Domestic means of aerial reconnaissance during the war

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Domestic means of aerial reconnaissance during the war


In the pre-war years, the equipment of weapons and new combat equipment of air defense forces was constantly in the field of vision of the state and military leadership of the country.

Along with the development of active air defense systems - fighter aviation, anti-aircraft artillery and machine guns - there was a continuous process of improvement in the anti-aircraft artillery of optical and acoustic devices for searching for air targets, radar reconnaissance devices of the air enemy were created. By June 1941, in the Soviet air defense system, there were 7 anti-aircraft searchlight regiments and 8 separate anti-aircraft searchlight battalions, which were armed with 1597 anti-aircraft searchlights.

These units performed the important task of ensuring the combat work of anti-aircraft artillery and fighter aircraft at night. In addition, the tasks of anti-aircraft searchlight parts was the creation of light landmarks, alarms and communications.

The first instrumental reconnaissance equipment that the domestic air defense forces received was the 1928-0-15 searchlight station adopted in 1 and the ZP-2 sound catcher. The searchlight of the 0-15-1 station had a diameter of the reflected mirror 150 cm; the power of the light source was 620-750 million candles, which provided illumination of the target at average atmospheric conditions at a distance of 6-7 km. It should be noted that the subsequent searchlights of all modifications in the Soviet air defense forces had a similar mirror diameter.



The 0-15-1 and 0-15-2 open searchlights, which had a number of flaws, replaced the 1942-0-15 searchlight in the 3 year to replace the searchlights. During the war years, the 3-15-4 enclosed floodlight, which had been repeatedly modernized, proved itself well. Its improved modifications received the names: 3-15-11, 3-15-12. Part of the spotlights was used combined with sound detectors, playing the role of search stations, while the other part played the role of accompanying stations and was involved in the work, as a rule, after the target hit the beam of the search station.



Sufficiently successful work on the improvement of acoustic means was conducted by scientists and engineers S.Ya. Sokolov, V.K. Ioffe, Ya.M. Gurevich, R. L. Volkov, V. M. Malinin, V. N. Romanov, and others. In 1942, the sound pickup of the ZP-2 of the pre-war development was replaced by more advanced ZT-4, 3T-5, L-3. ZT-5 with the range of action - up to 9 km and accuracy of work on the aircraft ± 3 degrees had the greatest efficiency. He had a corrector that took into account corrections for sound lag, wind speed, temperature refraction. The disadvantage of all sound catchers was the fact that they could not work in conditions of active cannonade.



Further research in the field of the development of aerial reconnaissance led to the creation of another novelty - the search engine Projzvuk, which included a searchlight, a sound detector and a control post connected by a synchronous transmission. Depending on the type of the searchlight and sound collector, it was called “Prozvuk-2”, “Prozvzuk-2”, “Prozvzvuk-4”, “Prozvzvuk-5”, “Prozvzuk-6”. Complex "Prozhzvuk" complemented a special station-escort. According to the technical characteristics, for a stable tracking of the target, this system was enough for three or four rays.



The Prozvzuk-4 system, consisting of the ZT-5 sound catcher and the 3-15-4 anti-aircraft searchlight, received the most recognition. Synchronous communication in it was established: from the sound absorber to the control station - indicator, from the control station to the searchlight - power.

Transported searchlights and sound detectors on cars ZIS-5, ZIS-6, ZIS-12. The tactics of combat use of anti-aircraft searchlights basically corresponded to the level of development of instrumentation reconnaissance of anti-aircraft artillery of the prewar and the first two years of the Great Patriotic War.

The grouping of anti-aircraft searchlights in the anti-aircraft defense of the object was based on a circular system with a focus on the most likely attack of an air enemy.

When a noise collector was detected by the noise of the motors of the target, the searchlight was aimed and, if “from a shot” it did not hit the beam of the latter, a search was made, i.e., it was “scanned” by the spotlight along the course of its movement. The search was carried out by the first number of the floodlight calculation or from the control station in the Proszvuk system.

