Were they the best?
The huge flow of information that has literally collapsed lately on all of us sometimes plays an extremely negative role in the development of the thinking of the children who are replacing us. And it cannot be said that this information is false. But in its “naked” form, without a rational explanation, it sometimes carries in itself a monstrous and in its essence simply destructive character.
How can this be?
I will give one example.
Already more than one generation of boys in our country has grown with the firm conviction that our illustrious pilots Ivan Kozhedub and Alexander Pokryshkin are the best aces of the past war. And no one ever argued with that. Neither us nor abroad.
But one day I bought a children's book in a store “Aviation and aeronautics ”from the encyclopedic series“ I Know the World ”by a very famous publisher. The book, released in a circulation of thirty thousand copies, turned out to be really quite "informative" ...
Here, for example, in the “Cheerful Arithmetic” section, quite eloquent figures are given concerning air battles during the Great Patriotic War. I quote literally: “Three times Heroes of the Soviet Union, AI fighter pilots Pokryshkin and I.N. Kozhedub shot down respectively 59 and 62 enemy aircraft. But the German ace E. Hartman shot down during the war 352 aircraft! And he was not alone. In addition to him in the Luftwaffe were such masters of air battles as G. Barkhorn (301 shot down aircraft), G. Rall (275), O. Kittel (267) ... In total, the 104 pilots of the German Air Force had more than a hundred aircraft shot down each , and the top ten destroyed a total of 2588 enemy aircraft! ”
Soviet ace, fighter pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Baranov. Stalingrad, 1942, Mr. Mikhail Baranov - one of the best fighter pilots of the Second World War, the most productive Soviet fighter pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Baranov. Stalingrad, 1942 g. Mikhail Baranov - one of the best fighter pilots of the Second World War, the most effective at the time of his death, and many of his victories were won in the initial, most difficult period of the war. If it were not for his accidental death, he would have been the same glorified pilot, as Pokryshkin or Kozhedubkov-aces of the Second World War.
It is clear that any child who saw such numbers of air victories would immediately think that it was not ours at all, but the German pilots who were the best aces of the world, and our Ivanov had oh how far they were (by the way, the authors For some reason, the aforementioned publications did not provide data on the achievements of the best pilot aces of other countries: American Richard Bong, Briton James Johnson and Frenchman Pierre Klosterman with their 40, 38 and 33 aerial victories, respectively). The next thought that flashes in the minds of the guys, of course, will be that the Germans were flying on much more advanced aircraft. (It must be said that during the survey, in a similar way, not even schoolchildren responded to the airborne victory figures presented, but students from one of Moscow's universities).
But how do you generally treat such seemingly blasphemous figures?
It is clear that any student, if he is interested in this topic, will climb into the "Internet". What will he find there? It is easy to check ... We type in the search engine the phrase "The best ace of the Second World War."
The result appears quite expected: a portrait of a blond Erich Hartman hung with iron crosses is displayed on the monitor, and the whole page is replete with phrases like: “German pilots, especially those who fought on the Eastern Front are considered to be the best pilots of the Second World War ...”
Here are the ones on! Not only did the Germans turn out to be the best aces in the world, but most of all they didn’t beat the British, the Americans, or the French with the Poles, but our guys.
So has the true truth been laid out in the cognitive book and on the covers of exercise books the knowledge of the uncle and aunts that carry the children? That's just what they wanted to say? What we had such careless pilots? Probably not. But why the authors of many publications and information hanging on the pages of the “Internet”, citing a mass of seemingly interesting facts, did not bother to explain to readers (especially young ones): where did these figures come from and what they mean.
Perhaps some readers from the further story seem uninteresting. After all, this topic has been repeatedly discussed on the pages of serious aviation publications. And with this, everything is clear. Should I repeat? That's just to the simple boys of our country (given the circulation of specialized technical journals), this information never reached. And it will not come. Why are there boys. Show the above figures to the school teacher. stories and ask him about what he thinks about it, and what will he tell the children about it? But the boys, seeing on the back of the student's notebook the results of the air victories of Hartman and Pokryshkin, will surely ask him about it. I am afraid that the result will shake you to the depths of the soul ... That is why the material presented below is not even an article, but rather a request to you, dear readers, to help your children (and maybe even their teachers) to deal with some of the “stunning "Numbers. Especially since on the eve of 9 May, we will all again be reminded of that distant war.
Where did these numbers come from?
And really, where did such a figure, for example, like HNTMX’s Hartman victory in aerial combat, come from? Who can confirm it?
It turns out no one. Moreover, the entire aviation community has long known that historians took Erich Hartmann's letters from the letters to the bride. So the first thing to ask is: isn’t the young man embellished his military merit? Some German pilots say that at the final stage of the war Hartmann was simply attributed to aerial victories for propaganda purposes, because along with the mythical miracle the crashing Hitler regimeweapons needed a superhero. Interestingly, many of the victories claimed by Hartman are not supported by losses on our side.
The study of archival documents of the Second World War period convincingly proved that absolutely all branches of the military in all countries of the world were sinned with subscriptions. It was not by chance that in our army, soon after the start of the war, the principle of the strictest registration of enemy aircraft was introduced. The plane was considered shot down only after ground troops discovered its wreckage and thus confirmed the aerial victory.
The Germans, like the Americans, didn’t need to confirm ground troops. The pilot could arrive and report: "I shot down the plane." The main thing that kinopulemeta recorded at least hit bullets and shells in the target. Sometimes it allowed to gain a lot of "points". It is known that during the “Battle for England” the Germans declared 3050 shot down by British aircraft, while the British really lost only 910.
From here it is necessary to draw the first conclusion: our shot down airplanes were really counted. Germans - aerial victories, sometimes not even leading to the destruction of the enemy aircraft. And often these victories were mythical.
Why our aces did not have 300 and more air victories?
All that we have mentioned just above is by no means the mastery of the pilot-aces. Let's consider the following question: could the German pilots even bring down the declared number of aircraft? And if they could, then why?
Oddly enough, in principle, having more air victories than 300 and Hartman, and Barkhorn, and other German pilots, in principle, could. And it must be said that many of them were doomed to become aces, since they were the real hostages of the Hitlerite command, who left them to the war. And they fought, as a rule, from the first to the last day.
