[Juha]

Hello Glider
on Soviet options to attack heavy bridges, the re were some but none optimal.
1) Pe-2s, some soviet units were very good in hitting bridges but the bomb load of Pe-2 was light, even against German AA-ship Niobe, which Soviets thought to be Finnish coastal BB Väinämöinen, the bomb load of attacking Pe-2 dive-bombers was 2 x 250kg (550lb) and 2 x 100kg (220lb) per plane.
2) Tu-2 level bombers, it was a fast plane and could carry 1000kg (2200lb) bomb, standard level bomber of VVS in 45.
3) If nothing other worked there were possibility to use Pe-8/5000kg (11000lb) combination even if I recall only night bombing ops by this combination.


On Il-2, even if its armour limited its ordnance carrying capacity it made it invulnerable against rifle calibre fire and that was good for the morale of the crews and bad for the morale of enemy infantry because it had no effective way to return fire. Il-2 was the main reason why Finns modified their obsolete 20mm A/T rifles to capable to automatic fire and distributed them to troops as an ad-hoc infantry AA weapon so that infantry would have something which would hurt Il-2 if one was able to hit one.

Juha