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Air Battles over the Baltic 1941: The Air War on 22 June 1941 - The Battle for Stalin's Baltic Region
"...will serve as a valuable reference for any enthusiast with a serious interest in the lead up and opening rounds of what would become a clash of giants." — Classic Wings

This unique work is the first in a series of publications dedicated to the condition of the air forces of the Red Army prior to the Nazi invasion of 22 June 1941.

The author describes in detail the composition and the capabilities of the Soviet aviation alignment in the Baltic Special Military District, as well as the training of flight crews and technical personnel; the number and quality of the materiel; the condition of the logistics structures, as well as the operational and tactical plans of both Soviet and German Command; and their reconnaissance operations.

By using data from Soviet and German archive documents, a chronology is recreated (along with the details) of the air battles in the skies over the Baltic region on the first day of the Great Patriotic War.

The photographs, as well as biographies, are presented of all the commanders of the divisions, regiments and of the command headquarters of the Baltic Special Military District.

More than 300 unique photographs of Soviet and German aircraft are presented (together with those of their pilots) from the Soviet and German Archives, as well as from private collections. The camouflage, markings and insignia of aircraft that participated in the air battle are recreated, and maps illustrating the bases belonging to the two warring sides (both original and those recreated from archive documents) are presented.

In Soviet historiography, these events have been afforded insufficient attention and, in fact, right up until 1991, not one serious work on this topic had been published. Actually, the first large-scale research undertaken following the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s was conducted by D.B. Khazanov. In his monographs, the events of the first few days of the war are finally researched using an enormous amount of non-fiction literature (including foreign literature), as well as the relatively small amount of archive documents that had been published up until that time; however, owing to the fact that access to archive documents in that period was still very restricted, there were a great number of incidents that went undisclosed in these works and, as a whole, the course of events was examined in general terms (although overall, it was very objective).

Unfortunately, the lack of historiography has enabled some opportunistic authors in recent years to publish several works of pseudo-research, in which disreputable attempts have been made to misrepresent the achievements of the pilots and commanders of the air forces of the Red Army - thus the publication of objective research (based on archive documents) is long overdue; however, it is only in the last few years - with the large-scale declassification of the archives and the new opportunities in document processing - that conducting work of this scale has proved possible. Naturally, this publication does not lay claim to a 100 percent disclosure of this topic, but despite the shortcomings inherent in similar works, it does enable history enthusiasts to follow stage by stage the condition of the Red Army Air Force; their preparations to counter aggression on the part of fascist Germany; and the battle in the air on the first day of the Great Patriotic War.
1125854192
Air Battles over the Baltic 1941: The Air War on 22 June 1941 - The Battle for Stalin's Baltic Region
"...will serve as a valuable reference for any enthusiast with a serious interest in the lead up and opening rounds of what would become a clash of giants." — Classic Wings

This unique work is the first in a series of publications dedicated to the condition of the air forces of the Red Army prior to the Nazi invasion of 22 June 1941.

The author describes in detail the composition and the capabilities of the Soviet aviation alignment in the Baltic Special Military District, as well as the training of flight crews and technical personnel; the number and quality of the materiel; the condition of the logistics structures, as well as the operational and tactical plans of both Soviet and German Command; and their reconnaissance operations.

By using data from Soviet and German archive documents, a chronology is recreated (along with the details) of the air battles in the skies over the Baltic region on the first day of the Great Patriotic War.

The photographs, as well as biographies, are presented of all the commanders of the divisions, regiments and of the command headquarters of the Baltic Special Military District.

More than 300 unique photographs of Soviet and German aircraft are presented (together with those of their pilots) from the Soviet and German Archives, as well as from private collections. The camouflage, markings and insignia of aircraft that participated in the air battle are recreated, and maps illustrating the bases belonging to the two warring sides (both original and those recreated from archive documents) are presented.

In Soviet historiography, these events have been afforded insufficient attention and, in fact, right up until 1991, not one serious work on this topic had been published. Actually, the first large-scale research undertaken following the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s was conducted by D.B. Khazanov. In his monographs, the events of the first few days of the war are finally researched using an enormous amount of non-fiction literature (including foreign literature), as well as the relatively small amount of archive documents that had been published up until that time; however, owing to the fact that access to archive documents in that period was still very restricted, there were a great number of incidents that went undisclosed in these works and, as a whole, the course of events was examined in general terms (although overall, it was very objective).

