[Mirek Wawrzynski]

Thank you for the answer.

However, I will push you down with questions.

I wonder if you have also included the activities of the northern fleet in the last book. In fact, it was not large (72 SAP VVS NF and reconnaissance squadrons), had made few combat flights. This aviation did not suffer any combat losses, except non-combat losses, when it burned in a hangar of 15 MBR-2 during this war.

Have you included the participation in the war of the NKVD border protection squadrons?

Did you also consider the participation of civil aviation, which became transport and liaison aviation.

Did you describe long range flights without visibility in DC-3 by Aleksandar Golowanow?

"Today several Russian military historians admit that the Finns teached the Russians how to fight against a (formally) superior enemy in an Arctic environment. Without this lesson the outcome of war against Germany 1941-1945 could well have been have been different..."

Interesting view but not true. A large proportion of senior officers (actually older commanders) who fought in the Winter War (earlier over Poland or Spain), but unfortunately fell victim to Stalin's purges from May to July 1941.

In this case, the main teacher was Germany (LW), who had a significant technical advantage (for example, radio equipment in each Me 109, etc.). Tactical German advantage, coordination of activities between tank and air units allowed Germany to gain and maintain an advantage in the air until 1944.

The Winter War taught the crew of Soviet bombers to fly combat operations without escorting fighter - they began only from February 1940. Then they very fast forgot about it.

In 1941, a few thousand crews of bombers paid for it with their lives. Apparently the Russians did not exactly do their homework from the Winter War.

The second thing the Russians began to introduce radio stations to their all produced fighters only from 1943 as standard equipment. It is difficult to talk about any advantage, learning when pilots cannot communicate during a combat flight.

The Russians suffered a lot because most of their own fighters (MiG-3, Łagg-3 Yak-1, Yak-7B, etc.) did not have radio stations for a long time. The radio was often only on the commander's plane.

However, the Germans taught them that a radio station in their own fighters is necessary. And that it happened after 2 years of the Great Patriotic War, is another matter of the length of learning about it.

After all, in May 1945 the Russians captured Berlin, but the overall cost of victory turned out to be terribly great.

In fact, this victory cost the entire Soviet nation enormously much.

In the case of such terribly huge losses, what lessons are these, what important experiences of the Winter War can the Russians talk about?

Regards

mirekw