Aerial warfare during Operation Barbarossa information
Operation Barbarossa
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
Soviet aircraft knocked out, 22 June 1941. The plane in the foreground is a two-seat trainer version of the Polikarpov I-16 fighter.
Date
22 June – December 1941
Location
Soviet Union
Result
Inconclusive, both Axis and Soviet aviation contributed decisively to offensive and defensive operations, although the Axis failed to achieve their grand strategic aim
Belligerents
Soviet Union United Kingdom
Germany Hungary Romania Finland Italy Slovakia Croatia
Commanders and leaders
Pavel Zhigarev Aleksandr Novikov Fyodor Michugin Aleksey Ionov Boris Pogrebov Fyodor Polynin
Hermann Göring Hans Jeschonnek Albert Kesselring Alexander Löhr Alfred Keller Hans-Jürgen Stumpff W. von Richthofen Kurt Pflugbeil Bruno Loerzer Robert Ritter von Greim Ermil Gheorghiu Emanoil Ionescu Jarl Lundqvist Francesco Zingales Giovanni Messe
Strength
13,000 – 14,000 aircraft[1]
4,389 German aircraft (2,598 combat)[2] 980 other Axis aircraft[2]
Casualties and losses
~21,200 aircraft Another 5,240 also disappeared off order of battle.[3]
Axis and Soviet air operations during Operation Barbarossa took place over a six-month period, 22 June – December, 1941. Aviation played a critical role in the fighting on the Eastern Front during this period, in the battles to gain and maintain air superiority or air supremacy, to offer close air support to armies on battlefield, interdicting enemy supply lines, while supplying friendly forces. The Axis air forces were generally better equipped, trained and experienced in executing military tactics and operations. This superiority increased because of the Great Purge in the 1930s and mass expansion of Soviet air forces, which did severe damage to organisational structures.
On the opening day, Axis counter-air operations succeeded in destroying 2,000 Soviet aircraft, and gaining air superiority. The success of the strike enabled the Axis to support their armies in highly successful encirclement battles in July to September 1941. Its transport fleet helped fly in vital supplies to the army when the Russian Winter weather made supply difficult on the ground. In particular, the Luftwaffe played an important role on the defensive, countering the Soviet offensive in December 1941. Despite debilitating losses, Soviet aviation also played a crucial role in stemming the invasion and allowing the Red Army to organise defences; first before Leningrad in July, then in slowing down the occupation of the Ukraine, enabling the withdrawal of industries to the Ural Mountains, in the Crimea, enabling a long-term stand at Sevastopol, and then during the defence and counter-offensive at Moscow.
In the event, the Axis land and air operations failed to achieve their ultimate goal – the defeat of the Soviet armed forces. When operations ended in December 1941, both sides had suffered heavy losses, unparalleled in the history of air warfare to this point.[5] Some 21,000 Soviet and several thousand Axis aircraft were destroyed. With its factories in the Urals, out of range from Axis medium bombers, Soviet production increased, out-stripping its enemies and enabling the country to replace its aerial losses. The Axis had vastly underestimated Soviet industrial and technical potential. In the following years, Soviet air power recovered from the purges and losses, gradually gaining in tactical and operational competence while closing the technical gap.
^Boog 1998, p. 351.
^ abBergström 2007, p. 129.
^Bergström 2007, p. 116.
^ abcdeBergström 2007, p. 118.
^Wagner and Fetzer 1974, p. vi.
and 24 Related for: Aerial warfare during Operation Barbarossa information
Axis and Soviet air operationsduringOperationBarbarossa took place over a six-month period, 22 June – December, 1941. Aviation played a critical role...
OperationBarbarossa (German: Unternehmen Barbarossa; Russian: Операция Барбаросса, romanized: Operatsiya Barbarossa) was the invasion of the Soviet Union...
slowed both sides) or extreme snow. OperationBarbarossa helped confirm that armor effectiveness and the requisite aerial support depended on weather and...
forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerialwarfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of command of the sea. Air power has increasingly...
[ˈlʊftvafə] ) was the aerial-warfare branch of the Wehrmacht before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the Luftstreitkräfte...
offensive against the Soviet Union, dubbed OperationBarbarossa. A Finnish–German offensive named Operation Silver Fox (German: Unternehmen Silberfuchs)...
close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in aerial raids; the battle epitomized urban warfare and is recorded as the single largest and costliest...
In aerialwarfare, the term overclaiming describes a combatant (or group) that claims the destruction of more enemy aircraft than actually achieved. The...
military operations List of military strategies and concepts Military strategy Tactical formation Bretnor, Reginald (February 1, 2001). Decisive Warfare: A...
include aerialwarfare, it was not updated before the outbreak of World War II. The absence of specific international humanitarian law did not mean aerial warfare...
military aid. As the German offensive against the Soviet Union (OperationBarbarossa) approached, the cooperation between the two countries intensified...
psychological operations, information warfare, visual deception, or other methods. As a form of disinformation, it overlaps with psychological warfare. Military...
major offensive against the Soviet Union: OperationBarbarossa. A joint Finnish-German offensive named Operation Silver Fox was planned to support the Germany's...
ramming tactics in naval warfare and ground warfare were common. The first aerial ramming was performed by Pyotr Nesterov in 1914 during the First World War...
November 1941. OperationBarbarossa June-July 1941 Warfare History Network : Panzergroup 4, the march to Leningrad OperationBarbarossa August-September...
included Roger of Lauria, Andrea Doria and Hayreddin Barbarossa. Late medieval maritime warfare was divided in two distinct regions. In the Mediterranean...
the ex-German battleship SMS Ostfriesland with aerial bombs. (See Industrial warfare#Naval warfare) During WWII, there was a debate between strategic bombing...
credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft duringaerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace...
useless. Operation Seelöwe (Sea-lion) – plans to invade Britain (lions being prominent in the coat of arms of the United Kingdom) OperationBarbarossa (Frederick...
commander of the German Army, with Hitler replacing him in the position. OperationBarbarossa, the German invasion plan, called for the capture of Moscow within...
the battle, 5 July, being the single costliest day in the history of aerialwarfare. The battle was also marked by fierce house-to-house fighting and hand-to-hand...
weeks of OperationBarbarossa saw some 3-4,000 Russian planes destroyed in total. Other successful attacks include US counter-air operations in Korea...
differs from aerialwarfare, which deals with the strategy involved in planning and executing various missions. Dogfighting first occurred during the Mexican...