No one in Russia was ready for war when it came in June 1941, least of all the unwieldy air force.
Stalin boasted of a large body of planes. But like the sizeable French air force of 1940, the Red Air Force was ineffectively used and no match for the skill and experience of the Luftwaffe. Its sole four-engined bomber at the outset of the war was the TB-3, slow, underpowered and inadequately armed. It had ten squadrons of MiG, Yak and Lagg fighters. Yet these were far inferior to the Messerschmitts so elegantly handled by German pilots.
In addition, the Russians were partway through a modernisation plan in which their outdated planes would be replaced by more competitive models. The Russian air force, like all branches of the establishment, had suffered its fair share of losses in the purges which Stalin organised to rid himself of potential opponents.
The pilots of the Red Air Force were trained to support the troops on the ground rather than enter into combat with other aircraft. Many ended up frantically helping to evacuate Russian industry to the east, to save it from falling into German hands - reducing the aircraft available for other duties still further. Indeed, its fighter arm had never been put to the test. The summer and autumn of 1941 brought a succession of disasters for the Red Air Force.
Still being punished by the Germans at home, the RAF neverthe-
Above: Britain provided Hurricanes and know-how to the Russian air force, following the German invasion.
Less found the resources to send several squadrons of Hurricanes to the aid of the Russians.
It was Churchill’s wish that as much aid should be devoted to the beleaguered and reluctant new ally as possible - despite the fact he was a
The summer and autumn of 1941 brought a succession of disasters for the Red Air Force
Lifelong critic of communism. In a broadcast shortly after Hitler’s ‘Operation Barbarossa’, he explained how the hatred of fascism remained uppermost m his emotions.
Left: Much of Russia's air power was devoted to shipping Industry east.
Far left: The TB-7 bomber that brought Russian minister Molotov to Britain.
‘The Nazi regime is indistinguishable from the worst features of Communism. It is devoid of all theme and principle except appetite and racial domination. It excels all forms of human wickedness in the efficiency of its cruelty and ferocious aggression. No one has been a more consistent opponent of Communism that I have for the last 2.5 years. I will unsay no word that I have spoken about it.
‘But all this fades away before the spectacle which is now unfolding. The past, with its crimes, its follies and its tragedies, flashes away. I see the Russian soldiers standing on the threshold of their native land, guarding the fields which their fathers have tilled from time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes where mothers and wives pray. . .
World History
