Achieving air superiority by Soviet air fleet during World War II (1941-1945)

This article discusses the state of the Soviet Air Force at the beginning of the war, the fightingof the aircrafts at the early stage of the war, the losses of German and Soviet aircrafts. The actions of the Soviet pilots to gain operationalexcellence in the Moscow area are described. The causes of air combats that Soviet pilots won are explained. The estimation of inefficientuse of aircrafts by many joint commanders during the transition to the centralised management of it. Having large numbers of aircrafts, theysought to use all their force regardless of the situation for air support and cover for troops on the battlefield solely. The summer and autumnof 1942 were a critical step in the development of the Soviet Air Force as the share of new aircrafts grew over the months from 28.7 to77.2 percent, while in the army aviation it went from 44.7 to 81.1 per cent. In this period of war the country had extensive experience infighting for supremacy in the air. Of the total of 803 sorties of combat aircrafts in the fight against the enemy planes, the Soviet fightersmade 184,686 sorties to cover up the Army and the most important objects in the rear of the front and 69,397 - to support other types ofaircrafts. In the Stalingrad offensive action the scope of action of the Soviet Air Force for the destruction of enemy aircrafts directly on theground widened. The designated turning point at Stalingrad in the struggle for supremacy in the air further developed in Kuban region andended in the summer of 1943 near Kursk. During the air battles in May - June 1943, the leaders, commanders and staffs at all levels had agood schooling in air units control in a complex environment. As a result of the victories by the Soviet aircrafts and air-defence artillery inthe winter and spring of 1944 the Wehrmacht lost about five thousand aircrafts. The 4th Air Force and 16th Air Army in the period from29 June to 3 July made 4000 sorties, and the Long-Range Aviation - 3200 sorties. The Air Force of the Soviet Union entered 1945 at theheight of its power. They outnumbered the Wehrmacht fleet by over 3 times. Thus, it should be noted that in the third period of the war(1944 - May 8, 1945) all operations of the Land Forces were made in the atmosphere of air supremacy of the Soviet Air Force, but intensestruggle with enemy aircrafts continued until the defeat of Nazi Germany. Thus, the struggle for air superiority was an essential part of thewarfare of the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany.

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