Sunday Supplement 2022

[BIGNEWY]

The Polikarpov I-16 in Action

I-16 in action

On June 22 1941, Nazi forces launched a massive surprise attack on the USSR. Codenamed ‘Operation Barbarossa’, it saw three million Axis troops drive into the Soviet Union on three fronts. More than 1200 Luftwaffe aircraft struck first, attacking targets with such ferocity and speed that in the space of two days, some 2,000 Soviet aircraft were destroyed on the ground. In what was arguably the most successful and devastating attack in the history of air power, the Luftwaffe’s own losses came to less than 40.

Like fish in a barrel

In the desperate attempt to defend their homeland, many Soviet pilots resorted to extreme measures. It is hard to think of any higher form of courage than ramming an enemy aircraft with your own machine - but on the first day of what Soviet citizens came to call ‘The Great Patriotic War’, 15 Soviet fighter pilots downed enemy aircraft by means of this ‘taran’ or ‘battering ram’ tactic.

No greater courage - a ‘taran’ attack rams a Ju 88 to destruction

On day two of the war, having already shot down four enemy aircraft, Lt Alexandr Moklyak of 67th IAP (Fighter Aviation Regiment) crashed his Polikarpov I-16 fighter into a Ju 88. In a single moment, he destroyed another enemy bomber; became an ace; and destroyed himself. Many more Russian pilots would follow Moklyak’s example.

The ‘mule’ strikes back with its guns

At the outbreak of hostilities, there were 1,635 Polikarpov I-16 fighters - or about 40% of the total Soviet fighter inventory - in service. By the end of June 1941, only 873 were left - including 100 or so in need of repair. At that time, Soviet aircraft were in general no match for their enemy counterparts: with a top level speed of 280-290 mph (450-470 km/h) against the Bf 109E’s 350 mph (570 km/h), the I-16 was no exception. The ‘Emil’ also had faster climb and dive rates, greater firepower and a higher operational ceiling.

Despite such disadvantages, many Red Army Air pilots achieved ‘ace’ status with five enemy kills or more. One of the most successful was Major Leonid Galchenko. On 15 September 1941, Galchenko led five Polikarpov I-16s against a fleet of 30 Ju 88s. By the time the cordite fumes had settled, the flight had claimed four enemy bombers without loss and sent the others packing. Galchenko ended the war with 24 individual and 12 shared victories.

Many I-16 pilots favored attacking enemy aircraft head on - unless they could catch them from behind

How did he and other Russian pilots achieve these scores? The I-16 could turn on a sixpence - invaluable in a dogfight. It was also able to soak up a lot of punishment; and, once later models were up-armed with 2 x 20 mm (0.787 in) ShVAK wing-mounted cannons, and 2 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns in the upper cowling, it became a much more lethal opponent.

I-16 pounces on enemy convoy

Direct hit

Nicknamed ‘ishak’ or ‘mule’ for its stubborn dependability and general awkwardness, the open-cockpit I-16 could also carry 6 x unguided RS-82 rockets or up to 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs. A March 12 1942 attack on the Mga railway station demonstrates the I-16’s effectiveness in the ground-attack role. At 0530, in an effort to confuse the enemy flak gunners, a flight of 18 I-16s buzzed the station from the south at zero feet. Then, splitting into two groups of nine, the ‘mules’ looped around and attacked the trains crammed with Wehrmacht troops, weapons and ammunition from two different directions. Rockets, cannon and machine gun fire smashed into the packed carriages and wagons, causing explosions and fires that burned for hours.

I-16 rocketing enemy bomber

Soviet pilots were also among the first to use rockets to break up enemy bomber formations. In November 1941, five Polikarpov I-16s of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force attacked a flight of eight Ju 88s heading for Sevastopol. Four of the ‘mules’ fired all 24 of their rockets at the bombers simultaneously. One bomber burst into flames and spiralled into the sea. The rest released their bombs over open ground and made a run for it.

Victory at last

By the end of 1943, newer Soviet aircraft such as the Lavochkin LaGG-3 and Yak-7 had replaced the Polikarpov I-16 in service. But in the hands of the increasingly skilled Russian pilots, the humble ‘mule’ had helped propel the USSR to victory.
 

Thank you for your passion and support,
yours sincerely
 

[BIGNEWY]

MiG-21bis October War

 

At Zero Hour on 6 October, 1973, 220 Egyptian Air Force (EAF) aircraft took off as one to strike Israeli military targets in a surprise attack. It was Day One of the October/Yom Kippur War, fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states that included Egypt, Syria and Iraq.

