guys : anyone be able to help ID what an R-5 is ? noticed one particular nf ace of I./NJG 100 scored 4 R-5's on the night of 27/28 March 1945. What is an R-5 please...... thanks ! ~E
This should be a R-5...In early 1929, test pilot M. M. Gromov completed factory trials of an experimental reconnaissance plane, R-5, developed by a team led by N. N. Polikarpov. Later the R-5 was used in the combat actions in Spain, China, Mongolia, in the Soviet-Finnish conflict and during the Great Patriotic War. http://aeroweb.lucia.it/~agretch/RAFAQ/R-5.html http://picturebank.euroavia.org/moscow/monino/03o167w.jpg homepage link: http://picturebank.euroavia.org/moscow/monino/monino-e.html Seems the Finns shot them down too: http://www.dalnet.se/~surfcity/finland_joensuu.htm [ 02. May 2003, 01:08 PM: Message edited by: Stevin Oudshoorn ]
Thanks Stevin......did some more research today quickly and it appears the a/c were probably the slow but manuverable Soviet Po-2's of which a total of 96 were lost in 1945. A big zero were lost for the R-5's. Imagine dropping your landing gear and slowing down to almost stalling speed so as not to overtake this little wooden two-seater and then trying to drop back far enough so you wouldn't take debris into your canopy as you fired your 2cm's ? Uk...... (E)
Several American jets were lost during the Korean War trying to shoot down the PO-2 at night and ending up stalling out and crashing.
whoa ! can't imagine an F-86 trying to chase one down..... ? eeeeeeeeekkkkkk would think US AA would be more effective. E~