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98-412: The Beechcraft XA-38 "Grizzly" was a World War II-era ground attack aircraft , developed by Beechcraft , but never put into production. The Grizzly was to have been fitted with a forward-firing 75 mm cannon to penetrate heavily armored targets. While the first prototype flew on 7 May 1944, testing established that the type would not be ready for the projected invasion of Japan . It also featured

196-597: A 102mm anti-ship cannon, The BK 7,5 was unsurpassed as an aircraft-fitted gun until 1971, when the four-engine Lockheed AC-130 E Spectre; equipped with a 105 mm M102 howitzer , entered service with the US Air Force.) In the immediate post war era the piston-engined ground-attack aircraft remained useful since all of the early jets lacked endurance due to the fuel consumption rates of the jet engines. The higher powered piston engine types that had been too late for World War II were still capable of holding their own against

294-450: A battlefield, their slower speeds made them extremely vulnerable to ground fire, as did the lighter construction of fighters. The survivability of attack aircraft was guaranteed by their speed/power, protection (i.e. armor panels) and strength of construction; Germany was the first country to produce dedicated ground-attack aircraft (designated CL-class and J-class ). They were put into use in autumn 1917, during World War I. Most notable

392-518: A ceiling of 8000 m. Petlyakov and his team were instructed to redesign the two-seat high altitude fighter into a three-seat dive-bomber within 45 days. In order to meet this deadline, Petlyakov's team were assisted by some 300 specialists from other OKBs. The fuselage of the VI-100 had to be redesigned for the dive-bombing role. Initially, the PB-100 featured three pressurised cabins for the three-man crew, but

490-585: A class of Schlacht ("battle") aircraft, such as the Henschel Hs 123 . Moreover, the experiences of German Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War , against an enemy with few fighter aircraft, changed ideas about ground attack. Though equipped with generally unsuitable designs such as the Henschel Hs 123 and cannon -armed versions of the Heinkel He 112 , their armament and pilots proved that aircraft were

588-717: A colleague of Petlyakov's at the Tupolev OKB. Because the Russian word for "100" is "sto"("сто"), the STO was later renamed KB-100, and there Petlyakov proposed the development of a twin-engine interceptor against high-altitude long-range bombers, particularly those being developed in Germany such as the Junkers Ju 86 P and Henschel Hs 130 . His proposal was accepted in March 1938, with the requirement that

686-589: A high altitude bomber escort, but gradually found that role filled by the North American P-51 Mustang (because of its much longer range and greater maneuverability). The P-47 was also heavier and more robust than the P-51 and regarded therefore, as an " energy fighter ": ideal for high-speed dive-and-climb tactics, including strafing attacks. Its armament of eight 0.50 caliber machine guns was effective against Axis infantry and light vehicles in both Europe and

784-762: A high level of serviceability. The armament proved especially effective; if not for a shift in wartime priorities in 1944, the aircraft would most likely have been ordered in quantity even though the B-29 had priority for the Wright R-3350 engines. Instead, one prototype was scrapped and the other, intended for the USAF Museum , had an unknown fate. Data from Plane Facts: The big gun Beech General characteristics Performance Armament Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Attack aircraft Fighter aircraft often carry out

882-404: A lack of Air Force enthusiasm for the ground-attack role, developed the dedicated attack helicopter . On 17 January 1991, Task Force Normandy began its attack on two Iraqi anti-aircraft missile sites. TF Normandy, under the command of LTC Richard A. "Dick" Cody , consisted of nine AH-64 Apaches , one UH-60 Black Hawk and four Air Force MH-53J Pave Low helicopters. The purpose of this mission

980-657: A light aircraft mixing all the roles that required extensive communication with land forces: reconnaissance, liaison, artillery spotting , aerial supply, and, last but not least, occasional strikes on the battlefield. The concept was similar to front-line aircraft used in the World War I, which was called the CL class in the German Empire. Eventually the RAF's experience showed types such as Westland Lysander to be unacceptably vulnerable and it

1078-752: A light attack aircraft. The Soviets' similar Sukhoi Su-25 ( Frogfoot ) found success in the "flying artillery" role with many air forces. The UK has completely retired the BAE Harrier II in 2011, and the Panavia Tornado dedicated attack-reconnaissance aircraft in 2019. It obtained the F-35 in 2018 and it retains its fleet of Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighters. [REDACTED] Media related to Attack aircraft at Wikimedia Commons Petlyakov Pe-2 The Petlyakov Pe-2 ( Russian : Петляков Пе-2 — nickname «Пешка» ( Pawn ); NATO reporting name : Buck )

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1176-508: A pilot and an observer/gunner in the rear cabin, using periscope sights to aim the guns. On 7 May 1944, Beech test pilot Vern Carstens flew the XA-38 on its maiden flight from the company's Wichita airfield. The aircraft proved satisfactory in all respects and better than expected in some, including top speed. During testing, the XA-38 prototypes were flown by USAAF pilots and serviced by military personnel, proving to be reliable and establishing

