Evening star., 1944-02-20
|Stormoviks Fill Role
|0f Aerial Gueri|Ids
Along Nazi Road Back
BY JAMES ALDRIDGE,

1AlAo IdlIlcT lck6IlOATV aircraft Is
making the German retreat miser-
able indeed. 1t is appearing more
and more as the German transports
crowd the roads leading westward
and southwestward.
Strangely, low-hanging rain clouds
make flying difficult No high
altitude bombing is possible on most
days. Only planes fast enough and
armored heavily enough to operate
at near ground level are usable in
this weather. The Stormovik is in
its element. 1t hides in clouds and
makes use of blind approaches. 1t
appears, attacks and then disappears
before gun crews know about it.
Many Operate Singly.
Under existing conditions the
Stormoviks are operating singly and
in pairs. This gives them a tre-
mendous range o. action They
bust up everything they see over
100-mile area of their bases. Single,
rowing Stormoviks have specific
areas tocover, but they operate out
of groups. Groups operating now
most part contain expert bad
weather flyers.
They rely on good knowledge
of the country and, particularly.
skillful plotting and navigating.
They find enemy concentrations in
their specified areas and attack
them. Then they reconnoiter, look
ing for more.
There is one well-known group
operating now in one sector of the
front, the name of which cannot be
disclosed. Its commanding officer
is Commander Chernetsov, who has
trained his group for these single.
bad-weather attacks. When the
Germans retreated from his area he
assigned large areas to individual
pilots. He told them to acquaint
themselves with their areas and to
note changes of enemy positions for
the next days operations.
Plane Wracks Heavy Toll.
After some days activities his
pilot had destroyed 20 automobiles.
% railway trucks and five tanks.
{
as high. Some of them destroyed as
many as 10 tanks, others killed at
least 200 NaZi soldiers They had
covered areas considerably greater
than group formation bombing could
effect.
The Russian commanders have
found that this single bombing can
be more effective than particular
mass bombing. They figure it is
better for one plane to get through
to the target and do what damage
it can than for formation to try
to get through, and usually fail, and
do no damage.
Their method of operation is
simple. They leave their airdromes
separately and with large time gaps
between flights. They hedgehog
along down gullies and, particularly
down rivers. The Russians call it
shaving They are particularly
keen about lodging in and out of
clouds.
There is always the danger of ice
forming on the wings in clouds, and
the Stormoviks do not carry de-
icing equipment, but this doesn't
deter the Russian pilots. They de-
pend on surprise, and surprise de-
pends on concealed approach to
the target. Or if it is a column of
transports on the move they are
after. they communicate with other
planes which wait for the trucks
to arrive at a given spot. Com
munication between the planes
themselves and between the planes
and their bases is constant and i'm
portant to the Stormovik pilots.
Looks Like Hurricane.
The Stormovik is single-engined
plane 1t looks like a big Hurri-
cane with "glasshouse" on top. It
usually has four cannon bulging out
OF its wings and a crew of two. 1t
is heavily armored. which slows it
down little, but the Russians con-
slider the armor worth the loss OF
speed. 1t attacks in a shallow dive.
It's engine sounds somewhat like a
tank engine, harsh and metallic,
which helps to confuse the enemy.
1t usually fires four cannon at once
which slows the plane down con-
siderably Small, high explosive,
armor- piercing bombs are carried in
its long fuselage and are its chief
weapons.
Compared with the tank busting
Hurricane. the Stormovik more than
stands up. 1t wasn't adapted for
this job, it was built for it. Because
it is bigger and more heavily armored
it is slower, but it can fire more
shells and drop more bombs than
can the Hurricane Its particular
moment of greatest value is when
the enemy is demoralized.
The Russians have a way of using
the enemy's decentralization to the
fullest extent. particularly when the
Germans leave the main highways
and get tangled up on the small
country roads. Then the Stormoviks
go around creating bottlenecks by
smashing up the transport columns
at crossings and bridgeheads.
That is what the Stormoviks are
doing now, and the effect is in
calculable.
tReleased by the North American
Newspaper Alliance. IncD