USSR AIR POWER ESTIMATED

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300217-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 7, 2011
• Sequence Number: 217
• Publication Date: April 14, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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uLmonirn;NiiuN CONFIDENTIMNFIDENT ,
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGEN RTI 50X1-HUM
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Military - Air
HOW
PUBLISHED Week . newspaper; monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Hamburg; Geneva
DATE
PUBLISHED 2 Mar 1950, Nov 1949
LANGUAGE German
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DATE OF
INFORMATION 1949 - 1950
DATE DIST. Jq Apr 1950
SOURCE Die Zeit; Inter-Avia.
Two divergent estimates of Soviet air power appeared re-
cently in foreign publications, one in the Hamburg newspaper,
Die Zeit, on 2 March 1950, and the other in the November 1949
issue of the Swiss periodical, Inter-Avia. The former article,
by Nikolaus Eck, is summarized below, while the more signifi-
cant statistics from the latter are included for purposes of
comparison.
The Soviet Air Force, although numerically strong in World War II,
was backward in technical and navigational development. At the end of
the war, the Soviet high command, therefore, set up five projects for
the equipment and development of the Air Force. These were (1) development
of faster fighters and bombers and their conversion to jet and rocket pro-
pulsion; (2) development of new types of aircraft; (3) production of modern
radio and electrical equipment for aircraft, airfields, and air defense;
(4) requisite reorganization and expansion of the entire aircraft industry
and enterprises which supply it; and (5) revision of flight and technical
radio training for air and ground personnel. The most decisive measure,
however, was the appointment of General-polkovnik Shtemenkc as chief of
staff of all three branches of the Aimed Forces.
In November 1948, Shtemenko, a specialist in modern warfare, began to
coordinate and modernize the operational and technical plans of the three
branches of the Armed Forces. He set up a Special Bureau for the Study of
Modern Warfare consisting of an elite staff of about 100 officers. He ex-
tended the scope of the Ministry Jf Aviation Industry to such an extent
that it now has immediate_. influence over all industrial enterprises produc-
ing air frames, engines, and all types of accessories. This ministry is
headed by Air Force General Khrunichev, a very active and powerful man.
Die Zeit's estimate of Soviet air power, as of the begin-
ning of 1950 left column), is compared below with Inter-Avia's
estimate for mid-1949 (right column).
CD MAIN
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600,000 men (in Eastern and
and Western air fleets)
25,000 first-line operational
combat aircraft, including 10,000
jet fighters, over 2,000 long-range
bombers, and 18,000 piston-engine
wartime aircraft in second-line re-
serve
Yak-9 -- 2,400 first-line
fighters; resemble German Me-
109; top speed 600 km/hr
La-7, La-9 -- 1,100 first-
line figaters; resemble German
FW-190
These three types are
proved but obsolete.
La-9, La-il -- in large num-
bers; La-11 is probably latest pis-
ton fighter to be adopted.
2,500 gas turbine jet
fighters
Yak-15, Mig-9 -- top speed
1,000 km/hr; developed from Ger-
man Turbojaeger; both have proved
successful.
Yak-17 -- 600 jet fighters;
unsuccessful: crash frequently,
unable to glide, and tend to crash
when landing speed drops below 200
km/hr; four crashed in Dec 1949,
near Zerbst airfield.
Mig-9 twin-engine type consti-
tutes bulk of jet fighter strength;
now supplanted by considerable num-
bers of Yak-21 rocket fighters.
Yak-15 -- built in large num-
bers; still is first-line aircraft,
but used largely for training
Yak-17 has been issued to some
squadrons.
La-15 -- twin engines; will
soor be issued to squadrons
R-5 -- 100 rocket fighters,
top speed 1,000 km/hr; patterned
after German Me-263
Yak-21 fsee abov]
CONFIDEP'T I.
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U4t= MEtTIMt.
