Firepower

Name: Junkers Ju-87 Stuka (above)
Role: Ground attack aircraft
Nation: Germany
Entered Service: 1936

The Stuka dive-bomber was a brilliantly effective ground-attack aircraft in the first years of the Second World War. Like many German tank and aircraft designs, it had been tested in combat during the Spanish Civil War. Stukas used a steep diving approach to drop a 250kg bomb or four smaller bombs with pinpoint precision. The Stuka also carried two machineguns (later upgraded to 20mm cannon) for strafing attacks. There was another machinegun for the rear-gunner, who protected the aircraft from enemy fighter attack.

Early in the war, the Stuka was equipped with the ‘Jericho Trumpet’ – a siren that screeched as the Stuka dived, intended to terrify the enemy. But the Stuka was slow and unmaneuverable compared to modern fighter aircraft. When the German Luftwaffe struggled to attain air superiority, for instance during the Battle of Britain or after 1943 on the Eastern Front, the Stuka proved highly vulnerable.

In 1943, in time for the Kursk Offensive, the Stuka received a new lease of life with the development of the Ju-87G. This variant was armed with two 37mm cannon, and although it could only carry 12 rounds of armour-piercing ammunition, it proved deadly against Soviet tanks (which were only lightly armoured on top). In the hands of an experienced pilot like the legendary Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the Ju-87G could wreak havoc against columns of Soviet vehicles. But by then, the Stukas were so heavily outnumbered in the air that their victories could only ever be small and local.

Although a Katyusha rocket on its own was wildly inaccurate, when used en masse in this fashion they could devastate a huge area. The psychological effect on soldiers in the target zone was similarly devastating. One drawback was that it could take up to an hour to fully reload a Katyusha – although being truck-mounted, the crew could quickly drive off to a safe place to do this.

‘Katyusha’ is an affectionate form of the Russian girls’ name Yekaterina, and was the nickname given to the BM-13 by the troops. At first the secrecy surrounding the weapon was so great that they weren’t even allocated to regular army artillery units. Instead they were operated by detachments of the NKVD security forces, and referred to as ‘Guards Mortar’ battalions. The enemy soon nicknamed the Katyusha ‘Stalin’s organ’, because of the long tubes and the wailing noise of the rockets as they launched.

About 10,000 Katyushas had been produced by the end of the war, including many variants which increased the number of rocket tubes, used bigger rockets, or used other vehicle-bases including jeeps and tanks. The M-30 used a static launching frame to fire heavy 300mm rockets –the troops nicknamed this variant, ‘Pounding Ivan’. The basic principle of the Katyusha proved so effective, and economical, that updated versions are still used today by the Russian army.

Name: T-34 (above)
Role: Medium tank
Nation: USSR
Entered Service: 1940

The T-34 has become the iconic vehicle of the Second World War and is regularly cited as one of the most decisive weapons in history. Its development had been kept secret from the Germans, and when their panzer divisions encountered the first T-34s just days into Operation Barbarossa, it came as a nasty shock. The T-34 was faster, better off-road, more powerfully armed and better armoured than most German tanks in 1941. Its sloping armour increased effective thickness and the chance of deflections, and its wide tracks made it less likely to bog down in snow or mud. Fortunately for the Germans, in 1941 the T-34 was only available in limited numbers. Soviet tank tactics remained poor, and terrible logistical support meant many vehicles broke down or ran out of fuel and had to be abandoned.

The T-34 was easy to produce and went on to become the main tank of the Red Army (and the second most-produced tank in history). Early mechanical issues were gradually resolved. But by 1943 the T-34 was outclassed by new German tanks such as new variants of the Panzer IV, the Tiger and the Panther. The Soviets responded by giving the T-34 a much more powerful 85mm gun housed in a larger turret. Visibility was improved, and the addition of a fifth crew member allowed the tank to be operated much more effectively. This upgraded version was the T-34-85. Soviet factories were able to produce more than 1,000 per month, while Germany could only produce up to 100 Tigers per month. So from 1943, T-34-85s had the additional advantage of usually outnumbering their German adversaries.

