Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Wishlist => Topic started by: Tilt on September 08, 2011, 05:57:30 PM

Title: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Tilt on September 08, 2011, 05:57:30 PM
OK how about putting all the WWI modeling to some use and add the most prolific plane built over the 30's and 40's to see significant action in WWII and Korea.

40,000 plus

(http://blog.kermitweeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/po-2-blog-shot-2-1024x629.jpg)

Polikarpov U2

can take a couple of 100kg bombs, some variants with a few RS 82 rockets.. Can turn on a dime at speeds most other ac cant land or take off at.............

and it was "stealth" returning almost zero (WWII) radar reflection

Classification could be attack...........   
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: skorpion on September 08, 2011, 06:05:38 PM
so, your going to bomb a few jeeps and kill an ack with it?

+1
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Pigslilspaz on September 08, 2011, 06:35:18 PM
so, your going to bomb a few jeeps and kill an ack with it?

+1

Do your math, you can kill a tank with 2 100kg bombs.
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: skorpion on September 08, 2011, 06:37:43 PM
Do your math, you can kill a tank with 2 100kg bombs.
yes i know...its kind of like dropping a 250 pound bomb, not big but it does kill tanks if your close.

i only use the small bombs on the IL-2 for killin jeeps
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: SmokinLoon on September 08, 2011, 07:05:37 PM
Isnt the top speed like 85mph TAS?  As in Cessna 150 speed?  We'd be better off with the Storch, Grasshopper, or Lysander. Or even the Swordfish!!!   :D
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Tilt on September 09, 2011, 10:40:30 AM
Of course what would be really neat would be if it was enabled from vehicle fields. As a recon ac. But that's not it's only riason d'être IMO.

However please note they were also used to drop "small supplies" it's the sort of jeep of the ac world. It would be sorta neat to have a string bag in the MA.
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Rino on September 09, 2011, 02:22:16 PM
     I don't know...all the enemy would need to do is turn on their bugzappers  :D
I do remember reading about an F-82 twin mustang night fighter pilot getting frustrated because he couldn't
slow down enough to engage a Polikarpov...his stallspeed was faster than it's max speed.

     That reminded me of another story concerning communist combat biplanes.
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol52no2/iac/an-air-combat-first.html (https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol52no2/iac/an-air-combat-first.html)

(https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol52no2/images/painting-lima85-web.jpg)
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Ack-Ack on September 09, 2011, 04:41:40 PM
The Po-2 was North Korea's and China's most effective bomber/intruder during the Korean War.

ack-ack
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Rino on September 09, 2011, 04:48:04 PM
     Like the most effective North Vietnamese cargo vehicle  :D

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W3FnlQMpdDg/SWwE4QMliTI/AAAAAAAAAnk/1ZZD9g5HCfc/s400/BicycleSuppliesTrail.jpg)

(http://www.opentourvietnam.com/image_info/Photogallery/bicycle.jpg)
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Noir on September 09, 2011, 05:34:22 PM
The Po-2 was North Korea's and China's most effective bomber/intruder during the Korean War.

ack-ack

How could it be effective in the early jet age?
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: AWwrgwy on September 09, 2011, 06:33:44 PM
How could it be effective in the early jet age?

From: http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/korea/ (http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/korea/)

Quote
And then there was “Bed Check Charlie” as we called him. This was a light all wood and canvas aircraft flown by North Koreans just after dark and was used to harass us. He would fly over toss out small bombs hoping to hit a tent, aircraft or something else of importance. I found these night time extravaganza’s rather exciting. The sirens would go off, big search lights would come on to try to find him and anti-aircraft batteries would begin firing with tracers which would light up the sky better than any Fourth of July that I had ever seen, and all the time we in trenches were shooting our rifles in all directions. Bed Check Charlie was very elusive and only one was ever brought down. Because Charlie flew so slow it was decided in late 1951 to bring in a navy F4U Corsair fighter aircraft. The F4U was noted for its ability to land on aircraft carriers at very slow speeds. So one evening when Charlie arrived the F4U took off and got behind him, the pilot of the F4U was still flying to fast so he dropped his flaps and even his wheels but still to fast and before the F4U pilot could maneuver further he hit Charlie and both fell in flames.


From: http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-4027.html (http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-4027.html)

Quote
Even while the jets fought it out over MiG Alley, North Koreans flew nocturnal raids in low-speed, low-altitude, propeller-driven aircraft to harass U.N. ground forces as part of their strategy of psychological warfare. By dropping small fragmentation bombs, artillery shells, hand grenades or propaganda leaflets, the North Korean air force (NKAF) marauders kept the U.N. troops alert through the night. The flights were conducted throughout the war, but particularly during the last six months, when the front lines were relatively static. The U.N. troops called them "Bed-Check Charlie" flights because air raid alerts announcing the approach of the old planes would sound at night and awaken the weary soldiers. At that time, "Charlie" was an epithet used to describe any unknown Asian.