1274-599: A powerful ground attack aircraft to replace the Douglas A-20 Havoc , with the ability to hit "hardened" targets like tanks and bunkers and to attack coastal shipping. This capability was achieved through a 75 mm cannon with 20 rounds, mounted in a fixed position on the nose as well as two .50 cal (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns firing forward. Defensive armament consisted of remotely controlled ventral and dorsal turrets, each armed with twin .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns. There were to be two crew members,

1372-499: A prototype (only static tests were conducted for new components such as the fuselage), with the first two series production PB-100s completed by Zavod 39 in the late autumn of 1940. The trials of the lead machine (No. 390101) began on 15 December 1940. In accordance with the new rules also adopted in December 1940, the aircraft was also redesignated Pe-2 2M-105 . The Pe-2 inherited the basic low-wing twin-engine monoplane configuration of

1470-617: A task of converted trainers, like the BAE Systems Hawk or Aero L-39 Albatros , and many trainers are built with this task in mind, like the CASA C-101 or the Aermacchi MB-339 . Such counter-insurgency aircraft are popular with air forces which cannot afford to purchase more expensive multirole aircraft, or do not wish to risk the few such aircraft they have on light ground attack missions. A proliferation of low intensity conflicts in

1568-478: A very effective weapon, even without bombs. This led to some support within the Luftwaffe for the creation of an aircraft dedicated to this role, resulting in tenders for a new "attack aircraft". This led to the introduction (in 1942) of a unique single-seat, twin-engine attack aircraft, the slow-moving but heavily armored and formidably armed Henschel Hs 129 Panzerknacker ("Safecracker" /"Tank Cracker"). In Japan,

1666-426: Is considered an attack mission . In United States Navy vocabulary, the alternative designation for the same activity is a strike mission . Attack missions are principally divided into two categories: air interdiction and close air support . In the last several decades, the rise of the ubiquitous multi-role fighter has created some confusion about the difference between attack and fighter aircraft. According to

1764-720: The Luftwaffe during the Blitzkrieg campaigns of 1939 and 1940, and the need for such an aircraft in the VVS-RKKA ( Workers & Peasants' Red Army Air Force ) suddenly became very apparent. Furthermore, following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact , Soviet experts were able to visit German aircraft factories, where they discovered that Germany had no large-scale development of high-altitude long-range bombers underway. Existing aircraft were also judged to be within

1862-687: The F-111 "Aardvark" was designated F despite having only minimal air-to-air capabilities. Only a single aircraft in the USAF's current inventory bears a simple, unmixed "A" designation: the A-10 Thunderbolt II. British designations have included FB for fighter-bomber and more recently "G" for "Ground-attack" as in Harrier GR1 (meaning "Ground-attack/Reconnaissance, Mark 1"). Imperial Japanese Navy designation use "B" to designate carrier attack bomber such as

1960-442: The Henschel Hs 123 ). Although not a synonymous class with ground-attack aircraft, fighter-bombers were usually used for the role, and proved to excel at it, even when they were only lightly armored. The Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces relegated obsolescent fighters to this role, while cutting-edge fighters would serve as interceptors and establish air superiority . The United States Navy , in distinction to

2058-791: The Imperial Japanese Navy had developed the Aichi D3A dive bomber (based on the Heinkel He 70 ) and the Mitsubishi B5M light attack bomber. Both, like their US counterparts, were lightly armored types, and were critically reliant on surprise attacks and the absence of significant fighter or AA opposition. During the Winter War , the Soviet Air Forces used the Polikarpov R-5 SSS, and Polikarpov R-Z Sh, as attack aircraft. Perhaps

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2156-988: The Nakajima B5N Type-97 bomber although these aircraft are mostly used for torpedo attack and level bombing. They also use "D" to specifically designate carrier dive bomber like the Yokosuka D4Y Suisei . However by the end of the world war II, the IJN introduced the Aichi B7A Ryusei which could performed both torpedo bombing and dive bombing rendering the "D" designation redundant. The NATO reporting names for Soviet/Russian ground-attack aircraft at first started with "B" categorizing them as bombers, as in case of Il-10 'Beast'. But later they were usually classified as fighters ("F")—possibly because (since Sukhoi Su-7 ) they were similar in size and visual appearance to Soviet fighters, or were simply derivatives of such. In

2254-657: The PLAAF , ground-attack aircraft are given the designation "Q". So far this has only been given to the Nanchang Q-5 . The attack aircraft as a role was defined by its use during World War I , in support of ground forces on battlefields. Battlefield support is generally divided into close air support and battlefield air interdiction, the first requiring strict and the latter only general cooperation with friendly surface forces. Such aircraft also attacked targets in rear areas. Such missions required flying where light anti-aircraft fire