By the end of the war the T-34-85 was highly vulnerable to the latest German anti-tank guns and tank-destroyers, and had been superseded by new, heavier Soviet tanks like the IS-2. But used en masse, it could still prove a decisive weapon. The T-34s reliability and effectiveness is demonstrated by the fact that thousands remained in service with armies around the world into the 1990s.

This was demonstrated outside Leningrad in August 1941, when five KV-1s commanded by Lieutenant Kolobanov ambushed a German tank column, destroying more than 43 panzers without loss. Kolobanov’s tank was hit more than a hundred times, but none of the shells penetrated his tank’s thick armour.

During Operation Barbarossa, KV-1s made up only about 3% of Soviet tank strength. And like many early-war Soviet tanks, the KV-1 suffered from mechanical unreliability. At 45 tons, its weight meant it lacked the off-road manoeuverability of the T-34. It was more difficult and expensive to produce than the T-34, and so from 1942, as heavier German anti-tank guns finally dispelled the KV-1’s aura of invincibility, the decision was made to focus on T-34 production. Later in the war, when the Red Army urgently required heavier tanks to counter the new German Tigers and Panthers, the tank they produced was a development of the KV-1. This vehicle however was named after the new Commissar of Defence - Josef Stalin himself - and would be known as the IS-2.

This meant that it would spearhead an assault, using high explosive rounds from its massive gun to destroy enemy strongpoints and allowing the infantry to advance. IS-2s were deployed in specialist heavy tank regiments, which, after they achieved their purpose, were returned to the reserve.

The IS-2 first saw action near Korsun in February 1944. Here it soon encountered German heavy Tiger and medium Panther tanks. Although it proved much more resilient than the T-34, the IS-2 was hampered by a slow rate of fire and poor accuracy, particularly compared to the high velocity 75mm gun used by the German Panther. Nevertheless, in the right conditions, and normally enjoying a numberical superiority, the IS-2 proved an effective counter to the new heavy German tanks. It also proved highly effective in its primary role as an assault tank, and was used extensively in the final Battle of Berlin.

Name: Tiger
Role: Heavy tank
Nation: Germany
Entered Service: 1942

The German Tiger I heavy tank was a formidable vehicle, developed as a response to the superior T-34 and KV-1 tanks that the Germans encountered during Operation Barbarossa. It was equipped with a much-feared, highly accurate 88mm main gun and was heavily armoured. This meant that the Tiger was able to destroy most enemy tanks long before they could get into effective range. The Tiger was deployed in special Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS heavy tank battalions. These were sent to crucial sectors of the front and proved to be highly effective combat formations.

The Tiger first saw action on the Eastern Front outside Leningrad in September 1942. But here, and the following summer at Kursk where Tigers were first used in large numbers, the crews found mechanical reliability to be a major issue. Breakdowns were common, and because of its enormous weight and technical complexity, recovering and maintaining Tigers was difficult and time-consuming. The sophistication of the Tiger (for instance, its advanced optics and hydraulically-powered turret) also made it impossible to produce the vehicle in enough numbers to impact the course of the fighting on the Eastern Front.

Tiger tanks were greatly feared on the battlefield. But by 1944, they were increasingly vulnerable to Allied fighter-bombers and new high-powered anti-tank guns mounted in Allied tank destroyers. That year, production emphasis shifted to the Tiger II, also known as the King Tiger.

Image Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-299-1805-10 / Scheck / CC-BY-SA used by courtesy of German Federal Archive under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license.

