The biggest harvest of Soviet naval aviation in 1945

The biggest harvest of the Soviet naval aviation in 1945

From the end of April to the beginning of May 1945, the Baltic Fleet aviation actively cooperated with the army to attack the Swinamünde base (this was a large training center for the German navy ). On May 4th alone, the Fleet Air Arm dispatched 102 aircraft to cooperate with the 4th Air Group Army, destroying and sinking the German training battleship Schleswig-HColstein and the auxiliary cruiser 1 destroyer, 1 frigate, 2 minesweepers, 6 transport ships, 5 small boats, 1 cruiser, 3 destroyers, 1 frigate, 1 minesweeper, and 1 transport ship were damaged.

Official photo of the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein commissioned in 1906

On May 1, 1945, the Baltic Fleet aviation reconnaissance discovered the German Swinemünde naval base (this is the German Navy A large training center) parked a large number of ships, the most attractive of which is the battleship Schleswig-Holstein, in addition to 3 destroyers, 2 patrol boats and 2 minesweepers wait. Based on the above situation, the command planned to send torpedo bombers to carry out the attack. However, due to weather conditions, the attack plan had to be postponed.

A few days later, on May 4, the weather was very suitable for aviation attacks, so the aviation command began to conduct three attacks on the main target, the battleship "Schleswig-Holstein" .

The main attack force for the first sortie was 2 A-20F torpedo bombers and 8 A-20G torpedo bombers. The supporting fleet included 24 Il-2 attack aircraft and 13 Yak-9 fighters. . The lead aircraft of the entire attack group was captained by Captain Makalitsin. This aircraft served as the command aircraft of the entire air formation and therefore did not carry bombs. The weather in the area targeted by the Soviet army was not conducive to attack, and there was thick fog in the morning.

The IL-4 bomber loaded with torpedoes

At 11:30 a.m., the attack began. At this time, in addition to battleships, the German forces in the target area also had 3 destroyers, 8 transport ships and 12 patrol ships. Three formations of attack aircraft attacked, but were intercepted by German anti-aircraft fire.

At 11:38, the torpedo bomber group arrived and launched torpedoes. The torpedo hit a transport ship and headed for the target - a German battleship. But it is a pity that the torpedo was launched at an altitude of 500-700 meters and did not hit the target. Afterwards, the ФАБ-500 aerial bomb dropped by the torpedo bomber hit the target.

In general, the result of the first attack was that it attacked German battleships, sank 2 German transport ships, and damaged 1 destroyer, 1 minesweeper and 1 transport ship.

The second attack began at 16:40. The Soviet army dispatched 6 torpedo bombers and 16 Il-2 attack aircraft, which were covered by 16 Yak-9 fighters. The air formation commander Captain Makalitsin. The Soviet attack aircraft group first attacked the German warning ships. The torpedo bombers fired two torpedoes at the battleship, but still missed. Later, the torpedo bombers changed their attack targets to warning ships and transport ships.

After a few hours of rest, the Soviet army launched its third attack at 20:03 pm. The entire attack formation consisted of 4 torpedo bombers, accompanied by 16 Il-2 attack aircraft, and was covered by 18 Yak-9 fighters. The attack group first achieved results. They sank a German destroyer and a transport ship, and then three torpedo bombers went straight to the intended target. The torpedo bomber's torpedo and the ФАБ-1000 aerial bomb it carried directly hit the target and directly sank it. Part of the superstructure of the German battleship was exposed out of the water.

The blown command tower of the German battleship

As a result of this attack, the Soviet army sank the German battleship, 1 destroyer, 2 minesweepers and 4 transport ships. ship (20,000 tons), in addition to damaging 2 destroyers, 1 patrol boat and 2 boats. Soviet aircraft flew 135 sorties, at the cost of losing 1 A-20G torpedo bomber and 4 IL-2 attack aircraft.

In this battle, the Soviet naval aviation achieved significant results and also conducted a post-war summary

- When the first attack on the main target was not completed, it was able to adjust its tactics in time, but due to The bad weather, the lack of radar guidance targets, and the fierce enemy anti-aircraft fire have still not effectively changed

-Each attack is dispatched first with a group of three formations of attack aircraft, and then a small number of torpedo bombers, which is easy to The enemy found out the pattern

-The attack was concentrated in one direction and the flexibility was poor

-None of the four aerial torpedoes hit the target, indicating that there may be problems with setting the fixed depth and the enemy The army resisted fiercely

-Although a considerable number of attack aircraft were dispatched, the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery fire was still not completely suppressed

The basic combat method of fleet aviation against German warships and transport ships is , based on reconnaissance intelligence, a fleet of 4-16 aircraft is used to carry out the assault. When the opponent's air defense firepower is strong, the number of aircraft will also increase.

Schleswig-Holstein was attacked by air on May 4, 1945

Throughout 1945, the Baltic Fleet aviation destroyed 30 enemy ships and 40 merchant ships (Western information), the Soviet Union The military believes that 70 battleships were sunk (2 old battleships, 2 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 6 frigates, 1 submarine, 16 minesweepers, 9 landing ships, etc.) and 96 transport ships (278026 tons), 34 small boats, and damaged 98 ships. It should be said that this was the time when Fleet Air Arm probably felt best.

The West does not believe that the Baltic Fleet aviation sank an old German battleship, believing that the ship hit a mine and ran aground while returning to the base on May 3, and was not attacked by Soviet aircraft. Within the Soviet Army, there is also debate about who actually sank the ship. Officials generally believe that it was Mikhail Vladimir Borisov, deputy commander of the 51st Water Torpedo Aviation Regiment, himself. In an interview in 2006, he claimed that he received a bonus of 10,000 rubles for sinking the ship with a torpedo, but И. The ФАБ-1000 aerial bomb that hit played a decisive role.

The sinking of Schleswig-Holstein in May 1945