Unfortunately, the lack of historiography has enabled some opportunistic authors in recent years to publish several works of pseudo-research, in which disreputable attempts have been made to misrepresent the achievements of the pilots and commanders of the air forces of the Red Army - thus the publication of objective research (based on archive documents) is long overdue; however, it is only in the last few years - with the large-scale declassification of the archives and the new opportunities in document processing - that conducting work of this scale has proved possible. Naturally, this publication does not lay claim to a 100 percent disclosure of this topic, but despite the shortcomings inherent in similar works, it does enable history enthusiasts to follow stage by stage the condition of the Red Army Air Force; their preparations to counter aggression on the part of fascist Germany; and the battle in the air on the first day of the Great Patriotic War.
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Air Battles over the Baltic 1941: The Air War on 22 June 1941 - The Battle for Stalin's Baltic Region

Air Battles over the Baltic 1941: The Air War on 22 June 1941 - The Battle for Stalin's Baltic Region

Air Battles over the Baltic 1941: The Air War on 22 June 1941 - The Battle for Stalin's Baltic Region

Air Battles over the Baltic 1941: The Air War on 22 June 1941 - The Battle for Stalin's Baltic Region

Overview

"...will serve as a valuable reference for any enthusiast with a serious interest in the lead up and opening rounds of what would become a clash of giants." — Classic Wings

This unique work is the first in a series of publications dedicated to the condition of the air forces of the Red Army prior to the Nazi invasion of 22 June 1941.

The author describes in detail the composition and the capabilities of the Soviet aviation alignment in the Baltic Special Military District, as well as the training of flight crews and technical personnel; the number and quality of the materiel; the condition of the logistics structures, as well as the operational and tactical plans of both Soviet and German Command; and their reconnaissance operations.

By using data from Soviet and German archive documents, a chronology is recreated (along with the details) of the air battles in the skies over the Baltic region on the first day of the Great Patriotic War.

The photographs, as well as biographies, are presented of all the commanders of the divisions, regiments and of the command headquarters of the Baltic Special Military District.

More than 300 unique photographs of Soviet and German aircraft are presented (together with those of their pilots) from the Soviet and German Archives, as well as from private collections. The camouflage, markings and insignia of aircraft that participated in the air battle are recreated, and maps illustrating the bases belonging to the two warring sides (both original and those recreated from archive documents) are presented.

In Soviet historiography, these events have been afforded insufficient attention and, in fact, right up until 1991, not one serious work on this topic had been published. Actually, the first large-scale research undertaken following the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s was conducted by D.B. Khazanov. In his monographs, the events of the first few days of the war are finally researched using an enormous amount of non-fiction literature (including foreign literature), as well as the relatively small amount of archive documents that had been published up until that time; however, owing to the fact that access to archive documents in that period was still very restricted, there were a great number of incidents that went undisclosed in these works and, as a whole, the course of events was examined in general terms (although overall, it was very objective).

Unfortunately, the lack of historiography has enabled some opportunistic authors in recent years to publish several works of pseudo-research, in which disreputable attempts have been made to misrepresent the achievements of the pilots and commanders of the air forces of the Red Army - thus the publication of objective research (based on archive documents) is long overdue; however, it is only in the last few years - with the large-scale declassification of the archives and the new opportunities in document processing - that conducting work of this scale has proved possible. Naturally, this publication does not lay claim to a 100 percent disclosure of this topic, but despite the shortcomings inherent in similar works, it does enable history enthusiasts to follow stage by stage the condition of the Red Army Air Force; their preparations to counter aggression on the part of fascist Germany; and the battle in the air on the first day of the Great Patriotic War.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781804512449
Publisher: Helion and Company
Publication date: 02/21/2023
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 448
Product dimensions: 6.70(w) x 9.60(h) x (d)

About the Author

Mikhail Valeryevich Timin was born on 30 July 1979 in the city of Ulyanovsk, in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). He attained a higher education - graduating from Ulyanovsk State Technical University - and currently lives in Moscow, Russia. Married with two sons, he is a researcher specializing in the history of the Air Forces of the USSR and is the author of approximately 50 publications in the following journals: Aviatsiya i Kosmonavtika, AviaMaster, AviaPark and Flypast, as well as on the internet portal warspot.ru. For more than 10 years, he has been engaged in researching documents on Soviet military aviation in the Russian Archives: The Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (in Podolsk), The Russian State Military Archive (Moscow) and The Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive (in Krasnogorsk).