2352-710: The Pacific . While machine guns and cannon were initially sufficient, the evolution of well-armored tanks required heavier weapons. To augment bombs, high explosive rockets were introduced, although these unguided projectiles were still "barely adequate" because of their inaccuracy. For the British RP3 , one hit per sortie was considered acceptable. However, even a near miss with rockets could cause damage or injuries to "soft targets," and patrols by Allied rocket-armed aircraft over Normandy disrupted or even completely paralyzed German road traffic. They also affected morale, because even

2450-549: The TB-7/Pe-8 ). However, that same year saw the start of Stalin 's Great Purge , and none were spared suspicion; Andrei Tupolev , the head of the OKB, was coerced into signing a "confession" in October 1937 that he had formed an anti-Soviet group that included Petlyakov, and both men along with many others were arrested. Too valuable to be simply executed, unlike many others arrested during

2548-586: The United States occupation of Haiti and Nicaragua . The United States Army Air Corps was notable for its creation of a separate "A-" designation for attack types, distinct from and alongside "B-" for bomber types and "P-" for pursuit (later replaced by "F-" for fighter) aircraft. The first designated attack type to be operational with the USAAC was the Curtiss A-2 Falcon . Nevertheless, such aircraft, including

2646-601: The Wright R-3350 engines already in use with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress —which had priority. Consequently, the XA-38 was canceled after a second prototype had been completed. The United States Army Air Forces awarded the Beech Aircraft Corporation a contract in December 1942 for two prototypes for their Model 28 "Destroyer". Initially the Model 28 had been a bomber-destroyer design but shifted to give

2744-555: The carrier-based nuclear strike Douglas A-3 Skywarrior and North American A-5 Vigilante , while the Grumman A-6 Intruder , F-105 Thunderchief , F-111 , F-117 Nighthawk , LTV A-7 Corsair II , Sukhoi Su-25 , A-10 Thunderbolt II , Panavia Tornado , AMX , Dassault Étendard , Super Étendard and others were designed specifically for ground-attack, strike , close support and anti-armor work, with little or no air-to-air capability. Ground attack has increasingly become

2842-477: The fighter-bomber began to take over many attack roles, a transition that continued in the post-war era. Jet -powered examples were relatively rare but not unknown, such as the Blackburn Buccaneer . The U.S. Navy continued to introduce new aircraft in their A - series , but these were mostly similar to light and medium bombers . The need for a separate attack aircraft category was greatly diminished by

2940-545: The interdiction and tactical bombing roles. Today it remains the only dedicated fixed-wing ground-attack aircraft in any U.S. military service. Overall U.S. experience in the Gulf War , Kosovo War , Afghanistan War , and Iraq War has resulted in renewed interest in such aircraft. The U.S. Air Force is currently researching a replacement for the A-10 and started the OA-X program to procure

3038-474: The " Night Witches " utilised an obsolescent, wooden light trainer biplane type, the Polikarpov Po-2 and small anti-personnel bombs in "harassment bombing" attacks that proved difficult to counter. Wartime experience showed that poorly armored and/or lightly built, pre-war types were unacceptably vulnerable, especially to fighters. Nevertheless, skilled crews could be highly successful in those types, such as

Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-445: The "100", other OKBs such as those of Yakovlev , Mikoyan & Gurevich , and Sukhoi were also enlisted. The first full-scale VI-100 mock-up was completed in May 1939, and the first flight of the prototype occurred on 22 December 1939. The VI-100 was an all-metal low-wing cantilever monoplane powered by two Klimov M-105 R engines, licence-built Hispano-Suiza 12Y engines that were

3234-570: The 1,420 maritime strike variants of the North American B-25 Mitchell G/H, which mounted either a M4 cannon , or light-weight T13E1 or M5 versions of the same gun. These weapons, however, were hand-loaded, had shorter barrels and/or a lower muzzle velocity than the BK 7,5 and, therefore, poorer armor penetration, accuracy and rate of fire. (Except for versions of the Piaggio P.108 armed with

3332-564: The 16th and 39th BAPs of the Western Front Air Force note that the Pe-2's crews had the greatest success in repelling the attacks of enemy fighters in June and July 1941. On 1 July, for example, six Pe-2s fended off attacks by four Messerschmitt Bf 109s, shooting down two of them. A week later a group of Pe-2s was attacked by four Bf 109s and again brought down two of the attackers. On both occasions

3430-596: The 25 Air Regiment in Havlíčkův Brod . Czechoslovakian aircraft were known under the designation B-32 (Pe-2FT) and CB-32 (UPe-2). In 1941, after the outbreak of the Continuation War , Finland purchased six captured Pe-2 aircraft from Germany. These arrived at State Aircraft Factory facilities at Härmälä, near Tampere , in January 1942, where the airframes were overhauled and given Finnish serial numbers. The seventh Pe-2

3528-569: The A-2's replacement, the Curtiss A-12 Shrike , were unarmored and highly vulnerable to AA fire. The British Royal Air Force focused primarily on strategic bombing, rather than ground attack. However, like most air arms of the period it did operate attack aircraft, named Army Cooperation in RAF parlance, which included the Hawker Hector , Westland Lysander and others. Aviation played a role in

