No matter how strange this statement looks, but the emergence of the branch of heavy fighters was primarily played by the controversial doctrine of Douai. It was to Mr. Douai that the inhabitants of Soviet, German, Japanese and British cities owe massive bombing, since it was Douai who developed the theory of massive bombing of cities in order to intimidate.
And the armada of bombers demanded protection. For in the mid-30s before the emergence of "super-fortresses", capable of brushing off any fighter, not yet, and the desire of the same Hitler to bring the British to their knees was quite tangible.
But the possibilities for escorting bombers were to put it mildly, not enough. So heavy machines began to appear, capable, Firstly, fly far and hit the enemy not at the expense of maneuver and speed, it's clear here, that lighter single-engine aircraft were superior to their twin-engine counterparts. The calculation was made for that, that in the vacated bow it will be possible to place a strong battery, able to neutralize the advantage of the attackers.
Besides, twin-engine aircraft had a longer range or flight time, and, if the first became not entirely relevant with the course of the war, then the second came in handy, and twin-engined escort fighters were mostly retrained into night fighters.
But that's a completely different story, and we will begin our excursion into the hangar with twin-engine fighters from the beginning of World War II.
1. Messerschmitt Bf-110. Germany
The only thing that can be said about this plane is, that the first is always more difficult. In fact, the 110th became the first of a group of twin-engine fighters with all the consequences that come out of this..
If the predecessor and donor in terms of some nodes, fighter Bf-109, got great advertising in Spain, then with the Bf-110 it was the other way around: everyone heard about him, but nobody saw. Here's a paradox, but the Luftwaffe had absolutely no intention of using a fighter, but planned exclusively for myself.
The 110th received the baptism of fire in the "Battle of Britain". Groups of "hunters" from airfields in France were supposed to accompany bombers, sweeping away everything in their path. So, at least, Goering planned.
The reality turned out to be more sad, basically, how many plans of the Reichsmarshal, burned out with a virtually blue flame. And most of the 110s were destroyed by the more maneuverable Spitfires, although, it is worth noting, that the Hurricane turned out to be a very tough nut to crack for Messerschmitt, although inferior to the German in speed.
As a result, the plane, designed for bomber escort, himself demanded protection from fighters.
After an outright failure in the "Battle of England" 110 was declared an unsuccessful car., unable to cope with the tasks assigned to him.
We agree, that the car was not without flaws, but overall it was a very outstanding aircraft. maybe, even the best in its category. A very mediocre success in 1940 year were mainly due primarily to the, that the Luftwaffe was unable to correctly identify and set tasks for the Bf-110, which under no circumstances could have won superiority in the skies of England in the fight against single-engine fighters of the Royal Air Force.
Then there was Poland. In battles with not the most modern Polish fighters, the 110th proved to be quite normal. However, the Bf-110 proved to be much more luxurious in battles with the British Wellingtons., who have started "reciprocal friendly" visits to Germany. After Poland, Bf-110 fought in Norway, France, in Africa, on the Eastern Front (very limited).
In general, the plane flew off throughout the war., "From call to call". The last 110s were released in March 1945 of the year. true, after 1943 of the year they fought mainly in the air defense forces as a night fighter. But that's a completely different story..
dignity: weaponry, booking, universality
disadvantages: engines (at the first stage), maneuverability, as horizontal, and vertical
2. Bristol Beaufighter I. United Kingdom
This is generally one of the most successful combat aircraft., used by any of the participants in the Second World War. And, not the result of systematic development, but the fruit of improvisation, and very free. Almost jazz.
But this improvisation turned out to be a very versatile machine., who fought, like the Bf-109 throughout the war in all theaters, that could have been invented for a British car, from Britain itself to the islands in the Pacific. The only thing, where "Beaufighters" did not fight, it was the eastern front.
so, I said the word "improvisation". In fact, everything was like this: once upon a time there was a very mediocre Blenheim bomber.
There will be a separate story about him, this poor bomber deserves it, to talk about him. But the car was so so. Very so so. Which led to quite obvious, to try to make at least "something" out of "so-so".
"Something" is a heavy fighter. "Beaufighter" is just a conversion of "Blenheim" into a fighter, using developments on another aircraft - "Beesley". Bristol Bisley is just the first step towards converting a bomber into a fighter, pretty unlucky. So, that "Beasley" was stripped of its name and called "Blenheim" IV.
