News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office

SOVIET .•.
low al ti tude or llhed&ehoppingll
aids in hitting the target, bllt at
the same time lowen the striking force of
the bomb. hrthermore, where an object 1.
well protected by antiaircraft defense
weapons, heaV7 1088es mq be inflicted
upon such attacld.ng aircraft. .
Horizont~ action fram great altitude
~ be utilized against extensive are8~.
The chances of hi tt1ng a target of some
,score ot 8quare meters in extent are negligible.
Horizontal bombardmenttrom average
al t1 tude will. 11kew1se afford slight
effect1veness and w1ll be rather hasardous
where the target 18 protected b7 antiaircraft
artille~.
Only power-dive bombing affords accuracy,
effectiveness and striking power of bombs
together w1th les8er danger from the action,
of the antiaircraft defenle weapons on the
ground.
The essential feature8 of the power-dive
bombing cons1st of the dropping of the
bomb. at the momentwhen the airplane 18
direct17 over the target, nying at a
sharp vertlcal a.ugle. A1m1ng i8 accomplished
by the direction of the airplane itself.
When pover-diving at a sharp angle the
traJecto17 of the plane and bombi8 nearly
the same.
lfheoretlcal17, it might be said that
when power-diVing at an Mgle of 90 0 the
trajectory of the night 01' the airplau
and that of the bombare identic&1. The
sharper the angle of the power-d1viiJg airplane
the greater the accuracy of a1m. At
the same t1me errors in d.etermin1D&the
exact altitude, speed of flight and Tarl&-
tions in the course of flight have a JI1't\Ch
lesser effect on the accuracy-of the attack
than in horizontal bombing. There remains,
however, the intluence of ,the w1nd
on the flight of the bamb. The effect ot
wind on the night of the bomb, however,
18 188e in the circumstances, Bince the
speed of the bomb 18 incre.eed while the
time that the bombis affected b7 the rind
is reduced.
_ On approac111nga target the power-dive
bombers enjoy tull treedom ot maneuver.
They do not require a stage of horhontal
flight to take aim, as in the case of bClllDbinge
from horizontal night. The very act
of power-diving 18 performed in the course
of flight, thotJgh it lnvol TeS the 10.. of
altitude at tremendoae speed. This flight
aanwverabili ty greatly complicates the
aiming of antiaircraft weapons. The greatest
108ses mq be expected from barrage
fire, but even here maUers are facilitated
by the fact that power-diT1Dgat tremendou
speed reduces the time during which the
bomber remains w1thin the zone of antiaircraft
fire.
Along nth the advant8ces involved in
power-diving, there are also certain disadvantages.
Targets JD8,1' be attacked only
with small elements. In the cir~.taace.,
the disper8ed aircraft enable hostile pur-
8111t planes to attack small group.. of
planes or 1nd1Tidua1 aircraft.
!he th..,.aBd aetua1 practice of powediva
bombing re8Ulted in the construction
of a new type of plane--the power-dive
bomber. The construction features of the
latter include aileron. and reverse Icre".
designed to retard the speed of the craft
during poyer-dive actions. In the case of
an ord1n&r7 airplane the speed attained in
power-d1v1ug so intensities the action of
the motor as to increase considerably the
rad1ue involved in coming out of powerdives.
The striking power of the bombis 1D.-
creased, Bince 'being released in the process
of the power-dive, it alre~ posse8ses the
ini tial velocity of the airplane. In dropping
bombs from horizontal night the initial
velocl ty of the dropped bomb1e zero.
The emplo1Dlentof air bombs wi th react1 ve
propelling devices, affording the bombs
additional velocity, further angment their
d~structive power.
-20-
The al ti tude of the airplane in coming.
out of a pOYer-dive 18 proport1onall7
greater wi th the increasecl speed ot the
craft. Greater altita4e renders aiming
more d1fficul t and oomplicates the bombin«.
The emplOJlllen\of device. for slowing d:awn
the dive of the plane retarde the drop and
thus faeili tates the functions of the airplane
orew. The power-diT1ng Junker-a?
bomber aUa1ns a speed in power-diving 01'
abov,t 470 miles per hour. The emplo1Dlent
ot the sl~ovn devices lowers thie
speed to 280 miles per hour. J'or the purpose
of increasing the rad1ue of action of
the Junker-a? extra gas containers are
carried on bombracks under the airplane
w1ngs.
At the outbreak of the Second World War
in Earope only the German air service poesessed
special aviation units of powerd1ve
bomber.. These vere equipped with
the Junker-a? and Renschel-l23 planes and
were extensively
Poland.
employedin the var~t
The 8iAf;le-motor, two-place power-dive
lConcluded on Page 22)