3626-780: The Army General Headquarters. These sorties began in late 1942, and were often flown with two 250 kg (551 lb) bombs for harassment bombing and in order to cover the true purpose of missions. By the time the Soviet Fourth strategic offensive started in June 1944, the secondary bombing role had already ended and the surviving Pe-2s began to be used solely over the Karelian Isthmus on photographic reconnaissance flights in order to find out enemy troop concentrations, usually escorted by four Finnish Air Force Bf 109 Gs . These vital missions allowed artillery and bombers of

3724-612: The Baltic where JG54 Grünherz were the main opposition, and greatly outnumbered, the Soviet 1st Gv BAK lost 86 Pe-2s shot down (another 12 to other causes), mostly to German fighters between 23 July 1944 and 8 February 1945. Western sources use mark Pe-2FT for production series after 83, where FT stands for Frontovoe Trebovanie (Frontline Request), although Soviet documents do not use this identification. Final versions Pe-2K (transitional version of Pe-2I) and Pe-2I were produced in small numbers, due to

3822-656: The Brazilian Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 , although both sides had few aircraft. The federal government had approximately 58 aircraft divided between the Navy and the Army , as the Air Force at this time did not constitute an independent branch. In contrast, the rebels had only two Potez 25 planes and two Waco CSO , plus a small number of private aircraft. During the 1930s, Nazi Germany had begun to field

3920-620: The Finnish Air Force and the Luftwaffe ' s Detachment Kuhlmey to strike against formations preparing for attack, which had an important impact on the outcome of the Battle of Tali-Ihantala , where the Soviet advance was halted. During the Continuation War, three Pe-2s were lost in accidents or technical failures, one was destroyed in bombing of Lappeenranta airfield, one was shot down by Soviet fighters and one went missing in action. In

4018-659: The German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 , the British Hawker Typhoon and the US Republic P-47 Thunderbolt . The Typhoon, which was disappointing as a fighter, due to poor high altitude performance, was very fast at low altitudes and thus became the RAF's premier ground attack fighter. It was armed with four 20mm cannon , augmented first with bombs, then rockets. Likewise the P-47 was designed and intended for use as

Beechcraft XA-38 Grizzly - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-509: The Great Purge, Petlyakov and other weapons designers were instead sent to sharashkas , special prisons run by the NKVD where such valuable prisoners could continue their work under close scrutiny. In 1938, Petlyakov was tasked with leading the first Special Technical Department (STO — SpetsTekhOd'yel ) for aviation that also included other future well-known designers such as Vladimir Myasishchev ,

4214-510: The Lapland War the only remaining machine flew a single reconnaissance sortie in October 1944. On average, the aircraft flew some 94 hours per plane during the war. The Finnish Air Force also operated one Petlyakov Pe-3 (PE-301) that had been captured in 1943. PE-301 and PE-215 were destroyed when Soviet aircraft bombed the Lappeenranta airfield on 2 July 1944. PE-212 went down in 1943, PE-213

4312-402: The Petlyakovs suffered no losses. On the southern front, a bombing mission against Ploiești , in Romania , by six Pe-2s, led by Capt. A. Tsurtsulin, was a great success: 250,450 kilograms (552,150 lb) of petroleum were burnt in the raid. The Romanian information agency claimed that at least 100 Soviet planes had bombed Ploiești. The Pe-2 regiments' operations were not always successful and

4410-403: The Soviet/Russian Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot. A variety of light attack aircraft has also been introduced in the post-World War II era, usually based on adapted trainers or other light fixed-wing aircraft. These have been used in counter-insurgency operations. U.S. attack aircraft are currently identified by the prefix A- , as in " A-6 Intruder " and " A-10 Thunderbolt II ". However, until

4508-454: The U.S. Marine Corps has noted similar problems. In the late 1960s the United States Air Force requested a dedicated close air support (CAS) plane that became the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II . The A-10 was originally conceived as an anti-armor weapon (the A-X program requirements specifically called for an aircraft mounting a large rotary cannon to destroy massed Warsaw Pact armored forces) with limited secondary capability in

4606-409: The USAAF, preferred the older term "Scout-Bomber", under a "SB-" designation, such as the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver . The Junkers Ju 87s of the German Luftwaffe became virtually synonymous with close air support during the early months of World War II. The British Commonwealth's Desert Air Force , led by Arthur Tedder, became the first Allied tactical formation to emphasize the attack role, usually in

4704-630: The USAAF. It was not until 1946, when the US Navy and US Marine Corps started using the "attack" (A) designation, when it renamed BT2D Skyraider and BTM Mauler to, respectively, AD Skyraider and AM Mauler. As with many aircraft classifications, the definition of attack aircraft is somewhat vague and has tended to change over time. Current U.S. military doctrine defines it as an aircraft which most likely performs an attack mission , more than any other kind of mission. Attack mission means, in turn, specifically tactical air-to-ground action—in other words, neither air-to-air action nor strategic bombing