When the target was illuminated by the searchlight of the station-seeker, as a rule, the accompanying searchlights immediately began to operate. Thus, the enemy aircraft was illuminated simultaneously by two or three rays from the moment it entered the fire zone of the anti-aircraft artillery, in the fire zone and until it was destroyed or exited.

Similarly, the process of illumination of a target took shape during the creation of illuminated searchlight fields to support the combat operations of its fighters.

The development of the bomber aircraft of the enemy during the war and the means of fighting it (fighters and anti-aircraft weapons) demanded a vigorous improvement in the reconnaissance of the air enemy, and above all an increase in the detection range of the air target, regardless of the meteorological conditions, as well as the interference caused by the firing of anti-aircraft guns and the noise of aircraft engines.



Since the further improvement of acoustic technology as a tool for instrumental reconnaissance did not give positive results, the path of combining the searchlight with radar was chosen.

Already in the winter of 1943, the RAP-150 searchlight stations began to arrive in active parts of the country’s air defense, the radars of which provided the target detection range to 20-25 km and the accurate bearing range 12-14 km. With good tuning and adjustment of the radar part of the station, the illumination of the airborne target was made directly at the moment of switching on the searchlight.



In 1944, the anti-aircraft search tube (TPZ) was adopted, which had an 10-fold increase and the field of view of 7 degrees. The use of this pipe increased the range of observation of the equipped target from the ground and increased the efficiency of its search. During the war, new types of target search with a radar, according to gun guidance stations, an expanded beam and using a night optical tube, were successfully used.

Searchlight units and formations played a significant role in ensuring the combat work of fighter aviation and anti-aircraft artillery at night. They created light searchlight fields for fighter operations and a circular light zone for targeting anti-aircraft artillery fire. In air battles at night, acting in the illuminated searchlight fields, the fighters shot down an enemy aircraft 301.

Despite the fact that searchlight troops (5400 searchlight stations) gained a lot of practice in combat work to cover enemy air targets, the use of anti-aircraft searchlights decreased noticeably with the arrival of radar technology into the troops.

In a number of cases, anti-aircraft searchlight units were used to provide light for anti-tank defense. So it was during the defensive battles near Moscow in the autumn of 1941, in the battles for Tula in November of the same year, in the Battle of Stalingrad in the summer of 1942. During the offensive of the Leningrad Front at the beginning of 1944, the searchlight units of the 2 anti-aircraft searchlight regiment were used to illuminate the front edge of the enemy’s defense and the water surface of Lake Peipsi in the Pniewo-Ostrovitsy area.

A special place in combat practice is occupied by the massive use of anti-aircraft searchlights in the breakthrough of enemy defenses in the Berlin sector in April 1945. In order to provide light for night-time actions to break through the enemy defenses with the troops of the 1 of the Belarusian Front, 143 searchlight stations were used.



In this battle, the calculations of the floodlight stations showed skill and adequately completed the fighting of the searchlight troops. In place of the instrumental reconnaissance of anti-aircraft artillery came the enemy’s radar reconnaissance equipment, which was soon equipped with the country's air defense radio engineering forces.

In the surveillance, warning and communications (VNOS) troops, the first radar for detecting enemy aircraft was the Russian station RUS-1 (“Roar-de-Vinh”), which was put into service in September 1939. She was created by a large team of engineers, among which prominent military engineers D.S. Stogov and A.I. Shestakov. The station was mounted in two versions: stationary and three cars. She could record the fact of crossing a certain milestone by air for a distance of 80-90 km. In total, by the beginning of the war, there were 28 installations RUS-1 in the European part of the USSR.



This station served as the basis for the creation of a number of more advanced radars. At the end of 1941 of the year, the single-antenna early warning station РУС-2 (Redut) was put into operation. Its creation was made possible by carrying out the fundamental work in the field of impulse technology by engineers Yu.B. Kobzarev, P.A. Pogorelko, N.Ya. Chernetsov, who became the first laureates of the State Prize in Radiolocation in 1941.

