototype, nicknamed as 'Pterodactyl', was assigned to the NII (Flight Research Institute) located at Kratovo, near Moscow, in late 1940. Tests continued until 1941, when Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, invading the USSR in June. The first Soviet bombers with tricycle landing gear arrangement, didn't see the light until after the end of the war, namely the Tupolev Tu-12. 

Sources:

Sources:

1st Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 194 - Tupolev SB in Action

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_SB

3rd https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/sb/tapani/prototypes/SBB.htm

Tupolev SB in Soviet Service. Part Three.

 

The Tupolev SB was Soviet's main bomber during the Winter War. During this conflict, ranging from late November 1939 until until mid March 1940, the VVS deployed more than 3.000 aircraft to defeat the Finns who had only 145 aircraft in their ranks.
As we said, the Tupolev SB was VVS' main bomber and it flew the first Soviet attack against Finnish soil, which was an attack against Helsinki, the Finnish capital city. As the winter was really harsh, many Tupolev SB 2M-100As were equipped with skis and some few of them were equipped with the, back then, experimental MV-3 rear turret. The RS-132 unguided rocket was also tested in this conflict as six Tupolev SB 2M-100As were fitted with rocket launching equipment on the wings. These rockets were mainly used against ground targets.
As the war progressed on, with a furious Finnish resistance, many Tupolev SB of various types were captured by the Finnish who repaired them and push them into service with the Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force). 
The war ended on 13th March 1940 with the Finnish agreeing to yield a buffer zone to the Soviets. However, casualties on the VVS side were enormous, estimated at a number between 700 and 900 aircraft, half of them bombers. 

The Tupolev USB was the trainer variant of the regular SB which came out almost two years after the first SB rolled out of the factory in 1936. It was based on a SB 2M-100A and was built at GAZ (State Aircraft Factory) 22 at Fili, Moscow. The whole nose section was remodelled to install a second open cockpit for the instructor. The step was relocated from the front to the rear of the starboard nose. A windshield was installed for the instructor's compartment but no canopy was provided. Instructor's cockpit had similar controls to those in the pupil's cockpit, however, they were automatically disconnected when the instructor took command. In spite of the importance of communication between the instructor and the pupil, the USB lacked an intercom. The instructor accessed his cockpit using a ladder placed through the open ventral hatch doors.
The USB prototype underwent State Acceptance Trials between 11 and 16 March 1938. During those tests it was equipped with non-retractable ski undercarriage. GAZ 22 at Fili completed just a few USB, as most of them were converted in the field from existing Tupolev SB of every kind. 

Sources:

1st Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 194 - Tupolev SB in Action

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_SB
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War

Tupolev SB in Soviet Service. Part Two.

 

The first combat usage of the Tupolev SB under VVS's (Soviet Air Force) Red Star was in the Battle of Lake Khasan. This battle was part of the many Soviet-Japanese border clashes in the eastern sector of the Sino-Soviet Manchurian region which took place between 29th July and 11th August 1938. One Tupolev SB was lost to Japanese fire. 

Tensions escalated in the region and fighting broke out again in the Khalkin Gol, eastern Mongolia, close to the border with China, in May 1939. At first there were two SBAP (Russian acronym for 'Fast Bomber Regiment') units present; 150 and 38 SBAP. 

In this battle, which lasted until 16th September and caused Soviet forces heavy losses, the SBs were not involved at first. However, due to the increasing Soviet casualties, two regiments of SB bombers were deployed in June, flying their first mission of the 26th. The SBs were employed thoroughly when the Japanese launched an attack in early July. 

Both 150 and 38 SBAPs were composed of a mixture of old and new models of the SB, so the differing speeds between bombers proved to be a serious problem when maintaining formation, specially when the Japanese Nakajima Ki-27 fighter attacked and the poor defensive arrangement of the SB could do little to defend, as the radio operator had to man both dorsal and ventral turrets. In order to minimise casualties against Japanese fighters, Soviets changed their tactics, so the SBs had to fly in altitudes over 6.100 m (20.000 ft), where it was difficult for the Japanese to intercept. In August a new regiment, 49 SBAP arrived in the battlefield and the SBs were employed in aerial raids against Japanese forces until Soviet and Mongolian forces lead by Georgy Zhukov carried out an offensive which ended with the cease-fire in 16th September 1939.