4802-446: The VI-100. It had an all-metal stressed-skin structure, with cloth only used to cover the ailerons and control surfaces. The tail had twin fins and rudders with a pronounced 8-degree dihedral on the tailplane; this had been added to the PB-100 to correct the poor lateral stability found on the VI-100 during testing. The wing design of the Pe-2 was also inherited from the VI-100, but this had been optimised for high altitude performance at

4900-407: The VVS judged that pressurisation was an inessential luxury for the dive-bombing role, and this was dropped. Furthermore, the high altitude performance provided by the turbo-superchargers was also unnecessary, and these too were dropped. Extensive glazing was added to the lower portion of the nose to give the pilot maximum visibility during a dive-bombing attack. A bomb bay for a single 100 kg bomb

4998-464: The airplane airborne by themselves. When such a situation occurred, the procedure was to have the navigator get behind the pilot's seat and wrap her arms around the control wheel and help the pilot pull the wheel back. Once the aircraft was airborne, the navigator returned to her duties and the pilot continued to fly the plane without assistance. In addition, the Pe-2 had a reputation for hard landings, as well as for its notorious "bounce" on landing due to

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5096-501: The attack role, although they would not be considered attack aircraft per se ; fighter-bomber conversions of those same aircraft would be considered part of the class. Strike fighters , which have effectively replaced the fighter-bomber and light bomber concepts, also differ little from the broad concept of an attack aircraft. The dedicated attack aircraft as a separate class existed primarily during and after World War II . The precise implementation varied from country to country, and

5194-452: The capabilities of single-engined fighters like the I-200. As a result, in May 1940, it was decided that a dive-bomber using the good aerodynamics of the VI-100 would be designed and put into production. The new aircraft, now designated the PB-100 ( Pikiruyushchiy Bombardirovshchik — "Dive-Bomber"), was required to achieve a maximum speed of 535 km/h at an altitude of 4800–4900 m, a range of 1,600 km at an altitude of 5,000 m, and

5292-408: The cockpit behind the pilot, and a ventral 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun in a mounting in the fuselage behind the bomb bay aimed by a periscope. This defensive armament was found to be totally inadequate: from Series 13 onwards, the ventral ShKAS was replaced by one 12.7 mm UBT in an MV-2 mounting, while the dorsal ShKAS was also replaced by a UBT in various different mountings, some modified in

5390-421: The cost of lower lift at low altitude, resulting in suboptimal manoeuvreability and take-off and landing characteristics. For example, while the Pe-2's flying characteristics were generally good once it was airborne, it took a good amount of force to pull the elevators up to rotate the plane for takeoff. Russian night bombing missions often flew with female pilots, and some of the women were not strong enough to get

5488-666: The current U.S. designation system, an attack aircraft ( A ) is designed primarily for air-to-surface (Attack: Aircraft designed to find, attack, and destroy land or sea targets) missions (also known as "attack missions"), while a fighter category F incorporates not only aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat , but additionally multipurpose aircraft designed also for ground-attack missions. "F" - Fighter Aircraft were designed to intercept and destroy other aircraft or missiles. This includes multipurpose aircraft also designed for ground support missions such as interdiction and close air support. Just to mention one example amongst many,

5586-460: The early years of the war, and took significant losses, even when well protected by fighters. In December 1942 General Ivan Turkel  [ ru ] of the Soviet Air Force estimated the life expectancy of a Pe-2 was 30 combat flights. An example of loss rates after the Soviets gained the upper hand can be gained by the losses suffered by the 1st and 2nd BAK. The former started the month of July 1943 with 179 machines, and lost 52 that month, and 59

5684-412: The end of World War II the A- designation was shared between attack planes and light bombers for USAAF aircraft (as opposed to B- prefix for medium or heavy bombers). The US Navy used a separate designation system and at the time preferred to call similar aircraft scout bombers (SB) or torpedo bombers (TB or BT). For example, Douglas SBD Dauntless scout bomber was designated A-24 when used by

5782-425: The end of 1941, after the Soviet Air Force had a chance to regroup after the German onslaught, during the Winter. The Pe-2 quickly proved itself to be a highly capable aircraft, able to elude the Luftwaffe's interceptors and allowing their crews to develop great accuracy with their bombing. It could give German fighters fits when it could outrun them, at times reaching over 640 km/h (400 mph). The records of

5880-417: The field and others from the factory: The replacement of the ShKAS defensive guns with the UBT was reported to increase the life expectancy of a Pe-2 from 20 sorties to 54. The Pe-2 was first publicly demonstrated in the May Day Parade of 1941. Testing of the Pe-2 was completed and it was accepted for service in June 1941, shortly before the German invasion of the Soviet Union . During the early stages of