Name: Panther
Role: Medium tank
Nation: Germany
Entered Service: 1943

The German Panther, like the Tiger, was a response to the well-armoured and heavy-gunned Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks that the Germans encountered during Operation Barbarossa. The Panther wasn’t ready for action until the summer of 1943. Hitler even postponed the German offensive at Kursk to ensure that they could take part. But when the attack began, hurried development and insufficient testing of the Panther meant that about half were soon lost to mechanical failure, particularly overheating engines that caught fire.

After the mechanical defects were ironed out (although never completely eliminated), the Panther proved arguably the finest tank design of the war. Its high-velocity, long-barrelled 75mm main gun had excellent accuracy, armour-penetration and a high rate of fire. It was lethal in open country, such as the Ukrainian steppe - even more dangerous than the rightly-feared Tiger. The Panther’s sloped armour meant it was also well-protected and it was about 5mph faster than the Tiger. Its all-round performance made the Panther superior to the Soviet T-34-85 and IS-2.

Like the Tiger, the Panther’s greatest issue was its complexity, and the fact that it could never be produced in enough numbers to turn the tide on the Eastern Front. Panthers regularly found themselves facing several times their number of Soviet tanks – and for all their engineering excellence, this put them on the losing side.

Name: Panzer IV
Role: Medium tank
Nation: Germany
Entered Service: 1936

Although more attention is always paid to fearsome German late-war tanks such as the Tiger and Panther, it was the Panzerkampfwagen IV, or Panzer IV, that made up the bulk (about one third) of the German tank force from 1943. The tank was designed in the 1930s as an infantry support tank, designed to take out enemy strongpoints rather than engage enemy armoured vehicles. But when the Germans discovered, to their surprise, that the Red Army possessed better-armoured and more-powerfully armed tanks than their own (the interwar-designed Panzer I, II and IIIs) the role of the Panzer IV was hurriedly expanded.

The Panzer IV went through many upgrades during the war. It got better armour and weaponry, and from 1942 its short-barrelled howitzer (more suited to the infantry support role) was replaced with a long-barrelled 75mm gun that could take on the T-34. From 1943, the Panzer IV Ausf H carried distinctive side-skirt armour for added protection.

Compared to the Panther, Tiger and King Tiger tanks, the Panzer IV was easy to produce and mechanically reliable. It formed the bulk of German armoured strength in all Eastern Front campaigns, including the decisive Battle of Kursk, and continued to do so until the end of the war.

Image Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-298-1759-25 / Scheck / CC-BY-SA used by courtesy of German Federal Archive under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license.

Its thick forward armour and low silhouette made it difficult to knock out, and it was much cheaper to produce than a tank. It became Germany’s most produced armoured vehicle of the war.

The StuG III was considered mobile artillery, and as such was manned by elite artillery crew. In 1942 the StuG received a more powerful 75mm gun, and took on the role of a tank-destroyer – effectively a mobile anti-tank gun. When dug into defensive positions and well camouflaged, it proved deadly against the hordes of T-34s that the Wehrmacht now faced on the Eastern Front. There are many cases of StuGs knocking out dozens of T-34s before being destroyed or forced to retire.

This was a mobile, heavy gun platform which could provide artillery support or take out enemy fortifications with direct fire. This was the role planned for the SU-152.

The SU-152 first saw action at the Battle of Kursk in 1943. It was intended primarily to support infantry assaults, but its massive 152mm gun also made it a potent tank-killer. Most tanks were knocked out by armour-piercing shells that penetrated the armour, but the SU-152 used the sheer destructive force of a 152mm high-explosive round, which was capable of tearing apart even a Tiger heavy tank.

The SU-152 (later versions built on the IS-2 chassis were known as ISU-152s) had several shortcomings. Its main gun was slow to reload, and the vehicle only carried 20 rounds. It was not very accurate or particularly well-armoured. But when, for example, attacking from an ambush position, its main gun could prove devastating. The SU-152 was also used extensively during the fighting in German cities such as Koenigsberg and Berlin in 1945, providing close artillery support for the infantry as they fought their way through the streets. 