The SB was also employed by the VVS in the Soviet Invasion of Poland. At 6:00 am, on 17th September 1939 approximately 310.000 Soviet troops crossed the Polish border from the east and the SB was the backbone of the VVS during this campaign. Both Belarussian and Ukrainian fronts had a total of 637 SB 2M-100As available when the Polish-Soviet War broke out. They were assigned to 10th, 16th, 18th and 70th SBAPs. 

During the first days of the invasion, most of their missions were against strategical railroad stations and communication hubs, including the Stanislawow and Buczacz marshalling yards, as well as Polish airfields of Kowel, Dubno and Luzk, where they encountered resistance and Polish P-11 fighters shot down two SBs that day.

On 19th September, some of the remaining P-11s tried to attack a formation of SBs without any success at all. 

The SBs also raided one of the last Polish strongholds near Kamien Koszyrski on 22nd September. By that date the Polish Air Force had already collapsed and the VVS only flew some sporadic sorties over Poland. On 29th September a formation of various SB 2M-100As bombed the town of Nujno. 

VVS's bombing operations over Poland were limited until 6th October 1939, when the Polish campaign ended. This was because of the lack of suitable targets and only a handful of SBs were lost in the 20 days this campaign lasted.

The Tupolev PS-40 was a civilian transport variant, which we will cover in a future post. 

The Tupolev MMN was an version which featured several aerodynamical improvements. It was made on the basis of the SB 2M-103 and was powered by two 1.100 hp Klimov M-105 engines. Each engine, housed in an aerodynamically modified cowling was equipped with a centrifugal two-speed twin-stage supercharger driving a three-bladed propeller. 

The wingspan was reduced and the tail was redesigned and reduced in size. Nose section was also modified in order to have clearer portions. Armament consisted on two 7,62 mm ShKAS machine guns placed in a dorsal turret and a single ShKAS machine gun in the nose section. This reduced the defensive armament of the regular SB as they normally had two ShKAS in the nose.

The MMN also featured additional wing fuel tanks and a second landing light. It was also lighter than the SB 2M-013. 

It was accepted for state trials in September 1939 and achieved a top speed of 458 km/h (285 mph) flying at 4.200 m (13.780 ft). This was only 8 km/h (5 mph) faster than the standard SB 2M-103. As it had smaller wings, it also had smaller wing area, resulting in a faster landing speed of 160 km/h (99 mph), making it more dangerous. The MMN did not pass state trials because of its nimble defensive armament, its marginal faster speed and its high landing speed over the SB 2M-103. The only prototype was assigned to Aeroflot where it received the nickname of Shchuka (Pike).

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_SB

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Khasan

3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Khalkhin_Gol

4th https://j-aircraft.com/research/George_Mellinger/sovietorderofbattle.htm

5th Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 194 - Tupolev SB in Action

6th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Poland

7th http://www.airvectors.net/avtu2.html

Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3, part two.

 

The prototype of the LaGG-3 was called I-301 and was designed by Semyon A. Lavochkin, Vladimir P. Gorbunov and Mikhail I. Gudkov. That prototype was renamed to LaGG-1 (to which we dedicated an entire post, not very long ago, check it out by clicking here ) and production machines were named LaGG-3. 
The prototype was completed at the GAZ-301 factory, North-West of Moscow and the design was approved for production in January 1940. The I-301 was a single-seat, low-wing monoplane with a semi-monocoque fuselage and skinned with birch veneer and plywood. On 14th June it was accepted for trials and it achieved the speed of 510 km/h (320 mph) with a climb to 5.000 m (16.400 ft) in 5.85 minutes. Later, it achieved the speed of 604 km/h with its radiator doors closed, making it the fastest M-105P powered aircraft.

The first series commenced on 29th June 1940 and its production progressed slowly as there were teething problems with the aircraft due to an untrained workforce with no previous experience in aircraft manufacturing (GAZ factory had manufactured tanks and cars to that date). The lack of knowledge with the delta wood structure (the main material of the fuselage), incomplete technical drawings, lack of jigs and the fact that some factories didn't complete the transition from manufacturing the Polikarpov I-16 and I-153 to the LaGG-3 were the cause of those problems. The Series 1 differed from the prototypes in having a strengthened landing gear, 10 mm seat armour, enlarged carburetor air intake and were armed with two 12,7 mm Berezin UBS machine gun and two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns. Some machines were fitted with a radio transmitter/receiver device, which were allocated to flight leader aircrafts only, while the other aircraft had either one receiver or no radio at all. 

