More of Comrade Harps
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MAGAV Heja II
1/1.szazad "Dongo", OVO
Royal Hungarian Air Force
Ukraine, Socialist Union, July 1941
Hungary's main fighter at the time of Operation Barbarossa was the MS.406. These aircraft were known in Hungarian service as the Heja I (either French produced MS.406s, acquired before and after the fall of France, or locally assembled by MAGAV) or Heja II (a MAGAV manufactured development, with local produced engines, Hungarian designed machine guns and detail changes including tail wings without external bracing struts).
This aircraft carries the so-called "mis-interpretation" yellow Eastern Front theatre bands common on Heja IIs of 1/1.szazad at the start of the campaign. The incorrect and over-sized application of the German mandated yellow theatre ID appears to have been the result of a mis-reading of Luftwaffe directives. Nevertheless, the yellow was retained until the Hungarians withdrew from the front-line during the winter of 41-42.
This aircraft, V.640, was struck off following a landing accident in Ukraine during July, 1942.
MAGAV would go on to manufacture the successful Heja III, a development powered by a licence-produced Hispano YS-2 engine.
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MAGAV Heja III Series 5
a/c 4, 102/1st Fighter Bomber Squadron, Royal Hungarian Air Force
Debrecen, Hungary, September 1944
Personal mount of Lieutenant Zoltán Czibor
The Hungarian industrial conglomerate MAGAV produced a series of fighters based on the French Morane-Saulnier MS.406. Starting with licence-assembled MS.406s, known locally as the Heja, the company followed up with the Heja II, which had more Hungarian-designed and manufactured components. Aware that the basic MS.406 was already obsolete, MAGAV closely followed Morane-Saulnier's line of development and entered into a co-development agreement with the company in June 1939. This saw MAGAV produce several Heja-based prototypes with increasingly powerful Hispano-Suiza engines, culminating in the Heja IIII. In early 1940, MAGAV entered the Heja IIII into a Hungarian Air Force competition for a new fighter. To be powered by a MAGAV-produced 1,250 hp Hispano-Suiza YS-2 V12 engine and armed with two Gebauer Minta GKM 12.72mm machine guns and a Gebauer manufactured Hispano 20mm cannon, the Heja III was selected as an interim type. The definitive solution to the requirement was to be the Manfred Weiss WM-23 Ezustnyil. Whereas MAGAV promised they could get the Heja IIII into production by early 1941, the rival Ezustnyil was estimated to be available no later than the end of 1942.
When Hungary joined the Axis invasion of the Moscow Pact nations in June 1941, it did so with a frontline fighter force mostly composed of Heja and Heja II fighters. At the time, the first unit equipped with the Heja III was understrength (with just 5 aircraft), not fully trained and not confident with the reliability of the YS-2. In October, 7 Heja IIIs were sent to the Eastern Front for combat trials. Nobbled by poor engine reliability and spares shortages, the unit saw little action and returned home in late December to regroup. However, the type showed potential and Heja III pilots were credited with 8 kills for the loss of one pilot in combat; another was killed soon after taking off on a ferry flight when the engine cut out at low altitude.
Changes to maintenance procedures, improved quality control measures and the mass production of components over the winter eased the engine issues. By July '42 the Heja III was operated by 4 deployed squadrons, being Hungary's sole fighter employed during the Axis advance towards Volgograd. Flying air defence, escort and visual reconnaissance missions, the aircraft performed well and became the mount of aces.