Where did Beaufort come from then?? It's simple. Beaufort is Blenheim, which was collected under license in Australia. But since the Australian-assembled planes were the first to go into the alteration, i.e, Beaufort, hence the name: Beaufort-fighter, "Beaufort Fighter". Bofeter.
What did the British do to, to get "the same" from "so-so"? clear, that the bombs were removed. Then they removed the fuel, which moved bombs. Then they removed two shooters, for the fighter. In fact - minus a ton.
The crew consisted of two people. The first one is understandable, pilot, but the second ... The second crew member had to combine several functions, namely the radio operator, navigator, observer and loader!
The main weapons of the Beaufighter were 4 cannon "Hispano-Suiza" with drum power! Well, the British did not have others at that time!
And this second crew member in battle had to open a special hatch, stick into the nose of the plane and there, reload cannons in smoke and powder gases! Manually!
by the way, in the same compartment housed more 4 machine gun caliber 7.7 mm, which definitely made the task aerobatics with a touch of masochism. But when these tough British guys care about such little things?
But how could it be from the heart to jump out of eight trunks ...
by the way, it suddenly turned out, that Beaufighter flies much better, than "Beaufort" and "Blenheim"! It turned out to be much more agile, which is not surprising, with such weight distribution and weight reduction.
Then an additional bonus turned out to be, that it is quite normal to stuff the AI Mk IV radar into the empty case in the middle of the Beaufighter, which was done. And "Beaufighter" became a night fighter long before many classmates. true, this radar was, to put it mildly, damp and rather weak in terms of power, so the main victories "Beaufighters" made without him. but the fact, Britain in 1940 I had a night fighter with a radar.
Generally, Beaufighter spent the entire war like this, as it was created, i.e, not quite clear, but fun. Fought with German and Japanese bombers, could also buy a German fighter. The Japanese took agility, but here they were generally out of competition throughout the war. Stormed barges and boats, drove Japanese tanks and infantry in Burma, Thailand, Indonesia.
In general - as it is, war air worker. Multifunctional and simple, like a drum.
dignity: weaponry, range, maneuverability
disadvantages: speed, the complexity of the design.
3. Lockheed P-38D Lightning. USA
Salute! The plane is remarkable and already remarkable, that Antoine de Saint-Exupery flew and died on it, best of flying writers and guys, who sent Admiral Yamamoto to that world. Well, and Richard Ira Bong and Thomas McGuire, two of the most productive fighter pilots in the history of American military aviation (40 and 38 wins).
Lightning, undoubtedly, claims to be one of the best fighting vehicles of World War II. It is very difficult to evaluate and compare, but the car was close to perfection. A lot of technical innovations were implemented in the design of the R-38..
With the combat component it was like this: in Europe and North Africa "Lightning" did not shine at all. Furthermore, Considering, that the Americans, unlike the Soviet pilots, never went in four to twenty, the losses were quite impressive. On declared 2500 downed German and Italian aircraft, the pilots of the P-38 lost about 1800 own. Considering the obligatory postscripts, they could have diverged one to one.
But on the Pacific Ocean the plane "entered". And how! The twin-engined R-38 was not that fast, like single-engine aircraft and the same maneuverable. Furthermore, with maneuverability in some modes in general, the trouble was, which could end in the failure of the tail.
But it was the Lightning with its design that simultaneously provided high firepower, long range and safety of long-distance raids over the sea due to the twin-engine scheme.
The P-38 was still used as a multifunctional aircraft.: fighter-interceptor, escort fighter, fighter-bomber, scout, aircraft leader. There were generally unique upgrades, eg, a smokescreen aircraft for ships or a medical evacuator for the wounded in overhead containers.
P-38 was the only aircraft, produced in the USA throughout the war. It says a lot..
dignity: weaponry, speed, easy operation, vitality
disadvantages: unstable at high speeds, lack of protection for the rear hemisphere.
4. I HAVE Ro.57. Italy
Mussolini, realizing their ambitious plans, demanded that aircraft manufacturers create a heavy fighter to escort bombers. Besides, the aircraft was supposed to be used as an interceptor and patrolling fighter, what single-engine fighters were clearly not suitable for in terms of fuel supply.
As a result, the hero of our short story appeared: I HAVE Ro.57.