In order to balance the mass, weights were added above and below the rudder to eliminate control surface flutter. The LaGG-3 had also an unique fire suppression system which collected exhaust using a tube on the port side of the exhaust manifold that ran to a condenser, where the gasses were cooled and pumped into the empty fuel tanks. 

This first series was powered by a Klimov M-105P engine which yielded 1.100 hp of power and was equipped with a centrifugal two-speed two-stage supercharger. Given the additional equipment, the Series 1 aircraft was heavier than the prototype, which had a negative impact in overall performance. Therefore the LaGG-3 was slow, with a top speed of 549 km/h (341 mph) at 5.000 m (16.500 ft) high and it had also a considerably slower rate of climb. It also required a longer take-off run.

As the production process was very slow, it wasn't until spring 1941 that initial conversion training for Fighter Aviation Regiments based in Soviet Asia began. This training required time and great effort. Those Aviation Regiments were chosen in order to reinforce the Soviet-Manchurian border as both Japan and the USSR had clashed in 1939 (see the Battles of Khalkin-Gol or Nomohan Incident). During training, as most Soviet pilots were used to flight the extremely maneuverable Polikarpov I-152, the Series 1 as unforgiving and unmaneuverable as it was, it was very unpopular. Mechanically speaking, also suffered a lot with mechanical failures such as landing gear not deploying, guns not firing or brakes not working, were the rule, forcing many machines to be back into factories for reparations. Those teething problems were ordered to be fixed on 31st May 1941 by the People's Commissariat for Aircraft Industry. 

When Operation Barbarossa was launched on 21st June 1941 there were only 322 LaGG-3 of the Series 1 available. None of them clashed with the Luftwaffe as they were all stationed in the Far East. Most of the LaGG-3 remained in Asia until summer when it was clear that Japan would honor the neutrality pact signed with the USSR. 

The LaGG-3's existence was kept in secret, specially for Germany which, although they knew the VVS (Red Air Force) was equipping a new fighter, they ignored its characteristics. 

During combat patrols, many pilots flew with the canopy open, and some of them even removed it entirely. This was done because it couldn't be jettisoned and its poor-quality plexiglass was almost opaque. 

When LaGG-3 pilots met their enemies for the first time, they lacked training and initiative and most leaders were unable to command their units, so when they were shot down, the rest of the flight, usually, continued to fly in formation without changing direction until them all were shot down. 

Some pilots, however, managed to fully control the LaGG-3. For instance, Captain V.I. Popkov, who would eventually be a VVS ace, scored his initial victories with the LaGG-3 Series 1. 

When operating from unprepared fields, the lower landing gear doors were removed, in order to keep mud from building up on the landing gear.

The Series 1 kept operating on the main frontlines until 1942 when they were sent to more secondary frontlines like the Finnish ones. 

There was also an anti-tank specialized version. This was called Gudkov K-37 and was equipped with a 37 mm Shpitalny Sh-37 axial cannon firing through the propeller hub. Twenty were built in summer 1942 and served with the 42nd IAP (Fighter Aircraft Regiment). This machine proved it could shot down an enemy fighter with a single shot, but it could barely damage enemy tanks. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov_LaGG-3

2. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 163 - LaGG Fighters in Action

3. https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/lagg3/lagg3.html

Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-1

 

The Lavochking-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-1 was a Soviet fighter of the World War 2. It served as the prototype of more sophisticated Soviet fighters of the time.

It was designed in September 1938 by Semyon A. Lavochkin and V.P. Gorbunov as a light-weight fighter powered by the Klimov M-105 inline engine. It was internally called as I-22 and, in order to save strategic materials, it was made out of plastic-impregnated wood known as delta drevesina, with a stressed bakelite plywood skinning. 

The first prototype flew for the first time on 30th March 1940 and, although it showed some flaws, it proved to be promising. It didn't, however, live up to the expectations raised by the designers. Considering the need for the VVS (Soviet Air Force) to have a modern fighter, specially after the catastrophic losses they sustained during the Winter War, the type was ordered into production. Around 100 were made and sent to evaluation squadrons, where their shortcomings were made obvious. The LaGG-1 was underpowered, it lacked agility and it was too short-ranged. Furthermore, while the first few prototypes were carefully made, the manufactured exemplars were crudely made. 