All older models, chiefly
Yak-9
About 5,700 light bombers and
ground-attack aircraft, including
2,600 first-line and 3,100 second
line
700 Tu-2 twin-engine bombers; re-
semble old German Do-19 in performance
and appearance
Tu-2 twin-engine bombers are
in use in large numbers
Pe-2 -- resemble earlier German
He-111; top speed 600 km/hr; bomb load
2,000 kilograms; radius of action 1,400
kilometers
11-10 -- 900 single-engine ground-
attack aircraft; top speed 600-700
km/hr
Tu-4 -- 200 twin-engine jet bomb-
ers; top speed 800 km/hr
450 heavy four-engine bombers
of which less than. 10 percent are
jets:
Tu-70 -- 420; top speed 500 km/hr;
bomb load 4,000 kilograms; radius of ac-
tion 5,000 kilometers; copied from Ameri-
can B-29
Ilr-l -- 30 four-engine jet bomb-
ers; top speed 800 km/hr; radius of
action 6,000 kilometers; bomb load
4,000 kilograms
Experimental jet bombers:
Pe-16 -- four gas-turbine engines;
radius of action 7,000 kilometers;
bomb load 3,000 kilograms; developed
from German Ju-287
I1-24-X -- swept-back wings;
twin gas-turbine engines; top speed
1,300 hnn/hr; approaches performance
of most modern US and British
fighters; can be used either as
fighter or bomber and can carry atom
bomb; developed from DFS-8-346; has
been referred. to as new Soviet super-
sonic fighter
Pe-2, I1-2, Yak-4 -- large num-
bers still in service
Yer-2 -- second-line attack
aircraft
I1-10 -- mainstay of ground-
attack forces
New twin-engine jet attack
bomber developed by Tupolev
Tu-70 -- increasing numbers of
these four-engine bombers will be
supplied to the Long-Range Air Force;
copied Prot Super-Fortress.
11-16 -- four-engine jet bomber
about to reach operational stage
Bomber version of I1-1B trans-
port reported, but not yet issued
to squadrons
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7l-12 -- widely used as para-
troop and cargo transports
Tu-70, Pe-8 -- also used as
transports
Trainers: two-seated version-
of La-7 piston-engine fighter, Yak-
20 advanced. Yak-18 basic, Ut-2
primary trainers
Western and Eastern -- subor-
dinate to Army high command
Arctic Air Fleet -- subordinate
to Main Administration of Northern
Sea Route
Strategic Long-Range Bomber
Fleet -- directly suborlinate to
Armed Forces high command
Western and Eastern air fleets,
with total of 600,000 men, are
divided into air divisions of vo
to four regiments each -- there are
1.80 divisions made up of 500 regi-
ments; each regiment has 40 aircraft
including trainers and may be composed
entirely of ground attack plan.;,
fighters, bombers, reconnaissance
planes, or a mixture of these
Air signal troops are a part of
the air regiments, while antiaircraft
is subordinate to artillery and tank
troops of the Army.
15 air armies with somewhat
more than 1,000 operational air-
craft each; account for over 60
percent of air strength; subor-
dinate to ground armies or army-
group commanders
One division of Long-Range
Bomber Force trained especially
for Arctic regions; there are a
number of large bomber and fighter
bases and 81 air weather observa-
tion pusts in the Arctic
In addition to 15 air armies,
there is a Long-Range Bomber Force
and Fighter Arm of Air Defense
Force
15 air armies are made up of
about 350 air regiments with about
40 aircraft each.
Airbornestrength (Jan 1949):
3,000 transport aircraft in
service 150,000 trained parachutists
The Western Air Fleet is made up of five air groups located in the Ukraine,
the Caucasus, central USSR, Belorussia, and in the north (the Baltic area and
Finland). Air Force units stationed in Poland, Eastern Germany, and Czecho-
slovakia belong to the forward group of Belorussian group. Thus, the Air Force
units are widely and loosely dispersed. They are concentrated around the
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CONFIDENTIAL
most important industrial, government, and transport centers. The chief arma-
ment centers are protected by the newest Yak-17 jet fight'srs and a few R-5
rocket fighters.
Even the military air fields, with few exceptions, are not modern in-
stallations. There are only a few concrete runways, and the fields lack
modern radar equipment as well as necessary radio installations. There is
also a great scarcity of gasoline trucks, fire-fighting equipment, and snow
plows.