To tell, that the plane was outstanding, in general it is impossible. but, like all Italian aircraft of that time, it had very decent aerodynamics and controllability. engines, which were installed on the plane, were not able to give the fighter an outstanding speed. Weapons pumped up a lot, which consisted of only two 12.7 mm machine guns, installed in the forward fuselage.
In general, the plane turned out to be "on the fly". Especially in terms of weapons. Compared to classmates, then IMAM Ro.57 was the weakest in this respect in its class. Despite this, Regia Aeronautica was not going to abandon this project and offered IMAM to modify the aircraft.
As a result, 1941 year a modified version of IMAM Ro.57bis was created, equipped with two 20mm cannons and brake grilles, which gave the plane the ability to drop dive bombs. Unfortunately, the power plant remains the same (two Fiat A.74 RC.38, power 840 HP. each), which led to a further decrease in flight performance.
This had serious consequences for the fate of the plane.: initial order for 200 Ro.57 aircraft was revised downward to 90 aircraft. planned, that the release of Ro.57 will be 50-60 machines, but it was already clear, that this plane is no longer needed: at 1939 year it was still a good interceptor with weak weapons (Two 12.7 mm machine gun), four years later (from prototype to serial production) it was already an outdated vehicle, even with armament reinforced to two 20-mm cannons.
The plane took part in hostilities, but because of the frankly weak weapons did not show any results. As a result of the fighting, only four Ro.57s survived until Italy's surrender.
dignity: maneuverability
disadvantages: weaponry, which did not allow the car to become a real fighter
5. Move 630. France
The French did not stay away from the development of twin-engine fighters, and, basically, walked almost parallel with the Germans. The French military department conceived in 1934 to develop a multifunctional aircraft, who could be used as a fighter leader, from which radio would lead a group of fighters in battle, day fighter attack aircraft, also capable of escorting bombers, and a night fighter.
The first car was planned for three, second and third - double. In general, the very idea of such a flying command post was fresh and quite interesting., especially given the fact, that radars in those years were only under development and testing.
The main requirements for the aircraft were high (more 4 hours) flight duration and maneuverability, comparable to single-engine aircraft. Hence the very sharp limitation on the mass (to 3,5 tonnes) and a rather small selection of motors.
Technologically, a very remarkable and simple plane turned out. The production of one such fighter took only 7500 man hours. This is almost as much, how much Dewoitine D.520 demanded and almost half the amount, than the outdated Moran-Saulnier MS.406.
With regards to fighting. Like all French planes, "Pote 630" fought on all sides of the world simultaneously.
French Air Force aircraft were used in the Battle of France from May to June 1940 of the year. In January 1941 they were also used against the Thai troops in Cambodia. In November 1942 years aircraft, those belonging to the Vichy government at that time fought with British and American planes when the allies landed on the coast of North Africa, while planes, belonging to the French Air Force in the African colonies, were used against aircraft of Germany and Italy.
How the Pote 630 fought. Complicated. In general, a light and maneuverable aircraft with a really long flight time was terribly slow and practically unarmed.. At the time of its collapse, France was unable to resolve issues related to the production of Hispano-Suiza air cannons in the proper volume, therefore the bulk of the "Pote-630" was produced in the reconnaissance version, with three machine guns 7.62 mm machine guns.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery fought on this for a while. And positive reviews in the book "Military Pilot", honestly, Little.
Although sometimes it even turned out to shoot down enemy aircraft, that with the help of not very good MAC.34 machine guns was already a feat.
But the idea of flying command posts was still implemented, and 630s in some way replaced modern AWACS aircraft, only in the optical range, through the eyes of an observer-dispatcher. Since the R.630 and R.631 in flight duration were significantly superior to single-engine fighters, it turned out to be used in full.
Sometimes flying command posts tried to attack on their own. And even managed to shoot down German planes, but that was rare.
By and large,, except for reconnaissance missions and artillery fire adjustments, Pote 630 didn't make a big contribution. Too slow and too weak. Besides, there was another unpleasant moment: the French plane, by the will of fate, was very similar visually to the German Bf 110C. Therefore, the crews of French fighters and scouts fell from their, probably, more often, than from the Germans. They were also shot from the ground, and from fighters, like french, and English.