Aces pilots of England, the United States and the Soviet Union command and treasured. The leadership of the air force listed thought it this way: once the pilot shot down an 40-50 enemy aircraft, it means that he is a very experienced pilot who can teach dozens of talented young people to master the flight skills. And let each of them hit at least a dozen enemy planes. Then in the sum of the destroyed aircraft it will turn out much more than if they were knocked down by the professional remaining at the front.
Recall that our best fighter pilot Alexander Pokryshkin already in 1944 year, the Air Force Command banned participation in air battles altogether, instructing him to command the aviation division. And it turned out to be correct. By the end of the war, many pilots from his unit had more than 50 confirmed air victories on their combat scores. So, Nikolai Gulaev shot down 57 German aircraft. Grigory Rechkalov - 56. Fifty enemy planes were recorded by Dmitry Glinka.
The command of the American Air Force did likewise, having recalled its best ace Richard Bong from the front.
It must be said that many Soviet pilots could not become aces only because there was often no enemy in front of them.
Each pilot was attached to his unit, and therefore to a specific sector of the front.
But the Germans were different. Experienced pilots were constantly transferred from one sector of the front to another. Each time they were at the hottest point, in the thick of things. For example, Ivan Kozhedub for all the war only 330 once rose into the sky and spent 120 air battles, while Hartman made 1425 sorties and participated in 825 air battles. Yes, our pilot, with all the desire could not even see in the sky as many German planes as Hartmann caught in sight! By the way, having become famous asas, the Luftwaffe pilots did not receive indulgence from death. Literally every day they had to participate in air battles. So it turned out that they fought until his death. And only captivity or the end of the war could save them from death. Only a few of the Luftwaffe aces survive. Hartman and Barkhorn are just lucky. They became famous only because they miraculously survived. But the fourth in terms of performance of Germany's German Otto Kittel died during an air battle with Soviet fighters in February 1945. Earlier, the most famous ace in Germany, Walter Novotny, met his death (in 1944, he was the first of the Luftwaffe pilots to bring his combat score to 250 air victories). Hitler's command, awarding the pilot all the highest orders of the Third Reich, instructed him to lead the connection of the first (still raw and unfinished) Me-262 jet fighters and threw the famous ace on the most dangerous part of the air war - repelling attacks on Germany by American heavy bombers. The pilot's fate was sealed.
By the way, Erich Hartman Hitler also wanted to put on a fighter jet, but the intelligent guy wriggled out of this dangerous situation, having managed to prove to the authorities that he would be more confused if he was put back on the old reliable Bf 109. This decision allowed Hartman to save his life from certain death and become, in the end, the best ace in Germany.
The most important proof of the fact that our pilots were in no way inferior to the German asses in the skill of air battles is eloquently shown by some figures that abroad do not really like to be remembered, and some of our journalists from the “free” press who take to write about aviation, just do not know.
For example, aviation historians know that the most productive fighter squadron of the Luftwaffe, who fought on the Eastern Front, was the elite 54-I Air Group Green Heart, which on the eve of the war collected the best aces of Germany. So, from the 112 pilots of the 54 squadron, who invaded 22 on June 1941, into the airspace of our Motherland, only four survived to the end of the war! In total, the 2135 fighters of this squadron remained to lie in the form of scrap metal in the vast space from Ladoga to Lviv. But it was precisely 54-I squadron that stood out among other Luftwaffe fighter squadrons in that during the war years it had the lowest level of casualties in aerial combat.
It is interesting to note another little-known fact, to which few people pay attention, but which very well characterizes both our and German pilots: by the end of March 1943, when the Germans still dominated the air, bright “green hearts” were proudly shining on the sides of the Messerschmitt and Focke Wolfs of the 54 Squadron, the Germans painted it with matte gray-green paint so as not to lead the Soviet pilots into the temptation, who considered it a matter of honor to “dump” some vaunted ace.
Which plane is better?
Anyone who was interested in the history of aviation to one degree or another probably had to hear or read the statements of the “experts” that the German aces had more victories not only because of their skills, but also because they flew the best airplanes.
No one argues with the fact that the pilot, flying on a more advanced aircraft, will have a certain advantage in battle.
Hauptmann Erich Hartman (Erich Hartmann) (19.04.1922 - 20.09.1993) with his commander, Major Gerhard Barkhorn (Gerhard Barkhorn) (20.05.1919 - 08.01.1983) for studying the map. II./JG52 (2-I group of the 52-th Fighter Squadron). E. Hartmann and G. Barkhorn are the most productive pilots of the Second World War, who had 352 and 301 aerial victories on their combat scores, respectively. In the lower left corner of the picture - autograph E. Hartmann.
In any case, a pilot of a faster plane can always catch up with the enemy, and if necessary, get out of the battlefield ...
But what is interesting is that the whole world experience of air wars suggests that in an air battle it is usually not the aircraft that is better that wins, but the one in which the best pilot sits. Naturally, all this applies to aircraft of the same generation.
Although the German Messerschmitts (especially at the beginning of the war) were superior to our MiGs, Yaks and LaGGi on a number of technical indicators, it turned out that in the real conditions of a total war that was carried out on the Eastern Front, their technical superiority was not so obvious.
The German aces at the beginning of the war on the Eastern Front gained their main victories thanks to the experience gained during previous military campaigns in the skies over Poland, France, and England. At the same time, the majority of Soviet pilots (with a few exceptions for those who managed to make war in Spain and Khalkhin Gol) did not have any combat experience at all.
But a well-trained pilot, who knows the merits of both his own aircraft and the enemy’s aircraft, could always impose his air combat tactics on the enemy.
On the eve of the war, our pilots just began to master the newest fighters of the Yak-1, MiG-3 and LaGG-3 type. Not having the necessary tactical experience, solid skills in the management of the aircraft, not knowing how to shoot, they still went into battle. And therefore suffered heavy losses. Neither their courage nor heroism could help. It was necessary just to gain experience. And this took time. But there was no time for that in 1941.
But those of the pilots who survived the brutal air battles of the initial period of the war, later became famous aces. They not only beat the fascists themselves, but also taught the young pilots to fight. Nowadays one can often hear statements that during the war years weakly trained youth came to fighter regiments from flight schools, which became easy prey for German aces. But at the same time, such authors for some reason forget to mention that already in the destructive regiments the older comrades continued to train young pilots, sparing neither effort nor time. They tried to make them experienced air fighters. Here is a typical example: only from mid-autumn 1943 to the end of winter 1944 in the 2 Guards Aviation Regiment, only for training young pilots, there were performed about 600 departures!