The LaGG-1 was powered by a single Klimov M-105P V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine with a theoretical power of 1.000 hp. The first prototypes were armed with a 23 mm  ShVAK cannon  mounted between the cylinder banks, firing through the propeller's hub and two 12.7 mm UB machine guns mounted on the upper decking. Production version were, however down-armed as they were armed with a single 20 mm ShVAK cannon mounted between the cylinder banks and firing through the propeller's hub plus two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns on the forward upper decking. The prototypes with modified armament were internally referred as the I-301 (from the numerical designation of the factory GAZ-301). The manufactured versions had also redesigned outer panel wings with additional fuel tanks. The I-301 went to flight testing on 14th June 1940, with its denomination being changed to LaGG-3 and the remaining exemplars of the LaGG-1 to be completed being finished to the later standard.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov_LaGG-1

2. http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/lagg-1.php

Beriev MBR-2, part two

 

The Beriev MBR-2bis was an improved version of the regular MBR-2 with a Mikulin AM-34N engine, instead of the original M-17 one. The AM-34N engine could deliver up to 750 hp of power and drove a two-bladed propeller. The MBR-2bis' fuselage was also modified to have an enclosed cockpit, a dorsal gun turret and an enlarged vertical fin. Around 750 units of this variant were manufactured between 1935 and 1940 (some sources claim it was until 1941 though) at aircraft factory No.31, located in the city of Taganrog. 

The first combat usage of the MBR-2bis was in 1938 during the Battle of Lake Khasan. Some MBR-2bis of the Soviet Pacific Fleet stationed in Vladivostok, took off to harass Japanese troops involved in the fighting. 

During the whole Winter and Continuation Wars, the MBR-2 and MBR-2bis belonging to the Soviet Baltic Naval Aviation were thoroughly employed during both conflicts, by both sides as up to five machines, both MBR-2 and MBR-2bis were captured by the Finns, who employed them in various roles, among them anti-submarine patrols, scout, rescue operations and propaganda leaflet bombing in the area of Lake Ladoga. 

They were also widely employed during World War 2, specially on the Black Sea, where they suffered heavy losses because of their weak defensive armament. In 1943 an MBR-2bis of the Caspian flotilla bombed the building of the Communist Party at the city of Elista, in the Kalamyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, when the city was occupied by the Germans, as it was serving as the headquarters for a German division. This attack was emblematic at its time, and was highly propagandised by the Soviet authorities. 

The last operational use of the Beriev MBR-2bis during World War 2 was during the Soviet Invasion of the Southern part of the Sakhalin Island, in August 1945. 

It's reported that when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK - AKA North Korea) was established in September 1948, an unknown number of MBR-2bis was supplied to the newly created North Korean Air Force. Any further report of the MBR-2 in North Korea is unknown, they were probably destroyed during the course of the Korean War, and, as we couldn't find graphical information about it, the drawing should considered as speculative. 

Additionally, the MBR-2bis was also used by Aeroflot in various aerial routes all along the USSR until the late 1940s. 

One machine was experimentally fitted with a Mikulin M-103 engine which drove a three-bladed propeller and served as the basis for the more advanced, though unsuccessful albeit not because of technical reasons, Beriev MBR-7.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beriev_MBR-2

2. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/МБР-2 (translated)

3. https://www.valka.cz/Berijev-MBR-2-M-34-kod-NATO-Mote-t102680

Beriev MBR-2, part one

 

The Beriev MBR-2 was a Soviet multi-roled flying which entered service with Soviet Navy in 1935.

Its design, which was the first aircraft designed by G.M. Beriev, dates back to the early 1930s when Soviet authorities considered there was a great need for short-range seaplanes which would perform the reconnaissance role. Initially, according to early design notes, it was going to be made entirely out of metal, but given the lack of aluminium (which was reserved only for bombers), it was decided to make it out of wood, material which the technical council of the Soviet Navy, gave the green light to work with.