There was an attempt to improve the desperate armament situation, and a modification of the "Pote R.631" appeared, on which the machine guns were replaced by 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannons with ammunition 90 shells on the barrel. The troops received a little more 200 such aircraft and any significant impact on the situation in general, they could not have.
Here, in fairness, it is worth noting, that the plane is not to blame, how much a mess in the crumbling army of France.
dignity: simplicity of design, excellent maneuverability, flight duration
disadvantages: speed, weaponry.
6. Petlyakov Pe-3. the USSR
Probably, not worth reminding, what is "weaving", the prototype Pe-2 and Pe-3 were designed specifically as a high-altitude fighter. So the situation ordered, that the fighter was temporarily put aside, and a dive bomber converted from it went into production.
With the aim of maximum unification with the serially built Pe-2, it was decided to change only the very minimum of components and assemblies. Only a pressurized cabin and engine nacelles for M-105R engines with turbochargers had to be redesigned.. And the high-altitude fighter was ready.
Offensive weapons were placed on the site of the former bomb bay: two ShVAK cannons and two ShKAS machine guns in a single battery. Defensive weapons were completely taken from the Pe-2, i.e, 12,7-mm machine gun BT for the upper hemisphere and ShKAS for the lower.
Besides, many cars were produced as a night fighter, with two spotlights in underwing drop-shaped containers. Confirmation of effective actions Pe-2, equipped with spotlights, could not be found in German documents. However, according to the testimony of our pilots, often the Germans preferred not to seek adventure, getting caught in the beams of floodlights on planes and leaving, dropping bombs anywhere.
Its main role as Pe-3, perhaps, played in the defense of Moscow as a night fighter. German bombers went to Moscow without fighter cover. In these conditions, a fighter with a long flight duration was very useful., strong volley and good visibility, allowing to detect enemy aircraft.
It is worth recalling, that everything was very sad with radars.
but, if we compare the technical data of the Pe-3 with the characteristics of the German fighter Bf.110C, which is similar in design and purpose, with the DB601A engines, then everything seems to be not so rosy.
At almost the same distance, flight speed at ground (445 kmh) and time of climb 5000 m (8,5-9 min), Messerschmitt was on 1350 kg lighter and had a better maneuverability in the horizontal plane (he pivot at height 1000 M 30 from, and Pe-3 - for 34-35 from).
The armament of the 110th was also stronger.: four 7.92-mm machine guns and two 20-mm MG / FF cannons against one 20-mm cannon and two 12.7-mm machine guns on our plane. This configuration provided the Messerschmitt with a mass of a second salvo about one and a half times greater, than the Pe-3.
Pe-3 was slightly faster, but only until that moment, how the Bf.110E with the more powerful DB601E engines began to enter service with the Luftwaffe, and then the German began to dominate.
Many Pe-3s fought as air scouts. The aircraft were armed with aerial cameras AFA-1 or AFA-B and were part of long-range reconnaissance regiments (BEIGE). There were five such regiments in the Red Army Air Force.
In addition to working as a night fighter and scout, Pe-3s as part of various regiments were engaged in searches and attacks of enemy submarines, assault strikes, aircraft leading, applying for Lend-Lease through Alaska
A separate squadron of Pe-3 interceptors operated at Stalingrad with the Gneiss-2 radars installed on them. Aircraft crews carried out detection and aiming at enemy transport aircraft of the main fighter forces.
Many Pe-3s ended their service with the Northern Fleet Air Force, where they covered the actions of mastheads and torpedo bombers.
By late summer, 1944 years in all parts of the Red Army Air Force remained on the move no more 30 copies of Pe-3 different versions. Basically, planes were used for visual and photographic reconnaissance.
dignity: ease of production, reliability, range of
disadvantages: weak motors, speed, maneuverability.
What can be said in the end? Despite, that the twin-engine fighter as such did not take place as a class, Nevertheless, cars became the founders of another class: multipurpose universal strike aircraft. And despite the fact, that after the end of World War II, twin-engine fighters left the arena, their incarnations work in the sky to this day.
by the way, some may be surprised by the absence of Japanese fighters here. Everything is good, the Japanese understood the benefits of these aircraft later than anyone else, and they began to appear towards the end of the war. But these were very decent cars., so to them, same, as well as to other twin-engine fighters of the second half of that war, we will definitely come back.
/Roman Skomorokhov, topwar.ru/
