Page 92 - The Chief Culprit

About “Obsolete” Airplanes y 69

Stalin had a dive-bomber, the Pe-2. Hitler had good airplanes, but the Pe-2 surpassed
any of them, in all the major characteristics. For example, the Pe-2 had a top speed of 75
km/h more than the best German bomber, the Ju-88, and 100 km/h more than the He-111.
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Prior to June 22, 1941, 490 Pe-2 planes had been produced, more than all the Ju-88s posi-
tioned on the entire Soviet-German front.
Stalin had three types of new fighters—the MiG-3, the LaGG-3, and the Yak-1. Each
of them was equal or superior to the best German models. For example, the MiG-3 had a
speed of 628 km/h at an altitude of 7,000 meters. Hitler had nothing similar in 1941. On
June 22, 1941, Hitler had 1,129 fighters of all types on the Soviet-German front. Stalin had
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1,309 of the newest MiG-3 model fighters alone. On top of this, Stalin also had 399 of the
newest Yak-1 models and 322 LaGG-3s. 6
Germany mastered the following air forces for the purpose of waging war against the
USSR: 3,520 war planes of all kinds (bombers, fighters, reconnaissance, transport, and com-
munications aircraft), plus 307 Finnish planes, 393 Romanian, 48 Hungarian—a total of
4,268 planes. e total number of aircraft available to Germany on June 1, 1941, was 6,852,
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including 823 reconnaissance planes, 2,017 single-engine fighters, 232 double-engine fight-
ers, 2,141 bombers, 501 dive-bombers, 719 transport planes, 133 communications planes,
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and 286 planes belonging to the Navy. But Germany was simultaneously fighting on many
fronts, from the North Atlantic to the Egyptian border. Against Stalin, Hitler could only
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send 2,510 airplanes, including the Hs-123, which had a speed of only 338 km/h, and as-
sorted types of aircraft used for transport, communications, and medical purposes.
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Stalin had 2,769 of the newest models Il-2, Pe-2, MiG-3, Yak-1, and LaGG-3. But that
was not all: Stalin did not just have five new types of planes, he had twelve. He also had the
Ar-2, Er-2, Su-2, Pe-8, Yak-2, Yak-4, and Il-4. e Er-2 bomber had a range of 4,000 km.
Hitler did not have such a bomber until the very end of the war. e Soviet bomber DB-3f
(Il-4), released in 1940, had a range of 3,300 km with M-88 motors and a normal bomb
cargo, while the Il-4, released in 1941 and equipped with M-88B motors, had a range of
3,380 km. Hitler did not have this kind of aircraft either. On September 7, 1936, Ilyushin’s
DB-3 bomber raised 2,000 kg to an altitude of 11,005 meters. is record (among others)
was officially registered by the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) and remained a
record throughout the entire war. Not a single dual-engine airplane in the world could repeat
this performance. is record was beaten only after the war, in 1946, and not by the B-17
“Flying Fortress” but by the four-engine “Super Fortress,” the B-29. How many bombers did
Stalin have? e DB-3fs alone, on June 22, 1941, numbered 1,846. is is more than the
number of all types of bombers used by Hitler to attack the Soviet Union. In other words,
Stalin had more of the newest planes than Hitler had new and old ones combined.
Of course, Stalin had obsolete planes as well. Aside from the twelve newest models,
Stalin also had the TB-3 and SB bombers, and the I-16 and I-153 fighters. ere is some-
thing to be said for these airplanes. Stalin had 541 four-engine TB-3 bombers. Historian
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V. B. Shavrov said: “ is airplane of A. N. Tupolev’s design belongs to [the] category of the
most remarkable planes not just of their own time period. It was the first four-motor cantile-
ver monoplane bomber with engines that were installed inside the wings. Its design became
a prototype for all similar airplanes and planes of various designations.” e TB-3 became
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part of the inventory in 1932. It was produced in series until 1938. In total, 819 airplanes of
this type were built. Its crew had eight members. It had four motors. e range of its flight,