The first prototype was completed in Moscow in 1932 and more machines were manufactured. Official prototype tests lasted from 1934 until 1937 with good handling and flight characteristics, it was considered superior to even some foreign flying-boats of the time like the Supermarine Walrus. The main test pilot was A.A. Ulsen and a Beriev MBR-2 was also the personal plane of Joseph Stalin to assist to a meeting about the Naval Aviation on 5th August 1933. Even if it was repudiated by A.N. Tupolev (maybe the most influential Soviet aircraft designer back in those years), who called it a "floating piece of wood", as the Soviet Navy was in need for a flying boat, and it had not bad flying characteristics, the type was officially adopted.

The initial prototype was powered by an imported BMW VI.Z engine mounted on racks above the main fuselage. Production models, those manufactured from 1934 onwards, were powered by a licensed version of that engine, the Mikulin M-17 which could deliver up to 680 hp of power. This aircraft could be fitted with either skis or wheels to allow it to operate from dry land. 

A commercial airline version, the MP-1 was also designed by Beriev, which served with Aeroflot (Soviet's main airline) and a freighter version in 1936. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beriev_MBR-2

2. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/МБР-2 (translated)

Avro Anson, part Nine, Portuguese, Soviet, Spanish and Yugoslav users

The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined multi-role aircraft which, more than 11.000 exemplars manufactured by Avro in England and Federal Aircraft Ltd. in Canada, it was one of the most used aircraft in the world. It saw service with many air forces and airlines. Among them the following ones:

• Portugal: Twelve Ansons Mk.I which were refurbished by Avro at Langar, Nottinghamshire, were delivered to Portugal in 1946-1947 for liaison and transport duties. They operated from Portela, close to Lisbon and were active for a long period of time with some of them still being active in 1957 when the unit was renamed as 'Esquadra 82' (Squadron 82). Some unconfirmed sources claim that additional four machines were delivered to Portugal in 1947.
• Soviet Union: When the USSR invaded Estonia and the other Baltic countries, the Estonian Air Force had in service one Anson Mk.I. This machine was captured by the Red Army and was pressed into service with the VVS (Soviet Air Force). It was in service during 1940 and 1941 but it seems that it was either destroyed in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa or it suffered an accident during early 1941. Either way, it was written off.
• Spain: The Spanish Airline Spantax was founded in 1959 with one Anson in its fleet. This Anson, originally registered as G-ACUX, crashed in Villa Cisneros (Spanish Sahara) on 15th December 1951 when it was taking off. It was reconstructed into airworthiness again in 1955 and registered into Spanish Civil Aviation in 1958. One year later it was bought by Spantax and was used to cover the aerial route between Tenerife Los Rodeos airport (Tenerife North) and Villa Cisneros. However it was written off after suffering, again, another accident on 26th November 1960 and was moved to company's main headquarter in Madrid where it was used as ground instructional airframe for crew training. Another source claims it was used for this same purpose but in Tenerife. Anyway, shortly later it was definitely written off and, most probably, sold for scrap.
• Yugoslavia: The Yugoslav Air Force acquired some Avro Anson Mk.I and Mk.V in the very late 1940s where they served from 1951 until 1959 when they were written off. They served in the Liaison Squadron of the 1st Military District, together with other types from various origins, from 1952 until 1959 when they were written off.

Sources:

1. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 53 - Avro Anson

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson

3. http://www.aviationcorner.net/gallery_en.asp?aircraft_type=Avro%20Anson&aircraft_type_id=331 (translated)

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spantax

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaison_Squadron_of_1st_Air_Command

Messerschmitt Bf.108, part two

The Messerschmitt Bf.108 was widely used across the world. Some of the users were:

• Nationalist China: Apparently Nationalist China had at least one Bf.108B-2 in the ranks of their Air Force at the year 1939. Further information is required and the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• United Kingdom: The Royal Air Force (RAF) interned four Bf.108s at the outbreak of the war and put them into service under the designation of "Messerschmitt Adlon". They became the fastest communication aircraft of the RAF but they were often mistaken for Bf.109s, so they weren't employed very much. After the war, captured exemplars were used until at least 1948.
• Poland: The Polish Air Force used some captured Bf.108 after the war. They served until the very late 1940s.
• USSR: Before the war with Germany, the Soviet Air Force bought some few Bf.108s for evaluation. During the World War 2, many captured exemplars were put into service with the Soviet Air Force.
• United States: The U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) evaluated some captured exemplars that were shipped to Freeman Army Airfield, in Indiana in September 1945. Apparently some of them served until the foundation of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and flew for some time with the new American roundel in 1947.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_108