5978-443: The first prototype be ready for its first flight before the end of 1939. The project was initially given the name Samolyot 100 (lit. "Aircraft 100") and later called VI-100 ( Vysotnyi Istrebitel — "High-Altitude Fighter"). The VI-100 project was an ambitious one for its time, with advanced features such as a pressurised cabin, all-metal construction, turbo-superchargers , and many electrically actuated systems. In addition,

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6076-419: The form of single-engine Hawker Hurricane and Curtiss P-40 fighter-bombers or specialized "tank-busters", such as the Hurricane Mk IID, armed with two 40 mm Vickers S guns (notably No. 6 Squadron RAF ). At around the same time, a massive invasion by Axis forces had forced the Soviet air forces to quickly expand their army support capacity, such as the Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik. The women pilots known as

6174-403: The fuselage for dropping on enemy bomber formations. The second prototype was instead fitted with external bomb racks for 1,000 kg of bombs and internal bomb bays for 600 kg of bombs instead of the cassettes of the first prototype. The first VI-100 prototype was demonstrated publicly during the 1940 May Day parade, flown by Maj. Stefanovsky , as Petlyakov and his team watched on from

6272-399: The inadequate shock absorbers in the landing gear. This could be fatal if the pilot was not prepared for it. As designed, the wings were also fitted with "Venetian blind"-type slatted dive brakes for the dive-bombing role. Pe-2s were equipped with an inert gas fire-suppression system for the self-sealing fuel tanks, which progressively filled the fuel tanks with nitrogen in order to reduce

6370-406: The introduction of precision-guided munitions which allowed almost any aircraft to carry out this role while remaining safe at high altitude. Attack helicopters also have overtaken many remaining roles that could only be carried out at lower altitudes. Since the 1960s, only two dedicated attack aircraft designs have been widely introduced, the American Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II and

6468-406: The invasion, Pe-2 crews, who were poorly trained and unfamiliar with their new aircraft, were often sent on near-suicidal low-level bombing missions against advancing German forces, where they were highly vulnerable to light anti-aircraft guns and German fighters, or bombed from altitude with minimal accuracy and effectiveness against moving troops. The aircraft did not show its true potential until

6566-485: The jets as they were able to both out accelerate and out maneuver the jets. The Royal Navy Hawker Sea Fury fighters and the U.S. Vought F4U Corsair and Douglas A-1 Skyraider were operated during the Korean War while the latter continued to be used throughout the Vietnam War . Many post-World War II era air forces have been reluctant to adopt fixed-wing jet aircraft developed specifically for ground attack. Although close air support and interdiction remain crucial to

6664-487: The leading Stuka ace, Hans-Ulrich Rudel , who claimed 500 tanks, a battleship, a cruiser, and two destroyers in 2,300 combat missions. The Bristol Beaufighter , based on an obsolescent RAF bomber, became a versatile twin-engine attack aircraft and served in almost every theatre of the war, in the maritime strike and ground attack roles as well as that of night fighter. Conversely, some mid-war attack types emerged as adaptations of fighters, including several versions of

6762-406: The modern battlefield, attack aircraft are less glamorous than fighters, while air force pilots and military planners have a certain well-cultivated contempt for "mud-movers". More practically, the cost of operating a specialized ground-attack aircraft is harder to justify when compared with multirole combat aircraft . Jet attack aircraft were designed and employed during the Cold War era, such as

6860-528: The most advanced then available in the Soviet Union, driving VISh-42 three-blade variable-pitch propellers, enhanced by two TK-3 turbo-superchargers fitted in the engine nacelles. Its primary armament were two 20 mm ShVAK cannon and two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns, with another ShKAS machine gun in a fixed mounting in the tailcone for self-defence. The first prototype VI-100 was also designed to carry KS-76 (48 modified 76 mm artillery shells with timed fuses) or KS-100 (96 AO-25 bomblets) cassettes in

6958-490: The most notable attack type to emerge during the late 1930s was the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik , which became the most-produced military aircraft type in history. As World War II approached, the concept of an attack aircraft was not well defined, and various air services used many different names for widely differing types, all performing similar roles (sometimes in tandem with non-attack roles of bombers, fighters, reconnaissance and other roles. The British concept of

7056-421: The next, ending August with 156 bombers after receiving replacements. The 2nd BAK started July with 122 Pe-2s, with monthly losses of 30 and 20, ending August 1943 with 114 Pe-2s after replacements arrived. Most of these losses were at the hands of the thinly stretched German fighter groups, which continued to inflict significant losses when present in strength, even in the closing months of the war. For example, in

7154-406: The nose. The right ShKAS was replaced by the more powerful 12.7 mm UBK heavy machine gun from Series 13 production aircraft onwards. From Series 32 onwards, provisions were made for underwing guide rails for up to ten RS-132 or RS-82 unguided rockets. The defensive armament originally consisted of a single ShKAS machine gun in a dorsal TSS mounting, later MV-3 turret, manned by the navigator in