Remaining in manufacture longer than anticipated, the Heja III was developed through several prototypes to test upgraded and alternative engines (including the German DB601 and DB605), revised fuselage and wing structures, new propeller designs and different armament including bomb loads (2 test airframes were equipped with air brakes for dive bombing) and German cannon. These efforts resulted in orders for new versions, identified by their Series number. With the original production version retroactively named Series 1, the final Heja III production variant was the Series 6. Series 2 incorporated detailed design changes based on operational feedback and a more reliable version of the YS-2. Series 3 introduced squared-off wingtips and replaced the 12.72mm cannon with Gebauer-made 15mm MG151s. Series 4 featured an increased horsepower YS-2, a new propeller and added a ventral hardpoint for bombs (upto 250kg in mass) or an external fuel tank. The Series 5 depicted here was one of 145 delivered. Armed with three Gebauer-made Mauser MG151/20s, the Series 5 featured cropped wingtips and a 4-bladed propeller driven by a 1,5000 hp YS-3 engine optimised for low altitude performance. Evolved from the YS-2 by Hispano-Suiza engineers working for MAGAV in Hungary, the YS-3 not only offered more power but also greater reliability. In addition to the ventral hardpoint, 4 underwing pylons could be installed for the carriage of 50kg bombs. The Series 6 was similar but featured a cut-down rear fuselage with a bubble canopy and provisions for GM-1 nitric oxide boost (believed to have been fitted to only the final 3). 12 Series 6 aircraft were delivered in March and April 1944. In addition, 2 DB605-powered prototypes for a proposed Heja IV were built using Series 5 and 6 airframes, with another prototype for a proposed Heja V being a modified Series 6 airframe powered by a DB603A engine. Despite these promising developments, by January 1944 the Hungarian government's plans had moved on. By then the Hungarian Railway Carriage and Engineering Works was delivering Bf 109 Ga-6s at a rate faster than MAGAV could produce the Heja III and the focus was on standardisation with German types.
While the rival
Manfred Weiss WM-23A Ezustnyil technically entered service on time, it was a disappointment. Heavier and slower than expected, its weight issues were resolved by discarding armour and reducing the armament from a pair of 20mm cannon and 2 12.72mm machine guns to 2 12.72mm and 2 7.62mm guns. Although its bubble canopy and cut-down rear fuselage (introduced from the 2nd prototype) provided excellent visibility for dogfighting, it had been designed as an interceptor with a high rate of climb and its manoeuvrability was poor; this was judged as insufficient for air combat on the Eastern Front. Worse still was the slow rate of deliveries. Powered by an imported Piaggio P.XIX, the Italian manufacturer proved to be unreliable and many airframes were rolled out without engines. Rejected by the Hungarian Air Force, 17 MW.23A were bartered to Germany as part of a trade deal. These aircraft were transferred to the Croatian Air Force Legion as a punishment for numerous defections. To rejuvenate the MW.23 program, BMW 801 power eggs were acquired and bolted on to 23 MW.23A airframes to produce the MW.23B. A hastily cobbled together stop gap, the MW.23Bs were issued to interceptor squadrons but, after several accidents, were unofficially declared dangerous and rarely flown. The definitive BMW 801 powered MW.23C featured a longer fuselage, a larger tail, extended wings and an armament of 2 MG151/20 and 2 MG131s. Only 2 prototypes and 3 pre-series MW.23Cs were delivered, with 2 of the latter seeing brief combat service. The shortfall in MW.23 deliveries was made up by continued Heja III orders and, from mid-1943, the acquisition of Bf 109 Gs. According to Hungarian General, Deputy Defence Minister (August 1940 to March 1944) and Defence Minister (August 1944 to April 1946) András Littay, the selection and continued investment in the MW.23 was "a scandal." Before his death in Melbourne, Australia, in 1967, Littay told an interviewer from the Australian War Memorial that the Heja III was "an adequate" fighter, whereas the MW.23 "was chosen for political reasons."
By early 1944, German intelligence was aware that Hungary's Regent, Miklós Horthy, was arguing for a withdrawal from the Axis and a peace deal with the Reds. This prompted Hitler to order the occupation of Hungary and then mount a coup. The Fascist Arrow-Cross government installed by Germany in March '44 cancelled both the Heja and the MW.23 programs. A new fighter plan saw the wholesale introduction of Bf 109s and Fw 190s. In the process, MAGAV and Manfred Weiss were ordered to join the Hungarian Railway Carriage and Engineering Works in the licence manufacture of the Bf 109 Ga-6 (and later, the G-14, G-10 and the K-4, too). This industrial alignment with Germany was maintained after the Arrow Cross Party was deposed following Hitler's assassination in July.