Surprise attack

Surprise was total. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is a holy day for most Israelis and a national holiday. But instead of peace, Israel got war. Escorted by several squadrons of MiG-21’Fishbed’ fighters, a mixed EAF ground-attack force of Su-7 and MiG-17 fighter-bombers attacked Israeli military bases, MIM-23 HAWK SAM sites, armor and artillery positions, command nodes and radar installations. By the end of Day One, the EAF claimed to have destroyed 27 Israeli aircraft - and inflicted severe damage on israeli Air Force (IAF) assets in Sinai.

The MIG-21 punches hard in the ground attack role

For their part, the Israelis claimed to have downed at least 10 Egyptian fixed-wing aircraft and a number of helicopters.

On Day Three (8 October) Israel launched unsuccessful attacks on EAF bases at Abu Hammad and Mansourah. The ensuing air battle over Port Said lasted for five days; at the end of it, the Egyptians claimed a further 24 enemy aircraft destroyed, with four IAF aircrew captured after bailing out.

Scrapping for supremacy

The MiG-21’s blistering rate of climb and top speed of Mach 2 made it an excellent high-altitude interceptor, but it could also out-turn and out-accelerate the F-4 Phantom II at low speed/low-altitude, where many of the conflict’s dogfights took place. The Mirage III and the Fishbed were much more evenly matched.

By Day Ten, some estimates put Israeli air losses to date at 14 F-4 Phantom IIs, three Mirage III fighters, four Super Mystères, 29 A-4 Skyhawks and 28 further unidentified aircraft. Many were shot down by AAA fire and Soviet-supplied SAMs, and not in dogfights. Israeli Skyhawk losses in particular were said to be so great that they were withdrawn from deep penetration strikes.

EAF losses were estimated at 49 MiG variants, 12 further unidentified fixed-wing aircraft and 17 helicopters. Nightly Soviet resupply airlifts helped make good some of the Egyptian and other Arab losses, while both Soviet and other Warsaw Pact aircrew covertly flew MiG-21 missions on behalf of their Egyptian allies.

The IAF also had numerous non-Israeli or dual-nationality volunteer aircrew flying for it in combat, while the United States flew similar military resupply missions into Israel on a regular basis.

AIM-9B missiles made life much more dangerous for Arab pilots

Gradually, thanks to superior dogfighting skills, better air-to-air missiles, the rapid U.S. replacement of downed aircraft and an ability to replace aircrew losses with fully-trained pilots that the EAF could not match, the IAF gained the upper hand.

One ace in particular stands out from the war - 101 Squadron IAF’s Colonel Giora ‘Hawkeye’ Epstein. Already an ace with five kills from the Six-Day War and other conflicts, on 18-20 October, Epstein downed two Su-20s, two Su-7s, four MiG-21s and a Mi-8 helicopter in the space of two days. Four days later, Epstein shot down three more MiG-21s in a battle over the Great Bitter Lake, in the process becoming the greatest Israeli air ace of all time. Epstein achieved his victories both in the Dassault Mirage IIICJ, and the Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) Nesher, a locally modified version of the Mirage V.

Attrition tells

No single EAF or Arab pilot matched Epstein’s tally; but three confirmed F-4 Phantom II victories, the shared downing of a Mirage III, and damage to several other enemy aircraft make Captain Kadri el-Hamid the EAF’s most successful pilot.

EAF Captain Ahmed Wafai flying a MiG-21MF claimed one IAF Mirage II on 17 Oct, and two Neshers on 22 October. Syrian Air Force Captain Gallal Edeen Khaddam shot down two Mirage IIIs over the Golan Heights in the space of as many minutes on 10 Oct.

Fighting to the bitter end

Egypt had not avenged the crushing defeats Israel had inflicted during the 1967 Six-Day War. In that conflict, Israeli forces destroyed more than 300 EAF aircraft on the ground in a single day. In the Yom Kippur/October War, which ended with a ceasefire on 25 October, Israel claimed to have shot down a total of 73 EAF MiG-21s, with 65 confirmed.

The EAF reported its MiG-21 squadrons had destroyed 27 IDF aircraft of all types in air-to-air combat, while Israel said that no more than 15 had been lost in this way. Whatever the truth, in just 19 days of battle both sides had suffered substantial losses in aircrew and aircraft, and must have welcomed the ceasefire when it came.

Thank you for your passion and support,

 

Yours sincerely,