The Soviet Air Force also suff'rs from lack of technically trained
ground personnel. It is significant that at most only 11 men are avail-
able for maintenance of each plane, although the usual number is 20 men per
aircraft. An air operation such as the Berlin airlift would at present be
impossible for the Soviet Air Force in spite of its significant transport
capacity. Such an attempt by the Soviets would without doubt result in a
pile of wreckage in the middle of the home airfields within half an hour.
The Eastern Air Fleet is composed of two large groups, which are dis-
tributed throughout western, central, and eastern Siberia and in Central
Asia, and which have the mission of protecting the most important industrial,
and government centers. An especially heavy concentration of modern
fighters is to be expected at the chief centers of the Soviet atomic in-
dustry: Atomgrad I and II, near the southwest border of Siberia, the south-
east border of European Russia, and the northwest border of Central Asia.
The Arctic Air Fleet's mission is very important. It contributes to
navigation science and navigation training in the Arctic, helps to determine
the shortest air distance over the North Pole toward the American continent,
and helps to defend the great Arctic sea route, naval bases, and new economic
and government centers in the Arctic. Almost all torpedo aircraft are subor-
dinate to the Main Administration of the Northern Sea Route and are within
its area of command, except for about 100 aircraft on the Black Sea.
The present strength of the Red Air Force in Eastern Germany is usually
very highly overrated. There are a total of 860 fighters available includ-
ing 520 Yak-9s, 180 La-Ts and La-9s and only 160 jet fighters. Of the lat-
ter, 40 are Yak-15s, 70 Yak-17s, and 50 Mi6-9s. The Soviet Air Force has in
Soviet Zone Germany a total of 200 bombers, all piston-driven twin-engine
Tu-2s and Pe-2s. Although they are entirely obsolete, the Soviet Air Force
still uses 100 old biplane fighters for training purposes. The air fields
in the Soviet Zone are also in poor condition since the Soviets, after taking
over such installations from the Germans, either dismantled them prematurely
or employed them as quarters for armored troops. A large-scale construction
program was begun in early 1949 by the Soviet-German construction organiza-
tion, KETSCH, and should normally be concluded by early 1952. At present
there are four air fields for jet fighters: at Zerbst and Koethen in Anhalt,
where existing runways were lengthened, and at Rechlin and at Parchim in
Mecklenburg, which were newly constructed. The completion of six more fields,
at Hagenow, Waren, and Neubrandenburg in Mecklenburg, at Stasken near Berlin,
and at Kochstedt and Dessau in Anhalt, is planned in 1950. Only about 15 per-
cent of the airfields in the Soviet Zone have radar equipment.
Since air fields in Poland and Czechoslovakia, as well as those in the
Soviet Zone of Germany, belong to the forward group of the Belorussia air
group, they have a rather large complement of aircraft. On the other hand,
the number of aircraft maintained in the Balkans is'very low and serves only
a connecting link.
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The best de'enae of the USSR against air attack ie uuduub..ediy the tre-
mendous expanse of its area. There is in addition, of course, very good Soviet
antiaircraft artillery. However, its value in modern air warfare slDuld not
be exaggerated since its effect is somewhat dependent upon the necessity for
massing it in tremendous concentrations and limited by the extreme altitudes
at which modern bombers are able to fly. Even such modern antiaircraft
weapons as the German Wasserfall, which was developed further by the Soviets,
and which automatically follows the flying target, can be effective only under
certain :onditions. The value of radar in air defense was recognized late in
World War II by both the Soviets and Cerro nc. Therefore in comparison with
western developments, t1,e radar air-warning system, as well as the radar in-
stallations on airfields, are still highly inadequate. In Austria, Czecheslo-
vakia, Poland, and Soviet Zone Germany, only a few airfields have radar instal-
lations. The Soviet radar net begins 60 kilometers east of Brest-Litovsk and
extends in a great crescent from Liyepaya on the Baltic as far as Astrakhan'
on the Caspian Sea; a branch of the net includes the Black Sea coasts and the
Caucasus. The equipment of fighters and ground-attack planes, as well as
bombers and transports with radar apparatus, is still relatively below
western standards. As a consequence, navigation developments (blind flying,
landing, and take-off by instruments) are adversely affected. Even such
modern planes as the Yak-17, the R-5, and Tu-4 light bombers have not been
fully equipped as yet.