7252-464: The performance requirements were also quite demanding: it was to be capable of reaching 630 km/h (391 mph) at an altitude of 10,000 m, a ceiling of 12,500 m, and a range of 1,400 km. The aircraft would also need a reinforced structure in order to withstand the Mach stresses of making diving attacks from high altitude against enemy bomber formations. In order to assist with the challenging development of

7350-518: The post-World War II era has also expanded need for these types of aircraft to conduct counter-insurgency and light ground attack operations. A primary distinction of post-World War II aviation between the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force was that latter had generally been allocated all fixed-wing aircraft , while helicopters were under control of the former; this was governed by the 1948 Key West Agreement . The Army, wishing to have its own resources to support its troops in combat and faced with

7448-505: The prospect of a rocket attack was unnerving. The ultimate development of the cannon-armed light attack aircraft was the small production run in 1944 of the Henschel Hs 129 B-3, armed with a modified PAK 40 75 mm anti-tank gun. This weapon, the Bordkanone BK 7,5 , was the most powerful forward-firing weapon fitted to a production military aircraft during World War II. The only other aircraft to be factory-equipped with similar guns were

7546-504: The radio operator were poorly protected. On average, ten Pe-2 gunners were wounded for every pilot, and two or three were killed for the loss of one pilot. Throughout 1942 the design was steadily refined and improved, in direct consultation with pilots who were actually flying them in combat. Improved armour protection and a fifth ShKAS machine-gun was installed and fuel tanks modified. Despite anecdotal reports by Soviet fliers, Pe-2s were daylight bombers, often crewed by comparative novices in

7644-436: The risk of ignition when hit by enemy fire. The Pe-2 had an internal capacity for six 100 kg bombs, for a total of 600 kg; this was no better than that of the older Tupolev SB bomber. The internal capacity consisted of a fuselage bomb bay capable of carrying four 100 kg bombs or an additional fuel tank, with two small internal bomb bays in the rear of the engine nacelles for a single 100 kg bomb each. This

7742-431: The roofs of their sharashka . During testing in 1940, the second prototype VI-100 suffered a cockpit fire due to an improperly tightened nut in the fuel supply and crashed into a kindergarten, killing a group of young children and a teacher. Despite the loss of the second prototype and several defects being found in the first prototype, the VI-100 was judged satisfactory and suitable for further development. Its performance

7840-494: The service pilots complained about insufficient defensive armament and survivability: there was a great risk of fire and insufficient armour protection, especially for the navigators and gunners. German pilots soon discovered the limited sighting angles of the ventral gun mounting and its poor reliability. The ammunition belt of the UBT machine-gun often jammed after the first burst of fire when shooting in extreme positions. The navigator and

7938-500: The specification was dropped before an aircraft went into production. In some air services, dive bombers did not equip ground-attack units, but were treated as a separate class. In Nazi Germany, the Luftwaffe distinguished between the Stuka ( Sturzkampf- , "dive bombing") units, equipped with Junkers Ju 87 from Schlacht ("battle") units, using strafing/low-level bombing types such as

8036-559: The unwillingness of Soviet industry to decelerate production numbers. Starting on 14 April 1945, some Pe-2FT aircraft were operated by the 1st Czechoslovak Mixed Air Division made up of exiled Czechoslovakian pilots in the Soviet Union. After the war, the reinstated Czechoslovakian Air Force operated 32 Pe-2FT and 3 UPe-2 between May 1946 and mid 1951. The first aircraft arrived at Prague-Kbely airfield in April 1946 and formed two squadrons of

8134-806: The war than any other twin-engine combat aircraft except for the German Junkers Ju 88 and the British Vickers Wellington . Several communist air forces flew the type after the war, when it became known by the NATO reporting name Buck . In 1937, Vladimir Petlyakov was the leader of the Heavy Aircraft Brigade at the Tupolev OKB responsible for the development of the ANT-42 four-engined long-range bomber (which would eventually enter service as

8232-471: Was a Soviet twin-engine dive bomber used during World War II . One of the outstanding tactical attack aircraft of the war, it also proved successful as a heavy fighter , as a night fighter ( Pe-3 variant) and as a reconnaissance aircraft . The Pe-2 was, numerically, the most important Soviet bomber of World War II, at their peak comprising 75% of the Soviet twin-engine bomber force. The Soviets manufactured Pe-2s in greater numbers (11,430 built) during

8330-605: Was a part of the Allied armies' strength in holding German attacks and supporting Allied counter-attacks and offensives. Admittedly, the cost to the Allies was high, with the Royal Flying Corps sustaining a loss rate approaching 30% among ground-attack aircraft. After World War I, it was widely believed that using aircraft against tactical targets was of little use other than in harassing and undermining enemy morale; attacking combatants

8428-414: Was added in each engine nacelle, while the engines remained the same. The wing was modified, with dive brakes added. The cockpit was redesigned, bringing the navigator and pilot together, and given extensive glazing, while a defensive machine gun was added in the ventral position, operated by a gunner. The redesign was completed in time, and the PB-100 was ordered into production without the construction of

