Readers Section

   Dear Sirs, Could you please explain the numbering system for Soviet Air Force units during World War II? S. J., Trenton, NJ
    The numbering sequence for the VVS during WW-II was done sequentially initially. As units were reformed, after being annihilated during the first months of the war, "special" units were formed from test pilot and instructor groups. These units were initially numbered in the "400" series, such as the 400 IAP-PVO and 401 IAP-PVO. As more units were formed, all being assigned to the GKO Reserve, these numbers took up the "500", and eventually the "900" series of numbers.

   Dear Sirs, Is it possible for you to discuss the so-called Soviet female "rose-ace?" N. G., Ottawa, Canada
   Contrary to common beliefs and myths, there was never a female "rose-ace" that marked her aircraft with "rose" symbols instead of the authorized white outlined red stars for their victory tallies. Lydiya (Liliya) Litvak was called "Lilya" (familiar diminutive for "Lily") by her mother, because of her love of flowers. She is even known to have covered the wings of her aircraft with gathered flowers.
    There are also many stories about her mechanic being instructed to paint another "red star" on the fuselage of Litvak's fighter. Her radio call sign was "Seagull-90," a bird, not a flower.

   Dear Sirs, Could you please explain which Soviet fighter was the best gun platform during WW-II? S. R., Dallas, TX
    Your question is too vague to be given an exact answer, but a test flight was conducted in Yugoslavia in 1946 between a Yak-9T and a Spitfire Mk. Vc. The Yugoslavian test pilot having served with the VVS during the war.
   The Yak's 37mm cannon vibrated the aircraft so much that the wing skinning material came loose from the metal wing spar. The Spitfire, according to the Yugoslavian fighter pilot, was attributed as being more maneuverable and a better gun platform, the test pilot was released from military service as being unreliable.

   Dear sirs, Certainly, members of the Soviet Red Air Force inflicted devastating losses upon the German Luftwaffe during the campaign to re-take Stalingrad. The loss of approximately 500 assorted German transport aircraft was contributory to the staggering defeat suffered by the Wehrmacht in that area.
   I do, however, have a question: What was the ratio of Red Air Force planes in relation to the number of available Luftwaffe aircraft? This is a question which I feel needs answered in view of the kill scores of a number of German pilots (even Han Ulrich Rudel in a Stuka was responsible for the downing of one Russian ace) and the almost cavalier manner with which pilots of the FAF (Finnish Air Force) dealt with and shot down Russian pilots who were flying a wide assortment of excellent fighter planes (Yaks, MiGs, Spitfires, P-51 Mustangs, etc) while flying an export version of the US-built F2A Brewster Buffalo -- a craft that was obsolescent by the time of the Winter War and obsolete by the time of the so-called "Continuation War".
   Members of the Soviet military were unquestionably courageous. They did, however, seem to be employed like a blunt instrument as opposed to a fine-honed surgical tool. On the ground it was, basically, a Russianization of the Guderian Principle ("Not driblets but mass!") I am wondering if this applied equally to air operations. After all, what does it matter that a number of Luftwaffe Ju-52/3M transports are escorted by three or four Me-109s if they are attacked by 40 or 50 aircraft? Even the fiercest of creatures can be overwhelmed by a large enough swarm of ants.
   I have, on the whole, enjoyed your website, thus far. David Vail (e-mail address).
   Dear David, In answer to your question about the ratio of aircraft present during the November Stalingrad operations, these are the figures. The Luftwaffe had approximately 1,200 aircraft, against the VVS' total of 1,414 aircraft, of which 413 were Yak-1, LaGG-3 and a few MiG-3 fighters, an approximate 12% superiority in the Soviet's favor. No where near a giant majority in overall strength.
   In answer to your query about Soviet aircraft losses during this period, the Soviet's losses fell into the Defensive period which was 2,063 aircraft, and the Offensive period which was 706 aircraft lost. The German aerial victory claims during this period can be understood because of the overwhelming replacements of the GKO's strategic reserves of modern aircraft types.
  Your point made about the FAF's ability to score phenomenal scores against the VVS can be explained easily by a number of examples. When a static defence is chosen, and the implementation of overwhelming aerial assets when and where a commander chooses, aerial superiority and victory are often assured. Examples being the Luftwaffe's success in their assault against Russia's static defences in June 1941, the RAF in the Battle of Britain, the Flying Tigers in Burma and China, the Japanese in their 1941 and 1942 conquest of the Pacific, and the US Navy's fighter tactics between the Guadalcanal and Midway campaigns.

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