Book - Red Star against the Swastika

[pilotpierre]

By Vasily B Emelianenko an Il2 pilot, its his (actual) story. Well worth a read.

 

It was interesting to read they (each pilot) did numerous sorties in one day attacking several bridges, pontoon bridges and even an underwater bridge. They then concentrated on the vehicles sitting on the river banks waiting for their turn to cross.

 

Bridges are targets sorely missing from the campaigns and would make a nice change.

 

W.r.t the campaigns - once they are completed and aquiring points is no longer required to unlock skins, they are much more enjoyable as you are free to pick your own targets or enemy a/c en route. It becomes irrelevant if you dont take out the mandatory targets and the mission is not a success, you can just concentrate on getting home in one piece. The success is you getting back or force landing on your own side of the lines.

 

I'm really looking forward to when Pat includes Moscow in PWCG though.

Edited June 4, 2016 by pilotpierre

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

It seems like someone forgot to add bridges as targets for everyone. The one time I tried the He-111 I was supposed to bomb a bridge, but in multiple VVS ground attack missions in both Stalingrad and Moscow I only get airfields, convoys, railway stations and artillery.

[Juri_JS]

Attacks on river crossings by Sturmoviks were very common. There were some units specially trained for these kind of missions.

If you like to play such a mission, there is one in my "Sturmoviks over Stalingrad" mission pack.

[pilotpierre]

Thanks Juri, I have in fact played your mission pack.

 

However, this type of mission would make a good addition to the limited no. of scenerios in the campaigns.

[Elem]

Yes, a great book, along with 'Over Fields of Fire'. Vasily B Emelianenko and Anna Timofeeva knew each other quite well. I have had many destroy the bridge missions but only for high alt bombing with Pe-2 or Ju-88. It would be nice to have pontoon type bridge attack missions, with AAA defence and truck and tank convoys crossing.

[curiousGamblerr]

Great book!

 

Read it a while ago, but I believe he flew with the famous Zub at least once, the same Zub who has a stock skin for the Il-2 1942.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Still need to read it. I found this wonderful interview with him though, use Google Translate if needed: http://iremember.ru/memoirs/letchiki-shturmoviki/emelyanenko-vasiliy-borisovich/

[seafireliv]

Wow, yea, there are no bridge attack missions. Probabaly an oversight. Inform the DEVs,at least they may do something about it if made aware.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Pierre's done it already

 

They are there but only for level bombers, which doesn't make much sense.

[Sokol1]

Slight OT, but:

 

 

 

W.r.t the campaigns - once they are completed and aquiring points is no longer required to unlock skins,

they are much more enjoyable as you are free to pick your own targets or enemy a/c en route. 

 

 

I play BoS campaign - to unlock weapons - in that way, pick only the missions that I want to fly, refusing (canceling) dumb ones (e.g. level bomb 4 artillery pieces from 3000m, at 23:00).

Is not needed follow the generated sequence to get points/XP/unlocks.

Edited June 4, 2016 by Sokol1

[LukeFF]

Yep, I have this book as well on my shelf, and it's going to be the next book I read after I finish with my current one.

[Trooper117]

By Vasily B Emelianenko an Il2 pilot, its his (actual) story. Well worth a read.

 

It was interesting to read they (each pilot) did numerous sorties in one day attacking several bridges, pontoon bridges and even an underwater bridge. They then concentrated on the vehicles sitting on the river banks waiting for their turn to cross.

 

Bridges are targets sorely missing from the campaigns and would make a nice change.

 

W.r.t the campaigns - once they are completed and aquiring points is no longer required to unlock skins, they are much more enjoyable as you are free to pick your own targets or enemy a/c en route. It becomes irrelevant if you dont take out the mandatory targets and the mission is not a success, you can just concentrate on getting home in one piece. The success is you getting back or force landing on your own side of the lines.

 

I'm really looking forward to when Pat includes Moscow in PWCG though.

 

I've had the book for some time.... I've mentioned it in previous threads. It's a great insight into flying and fighting in the IL2 from Barbarossa and throughout the war. I've read it three times now.

I'd urge anyone who likes the IL2 to buy it, it's a must have.

[[CPT]Pike*HarryM]

On Kindle so I bought it, thanks for the heads up. 

[SvAF/F19_Klunk]

It's a great read... Wrote a review way back together with a few other books

 

 

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/1407-books-tips-reviews/

[A_radek]

Picked it up in scale model hobby shop when on vacation in Krakow/Poland.