The two principal Soviet aircraft used by the NKAF in this role were the Polikarpov Po-2LSh, a slow biplane of 1927 vintage, and the Yakovlev Yak-18, which had been designed shortly after World War II. Neither of those aircraft had been designed as a bomber, but during World War II, the Po-2 had been used as a nuisance raider against the Germans. The objective then, as it was in Korea, was to wear down enemy troops and lower morale by attacking front-line positions during the night. Some Po-2s were fitted with wing racks capable of carrying up to 550 pounds of bombs, and often a single 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun was mounted in the rear cockpit. On July 1, 1951, when Captain Edwin B. Long and Warrant Officer Robert C. Buckingham, a Grumman F7F-3N Tigercat crew of Marine Squadron VMF(N)-513, sent a Po-2 crashing into a mountainside, Long believed that he saw the biplane's rear-seat occupant gamely shoot back at them with a hand-held PPSh-41 7.62 submachine gun.

Quote
Sometimes, a Charlie could be more than just an annoyance. On June 17, 1951, a Po-2LSh struck at Suwon air base for the first time, destroying a North American F-86A Sabre jet fighter of the 4th Fighter Interceptor Group on the ground and damaging eight others. In the most daring and successful NKAF raid of the war, four or five Yak-18s attacked fuel dumps at Inchon and destroyed nearly 5.5 million gallons of fuel on the night of June 16-17, 1953. Although the North Koreans employed high-performance MiG-15 jet fighters to defend themselves, the jets did little to support their ground troops, and the NKAF rarely conducted regular bombing raids, aside from the Bed-Check Charlies' nuisance raids.


From: http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2011/June%202011/0611april.aspx (http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2011/June%202011/0611april.aspx)

Quote
In the wake of the fatal bombing, US commanders attempted to bolster their defenses against the air attacks. They added anti-aircraft guns and tried to modify available aircraft to make them better able to destroy slow-flying targets. One base commander secured a B-26 bomber with 14 forward-firing machine guns, for instance, and obtained an armed T-6 trainer. But then, an F-94 crashed after it throttled back to 110 mph in pursuit of a Po-2 biplane. After that mishap, US aircraft were restricted from flying below 2,000 feet or slower than 160 mph.


Also: http://sabre-pilots.org/classics/v63bedcheck.htm (http://sabre-pilots.org/classics/v63bedcheck.htm)




wrongway
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Raptor05121 on September 09, 2011, 06:38:46 PM
Resources could be better used to reskin the B-26
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: MachFly on September 09, 2011, 06:42:41 PM
It's a good airplane and I'd like to have it in Aces High, but I just can't think of a single reason why anyone would take it over all the other stuff that we have.
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Rich52 on September 09, 2011, 06:43:23 PM
How could it be effective in the early jet age?

They were a pain in the rump at night in both wars even after radar evolved more. Still? In game conditions? What purpose could it serve?
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Raptor05121 on September 09, 2011, 06:44:29 PM
They were a pain in the rump at night in both wars even after radar evolved more. Still? In game conditions? What purpose could it serve?

Imagine a vTard NOE raid in them. how would one deal with it?
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: AWwrgwy on September 09, 2011, 06:50:01 PM
Imagine a vTard NOE raid in them. how would one deal with it?

Fly by in a Mustang and they would all bail out.

 :banana:



wrongway
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Ack-Ack on September 09, 2011, 07:12:28 PM
How could it be effective in the early jet age?

The Po-2 was a night raider, coupled with its very slow speed and since it was made mostly of wood and fabric, returned a very small radar profile that made it difficult for radars to detect it.  It was the second most used airplane for the Communist side, only the MiG 15 was used more.  When looking at all the Communist planes used, not only was it the 2nd most used Communist aircraft like I already mentioned, it was also the 2nd most effective airplane used by the Communists.

The most successful bombing raid by North Korean forces was on June 15, 1953 with Po-2s, Yak-18s and La-11s bombed and completely destroyed the fuel dump (5.5 million gallons) at Inchon.

ack-ack
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Tilt on September 09, 2011, 08:11:16 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poQ0rclQI4c (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poQ0rclQI4c)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unqNJcc0uoA&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unqNJcc0uoA&feature=related)

Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: Karnak on September 09, 2011, 09:45:36 PM
Imagine a vTard NOE raid in them. how would one deal with it?

In daylight?  Shoot them down.  It'll be like strafing a jeep or M8.

Night grossly increases the problems with shooting them down with guns, as the F-82 pilot noted.
Title: Re: Polikarpov U2 (Po-2)
Post by: wil3ur on September 10, 2011, 12:58:02 PM
I've routinely bombed GV's with the 100KG bombs on the LA taking out everything from Flaks to Tigers... I say lets have it... and swordfish while you're at it.  Think if you could launch swordfish from the CA (No CV Needed)... So even after the CV is sunk, there's always the last ditch swordfish raid!