This Heja III Series 5 was photographed in September 1944, based at Debrecen with the 102/1st Fighter Bomber Squadron. Carrying an SC250 bomb, it was the personal mount of Lieutenant Zoltán Czibor. On 25 November he was forced to bail out of a/c 4 when its engine was badly damaged in a dogfight against a BeSS-5 of the Socialist Union Air Force. Although he survived the incident and landed in friendly territory, Czibor was badly burnt and permanently grounded. Given a medical discharge in February 1945, Zoltán Czibor reportedly died of pneumonia in November 1945.
Argentine Navy Skyray
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Douglas F4D-2 Skyray
a/c 16, 3 Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Caza y Luchador (3EL), Comando de la Aviación Naval Argentina (Argentine Naval Aviation Command)
ARA Independencia, Atlanic Ocean, May 1960
Having replaced its F9F-2B Panthers, the Argentine Navy’s first combat deployments with the F4D-2 Skyray were a series of Atlantic crossings in 1959. Protecting UN convoys transiting the South Atlantic to and from Africa, the Independencia’s force of de Havilland Canada-built CS2F-2 Trackers and Sikorsky HSS-1N (SH-34J) Seabats were kept busy on ASW duties, engaging several Red Navy Whiskey class submarines. Meanwhile, the pilots of the carrier’s two fast jet squadrons of Douglas A4D-2N (A-4C) Skyhawks and Douglas F4D-2 (F-6B) Skyrays had little to do other than train, test convoy air defences and fly armed patrols.
ARA Independencia was a Commonwealth Class carrier built in Canada and based on a modernised and enlarged British Centaur class design. Commonwealth Class carriers were used by Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa. ARA Independencia entered service in 1956 and was mostly used to escort convoys across the South Atlantic. That changed in early 1960, when, after transiting the South Atlantic to Libreville, Gabon, the carrier cruised north. The Skyhawks conducted 17 bombing sorties against insurgent positions in Guinea and Mauritania during the first week of March, the Skyrays practising top cover. After a stopover in the Canaries, the Independencia joined Task Force 62.5.3 (TF 62.5.3), which, after a period of training, moved out to provide defence against Red naval air, surface and subsurface activities in the North Atlantic.
TF 62.5.3 was subjected to a series of coordinated, high-intensity air and submarine attacks between 10 April and 3 May 1960 as part of the Reds’ Operacio Botelo Du. The Independencia’s Skyrays (backed by the Sidewinder-armed Skyhawks flying under visual flight rules) were in the thick of the air action, intercepting the Red’s large, long-range, conventionally-armed anti-shipping missiles launched by Tu-16 Badgers. Despite missile attacks often being supported by jamming, 3EL’s pilots became adept at using their combination of APQ-50B radar, Aero 13G fire-control radar and AN/AAS-15 IRST to find, track and target the missiles with their armament of AAM-N-7 Sidewinder IA (AIM-9B) Sidewinders, GAR-3A (AIM-4F) Falcons and four 20mm Colt Mk 12 cannon. Small but predictable, the subsonic AS-1 Kennel could be shot down was some ease once found, but the new, supersonic AS-2 Kipper came as a surprise and was difficult to down. The Badger-launched Kennels and Kippers had to run the gauntlet of fighters, SAMS, naval anti-aircraft fire, decoys and jamming, but were launched en masse and backed with stand-off EW. The missiles caused considerable harm to TF 62.5.3, resulting in significant human casualties, four sinkings and several vessels receiving heavy damage.
3EL’s aircraft 16 is seen here as photographed in early May 1960, after the badly mauled Task Force had been ordered to recover to North America. The Skyray features 5 red star kill markings and was 3EL’s highest-scoring plane during TF 62.5.3. Lieutenant Commander Lionel Messi downed seven Red missiles, three of which while flying a/c 16: two Kennels (one each with Sidewinder and Falcon) and a Kipper with a Falcon. Lieutenant Pedro de Ciancio capped a single Kennel with a Sidewinder while flying a/c 16 (and was credited with two more Kennels flying other Skyrays) and Lieutenant Ernesto Grillo used a/c 16 to bag a Kipper with a Falcon (to which he added three Kennels flying a/c 14).
At no point were the Argentine Skyray pilots vectored against the Badgers that were launching the missiles and conducting EW. This was the exclusive purview of USN aviators, who claimed 36 Badgers during TF 62.5.3, although Red records indicate only seven losses to TF 62.5.3 fighters. It is said that the Argentine pilots on TF 62.5.3 had nicknames for names for their American counterparts, none of which were complimentary.