For the Germans, at the end of the war, the situation was worse than ever. The fighter squadrons, armed with the most modern fighters, were sent to the unshooted, hastily trained boys, who were immediately sent to their deaths. They fell into fighter squadrons and “horseless” pilots from the defeated bomber air groups. The latter had a great experience in air navigation, they knew how to fly at night. But they could not lead on an equal footing with our fighter pilots to maneuver air battles. Those few experienced "hunters" who still remained in the ranks, in no way could change the situation. No German, even the most advanced technology could save the Germans.
Who and how to shoot down?
People far from aviation, have no idea that the Soviet and German pilots were put in completely different conditions. German fighter pilots, and Hartman among them, very often engaged in the so-called "free hunting". Their main task was the destruction of enemy aircraft. They could fly when they considered it necessary, and where they considered it necessary. If they saw a single plane, they would rush at him like wolves at a defenseless sheep. And if faced with a strong opponent, they immediately left the battlefield. No, it was not cowardice, but an exact calculation. Why run into trouble if in half an hour you can again find and calmly “fill up” another defenseless “lamb”. That is how the German aces earned their rewards.
It is interesting to note the fact that after the war, Hartman mentioned that he repeatedly left his territory hastily after he was told by radio that a group of Alexander Pokryshkin appeared in the air. He clearly did not want to measure himself with the famous Soviet ace and run into trouble.
And what happened with us? For the command of the Red Army, the main goal was to deliver powerful bombing attacks on the enemy and to cover the ground forces from the air. Bombing attacks on the Germans were delivered by attack aircraft and bombers — the aircraft were relatively slow-moving and were a tasty morsel for German fighters. Soviet fighters constantly had to accompany bombers and attack aircraft in their flight to the target and back. And this meant that in such a situation it was not offensive, but defensive air combat that fell to them. Naturally, all the advantages in such a battle were on the side of the enemy.
Covering ground troops from the raids of German aircraft, our pilots were also put in very difficult conditions. The infantry constantly wanted to see Red Star fighters over their heads. So our pilots were forced to "buzz" over the front line, flying back and forth at low speed and at low altitude. At that time, the German “hunters” from a great height only chose their next “victim” and, having developed an enormous speed during a dive, they shot down our planes with lightning speed, the pilots of which, even seeing the attacker, simply did not have time to turn around or pick up speed.
Compared to the Germans, our fighter pilots were allowed to fly free hunting less frequently. Therefore, the results were more modest. Unfortunately, free hunting for our fighter aircraft was an unaffordable luxury ...
The fact that free hunting allowed to score a significant number of "points" is evidenced by the example of French pilots from the Normandy-Neman regiment. Our command took care of the "allies" and tried not to send them to cover the troops or to the deadly raids to accompany the attack aircraft and bombers. The French were able to do free hunting.
And the results speak for themselves. So, in just ten days of October 1944, French pilots shot down 119 of enemy aircraft.
In Soviet aviation, not only at the beginning of the war, but also at its final stage, there were a lot of bombers and attack aircraft. But in the composition of the Luftwaffe in the course of the war there were major changes. To repel the attacks of enemy bombers, they constantly needed more and more fighters. And there came such a moment that the German aviation industry was simply unable to produce both bombers and fighter aircraft at the same time. Therefore, already at the end of 1944, the production of bombers in Germany almost completely ceased, and only fighters began to emerge from the workshops of aircraft factories. And this means that the Soviet aces, unlike the Germans, have not often met large low-speed targets in the air. They had to fight exclusively with high-speed Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters and the latest Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter-bombers, which were much more difficult to shoot down in aerial combat than a hulking bomb carrier.
Moreover, at the end of the war, the sky over Germany literally swarmed with “spitfires”, “tepestami”, “thunderbolts”, “mustangs”, “ilas”, “pawns”, “yaks” and “shopkeepers”. And if each departure of the German ace (if he succeeded in taking off at all) ended with the accrual of points (which no one really counted then), then the allied aviation pilots still needed to search for the air target. Many Soviet pilots recalled that since the end of 1944, their personal account of aerial victories has ceased to grow. German airplanes did not meet so often in the sky, and combat missions of fighter regiments were mainly carried out for the purpose of reconnaissance and ground attack of enemy ground forces.
What is the fighter for?
At first glance, this question seems very simple. Any person, even not familiar with aviation, will respond without hesitation: a fighter is needed in order to shoot down enemy aircraft. But is it all so simple? As is known, fighter aircraft is part of the air force. The air force is an integral part of the army.
The task of any army is to crush the enemy.
It is clear that all the forces and means of the army should be combined together and aimed at defeating the enemy.
Leading the army its command. And on how the command will be able to organize the management of the army, depends on the result of hostilities.
The Soviet and German command had a different approach. The command of the Wehrmacht ordered its fighter aircraft to gain air superiority. In other words - the German fighter aircraft should stupidly shoot down all enemy aircraft seen in the air. The hero was the one who killed more enemy planes.
I must say that this approach was very impressed by the German pilots. They gladly joined in this “competition”, considering themselves to be real hunters.
And everything would be fine, but the German pilots didn’t fulfill the set task. Aircraft beat a lot, but what's the point? With each month of the Soviet aircraft, as well as allied aircraft in the air became more and more. The Germans still could not cover their ground forces from the air. And the loss of bomber aircraft made life even more difficult for them. This alone suggests that the Germans lost the air war strategically.
The command of the Red Army saw the tasks of the fighter aviation completely different. The Soviet fighter pilots, first of all, were to cover the ground forces from the strikes of the German bombers. And they had to defend the aircraft of attack and bomber aircraft during their raids on the positions of the German army. In other words, fighter aircraft did not act on its own, like the Germans, but exclusively in the interests of the ground forces.
It was a hard thankless job during which our pilots usually received not fame, but death.
It is not surprising that the losses of the Soviet fighters were enormous. However, this does not mean that our planes were much worse, and the pilots are weaker than German ones. In this case, the outcome of the battle was determined not by the quality of the equipment and the skill of the pilot, but by tactical necessity, a strict command order.
Here, probably, any child will ask: “And what is this such stupid battle tactic, what kind of idiotic orders, because of which both planes and pilots died in vain?”