Name: Messerschmitt Bf-109
Role: Fighter aircraft
Nation: Germany
Entered Service: 1936

The Messerschmitt Bf-109 was the mainstay of the German air force throughout the war. It was constantly modified and improved, leading to many variants, and although its early dominance of the skies was later challenged by new Allied fighters, it remained an effective aircraft until the end of the war. It was also the most produced fighter aircraft in history.

Designed by the legendary German aircraft-designer Willy Messerschmitt, the Bf-109’s main advantages lay in its speed and armament. It also had an excellent rate of climb, was highly manoeuvrable and easy to fly. In the first years of the war it only met its match in the RAF’s Supermarine Spitfire. This fact, combined with the superior combat experience of most German pilots (some of it dating back to the Spanish Civil War) made the Bf-109 a highly-dangerous predator. This was particularly true on the Eastern Front in 1941 and 1942, where inexperienced Soviet pilots flying obsolete aircraft like the Polikarpov I-153 proved easy prey.

Flying the 109, German fighter aces such as Gunther Rall and Erich Hartmann amassed huge numbers of kills. But as the war went on, the 109 pilots found themselves increasingly outnumbered by superb new Allied aircraft such as the Soviet La-5 and American P-51 Mustang. New Luftwaffe pilots were thrown into combat with less and less training, meaning many were quickly killed. By 1945 the German air force had been virtually chased from the skies.

Image Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-487-3066-04 / Boyer / CC-BY-SA used by courtesy of German Federal Archive under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license.

Name: Ilyushin Il-2
Role: Ground attack aircraft
Nation: USSR
Entered Service: 1940

The Il-2 ground attack aircraft (a type known in Russian as a ‘Shturmovik’) was distinguished by its robust airframe, armour-plating and wide array of powerful weaponry. Its role was to provide close air support to the ground troops. The armour-plating protected the crew compartment and engine from ground fire (Il-2s were famous for attacking at extremely low altitude) and gave the aircraft its nickname of ‘the flying tank’.

The Il-2 was armed with two 23mm cannon, two machine-guns, and could carry a dozen 50kg bombs or 8 rockets. In 1942 a rear-gunner was introduced to give added defence from German fighters. During the Battle of Kursk in 1943, Shturmovik regiments received the new PTAB aerial bomb – this weapon released dozens of armour-piercing bomblets that could penetrate the thin top-armour of enemy tanks, and could devastate an entire column in seconds.

In the first years of the war, the loss rate amongst Il-2 regiments was enormous. Aircraft were destroyed on average after just a handful of missions. But gradually, as the Soviet air force wrested air superiority from the Luftwaffe and ground attack tactics were improved, the loss rate dropped dramatically. By the time of Operation Bagration in 1944, air attacks by swarms of Il-2s were a constant threat for German soldiers on the Eastern Front. It resulted not only in huge material loss, but also an increasing psychological attrition. The war had begun with Soviet soldiers living in terror of Stuka attacks. By 1944 the situation was reversed. For the Soviet troops, there was no clearer sign of the irreversible shift in the tide of war.

Image Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-D0331-0042-012 / CC-BY-SA used by courtesy of German Federal Archive under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license.

With the LaGG-3 facing cancellation, and its designers facing the wrath of Josef Stalin, they tried a last-ditch experiment by inserting a new M-82 radial engine into the airframe. The extra power transformed the aircraft’s performance. Now called the La-5, it would prove one of the finest Soviet fighters of the war. It was particularly efficient at low altitude, where it was as fast as the German fighters but could out-turn them. It was highly respected by German pilots, who learned their best chance was to lure the La-5 to high altitudes where they still held the advantage.

The war’s most famous La-5 pilot was Ivan Kozhedub, the Allied ‘ace of aces’ with 62 victories. Kozhedub later flew the La-7, an improved version of the La-5 which became available in 1944. The La-7’s improved engine made it a match for any German fighter of the war, with the possible exception of the jets.

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