4 weeks, 7 whifs #5: Babak and Yezerskiy's IL-2
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Moscow Aviation Workers Collective Ilyushin IL-2M3
Blue 9, "From Mariupol Schoolchildren,” 144 Escadrille, 14th Aviation Regiment, Ukrainian Red Army Air Force
Personal mount of Escadrille Leader Ivan Babak and Senior Gunner Volodymyr Yezerskiy
The Moscow Aviation Workers Collective (MAWC) emerged from the state-owned Moscow "Aircraft plant #1 named after OSOAVIAKHIM" or "GAZ No. 1" (which itself had emerged from the Czarist-era Dux aircraft factory). Siding with Trotsky’s Red Army against Stalin, the GAZ No.1 workers occupied the factory, overthrowing their bureaucratic leaders and creating a Workers Collective dedicated to the success of the Trotskyist Army, Pleasants and Workers Revolution. By the time of the War Against Fascism, the MAWC workers were producing the
MiG-3T under licence and a new in-house design by Design Leader Sergey Ilyushin, the IL-2 ground attack aircraft. MAWC and the workers at Ural Mining & Manufacturing Association and the Socialist Unity Aviation Collective production complexes produced 36,183 IL-2s from 1941 to 1945.
The Red Army launched the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive on 13 July 1944 as part of the Operation Bagration series of offensives to liberate large swathes of Eastern Europe from Nazi occupation. The 144 Escadrille, 14th Aviation Regiment, Ukrainian Red Army Air Force was flying in support of this offensive. On the 15th of July, the IL-2M3 crew of Escadrille Leader Ivan Babak and Senior Gunner Volodymyr Yezerskiy posed beside their plane Green 9 "From Mariupol Schoolchildren” on the occasion of their 10th (collective) air-to-air victory over the Fascist invaders.
Babak had been a fighter pilot when the Germans and their allies invaded the Moscow Pact nations on 22 June 1941. Flying a
Kyiv Aviation Institute KAI-1, he failed to take to the air before being badly injured in a Luftwaffe attack on his airfield on the 23rd. After recovering he was posted to a series of instructional units, finally landing a job teaching pilots how to fly the IL-2 Sturmovik. Here he met Gunnery Instructor Volodymyr Yezerskiy, who was training IL-2 gunners at the same base, and to two struck up a bond when they realised that they had been to the same school in Mariupol, Ukraine. Although neither had seen combat (Yezerskiy had gone straight from gunnery school to become an instructor), in mid-1943 the pair successfully lobbied to join the Ukrainian 14th Aviation Regiment as a pilot/gunner team. Their flight hours and instructor’s discipline now paid off, as the pair’s performance in combat and on the ground saw them rise through the ranks together. By the end of the war (in May 1946) and with 487 combat sorties logged, Babak had been promoted to Regiment Pilot Leader and Yezerskiy was a Regimental Gunnery Leader, with both still flying as a team at the head of the 14th Aviation Regiment, Ukrainian Red Army Air Force. By then they had been credited with 17 aerial victories (the most of any Sturmovik pilot/gunner team), plus 5 shared with other crews. Red ace Alexander Pokryshkin had the opportunity to escort the 14th Aviation Regiment on several occasions and witnessed Babak and Yezerskiy “vigorously defend their Sturmovik with the skill, determination and discipline of a fighter ace.”
14th Aviation Regiment, Ukrainian Red Army Air Force, consisted of 4 squadrons that rotation through a cycle of combat, rest and regeneration, with two units usually combat assigned at any one time. Each escadrille was identified by a squadron colour represented on the spinner hub and by the colour of the side number: strong azure (141st), yellow (142nd), white (143rd) and green (144th). All escadrille featured a red-painted spinner base. In addition to red stars under wings and on the tail, Ukrainian national markings (a yellow outlined blue shield with yellow Ukrainian trident symbol) were carried by all aircraft on their fuselage sides. Aircraft assigned to Flight, Escadrille and Regimental Leaders also carried the Ukrainian national markings on their wing upper surfaces, plus white arrows on the fuselage that increased in size with rank.