2. http://www.warbirdalley.com/bf108.htm

3. Wydawnictwo Militaria 149 - Messerschmitt Bf-108 Taifun

4. https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=347

Mitsubishi A5M, part five

The Mitsubishi A5M4 was the final development of the regular A5M which included many new and improved features like redesigned wings, external additional detachable fuel tank, a new engine and overall improvements.
It was manufactured from 1939 until 1942 (though the last ones, as it was already obsolete, were completed in the trainer variant) and almost 600 exemplars were made. Most of them were built at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in Nagoya, Japan, but production was undertaken also by the 21st Naval Aviation Workshop (161 exemplars), in Omura and Watanabe Iron Works (just 39 exemplars), in Fukuoka, all of them located in Japan.
It was powered by the Nakajima Kotobuki 41 (AKA 41 KAI) nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine which delivered a power of 700hp for take-off and 774hp at 9840ft high (3000m). It was equipped with an interal fuel tanks with 330L (72.6 UK gallons) of fuel and could carry an additional 160L (35.2 UK gallons) in an external fuel tank.
It was armed with two 7,7mm (0.303in) Type 89 machine guns placed in the upper fuselage decking with 500 rounds each and Type 89s were replaced by the 7,7mm Type 97 machine guns in later models. It could carry two small bombs of 30kg each (66lb) and had an endurance of 4 hours.
The A5M4-K was a two-seater trainer variant that was produced by the 21st Naval Aviation Workshop, in Omura, from 1942 until 1944. One-hundred and three exemplars were manufactured and it wasn't armed.
Japan wasn't the only user of the A5M as some fighters were captured by the Chinese Nationalist during either the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War 2 or the closing stages of the Chinese Civil War. Most of them were repainted in Chinese colours and were used as advanced trainers as it was obvious that the type was already obsolete for the World War 2.
The Soviets also captured some of them during the Battle of Khalkin-Gol (AKA Nomohan Incident) in the spring of 1939 and they were evaluated by the Soviet Air Force.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A5M
2. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/8547
3. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/28834
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Moskalev SAM-13

The Moskalev SAM-13 was a Soviet two-engined pusher-puller low-wing fighter. It was made by OKB-31 and designed by Aleksandr S. Moskalev. It was developed in the USSR in the very late 1930s and remained only in prototype stage.
Its characteristic two engine configuration, being each of them a Renault-Bengasi MV-6 yielding each of them 220hp of power. Each of them was placed aft and forward of the engine and were set in a puller-pusher configuration. It had a double vertical stabilizer and a single horizontal stabilizer connecting both vertical ones. It was flown only twice at the commands of Nikolay Filson at the end of 1940 where many flaws were encountered and its development was halted due to the beginning of the war in the east.
Aleksandr S. Moskalev started this project back in 1938 after having seen the mock-up of the Dutch Fokker D.XXIII which was presented to the public in the International Aeronautical Salon of Paris-Le Bourget in 1938.
The Moskalev was built entirely out of wood and its design was initially interesting considering how it could get the best from such low powered engines. It was one of the first Russian aircraft to have a retractable tricycle landing gear. Thanks to the position of the cockpit, the pilot enjoyed a nice field of view thanks also to its plexiglas canopy.
Thanks to the good aerodynamics and its lightweight of just 1183kg, the aircraft had an excellent ratio of weight/power of 5.9lb/hp (2.7kg/hp) which proved to yield a nice speed when tested at sea level of 292mph (470km/h) and 422mph (680km/h) at an altittude of 19000ft (5800m) in the year 1940.
However, the problems found at the tests, were because the vertical/horizontal stabilizers were too close to the back engine which caused serious drag problems. Furthermore, the cooling of the back engine wasn't optimal and during take-off and landing the debris caused by the landing gear could seriously damage the cooling system of the back engine. The pilot was also unprotected in the case of a harsh landing as the impact could launch the back engine towards the cockpit.
In spite of the better performance achieved when compared to the other single-engined fighters of the time, the project was abandoned due to the German invasion in June 1941 mainly because it was hard to find an adequate armament fitting configuration which was expect to be of two forward firing 7.62mm ShKAS machine guns.
As we like sometimes to imagine new colours for the airplanes, we decided to draw two what-if versions. One serving with the Soviet Air Force and another serving with the hypothetical Russian Air Force because what-ifs are always interesting. We decided to arm them with two 7,62mm ShKAS machine-gun pods placed under the wings.

