Several target-towing units were stationed in Eastern Germany until ground-to-air and
air-to-air gunnery was prohibited a few months after German unification on 3 October 1990. To describe their equipment
and the evolution of these flights is a
rather challenging task. The testimony of some former Soviet crews, however, gives us a better understanding and greater
historical accuracy for the period from the 1970s to 1990.
The first sightings of such units date back to 1951, when Douglas A-20 Boston/Havoc and Tu-6 target tugs were seen at
Berlin-Schönefeld (until 1954) and Stendal airfields. The 65.OBAE (Otdel'naya Buksirovochnaya Aviatsionnaya Eskadril'ya -
Separate Target-Towing Aviation Squadron) settled in on the latter
airfield in 1958 with its Il'yushin Il-28 'Beagle' and two Lisunov Li-2 'Cab' and, apparently from 1962 on, Yakovlev Yak-25RV 'Mandrake'.
They were probably Yak-25RV-I models, which were manned targets simulating high-altitude flying hostiles (think Lockheed
U-2).
Interceptors did not shoot them down, however; they used their gun camera only! (that was not the case for the
Yak-25RV-II, which was a radio-controlled target drone).
In 1954, a second target-towing unit, the 74.OBAE arrived at Parchim. It is possible that this squadron was born from the Schönefeld
unit. Its aircraft were maintained at Brand, where the 277.BAP (Bomber Aviation Regiment) flying Il-28 'Beagle' bombers was based.
The 65.OBAE left Stendal in 1971 for Oranienburg and finally moved to Damgarten in 1977. Curiously, Il-28 from that unit
apparently devoid of any external characteristics related to their particular mission were photographed during the 1970s.
Flying Il-28s as well, the 74.OBAE remained at Parchim until 1982, when it also left for Damgarten.
Consequently, from 1982 on, all 16.VA target-towing assets were concentrated at Damgarten organized into two separate squadrons.
Subordinate to the 16.VA, each squadron was composed of 12 Il-28s.
Le numéro 34 rouge du 65.OBAE sur la ligne de vol de Damgarten. En arrière-plan, un Yak-28R probablement
de passage. © O.Kozlov.
Bort 34 of the 65.OBAE on Damgarten flightline, next to a visiting
Yak-28R. © O.Kozlov.
It was a rational decision as the Baltic Sea air-to-air and ground-to-air ranges, used as well by
VVS units based in other Warpac countries that regularly deployed to Damgarten for firing training, were situated nearby.
Five firing ranges were available for three different activities. It existed three ground-to-air ranges for anti-aircraft guns
(1): one was located at Wustrow, east of Rostock
and two more were situated close to Damgarten, running west and
north of the Zingst Peninsula. The air-to-air range, also used by the LSK/LV and the Czechoslovak Air Force
(which sent some aircraft once a year on round-trip flights with no landing in the GDR),
was located east of Rügen island
(2). Another range
located between the Polish town of Swinoujscie (Swinemünde) on the East-German border to the north and Ueckermünde to the south,
was used for ground-to-air gunnery by the Soviet Navy and also the NVA. The 82 Aviatsionniy Poligon (Aviation Range) was the unit
responsible for management of the various ranges.
| Organigramme 65.OBAE - 65.OBAE organization |
Extrait d'un film tourné à Damgarten, nous permettant d'observer la perche (courte) de remorquage d'un Il-28.
Les canons NR-23 de la tourelle de queue étaient déposés. © O.Kozlov.
Close up on the short towing boom of a Damgarten based Il-28.
The NR-23 tail turret guns were removed. © O.Kozlov.
Il-28 Buksirovshchik Misheney (Il-28 Target Tug - they were never designated Il-28BM) were modified bomber
or reconnaissance versions. The latter Il-28R had wingtip-mounted tanks. Target-towing 'Beagle' crew composition was similar to that of other Il-28s: a navigator
(Shturman) in the glazed nose, a pilot (Pilot) and the aerial gunner-radio operator
(Vozdushnyy Strelok-Radist) who monitored the towing system. These particular Il-28s carried inside their bomb bay
a BLT-5 or a BLM-1000M winch.
