one technological factor that changed the course of the war in russias favor was the introduction of icons in 1944. no longer could the germans sneak up from below or disapear in ground clutter. now they were always seen at all times.
friendly fire became a thing of the past and ID of bandits became very easy.
formation flying for ID and coordination purposes became totally unnecessary.
after their introduction aircraft performance became much more of a factor and so did shear numbers on one side or the other.
once the enemy was within 12 miles they could only get away from a superior force if their plane was faster.
being bounced was no longer a problem for the russians since now they didnt have to check their 6 much to know if an enemy was behind them.
October 1944 became known as the Hunt for Red october. all russian aircraft were on a mission hunting for the large red icons and the diminutive planes attached to them.
it was during this month that the russians also completed Lenin's airfield... a large aerodrome on top of a 10,0000 foot mountain in the center of the combat zone.
[This message has been edited by Citabria (edited 06-05-2000).]