Sources:
1. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskalev_SAM-13 (translated)
2. Salamander Books - The Complete book of Fighters

Kocherigin BSh-1

At the end of 1935, the USSR received information about the American light bomber and attack aircraft Vultee V-11. Under orders of the People's Commissar of Defence Kliment E. Voroshilov showed interest on the project in order to replace the outdated Soviet attack biplanes like the Polikarpov R-5Sh.
Therefore, the Vultee V-11 was included in the list of purchase licenses and, on 11th April 1935 negotiations with Vultee began.
Both Soviets and Vultee reached an agreement and four Vultee V-11GB were sold to the USSR together with production blueprints adapted to the metric system. These weren't the standard type as they had a crew of three, one pilot, a rear-gunner and one navigator-bombardier.
It was powered by a single Shvetsov ASh-62 rated at 1000hp (746Kw) radial engine and was armed with four forward firing 7.92mm ShKas machine guns mounted in the wings with 3600 rounds in total. It could also carry up to 400Kg (881lb) of ordnance under the fuselage. As defensive armament, it had one 7.92mm Shkas at the end of the canopy and another one that was deployed on a hatch ventrally placed just behind the one at the of the canopy.
The first Kocherigin BSh-1 rolled out of the factory on 11th December 1936 and it was tested so it wasn't until mid 1937 that it entered into production. It was found however that the armour fitted for the ground attack role, reduced performance greatly and it was decided to stop production after only 31 aircraft were manufactured. As they proved to be not suitable for service in the VVS (Soviet Air Force) they were transferred to Aeroflot, which redesignated them as Kocherigin PS-43 and used them as high-speed transports until June 1941 when Germany invaded. Then they were transferred both to the VVS and PVO (Soviet Air Defence).
They served all-through World War 2 and, albeit serving in small numbers, they were present at the Battle of Stalingrad as they were the ones, together with outdated Polikarpov R-5, that delivered air mail to the sieged troops. However, casualties were heavy and by 1st June 1944 there were only 9 of them active and by the end of that year, 8 serving with the 1st Baltic Front and 2nd and 3rd Byelorussian fronts as par of the 3rd Communications Division air unit. By the beginning of 1945 as the lend-leased Douglas A-20 and B-25 were somewhat outdated, they were sent to the 3rd Communications Division to serve in the liaison role so the extremely worn-out and old PS-43 were written-off. By September there weren't any Kocherigin BSh-1 or PS-43 active inside the USSR.
Finally we decided that this aircraft would fit perfectly in an alternate history universe where the Whites won the Russian civil war, so we decided to paint one of them in Russian Aeronaval colours.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vultee_V-11
2. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/aww2/bsh1.html (translated)

Beriev Be-2 (KOR-1)

The Beriev Be-2 was an all-metal biplane which had two open cockpits for the pilot and observer respectively. It was designed to replace the obsolete Heinkel He.55 which operated from warships and shore bases.
Wings were braced and designed to be foldable in order to storage it inside a warship. It featured three floaters, a large central one plus two smaller ones on the wings. It was powered by a radial Shvetsov M-25 9-cylinder engine which yielded 700hp of power and was itself a copy of the American Wright R-1820. It was armed with two 7.62mm (0.3in) ShKAS machine guns placed on the upper wings plus another defensive one mounted on the observer position.
From the very beginning, the design was plagued with flaws, difficulties and handling problems. Anyway, as they lacked any other alternative to cover the role of a reconnaissance aircraft that could operate from a warship, it was placed into production.
It presented stability problems on the water while taxiing and there were also maintenance problems with the engine. As both of those problems were never really solved, the aircraft was relegated to training and secondary roles so most oftenly it was deployed from shore bases, than warships, as originally planned. Furthermore, delays on updating Navy's cruisers or building new ones, meant that suitable catapults weren't installed until 1939 approximately.
With the outbreak of the war with Germany, it was attempted to deploy the aircraft from warships but it proved to be pointless as the flaws were still there, so the chance of deploying it from warships was definitely abandoned. During the early stages of the war it was used as a shore-based reconnaissance and search/rescue aircraft in the Baltic Sea and some of them saw their floaters replaced by wheels and pressed into service armed with underwings pod machine guns to serve as improvised strike aircrafts during the Battle of Sevastopol. However, by 1942 they were definitely written off from service.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beriev_Be-2
2. http://www.airpages.ru/eng/ru/kor1.shtml

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3, part one.