They could winch a cable of 1800 meters long with a diameter of 5 mm or a 3 mm cable 4000 meters in length.
Damgarten aircraft usually deployed a cable 1000 or 1800 meters in length. A cable cutter was mounted
inside the bomb bay and was used if the damaged target could not be winched back safely.
During the 1980s, the Damgarten-based Il-28s had a long boom articulated below the unarmed tail
turret. During takeoff and landing, that rigid link was used to tow either a 7BM-2M target looking like a big dart
or a PM-3Zh target with long straight wings positioned at the rear of a pointed fuselage with a large squared vertical tail.
The target then was disconnected from the boom in flight and towed by the cable. It has been reported that
modified Il-28R models had a longer boom, but that was probably related to the type of target being towed.
Those targets were used for ground-to-air gunnery.
'Beagle' could also carry PM-6R and PM-6G diving targets mounted underwing.
Those reusable targets weighing 141 kg were 3M74 long for a wingspan of 1M14.
Although looking like bombs with enlarged fins, they were used to simulate diving bombers
and glide bombs and were equipped with smoke tracers to improve their visibility. The target's reflective surface equated
to that of a MiG-17 aircraft.
Quelques cibles PM-6 de la NVA furent testées par la Luftwaffe. Celle-ci était accrochée sous l'aile d'un F-4F
du centre d'essais de Manching. © WTD 61.
Some former NVA PM-6 targets were tested by the Luftwaffe.
This one is seen under the wing of a F-4F of the Manching test center. © WTD 61.
The PM-6 usually was launched from an altitude of 6000-8000 meters and dove at an angle of
35-70°. The flight speed of the target in the engagement sector was 200-220 meters per second (720-790 km/h), and
flight time prior to recovery parachute opening at an altitude of 750-1000 meters was 40-45 seconds.
However, the Il-28s were not necessarily required for air-to-air gunnery.
The dedicated targets could be carried indeed by the fighters themselves as well. Two types of targets could be used, both externally looking like weapons!
They could be M6 chute-retarded targets, which had the appearance of a 100-kg bomb with very small fins. An Il-28 without winch could
carry up to ten targets inside its bomb bay and two underwing as well. Once released, they descended slowly - 3 to 15 meters per second or 11-54 km/h -
hanging under a 36 m2 parachute. The body of the target was a burning heat source that generated a 2 million candle-power
infrared signature,
providing a target for missiles equipped with an IR heat-seeking head. Launched from an altitude between 2500 and 17,000 meters - western radio
intercept reports mentioned Il-28s delivering a target from 12,000 meters - at a speed of 750 to 1200 km/h, the M6 could burn for a minimum of 195 seconds.
notes
(1)
The situation of the three ground-to-air firing ranges remains unclear. It seems that the Wustrow range was used exclusively by the
Soviets. At least one of those ranges was also used by the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) - most probably the one with the mention
'LSZ1' on the map above.
(2)
Soviet units based in Warsaw Pact countries were sometimes deployed to Damgarten for firing training.
Known exemples are the 114.IAP from Milovice (CSFR) on MiG-23M and the 515.IAP from Tököl (Hungary) operating the MiG-21bis in 1984.
4.VA aircraft from Poland were more regular visitors of the range (they did not land in Damgarten):
- 159.GvIAP "Novorossiysk" from Stargard-Kluczewo (Mig-21MF then Su-27 in May 1987)
- 582.IAP from Chojna (Mig-21SMT then Su-27 in 1989-1990)
- 871.IAP from Kolobrzeg-Bagicz (MiG-23M), transferred to Brzeg and reequipped with Mig-23MLD
The range was controlled from Barth (callsign Model). When the range was used by the Czechoslovakians, a controller
of the same nationality was on duty. An Antonov 26 of the 226.OSAP operating from Damgarten for the occasion, was responsible for range security.
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The target-towing units > Part 2 |
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