Dmitry Degtev - Air Battle for Moscow 1941–1942

DMITRY DEGTEV AND DMITRY ZUBOV

AIR BATTLE FOR MOSCOW, 19411942

First published in Great Britain in 2021 by

Air World

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Dmitry Degtev and Dmitry Zubov, 2021

ISBN 978 1 52677 446 0

eISBN 978 1 52677 447 7

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52677 447 7

The right of Dmitry Degtev and Dmitry Zubov to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Air Battle for Moscow is the first detailed description of an unknown air battle of the Second World War. In it Hitlers Luftwaffe opposed Stalins Falcons the elite 6th Air Defence Fighter Corps (IAK PVO).

The battle began with flights of long-range reconnaissance aircraft, which photographed Moscow and the Kremlin the residence of the Red Dictator Stalin. On 22 July 1941, by orders of the Fhrer, Operation Clara Zetkin air attacks on Moscow began. Known for their devastating air raids on Warsaw, Rotterdam, Belgrade, Athens, London, Coventry and other British cities, the battle-hardened Luftwaffe received a new target the capital of Bolshevism.

In October 1941, Operation Typhoon and the battle for Moscow began. According to Hitlers plan, it was to be the last offensive, after which the Nazi dictator intended to complete the seizure of the Mediterranean, Britain and finally the whole world. The book presents new facts about this major battle and describes in detail the actions of aviation on both sides. The authors are not limited to air battles: they describe the lives of people during the war, anti-Soviet riots in Moscow, and the bloodthirsty and inhuman details of Stalins regime. The book tells of the tragic fate of German pilots in Russian captivity, and the adventures of those who were able to survive and escape from their executioners. The confrontation between the two totalitarian regimes in the context of the air war is one of the subjects of this book.

The authors debunk typical Russian myths such as: over Moscow the power of the German bomber force was broken; Russian fighter pilots were the best; and the anti-aircraft defence of Moscow was the most powerful in the world and better than that of London.

However, the narrative is also a documentary chronicle. It contains a complete and accurate chronology of the air raids on Moscow, a detailed account of the operations of Russian aviation during the German offensive on Moscow, the counter-offensive of the Russian troops in the winter of 1941/42 and the first battle for Rzhev. The authors have also collected complete information about the losses of the Luftwaffe in the Moscow area.

In addition, the book is produced in a style traditional for the authors, reflecting their 20 years of writing experience. The text focuses not only on documents and dry facts. The book is based on a bright, emotional, exciting description of the events that took place on the ground and in the air, the experience of the war through the eyes of many of its participants. Therefore this book is designed not only for professionals and aviation enthusiasts, but will also be of interest an unlimited number of other readers.