ENG-2 was used not only to detect aircraft, but also for targeting fighter jets. The Redut station had several modifications (Redut-41, Redut-42, Redut-43), differing in the design of the receiver, indicator and type of power unit. It was quite mobile, as it was mounted on two cars: one had radar equipment, the other had power supply units. Combat crew consisted of three people. 30 mines were spent on its deployment, 2 mins were used to launch. To place the station, a flat platform with a radius of 500 m was required. The Redut station could fix targets at a distance of up to 120 km, determine their azimuth and range. For a series of consecutive serifs, the course and speed of the enemy’s aircraft were fixed, and by the nature of the reflected impulses, a target with an approximate determination of the number of planes in a group.



Further improvement of the RUS-2 led to the creation of the station RUS-2 “Pegmatit”, which also had several modifications (П-1, П-2, П-2м, П-3), which differed from each other in the device details, antenna-feeder system , installation weight and type of power source. The target detection range was 110 km. The station could determine the course of the target, its height, the approximate number of aircraft in the group. Its deployment took up to 8 hours. The set of P-1 and P-2 stations did not have a mast for the antenna device, so additional time was required for its manufacture. The disadvantage of the P-1 and P-2 was the presence of dead spaces in the detection zone. For their elimination special antenna masts of variable height were designed and manufactured.

The P-2 station of the 1944 model of the year was more advanced. At the beginning of 1945, a new station, Pegmatit (P-3), began to arrive in the army, which allowed us to measure the altitude of the aircraft on their route in the area of ​​operation of the locator and determine targets that are echeloned in height.

Thus, during the war years there was a continuous and turbulent process of improving radar detection. At the end of 1942, the beginning of 1943. “high-altitude” attachments (VPM-1, VPM-2, VPM-3) were developed for radar stations to determine the height of targets, as well as aircraft identification instruments. Like all domestic equipment, the Redut and Pegmatit stations were distinguished by their simplicity of design and high operational reliability, at the level of characteristics corresponding to the world level.

During the defense of the centers, the radar detection stations were located on a ring system at a distance of 50-150 km from each other. In some cases, for example, in the air defense system of the capital, areas of continuous radar surveillance were created within a radius of up to 400 km.

In the front-line zone, radar stations were used to detect enemy airfields and landing sites of the enemy. Often they were used to "accompany" our aircraft behind the front line. In such cases, it was possible to warn them of the approach of enemy fighters, as well as to monitor the pilots ’compliance with specified routes, the passage of aircraft through established corridors, etc. Such work was successfully carried out in the conditions of the blockade of Leningrad, during the battles for Stalingrad and on the Taman Peninsula.

Gradually, the radar station became the main means of targeting the IA to airborne targets, since they had an ample range and ensured simultaneous observation of enemy aircraft and their fighters. That allowed with sufficiently high accuracy to make calculations of their meeting points in the air. In the 1943 year alone, according to the radar, the number of fighter aviation targets in the Air Defense Forces covering the front-line targets increased from 17% to 46%.



In the 1943 year, by decision of the Supreme Command Rate, in order to improve the targeting of fighters to 80%, the Redut and Pegmatit radars, together with the servicing VNOS units, were transferred to the air defense fighter units and units.

The targeting of fighters to enemy aircraft using radar increased the effectiveness of air defense combat operations. So, in 1945, one downed enemy aircraft accounted for just 53 fighter jets, while 1943 was equal to 155.

The number of radar stations during the war grew steadily. If the 1943 arrived in 68 by the year, then by the end of the year, the VNOS troops had about 200 radar. By May 1945, their number was 230.

The domestic radio industry managed to establish the release of modern, for that time, radar guidance and detection. By the end of the war, air defense troops were completely re-equipped with new, more advanced types of military equipment. This allowed them to successfully fulfill their tasks and make a significant contribution to the Victory. During the war years, air defense units destroyed 7313 enemy aircraft, more than 1000 tanks, almost 1500 guns and mortars, as well as many other military equipment and manpower of the enemy.



