Attack of the Airacobras: Soviet Aces, American P-39s, and the Air War Against Germany

by Dmitriy Loza, James F. Gebhardt (Translator)

Overview

During its titanic military struggle with Germany, the Soviet Union received a major boost with the arrival and deployment of nearly 5,000 Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter planes-courtesy of America's Lend-Lease program. The impact was dramatic, as the Soviets quickly adapted the planes into a devastatingly lethal force. Dmitriy Loza's account, admirably translated and edited by James Gebhardt, vividly re-creates the battle campaigns of this odd coupling of capitalist planes and Marxist pilots and shines a bright light on a little known part of the air war on the Eastern Front.

The P-39 proved to be the right plane at the right time for a beleaguered Red Air Force. Built for short range and relatively low altitudes, the P-39 was equipped with a powerful engine and weapons that enabled it to outduel and eventually dominate the Luftwaffe from the Caucusus foothills to Berlin.

Focusing on the combat operations and daily life of one unit—the 9th Guards Fighter Division—Loza refutes the myth that the P-39 was used mainly as a "tank buster" or "flying artillery." Instead, its primary mission was to protect Red Army operations from aerial attacks by the enemy. So despite the occasional strafing of trains, truck convoys, and troops, most P-39 operations involved attacks on Luftwaffe bombers and dogfights with their fighter escorts.

Center stage in Loza's story are the P-39 pilots and ground crews themselves, including remarkable Captain Aleksandr Pokryshkin and Major Gregoriy Rechkalov, two of the Soviets' top four aces. In addition, Loza details the organization and operations of the unit's noncombat personnel—who refueled and maintained the aircraft, cleaned and reloaded the guns, packed the parachutes, treated the wounded, guarded the airfields, and commanded the squadrons and regiments.

Based on interviews with Soviet veterans and extensive access to squadron histories and logbooks, Loza provides a rare and insightful look at what it was like to live and fight in this victorious air unit.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700616541
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	01/31/2002
Series:	Modern War Studies
Pages:	386
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Dmitriy Loza, a retired and much-decorated Soviet Army colonel, commanded a Sherman-equipped tank battalion in World War II.

James F. Gebhardt, a twenty-year veteran of the U.S. Army, has translated two other works by Loza, Commanding the Red Army's Sherman Tanks and Fighting for the Soviet Motherland.

Von Hardesty is curator and staff historian at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and the author of Red Phoenix.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Prologue

Part One

August 1942-May 1943

-Transition Training

-The Skies of the Kuban

-On the Left Wing of the Soviet-German Front

-First Air Battles

-The New Methods Win Out

-The Sky Was Ablaza

-Wild Vadim

-Pass the Experience Along

-Combat Successes and Losses

-First Priority—the Aircraft

-Logistical Support

-Command and Control of Fighters

-Navigational Support

Part Two

August-December 1943

-A Wingman’s Feat

-You Won’t Get Away

-Over the Molochnaya River

-Covering and Amphibious Landing

-A Costly Mistake

-Adjusting Artillery Fire

-More Battles

-Free Hunting

-Over the Perekop

-Relocation to New Airfields

-The Airfield—the Aviators’ Home

-Documents Tell the Story

Part Three

May 1944-May 1945

-Three Years Later

-He Flared Like a Comet

-The Chase

-Look, See, Find

-At the Western Border

-A Gift from the Bell Factory

-Flights from the Autobahn

-Mistletoe

-The Airacobra as Shturmovik

-The Last Combat Sorties

Appendix A: Order of the People’s Commisar of Defense

Appendix B: Soviet Aces Who Flew the P-39 Airacobra

Appendix C: Lineage of 216th (9th Guards) Fighter Division

Notes

Index

Editorial Reviews

"An important book for air power and World War II history as it covers two topics long neglected by English speaking writers and readers. The first is the aircraft, the Bell P-39. . . . The second area of neglect is the air war on the eastern front viewed from the Soviet perspective. . . . This is a splendid book that deals with both of these subjects in detail and with skill. . . . It is a major addition to air power and World War II history and is highly recommended."—Journal of Military History

“During its titanic military struggle with Germany, the Soviet Union received a major boost with the arrival and deployment of nearly 5,000 Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters—courtesy of America’s Lend-Lease program. The impact was dramatic as the Soviets quickly adapted the planes into a devastatingly lethal force. Loza vividly re-creates the battle campaigns of this odd coupling of capitalist planes and Marxist pilots and allows access to a little-known part of the air war on the Eastern Front. . . . Based on interviews with Soviet veterans and extensive access to squadron histories and log books, this account provides a rare and insightful look at what it was like to live and fight in this victorious air unit.”—Air Classics

“Superb anecdotes abound.”—Air & Space

“If you like vigorous and heroic air combat, you’ll love this book.”—Virginia Quarterly Review

"An extraordinarily accurate and vivid account—superbly translated by James Gebhardt—of the combat experiences and everyday lives of Red Army fighter pilots who flew American planes during the Great Patriotic War. It deserves a wide readership."—David M. Glantz, coauthor of The Battle of Kursk

"Loza’s fascinating and insightful book shows that the seemingly obsolete P-39 aircraft did much more than ‘tank busting’ on the Eastern Front. Providing a rare insider’s look at Russian air operations, it’s a welcome addition to the history of the air war in World War II."—Von Hardesty, author of Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power, 1941–1945

From the Publisher

Provides a rare and insightful look at what it was like to live and fight in this victorious air unit.

Air Classics

Superb anecdotes abound.

Air & Space

If you like vigorous and heroic air combat, you'll love this book.

Virginia Quarterly Review