This is where the most important thing begins. And you need to understand that, in fact, this tactic is not stupid. After all, the main striking force of any army is its ground forces. Bomb strike on tanks and infantry, in warehouses with weapons and fuel, on bridges and crossings, can greatly weaken the combat capabilities of the ground forces. One successful air strike can fundamentally change the course of an offensive or defensive operation.
If a dozen fighters are lost in an air battle while defending ground objects, but not a single enemy bomb hits, for example, a ammunition depot, this means that the fighter pilots have completed the combat mission. Even at the cost of their lives. Otherwise, the whole division, left without shells, can be crushed by the attacking forces of the enemy.
The same can be said about flights to support strike aircraft. If they destroyed an ammunition depot, bombed a railway station clogged with military vehicles, destroyed a defense support center, this means that they made a significant contribution to the victory. And if, at the same time, the fighter pilots provided the bombers and attack aircraft with the opportunity to break through to the target through the air barriers of the enemy, even if they lost their comrades-in-arms, it means that they also won.
And this is really a real aerial victory. The main thing is to complete the task set by the command. The task, which can radically change the entire course of the fighting in this sector of the front. From all this, the conclusion is clear: the German fighters are hunters, the fighters of the Red Army Air Force are defenders.
Thinking about death ...
No matter what anyone says, but there are no fearless pilots (as, incidentally, tank crews, infantrymen or sailors) who are not afraid of death. The war lacks cowards and traitors. But for the most part, our pilots, even in the most difficult moments of the air battle, adhered to an unwritten rule: “die yourself, and rescue a comrade”. Sometimes, no longer having ammunition, they continued to fight, covering their comrades, went to the ram, wanting to inflict maximum damage to the enemy. And all because they defended their land, their home, their loved ones. They defended their homeland.
The fascists who attacked our country in the 1941 year dispelled themselves with the thought of world domination. At that time, the German pilots could not even think that they would have to sacrifice their lives for someone or something. Only in their patriotic speeches, they were ready to give their lives for the Fuhrer. Each of them, like any other invader, dreamed of a good reward after the successful end of the war. And to get a tidbit, it was necessary to live to the end of the war. In such a situation, not heroism and self-sacrifice for the sake of achieving a great goal, but a cold calculation came to the fore.
Do not forget that the boys of the Soviet Union, many of whom later became military pilots, were brought up somewhat differently than their peers in Germany. They took the example of such disinterested defenders of their people, as, for example, the epic hero Ilya of Murom, Prince Alexander Nevsky. Then in the memory of the people were still fresh feats of arms of the legendary heroes of the Patriotic War 1812, the heroes of the Civil War. And in general, Soviet schoolchildren were brought up mainly on books whose heroes were the true patriots of the Motherland.
Their peers from Germany also knew what friendship, love, patriotism and native land are. But do not forget that in Germany, with its centuries-old history of knighthood, the latter concept was especially close to all boys. Knightly laws, knightly honor, knightly glory, fearlessness were put at the forefront. Not by chance, even the main reward of the Reich was the knight’s cross.
It is clear that any boy in his heart dreamed of becoming a glorified knight.
However, one should not forget that the whole history of the Middle Ages indicates that the main task of the knight was to serve his master. Not to the Motherland, not to the people, but to the king, duke, baron. Even independent traveling knights, glorified in legends, were, in essence, the most ordinary mercenaries who earned money with the ability to kill. And all these crusades, sung by the chroniclers? Breaking pure water. It is not by chance that the words knight, profit and wealth are inseparable. Everyone is also well aware that knights rarely died on the battlefield. In a stalemate, they, as a rule, surrendered to captivity. The subsequent ransom from captivity was quite an ordinary thing for them. Ordinary commerce.
And is it any wonder that the chivalrous spirit, including in its negative manifestations, directly affected the moral qualities of future pilots of the Luftwaffe.
The command was well aware of this, because it considered itself a modern knighthood. With all the desire, it could not make its pilots fight as the Soviet fighter pilots fought - sparing neither the strength nor the life itself. It may seem strange to us, but it turns out that even in the statute of the German fighter aircraft it was written that the pilot himself determines his actions in aerial combat and no one can forbid him to leave the battle, if he considers it necessary.
The faces of these pilots show that we have the victorious warriors. The photo shows the most successful fighter pilots of the 1st Guards Fighter Air Division of the Baltic fleet: Senior Lieutenant Selyutin (19 wins), Captain Kostylev (41 wins), Captain Tatarenko (29 wins), Lt. Col. Golubev (39 wins) and Major Baturin (10 wins)
That is why the German aces never covered their troops over the battlefield, which is why they did not defend their bombers as selflessly as our fighters did. As a rule, German fighters only cleared the way for their bombers, trying to stifle the actions of our interceptors. The history of the past world war is replete with facts of how the German aces, sent to accompany the bombers, threw their wards in the case when the air situation was not in their favor. The hunter’s calculation and self-sacrifice turned out to be incompatible concepts for them.
As a result, air hunting was the only acceptable solution that suited everyone. The Luftwaffe leadership proudly reported on their successes in the fight against enemy aviation, Goebbels propaganda enthusiastically told the German people about the military achievements of the invincible aces, and while practicing their chance to stay alive, they scored points with all their might.
Perhaps, in the minds of the German pilots, something changed only when the war came to the territory of Germany itself, when the Anglo-American bomber aircraft literally began wiping out entire cities from the face of the earth. Women and children in tens of thousands died under the bombs of the Allies. The horror paralyzed the civilian population. Only then, seized by fear for the lives of their children, wives, mothers, did the German pilots from the Air Defense Force selflessly begin to rush into deadly air battles with a superior enemy, and sometimes even went to the ram "flying fortresses." But it was too late. By that time, there were almost no experienced pilots or a sufficient number of aircraft in Germany. Separate aces-pilots and hastily trained boys could not even save their situation even by their desperate actions.
The pilots who fought on the Eastern Front at that time, one might say, were lucky. Almost devoid of fuel, they almost did not rise into the air, and therefore at least survived until the end of the war and survived. As for the Green Heart, a famous fighter squadron mentioned at the beginning of the article, its last aces came in a very knightly manner: on the remaining aircraft they flew to surrender to the “knight friends” who understood them - the British and Americans.
It seems that after reading all of the above, you can probably answer the question of your children about whether the German pilots were the best in the world? Do they really surpass our pilots by an order of magnitude?