8526-493: Was an armored twin-engine triplane for ground strafing with eight machine guns and about a ton of armor plate, and the 1922 Aeromarine PG-1 was a combined pursuit (fighter) and ground attack design with a 37mm gun. The United States Marine Corps Aviation applied close air support tactics in the Banana Wars . While they did not pioneer dive bombing tactics, Marine aviators were the first to include it in their doctrine during

8624-534: Was bought from the Germans in January 1944, and it was flown to Finland at the end of the month. It was initially planned to use these planes as dive bombers in the 1st flight of LeLv 48, which began to receive its aircraft in July 1942, but during the training it was found out that this caused too much strain for the engines. Thus, the role of Pe-2s was changed to fly long-range photographic and visual reconnaissance missions for

8722-548: Was carried out by purpose-designed and heavily armored aircraft such as the Henschel Hs 129 and Ilyushin Il-2 . The Germans and Soviets also used light bombers in this role: cannon-armed versions of the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka greatly outnumbered the Hs 129, while the Petlyakov Pe-2 was used for this role in spite of not being specifically designed for it. In the latter part of World War II,

8820-403: Was destroyed in an emergency landing in 1942. PE-214 was destroyed in a failed take-off attempt at Härmälä on 21 May 1942. As Härmälä airfield was quite short, the pilot had to tried to lift off with too little speed, which caused the aircraft to stall and crash, killing the crew. PE-217 managed to shoot down a Soviet fighter in 1944. PE-216 was destroyed in a forced landing in 1944. PE-211 survived

8918-475: Was expected and operating at low altitudes to precisely identify targets. Other roles, including those of light bombers , medium bombers , dive bombers , reconnaissance , fighters , fighter-bombers , could and did perform air strikes on battlefields. All these types could significantly damage ground targets from a low level flight, either by bombing, machine guns, or both. Attack aircraft came to diverge from bombers and fighters. While bombers could be used on

9016-686: Was generally much more dangerous to aircrews than their targets, a problem that was continually becoming more acute with the ongoing refinement of anti-aircraft weapons . Within the range of types serving attack roles, dive bombers were increasingly being seen as more effective than aircraft designed for strafing with machine guns or cannons . Nevertheless, during the 1920s, the US military, in particular, procured specialized "Attack" aircraft and formed dedicated units, that were trained primarily for that role. The US Army Engineering Division became involved in designing ground attack aircraft. The 1920 Boeing GA-1

9114-539: Was handled by a wide variety of designs. In the United States and Britain , attack aircraft were generally light bombers or medium bombers , sometimes carrying heavier forward-firing weapons like the North American B-25G Mitchell and de Havilland Mosquito Tsetse . In Germany and the USSR , where they were known as Schlachtflugzeug ("battle aircraft") or sturmovik ("storm trooper") respectively, this role

9212-573: Was replaced by faster fighter types for photo-reconnaissance, and light aircraft for artillery spotting. During the inter-war period, the British flew the Fairey Battle , a light bomber which originated in a 1932 specification. Designs in 1938 for a replacement were adapted as a target tug. The last British specification issued for a light bomber was B.20/40 described as a "Close Army Support Bomber" capable of dive bombing and photo-reconnaissance. However,

9310-548: Was superior to other Soviet high altitude fighters such as the Mikoyan-Gurevich I-200 (the future MiG-3 ), and compared favourably with contemporary aircraft such as the Potez 630 , Messerschmitt Bf 110 C , and Bristol Beaufighter Mk. I . However, events were to lead to substantial changes in the direction of the VI-100 project. The value of tactical dive bombing had been proven by the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers of

9408-501: Was supplemented by four external underwing racks. These were capable of carrying four 100 kg or 250 kg bombs, or two 500 kg bombs in overload configuration, giving a maximum bombload of 1,000 kg. Only the bombs in the external racks could be used in a dive-bombing attack; the internally carried bombs had no dive release gear and could not be dropped in a steep dive. The offensive armament originally consisted of two 7.62 mm ShKAS fixed forward-firing machine guns in

9506-762: Was the Junkers J.I , which pioneered the idea of an armored "bathtub", that was both fuselage structure and protection for engine and crew. The British experimented with the Sopwith TF series (termed "trench fighters"), although these did not see combat. The last battles of 1918 on the Western Front demonstrated that ground-attacking aircraft were a valuable component of all-arms tactics. Close support ground strafing ( machine-gunning ) and tactical bombing of infantry (especially when moving between trenches and along roads), machine gun posts , artillery , and supply formations

9604-830: Was to create a safe corridor through the Iraqi air defense system. The attack was a huge success and cleared the way for the beginning of the Allied bombing campaign of Operation Desert Storm . One concern involving the Apache arose when a unit of these helicopters was very slow to deploy during U.S. military involvement in Kosovo. According to the Army Times , the Army is shifting its doctrine to favor ground-attack aircraft over attack helicopters for deep strike attack missions because ground-attack helicopters have proved to be highly vulnerable to small-arms fire;

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