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 was a Soviet fighter and interceptor aircraft used during the World War II. It was a development of the previous MiG-1 by the OKO (Experimental Design Department) of zavod (factory) No.1 to fix the problems encountered during the development and testing of the MiG-1.
It replaced the MiG-1 on the production line at Factory No.1 on 20th December 1940 and was manufactured in large numbers during the first six-seven months of 1941 before the production line of the factory No.1 was converted to manufacture the Ilyushin Il-2.
When Operation Barbarossa began, on 22nd June 1941, around 1000 of MiG-3 were in active service with either the VVS (Soviet Air Forces), the PVO (Soviet Air Defence Forces or the Soviet Naval Aviation. It was a difficult aircraft to fly in peacetime and it was even harder to handle in combat. Designed for high-altittude combat, but most of the aerial skirmishes in the Eastern Front took place at low altittudes where the German Messerschmitt Bf.109F (the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter force during almost all the war) was superior to all of its Soviet adversaries. During autumn-winter 1941 it was pressed into service by fitting either rocket launchers under the wings or small bombs, but it didn't stand out in that role. As the war progressed, they were assigned to the PVO, where their weaknesses didn't matter that much as they weren't commited to frontline forces. All of them were withdrawn from active service with the last one being withdrawn by 1944.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-3
2. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 204 - Early Mig Fighters in Action
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1

And now... for something completely different.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 was the first design to achieve production status of an OKB (experimental construction bureau) project directed by Artem I. Mikoyan and Mikhail Y. Gurevich (hence the "MiG" name). It was conceived as a high altittude fighter under the OKB's designation of Kh.
The prototype, that suffered various changes, received the denomination of I-200 and flew for the first time on 5th April 1940 achieving the speed of 403mph (648.5km/h) at 22640ft (6900m) of altittude on the following 24th May. Second and third prototypes flew on 9th May and 6th June 1940 respectively at the Khodynka Aerodrome in Moscow. Meanwhile, state trials were being performed in parallel and so, the prototype was considered as ready to be manufactured on 12th September 1940.
The MiG-1 was powered by a 1350hp Mikulin AM-35A inline engine and was armed with two 7.62mm ShKAS guns. Maneouvrability and handling were considered not adequated and longitudinal stability and control responses were poor. So a programme of peripehal redesign paralleled manufacture of an initial batch of 100 aircraft, the last of which was completed in December 1940. The first eight aircraft didn't have jettisonable canopies, something that was added later as it was changed by jettisonable aft-sliding ones.
On 3rd December 1940 the VVS (Soviet Air Force) ordered that the 41st Fighter Regiment based at the Crimean town of Kacha, was to conduct the operational testing of the I-200 and that they were to be transferred to the 146th Fighter Regiment at Yevpatoria, in Crimea too, in order to perform pilot training and conclude trials. By 22nd February 1941 the fighter had already been issued to various fighter units, notably the 89th Fighter Regiment, based in Kaunas, Lithuania and 41st Fighter Regiment, based in Bialystok, in Poland.
On 1st June 1941 they were spreaded more with 31 assigned to the Baltic Military District, 37 to the Western Special Military District, one to the Kiev Military District and 8 in the Odessa Military District. From a total of 77 aircraft, 55 of them were operational. Additional 8 were assigned to the Soviet Navy but there only four pilots were trained to handle either the MiG-1 or the MiG-3.
They couldn't be used in combat for long as most of them were destroyed or captured when Germany invaded the USSR. However, one of them was still in the inventory of the VVS in 1944 when it was marked as withdrawn that same year.
It's interesting to point that one of the captured MiG-1 was exposed in Berlin in a propaganda exhibition called "Russenparadies" in 1942 where they shown captured Soviet material. The exhibition was bombed, destroying most of the exposed material and the MiG-1, by German communists leaded by the German Communist Bruno Baum.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-1