Kevin Bridge BA MCIL is a Russian to English Translator / Editor specializing in Aviation & Aeronautics and Russian Translation for the Publishing Sector. He has been working as a Translator since October 2007 and to date he has translated 12 books, which have either been serialized in an historical aviation journal, or have been published by leading military history and academic publishers. He has also acted as an Interpreter for Russian and Western aircrew at aviation events such as the Farnborough Airshow. He gained a BA Degree in Russian & Soviet Studies from the University of Portsmouth in 1998 and has traveled extensively in Russia. He also worked for a period of five years as a Russian Linguist before embarking on translation. He joined the Chartered Institute of Linguists in March 2012 as a full Member (MCIL) and was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Russian Aviation Research Trust (RART), in view of his translation work and Russian language skills in September 2013. Further details about his work can be found via www.bridge-translation.com

Table of Contents

List of Maps vii

List of Tables viii

Preface to the English edition ix

Acknowledgements x

1 The Soviet Aviation alignment in the Baltic Region on the eve of the Great Patriotic War 11

1.1 The Formation of the Soviet Aviation Alignment in the Baltic Region, and the Composition and the Condition of the Air Forces of the Baltic Special Military District in 1940 11

1.2 Combat Training in 1940 22

1.3 The Materiel 34

1.4 The Condition of the Logistical Forces, and of the Network of Airfields 60

2 A Chronicle of Events in 1941 96

Introduction 96

2.1 Combat Training, Re-equipping onto a New Materiel, and the Roll-out of New Units 99

2.2 Air Force Logistics, Airfield Construction and the Air Defence System of the Baltic Special Military District in 1941 121

2.3 The Condition of the Materiel and the Combat Strength in the Air Forces of the Baltic Special Military District by 22 June 1941 130

3 War on the Doorstep: The Luftwaffe Alignment that Opposed the Baltic Special Military District. A Comparison of Both the Soviet and German Aviation Alignments, the Plans of Both Sides, and the Reconnaissance Measures.

3.1 The Luftwaffe Alignment that Opposed the Baltic Special Military District. A Comparison of the Soviet and German Aviation Alignments. 180

3.2 The Plans of the Different Sides - Reconnaissance 189

3.3 The Strange War of the Air Forces of the Red Army 200

4 The Battle in the Air over the Soviet Baltic Region 234

4.1 The First Attacks by Luftwaffe Aircraft on Soviet Airfields 234

4.2 The First Air Battles 248

4.3 The Strange War Continues. The Non-Existent Retaliatory Strike by the Air Forces of the South-Western Front, and the Second Raid by Luftwaffe Aircraft on Soviet Airfields 262

4.4 The Third Raid by Luftwaffe Aircraft on Soviet Airfields 277

4.5 The actions of the Air Forces of the North-Western Front on the Attacking Forces of the Wehrmacht and the Fourth Raid on the Soviet Airfields 305

4.6 The Redeployment of the Air Forces of the North-Western Front to the Second Line Airfields, the Subsequent Action Against the Forces of the Wehrmacht, and the Afternoon Raids by the Luftwaffe on Soviet Airfields 327

Final Results and Conclusions 337

Appendices

I Luftwaffe aircraft losses in the North-Western Front zone on 22 June 1941 378

II Claims by Luftwaffe fighter units for aircraft shot down in the North-Western Front zone on 22 June 1941 381

III The availability of fuel and lubricants in the airfield servicing battalions 384

IV The availability of ammunition in the Airfield Servicing Battalions (in terms of pieces of ammunition) 388

Index 394

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