Re: Soviet aviation fuel: More bang for the buck or the ruble?
I would like to thank all the members who have responded to my query on Soviet aviation fuel and especially Juha. They have provided a great deal of illumination but also added to the considerable confusion.
As Paul noted we remain uncertain exactly which fuels were supplied to which types of units. I am surprised, for example, given the Soviet Union's limited production and distribution resources that different fighter regiments might receive different categories of, for example, B-78. Where was the relevant additive added, at a forward base or at the refinery and if the latter how did the VVS supply organisation ensure the right fuel reached the right regiment without regularly falling foul of the loveable NKVD?
There is an added complication on the Russian reminisences website 'I Remember.' Many fighter pilots report received B-89 fuel yet even here there is a lack of uniformity. Pilots in the Aircobra equipped 68 GvIAp and 9 IAP report receiving B-78, although one from the latter unit mentions B-100, a 196 IAP pilot reported B-89 for his Aircobra/Yakovlev equipped regiment while another in the Yakovlev-equipped 867 IAP mentions B-86, B-90 and B-100.
If any member can bring order out of this chaos I would be very, very grateful
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