Sad note
Not so long ago I saw in the bookstore a new edition of the very children's book on aviation, with which I began the article. In the hope that the second edition will differ from the first one not only in the new cover, but also give the guys some sensible explanation of the fantastic results of the German aces, I opened the book on the page that interests me. Unfortunately, everything remained unchanged: the 62 of the plane shot down by Kozhedub looked like ridiculous numbers against the background of the 352 Hartman air victories. Such a gloomy arithmetic ...
The author is grateful for the assistance provided during the preparation of the article, Valery Dymychu
How can this be?
I will give one example.
Already more than one generation of boys in our country has grown with the firm conviction that our illustrious pilots Ivan Kozhedub and Alexander Pokryshkin are the best aces of the past war. And no one ever argued with that. Neither us nor abroad.
But one day I bought a children's book in a store “Aviation and aeronautics ”from the encyclopedic series“ I Know the World ”by a very famous publisher. The book, released in a circulation of thirty thousand copies, turned out to be really quite "informative" ...
Here, for example, in the “Cheerful Arithmetic” section, quite eloquent figures are given concerning air battles during the Great Patriotic War. I quote literally: “Three times Heroes of the Soviet Union, AI fighter pilots Pokryshkin and I.N. Kozhedub shot down respectively 59 and 62 enemy aircraft. But the German ace E. Hartman shot down during the war 352 aircraft! And he was not alone. In addition to him in the Luftwaffe were such masters of air battles as G. Barkhorn (301 shot down aircraft), G. Rall (275), O. Kittel (267) ... In total, the 104 pilots of the German Air Force had more than a hundred aircraft shot down each , and the top ten destroyed a total of 2588 enemy aircraft! ”
It is clear that any child who saw such numbers of air victories would immediately think that it was not ours at all, but the German pilots who were the best aces of the world, and our Ivanov had oh how far they were (by the way, the authors For some reason, the aforementioned publications did not provide data on the achievements of the best pilot aces of other countries: American Richard Bong, Briton James Johnson and Frenchman Pierre Klosterman with their 40, 38 and 33 aerial victories, respectively). The next thought that flashes in the minds of the guys, of course, will be that the Germans were flying on much more advanced aircraft. (It must be said that during the survey, in a similar way, not even schoolchildren responded to the airborne victory figures presented, but students from one of Moscow's universities).
But how do you generally treat such seemingly blasphemous figures?
It is clear that any student, if he is interested in this topic, will climb into the "Internet". What will he find there? It is easy to check ... We type in the search engine the phrase "The best ace of the Second World War."
The result appears quite expected: a portrait of a blond Erich Hartman hung with iron crosses is displayed on the monitor, and the whole page is replete with phrases like: “German pilots, especially those who fought on the Eastern Front are considered to be the best pilots of the Second World War ...”
Here are the ones on! Not only did the Germans turn out to be the best aces in the world, but most of all they didn’t beat the British, the Americans, or the French with the Poles, but our guys.
So has the true truth been laid out in the cognitive book and on the covers of exercise books the knowledge of the uncle and aunts that carry the children? That's just what they wanted to say? What we had such careless pilots? Probably not. But why the authors of many publications and information hanging on the pages of the “Internet”, citing a mass of seemingly interesting facts, did not bother to explain to readers (especially young ones): where did these figures come from and what they mean.
Perhaps some readers from the further story seem uninteresting. After all, this topic has been repeatedly discussed on the pages of serious aviation publications. And with this, everything is clear. Should I repeat? That's just to the simple boys of our country (given the circulation of specialized technical journals), this information never reached. And it will not come. Why are there boys. Show the above figures to the school teacher. stories and ask him about what he thinks about it, and what will he tell the children about it? But the boys, seeing on the back of the student's notebook the results of the air victories of Hartman and Pokryshkin, will surely ask him about it. I am afraid that the result will shake you to the depths of the soul ... That is why the material presented below is not even an article, but rather a request to you, dear readers, to help your children (and maybe even their teachers) to deal with some of the “stunning "Numbers. Especially since on the eve of 9 May, we will all again be reminded of that distant war.
Where did these numbers come from?
And really, where did such a figure, for example, like HNTMX’s Hartman victory in aerial combat, come from? Who can confirm it?
It turns out no one. Moreover, the entire aviation community has long known that historians took Erich Hartmann's letters from the letters to the bride. So the first thing to ask is: isn’t the young man embellished his military merit? Some German pilots say that at the final stage of the war Hartmann was simply attributed to aerial victories for propaganda purposes, because along with the mythical miracle the crashing Hitler regimeweapons needed a superhero. Interestingly, many of the victories claimed by Hartman are not supported by losses on our side.
The study of archival documents of the Second World War period convincingly proved that absolutely all branches of the military in all countries of the world were sinned with subscriptions. It was not by chance that in our army, soon after the start of the war, the principle of the strictest registration of enemy aircraft was introduced. The plane was considered shot down only after ground troops discovered its wreckage and thus confirmed the aerial victory.
The Germans, like the Americans, didn’t need to confirm ground troops. The pilot could arrive and report: "I shot down the plane." The main thing that kinopulemeta recorded at least hit bullets and shells in the target. Sometimes it allowed to gain a lot of "points". It is known that during the “Battle for England” the Germans declared 3050 shot down by British aircraft, while the British really lost only 910.
From here it is necessary to draw the first conclusion: our shot down airplanes were really counted. Germans - aerial victories, sometimes not even leading to the destruction of the enemy aircraft. And often these victories were mythical.
Why our aces did not have 300 and more air victories?
All that we have mentioned just above is by no means the mastery of the pilot-aces. Let's consider the following question: could the German pilots even bring down the declared number of aircraft? And if they could, then why?
A.I. Pokryshkin, G.K. Zhukov and I.N. Kozhedub
Oddly enough, in principle, having more air victories than 300 and Hartman, and Barkhorn, and other German pilots, in principle, could. And it must be said that many of them were doomed to become aces, since they were the real hostages of the Hitlerite command, who left them to the war. And they fought, as a rule, from the first to the last day.
Aces pilots of England, the United States and the Soviet Union command and treasured. The leadership of the air force listed thought it this way: once the pilot shot down an 40-50 enemy aircraft, it means that he is a very experienced pilot who can teach dozens of talented young people to master the flight skills. And let each of them hit at least a dozen enemy planes. Then in the sum of the destroyed aircraft it will turn out much more than if they were knocked down by the professional remaining at the front.