Navigation and radio-engineering training of flight and ground personnel,
in spite of much progress, remains inferior to that of the western pown-s.
The training period of pilots, for example, is only 1 1/4 years, while :er'
man Air Force pilot training lasted 2 years. The 9 months' training received
by radio engineers of the Red Air Force in the air and on the ground is also
far less than that afforded such personnel in western nations.
A great deal is being done, however, for future airmen. The Chkalov
Central Air Club, under General-polkovik of Aviation Gromov, is a part of
Osoaviakhim fDOSAy7. It trained 100,000 members as aircraft and glider pilots,
and as parachutists and model plane builders during the year preceding the
war. In addition to this premilitary and flight training, the Air Force it-
self has four advanced flying schools and institutes and numerous flying
schools.
The Soviet aircraft industry was greatly strengthened as a result of the
dismantling of German East Zone plants of the aircraft engine, frame, and
equipment industries, as well as from such imports from the west as the eighty
1947 - 1948 model Rolls-Royce None gas-turbine engines. The materiel of the
Berlin-Adlershof Aircraft Experimental Station, which fell intact into Soviet
hands, was also a consi arable contribution. Such important enterprises as
Junkers-Dessau and Teleiunken-Erfurt were removed and reconstructed in
Kuybyshev and Voronezh.
Die Zeit's estimate of current Soviet aircraft production
capabilities left column) is compered below with Inter Avia's
estimate for 1949 (right column).
CaFtF 1, 0 EF.TI,!.'
M
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I. AIR FRAMk AIM
Main part of aircraft industry
is located in Volga basin; certain
plants with proving facilities were
moved underground in Siberia:
70 air-frame plants
50 aircraft-engine plants
Larger number of accessories
plants
Number of aircraft-industry per-
sonnel may well approach one million
Main part of air-frame industry
is in European USSR, chiefly in
Volga valley:
At least 25 major air-frame
plants with 350,000 employees
12 major aircraft-engine
plants with 90,000 workers
Top production attainable at
present:
7,000 fighters
4,000 light and ground-attack
bombers
1,000 heavy bombers
4,000 transport and training
planes
1949 production estimate:
25,000 aircraft including -
5,000 jet fighters,
2,500 conventional fighters
5,000 light bombers
7,000 utility aircraft,
trainers, sports aircraft, and
gliders
The high degree of standardization in the Soviet aircraft industr, is
noteworthy in comparison with the Briti-h and US industries. Advantages in
the Soviet system are the possibilities for significant mass production and
the ease of exchanging all parts. But the disadvantages are just as obvious:
a certain inflexibility, limitation of progress, and imitation of western
technical developments. Measured in numbers alone, the Soviet Air Force is
the equal of the US, but in striking power the US is far superior. The number
of Soviet jet fighters approaches the estimated strength of the ,sritish and
UL air forces in this category. The number of Soviet jet bombers, however, is
very small. Five years ago, at the end of the war, the Tu-70 heavy bomber
was considered outmoded, whereas in modern atomic air warfare, a large fleet
of atom bombers might well be decisive.
The Soviet Air Force at present constitutes no long-distance threat.
It might best be employed defensively as well-balanced fighter interception
and offensively with ground-attack and light bombers in support of ground
troops.
MoIii-,,?? I
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CONFIDENTIAL
[Rote: Current Soviet air power and aircraft production are never
mentioned in the available Soviet press. The most recent aircraft production
statistics available from overt sources are those for the war years. A
typical statement; taken from an article by Marshal of Aviation F. A.
Astakhov in Slavyane, No 8, August 1947, revealed that "during the last 3
years of the war, the Soviet aviation industry produced about 40,000 planes
annuauy. 7
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