Great read, breathtaking actually. While reading his amazing stories I realized chances of him surviving all these situations must have been 1 in a hundred million.
After reading it, this shameful thought struck me.. is this all really true? Or was the book somehow action:ified for a better read? Either way I thought it would depict the miserable life on the eastern front from a pilots perspective, and it did. But never expected the book to be so captivating and enthralling.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

The Soviet pilots are excellent storytellers for sure

 

All you read there is true - the situations were indeed dire and the odds were terrible for both sides. One of the most poignant scenes from Soviet memoirs to me is this one told by Pokryshkin in the summer of 1941. While flying a reconnaissance mission in his MiG-3, he flew over a large city in Ukraine (the name escapes me now unfortunately), and turned a waypoint. Life was still quiet there, people were going to work, the stores were open, the schools were full - people felt the war was far, far away. A few minutes later he saw endless German convoys and tank columns rolling by the fields a few kilometres away, much closer than they were supposed to be by previous reports. Then the desperation set - he flew back, through the same city, and looked down. The city was still alive as if nothing was happening, and the tanks were closing in with every minute. He had no radio, there was nothing he could do. In hours or less, that city would be swallowed whole by the enemy and the citizens would be left to their own fates, since they did not know they needed to evacuate already. He flew back in a hurry, but for those Soviet civilians on the ground there was not much that could be done.

 

Another story from the 19th Guards, for example. They ordered Pavel Kutakhov to visit another regiment and share his expertise. Off he goes, takes off, lands and when he gets off his Airacobra the other pilots are there already. An officer from the new regiment did the introductions. As told by Gaidaenko:

 

And the officer goes: "So, the local squadron commander Kutakhov will tell you how to engage in the battles in this area." A few whispers were heard saying "what, you think we don't know ourselves how to fight?" Kutakhov picked that up and went "ah, yeah? Then go f--- yourselves!" He turned around, put on the helmet, sat into the aircraft and flew back. Two days later there was nothing left of that regiment. They took them down left and right. The guys who were left from that regiment were then sent to ours, already without any aircraft left.

[A_radek]

Astonishing stories.

 

Can you recommend any read that would give some insight on how they used or valued/disliked the airacobra? Something about this aircraft has always caught my attention. Would very much like to know in detail what eastern front pilots had to say.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Which languages do you know? Some of the best material isn't readily available in English but you can find it in other languages.

 

That being said, Red Star Airacobra (Mariinskiy, 129 GIAP) is readily available in English and it's a very candid if short read into the Airacobra and the realities of the war from 1943 to 1945. The author is a very skilled editor above all, and takes the time to explain these little details of life in the front or cultural references that wouldn't be understood outside of the Soviet Union, which others take for granted. I can send you a link to it if you want, just shoot me a PM

 

People talk highly of Attack of the Airacobras as well, which focuses on its employment by 9 GIAD (formerly 216 IAD/216 SAD, the most successful fighter division of the Soviet Air Force, and where the 16, 100 and 104 GIAP flew after receiving the Airacobra) and is based on interviews and memoirs by pilots and ground personnel involved. I haven't read it just yet, but it's worth a go.

 

EDIT: It's worth noting that the P-39 was actually the highest-scoring American aircraft type of the war in terms of individual kills.

Edited June 13, 2016 by 55IAP_Lucas_From_Hell

[707shap_Srbin]

People talk highly of Attack of the Airacobras as well, which focuses on its employment by 9 GIAD (formerly 216 IAD/216 SAD, the most successful fighter division of the Soviet Air Force, and where the 16, 100 and 104 GIAP flew after receiving the Airacobra) and is based on interviews and memoirs by pilots and ground personnel involved. I haven't read it just yet, but it's worth a go.

 

[LukeFF]

soviet fighers score.jpg

 

Yes...? What exactly are we looking at, here?

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

The regiments of 9 GIAD which flew the P-39 1943-1945. First column says shot down in the air, second says destroyed as a whole, last says number of combat missions.

[707shap_Srbin]

Yes...? What exactly are we looking at, here?

Its a rating list for Soviet fighter regiments. 

16 giap, 100 giap and 104 giap are from 16 giad.

[707shap_Srbin]

Top-30 of Soviet fighter regiments, and types of aircrafts on equipments.

 

Note a number of lend-lease equipped regiments among top-30 compare to USSR built fighters.