Air combat - Eastern Front

[Peter]

I have seen suggestions that air combat on the eastern front 1941-42 was generally at lower altitudes than on the western front, any comments please ?

[durb]

All the literature which I have read about the subject agrees that the air combats in Germany´s eastern front took place in low and medium altitudes. This had some consequences: 1) many eastern front aces were killed or had little success when transferred to western front and put in combat at high altitudes against enemy, which was well-trained to fight at high altitude 2) Different use of lend-lease planes as in west. Such a plane as Airacobra P-39 was quite good fighter at low altitudes and thus could challenge Bf 109. Soviets liked Airacobra very much, but Western allies disliked P-39 because of its poor high altitude performance. Such plane as Spitfire was not used as a frontline fighter by Soviets because they considered it mainly as a high-altitude fighter and thus lend-lease Spitfires served mainly Soviet rear units to intercept reconaissence planes like recce versions of Bf 109´s flying high.

The reason why the air combat at Germany´s eastern front took place mainly at low or medium altitudes was that the nature of airwar was different than at western front. Bombers were used tactically against frontline targets or targets near frontiline, there was not a strategic bombing campaign as in west. Bombers were mainly twin-engined medium heavy bombers - there were not four-engined bombers flying high as in west. The use of ground attack planes like Il-2 Sturmovik was also more numerous at eastern and they flew understably at low altitude. As bombers and ground attack planes flew at low and medium altitudes, also fighters flew there.

[Peter]

Thanks Durb