Sources:
Hyupenen A. Anti-aircraft defense of the country. Yesterday Today Tomorrow. M .: Rusprint, 2011. C. 81-82, 122-125.
Klimovich E., Gladkov A. Iz stories Russian radar // Technique and armament. 2007. No.8. C. 2-5.
Karpov I. Improving the tools of instrumental and radar reconnaissance of the enemy // Military History Journal. 1979. No.8. C. 93-96.
Anaymanovich M. Troops of the air defense of the country. M .: Military Publishing, 1968. C. 78-86.
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  1. +11
    28 August 2015 06: 42
    Great publication, read with great pleasure good Not as criticism, but as wishes, in this publication one could cite data on the Lend-Lease technique. Several hundred American and British radars and SONs, which were very advanced at that time, were delivered to the USSR. Some of them were later copied and produced by Soviet industry. The first sign was the GL Mk.II gun guidance station (pictured).

    To do this, we had to master in production more than 30 types of radio tubes that were new for us. Nevertheless, in 1943 we began to produce SON-2ot, where the letters "from" meant "domestic".

    The same thing happened with the American SCR-584 radar (pictured), we copied and produced such a radar under the name SON-4.
  2. +4
    28 August 2015 07: 29
    Quote: Bongo
    in this publication, data on the Lend-Lease technique could be given.
    And the article is called "Domestic Means". This is probably why there are no words about Lend-Lease. Moreover, there are colleagues on the site whose word lend-lease is very annoying hi

    But it is generally accepted that at that time we had only primitive rumors and spotlights, but everything in Germany and England with the USA was super modern. It turns out that everything was normal. And the locators and the listeners were at the level, and by the way the Germans themselves and the Englishmen also used them until the very end of the war.
    1. +6
      28 August 2015 13: 40
      Quote: qwert
      But it is generally accepted that at that time we had only primitive rumors and spotlights, but everything in Germany and England with the USA was super modern. It turns out that everything was normal. And the locators and the listeners were at the level, and by the way the Germans themselves and the Englishmen also used them until the very end of the war.

      I do not know who it is "usually considered" request The searchlights and sound detectors were quite on par with us. But in terms of radar, we really were inferior not only to the allies, but also to the Germans (now the "uryalki" throw minuses). This lag is, of course, not due to the inability of Soviet developers to design modern technology, but to the lack of the necessary technological base and free production capacity for the production of radio tubes.
      This publication has some very interesting data:
      The number of radar stations during the war grew steadily. If the 1943 arrived in 68 by the year, then by the end of the year, the VNOS troops had about 200 radar. By May 1945, their number was 230.
      How does this fit in with this:

      Ie how many radars in the troops were foreign-made?

      This is an excerpt from page 191 of the book "Army Radar", which indicates the types and quantities of British radars sent to the Soviet Union, excluding those supplied from the United States.

      Deliveries for the Red Army from England, strictly speaking, did not apply to Lend-Lease, although they were delivered by the very Northern convoys that were brought to us by Lend-Lease cargo from the USA.
  3. +3
    28 August 2015 07: 36
    England fortieth year production of rumors in full swing
  4. +5
    28 August 2015 07: 57
    A special place in combat practice is occupied by the massive use of anti-aircraft searchlights in breaking through enemy defenses in the Berlin direction in April 1945. To provide night-time support for the breakthrough of enemy defenses by troops of the 1st Belorussian Front, 143 searchlight stations were involved.German night vision systems Infrarot-Scheinwerfer detected targets at a distance of one kilometer and posed a serious threat during the assault on the Zelovsky heights, and our spotlights disabled them with powerful illumination.
  5. +2
    28 August 2015 18: 22
    Very interesting information on locators. Thank.
  6. +2
    28 August 2015 19: 20
    Quote: Bongo
    The number of radar stations during the war grew steadily. If the 1943 arrived in 68 by the year, then by the end of the year, the VNOS troops had about 200 radar. By May 1945, there were 230. As it agrees with this:

    The article speaks about domestic radars and precisely in air defense. Therefore, consistent without difficulty. The article as a whole is about the development of Soviet instrumental intelligence. The topic of Lend-Lease is simply beyond the scope of this article, so I haven’t reviewed the British and American stations. Earlier in one of the articles I cited a similar table. With its help, you can calculate what proportion of the total number of Lend-Lease stations were. It, by the way, does not contradict either the data indicated in the article or the one you cited.
  7. 0
    29 August 2015 12: 44
    "who became the first laureates of the State Prize in the field of radar in 1941." Stalin Prize.

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