Recall that our best fighter pilot Alexander Pokryshkin already in 1944 year, the Air Force Command banned participation in air battles altogether, instructing him to command the aviation division. And it turned out to be correct. By the end of the war, many pilots from his unit had more than 50 confirmed air victories on their combat scores. So, Nikolai Gulaev shot down 57 German aircraft. Grigory Rechkalov - 56. Fifty enemy planes were recorded by Dmitry Glinka.
The command of the American Air Force did likewise, having recalled its best ace Richard Bong from the front.
It must be said that many Soviet pilots could not become aces only because there was often no enemy in front of them.
Each pilot was attached to his unit, and therefore to a specific sector of the front.
But the Germans were different. Experienced pilots were constantly transferred from one sector of the front to another. Each time they were at the hottest point, in the thick of things. For example, Ivan Kozhedub for all the war only 330 once rose into the sky and spent 120 air battles, while Hartman made 1425 sorties and participated in 825 air battles. Yes, our pilot, with all the desire could not even see in the sky as many German planes as Hartmann caught in sight! By the way, having become famous asas, the Luftwaffe pilots did not receive indulgence from death. Literally every day they had to participate in air battles. So it turned out that they fought until his death. And only captivity or the end of the war could save them from death. Only a few of the Luftwaffe aces survive. Hartman and Barkhorn are just lucky. They became famous only because they miraculously survived. But the fourth in terms of performance of Germany's German Otto Kittel died during an air battle with Soviet fighters in February 1945. Earlier, the most famous ace in Germany, Walter Novotny, met his death (in 1944, he was the first of the Luftwaffe pilots to bring his combat score to 250 air victories). Hitler's command, awarding the pilot all the highest orders of the Third Reich, instructed him to lead the connection of the first (still raw and unfinished) Me-262 jet fighters and threw the famous ace on the most dangerous part of the air war - repelling attacks on Germany by American heavy bombers. The pilot's fate was sealed.
By the way, Erich Hartman Hitler also wanted to put on a fighter jet, but the intelligent guy wriggled out of this dangerous situation, having managed to prove to the authorities that he would be more confused if he was put back on the old reliable Bf 109. This decision allowed Hartman to save his life from certain death and become, in the end, the best ace in Germany.
The most important proof of the fact that our pilots were in no way inferior to the German asses in the skill of air battles is eloquently shown by some figures that abroad do not really like to be remembered, and some of our journalists from the “free” press who take to write about aviation, just do not know.
For example, aviation historians know that the most productive fighter squadron of the Luftwaffe, who fought on the Eastern Front, was the elite 54-I Air Group Green Heart, which on the eve of the war collected the best aces of Germany. So, from the 112 pilots of the 54 squadron, who invaded 22 on June 1941, into the airspace of our Motherland, only four survived to the end of the war! In total, the 2135 fighters of this squadron remained to lie in the form of scrap metal in the vast space from Ladoga to Lviv. But it was precisely 54-I squadron that stood out among other Luftwaffe fighter squadrons in that during the war years it had the lowest level of casualties in aerial combat.
It is interesting to note another little-known fact, to which few people pay attention, but which very well characterizes both our and German pilots: by the end of March 1943, when the Germans still dominated the air, bright “green hearts” were proudly shining on the sides of the Messerschmitt and Focke Wolfs of the 54 Squadron, the Germans painted it with matte gray-green paint so as not to lead the Soviet pilots into the temptation, who considered it a matter of honor to “dump” some vaunted ace.
Which plane is better?
Anyone who was interested in the history of aviation to one degree or another probably had to hear or read the statements of the “experts” that the German aces had more victories not only because of their skills, but also because they flew the best airplanes.
No one argues with the fact that the pilot, flying on a more advanced aircraft, will have a certain advantage in battle.
In any case, a pilot of a faster plane can always catch up with the enemy, and if necessary, get out of the battlefield ...
But what is interesting is that the whole world experience of air wars suggests that in an air battle it is usually not the aircraft that is better that wins, but the one in which the best pilot sits. Naturally, all this applies to aircraft of the same generation.
Although the German Messerschmitts (especially at the beginning of the war) were superior to our MiGs, Yaks and LaGGi on a number of technical indicators, it turned out that in the real conditions of a total war that was carried out on the Eastern Front, their technical superiority was not so obvious.
The German aces at the beginning of the war on the Eastern Front gained their main victories thanks to the experience gained during previous military campaigns in the skies over Poland, France, and England. At the same time, the majority of Soviet pilots (with a few exceptions for those who managed to make war in Spain and Khalkhin Gol) did not have any combat experience at all.
But a well-trained pilot, who knows the merits of both his own aircraft and the enemy’s aircraft, could always impose his air combat tactics on the enemy.
On the eve of the war, our pilots just began to master the newest fighters of the Yak-1, MiG-3 and LaGG-3 type. Not having the necessary tactical experience, solid skills in the management of the aircraft, not knowing how to shoot, they still went into battle. And therefore suffered heavy losses. Neither their courage nor heroism could help. It was necessary just to gain experience. And this took time. But there was no time for that in 1941.
But those of the pilots who survived the brutal air battles of the initial period of the war, later became famous aces. They not only beat the fascists themselves, but also taught the young pilots to fight. Nowadays one can often hear statements that during the war years weakly trained youth came to fighter regiments from flight schools, which became easy prey for German aces. But at the same time, such authors for some reason forget to mention that already in the destructive regiments the older comrades continued to train young pilots, sparing neither effort nor time. They tried to make them experienced air fighters. Here is a typical example: only from mid-autumn 1943 to the end of winter 1944 in the 2 Guards Aviation Regiment, only for training young pilots, there were performed about 600 departures!
For the Germans, at the end of the war, the situation was worse than ever. The fighter squadrons, armed with the most modern fighters, were sent to the unshooted, hastily trained boys, who were immediately sent to their deaths. They fell into fighter squadrons and “horseless” pilots from the defeated bomber air groups. The latter had a great experience in air navigation, they knew how to fly at night. But they could not lead on an equal footing with our fighter pilots to maneuver air battles. Those few experienced "hunters" who still remained in the ranks, in no way could change the situation. No German, even the most advanced technology could save the Germans.
Who and how to shoot down?
