Allied Opinion of IJN vs. IJA Fighter Pilots
Hi Geoff
I honestly can not really comment on the Airacobra in service with the VVS but Christer Bergström is on record as having stated that he did not have the impression that Russian pilots generally had a good opinion of the type nor that it performed particularly well on the Eastern Front. I do not have any data on claims recorded by the units equipped with the type but known losses in combat per year regarding the VVS-KA (Army) were:
1941: 0
1942: 49
1943: 305
1944: 486
1945: 190
Those regarding the VVS-VMF (Navy) were:
through 21 June 1943: 17
from 22 June 1943 through 21 June 1944: 77
from 22 June 1944 through 4 September 1945: 30
He goes on to state that he seriously doubts the Airacobra units were able to bring down an equivalent number of German fighters and that combats between the Airacobra and German fighters usually ended in favor of the latter.
Horrido!
Leo
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