People far from aviation, have no idea that the Soviet and German pilots were put in completely different conditions. German fighter pilots, and Hartman among them, very often engaged in the so-called "free hunting". Their main task was the destruction of enemy aircraft. They could fly when they considered it necessary, and where they considered it necessary. If they saw a single plane, they would rush at him like wolves at a defenseless sheep. And if faced with a strong opponent, they immediately left the battlefield. No, it was not cowardice, but an exact calculation. Why run into trouble if in half an hour you can again find and calmly “fill up” another defenseless “lamb”. That is how the German aces earned their rewards.
It is interesting to note the fact that after the war, Hartman mentioned that he repeatedly left his territory hastily after he was told by radio that a group of Alexander Pokryshkin appeared in the air. He clearly did not want to measure himself with the famous Soviet ace and run into trouble.
And what happened with us? For the command of the Red Army, the main goal was to deliver powerful bombing attacks on the enemy and to cover the ground forces from the air. Bombing attacks on the Germans were delivered by attack aircraft and bombers — the aircraft were relatively slow-moving and were a tasty morsel for German fighters. Soviet fighters constantly had to accompany bombers and attack aircraft in their flight to the target and back. And this meant that in such a situation it was not offensive, but defensive air combat that fell to them. Naturally, all the advantages in such a battle were on the side of the enemy.
Covering ground troops from the raids of German aircraft, our pilots were also put in very difficult conditions. The infantry constantly wanted to see Red Star fighters over their heads. So our pilots were forced to "buzz" over the front line, flying back and forth at low speed and at low altitude. At that time, the German “hunters” from a great height only chose their next “victim” and, having developed an enormous speed during a dive, they shot down our planes with lightning speed, the pilots of which, even seeing the attacker, simply did not have time to turn around or pick up speed.
Compared to the Germans, our fighter pilots were allowed to fly free hunting less frequently. Therefore, the results were more modest. Unfortunately, free hunting for our fighter aircraft was an unaffordable luxury ...
The fact that free hunting allowed to score a significant number of "points" is evidenced by the example of French pilots from the Normandy-Neman regiment. Our command took care of the "allies" and tried not to send them to cover the troops or to the deadly raids to accompany the attack aircraft and bombers. The French were able to do free hunting.
And the results speak for themselves. So, in just ten days of October 1944, French pilots shot down 119 of enemy aircraft.
In Soviet aviation, not only at the beginning of the war, but also at its final stage, there were a lot of bombers and attack aircraft. But in the composition of the Luftwaffe in the course of the war there were major changes. To repel the attacks of enemy bombers, they constantly needed more and more fighters. And there came such a moment that the German aviation industry was simply unable to produce both bombers and fighter aircraft at the same time. Therefore, already at the end of 1944, the production of bombers in Germany almost completely ceased, and only fighters began to emerge from the workshops of aircraft factories. And this means that the Soviet aces, unlike the Germans, have not often met large low-speed targets in the air. They had to fight exclusively with high-speed Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters and the latest Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter-bombers, which were much more difficult to shoot down in aerial combat than a hulking bomb carrier.
From this flipped on the landing of the "Messerschmitt", damaged in battle, Walter Novotny, who was once ace number 1 in Germany, had just been recovered. But his flight career (as, indeed, life itself) could well end on this episode ...
Moreover, at the end of the war, the sky over Germany literally swarmed with “spitfires”, “tepestami”, “thunderbolts”, “mustangs”, “ilas”, “pawns”, “yaks” and “shopkeepers”. And if each departure of the German ace (if he succeeded in taking off at all) ended with the accrual of points (which no one really counted then), then the allied aviation pilots still needed to search for the air target. Many Soviet pilots recalled that since the end of 1944, their personal account of aerial victories has ceased to grow. German airplanes did not meet so often in the sky, and combat missions of fighter regiments were mainly carried out for the purpose of reconnaissance and ground attack of enemy ground forces.
What is the fighter for?
At first glance, this question seems very simple. Any person, even not familiar with aviation, will respond without hesitation: a fighter is needed in order to shoot down enemy aircraft. But is it all so simple? As is known, fighter aircraft is part of the air force. The air force is an integral part of the army.
The task of any army is to crush the enemy.
It is clear that all the forces and means of the army should be combined together and aimed at defeating the enemy.
Leading the army its command. And on how the command will be able to organize the management of the army, depends on the result of hostilities.
The Soviet and German command had a different approach. The command of the Wehrmacht ordered its fighter aircraft to gain air superiority. In other words - the German fighter aircraft should stupidly shoot down all enemy aircraft seen in the air. The hero was the one who killed more enemy planes.
I must say that this approach was very impressed by the German pilots. They gladly joined in this “competition”, considering themselves to be real hunters.
And everything would be fine, but the German pilots didn’t fulfill the set task. Aircraft beat a lot, but what's the point? With each month of the Soviet aircraft, as well as allied aircraft in the air became more and more. The Germans still could not cover their ground forces from the air. And the loss of bomber aircraft made life even more difficult for them. This alone suggests that the Germans lost the air war strategically.
The command of the Red Army saw the tasks of the fighter aviation completely different. The Soviet fighter pilots, first of all, were to cover the ground forces from the strikes of the German bombers. And they had to defend the aircraft of attack and bomber aircraft during their raids on the positions of the German army. In other words, fighter aircraft did not act on its own, like the Germans, but exclusively in the interests of the ground forces.
It was a hard thankless job during which our pilots usually received not fame, but death.
It is not surprising that the losses of the Soviet fighters were enormous. However, this does not mean that our planes were much worse, and the pilots are weaker than German ones. In this case, the outcome of the battle was determined not by the quality of the equipment and the skill of the pilot, but by tactical necessity, a strict command order.
Here, probably, any child will ask: “And what is this such stupid battle tactic, what kind of idiotic orders, because of which both planes and pilots died in vain?”
This is where the most important thing begins. And you need to understand that, in fact, this tactic is not stupid. After all, the main striking force of any army is its ground forces. Bomb strike on tanks and infantry, in warehouses with weapons and fuel, on bridges and crossings, can greatly weaken the combat capabilities of the ground forces. One successful air strike can fundamentally change the course of an offensive or defensive operation.
If a dozen fighters are lost in an air battle while defending ground objects, but not a single enemy bomb hits, for example, a ammunition depot, this means that the fighter pilots have completed the combat mission. Even at the cost of their lives. Otherwise, the whole division, left without shells, can be crushed by the attacking forces of the enemy.
The same can be said about flights to support strike aircraft. If they destroyed an ammunition depot, bombed a railway station clogged with military vehicles, destroyed a defense support center, this means that they made a significant contribution to the victory. And if, at the same time, the fighter pilots provided the bombers and attack aircraft with the opportunity to break through to the target through the air barriers of the enemy, even if they lost their comrades-in-arms, it means that they also won.
And this is really a real aerial victory. The main thing is to complete the task set by the command. The task, which can radically change the entire course of the fighting in this sector of the front. From all this, the conclusion is clear: the German fighters are hunters, the fighters of the Red Army Air Force are defenders.
Thinking about death ...
No matter what anyone says, but there are no fearless pilots (as, incidentally, tank crews, infantrymen or sailors) who are not afraid of death. The war lacks cowards and traitors. But for the most part, our pilots, even in the most difficult moments of the air battle, adhered to an unwritten rule: “die yourself, and rescue a comrade”. Sometimes, no longer having ammunition, they continued to fight, covering their comrades, went to the ram, wanting to inflict maximum damage to the enemy. And all because they defended their land, their home, their loved ones. They defended their homeland.
The fascists who attacked our country in the 1941 year dispelled themselves with the thought of world domination. At that time, the German pilots could not even think that they would have to sacrifice their lives for someone or something. Only in their patriotic speeches, they were ready to give their lives for the Fuhrer. Each of them, like any other invader, dreamed of a good reward after the successful end of the war. And to get a tidbit, it was necessary to live to the end of the war. In such a situation, not heroism and self-sacrifice for the sake of achieving a great goal, but a cold calculation came to the fore.
Do not forget that the boys of the Soviet Union, many of whom later became military pilots, were brought up somewhat differently than their peers in Germany. They took the example of such disinterested defenders of their people, as, for example, the epic hero Ilya of Murom, Prince Alexander Nevsky. Then in the memory of the people were still fresh feats of arms of the legendary heroes of the Patriotic War 1812, the heroes of the Civil War. And in general, Soviet schoolchildren were brought up mainly on books whose heroes were the true patriots of the Motherland.
The end of the war. Young German pilots receive a combat mission. In their eyes - doom. Erich Hartman said about them: “These young men come to us, and they are almost immediately knocked down. They come and go like the waves of the surf. This is a crime ... I think our propaganda is to blame. ”
Their peers from Germany also knew what friendship, love, patriotism and native land are. But do not forget that in Germany, with its centuries-old history of knighthood, the latter concept was especially close to all boys. Knightly laws, knightly honor, knightly glory, fearlessness were put at the forefront. Not by chance, even the main reward of the Reich was the knight’s cross.
It is clear that any boy in his heart dreamed of becoming a glorified knight.
However, one should not forget that the whole history of the Middle Ages indicates that the main task of the knight was to serve his master. Not to the Motherland, not to the people, but to the king, duke, baron. Even independent traveling knights, glorified in legends, were, in essence, the most ordinary mercenaries who earned money with the ability to kill. And all these crusades, sung by the chroniclers? Breaking pure water. It is not by chance that the words knight, profit and wealth are inseparable. Everyone is also well aware that knights rarely died on the battlefield. In a stalemate, they, as a rule, surrendered to captivity. The subsequent ransom from captivity was quite an ordinary thing for them. Ordinary commerce.
And is it any wonder that the chivalrous spirit, including in its negative manifestations, directly affected the moral qualities of future pilots of the Luftwaffe.
The command was well aware of this, because it considered itself a modern knighthood. With all the desire, it could not make its pilots fight as the Soviet fighter pilots fought - sparing neither the strength nor the life itself. It may seem strange to us, but it turns out that even in the statute of the German fighter aircraft it was written that the pilot himself determines his actions in aerial combat and no one can forbid him to leave the battle, if he considers it necessary.
That is why the German aces never covered their troops over the battlefield, which is why they did not defend their bombers as selflessly as our fighters did. As a rule, German fighters only cleared the way for their bombers, trying to stifle the actions of our interceptors. The history of the past world war is replete with facts of how the German aces, sent to accompany the bombers, threw their wards in the case when the air situation was not in their favor. The hunter’s calculation and self-sacrifice turned out to be incompatible concepts for them.
As a result, air hunting was the only acceptable solution that suited everyone. The Luftwaffe leadership proudly reported on their successes in the fight against enemy aviation, Goebbels propaganda enthusiastically told the German people about the military achievements of the invincible aces, and while practicing their chance to stay alive, they scored points with all their might.
Perhaps, in the minds of the German pilots, something changed only when the war came to the territory of Germany itself, when the Anglo-American bomber aircraft literally began wiping out entire cities from the face of the earth. Women and children in tens of thousands died under the bombs of the Allies. The horror paralyzed the civilian population. Only then, seized by fear for the lives of their children, wives, mothers, did the German pilots from the Air Defense Force selflessly begin to rush into deadly air battles with a superior enemy, and sometimes even went to the ram "flying fortresses." But it was too late. By that time, there were almost no experienced pilots or a sufficient number of aircraft in Germany. Separate aces-pilots and hastily trained boys could not even save their situation even by their desperate actions.
The pilots who fought on the Eastern Front at that time, one might say, were lucky. Almost devoid of fuel, they almost did not rise into the air, and therefore at least survived until the end of the war and survived. As for the Green Heart, a famous fighter squadron mentioned at the beginning of the article, its last aces came in a very knightly manner: on the remaining aircraft they flew to surrender to the “knight friends” who understood them - the British and Americans.
It seems that after reading all of the above, you can probably answer the question of your children about whether the German pilots were the best in the world? Do they really surpass our pilots by an order of magnitude?
Sad note
Not so long ago I saw in the bookstore a new edition of the very children's book on aviation, with which I began the article. In the hope that the second edition will differ from the first one not only in the new cover, but also give the guys some sensible explanation of the fantastic results of the German aces, I opened the book on the page that interests me. Unfortunately, everything remained unchanged: the 62 of the plane shot down by Kozhedub looked like ridiculous numbers against the background of the 352 Hartman air victories. Such a gloomy arithmetic ...
The author is grateful for the assistance provided during the preparation of the article, Valery Dymychu
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