Turkmen Yak-1B vs Stalinist Transcaucasia

[comrade harps]

Yefremov Aviation Ko-operative Yak-1B
a/c Blue 18, 3rd United Fighter Eskadron (3rd UFE), Turkmenistan Army Air Corps (TAAC)
Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan Socialist Republic, 19 September, 1943
Personal mount of Eskadron Leader Sardar Azmoun 



The air force of Turkmenistan was small when Stalin's Transcaucasian Soviet Republics entered the war against the Moscow Pact nations in late June 1941. Primarily a self-defence service, the TAAC was ill-equipped to face Stalin's offensive airpower and had to rapidly expand and re-equip. Although protected by the Capsian Sea from the Soviet Army, there were grave concerns about Turkmenistan's defences when the British occupied neighbouring Iran in July 1941. As the British opened vital supply lines to the Moscow Pact through Iran (and protected Stalin's southern flank), the Soviets launched a bombing campaign against the logistic routes that ran through Turkmenistan. The Turkmen pilots, poorly trained and flying I-153 biplane fighters, were found wanting.


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To grow, the TAAC needed to recruit foreign personnel. Among them was Sardar Azmoun, an ethnic Turkmen and a former fighter pilot of the recently disbanded Imperial Iranian Air Force. Azmoun joined the TAAC in October 1941, initially serving as an instructor pilot before becoming an inaugural member of the 3rd United Fighter Eskadron in March 1942 as a Flight Leader. Flying Yak-1s, they fought in the air defence role and by the end of the year F/L Azmoun had been credited with 4 kills, plus 3 shared. Others in the unit came from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.




The TAAC transitioned to offensive operations after the Axis defeat at Volgograd.  With Stalin's airpower focused on the defensive land war to the north of the Caucasus Mountains, the Moscow Pact built up a substantial bomber force across the Caspian to attack the Soviet homeland. During the spring of 1943, the 3rd UFE received Yak-1Bs equipped with drop tanks and began conducting fighter sweeps and bomber escort missions.




Sardar Azmoun was promoted to Eskadron Leader in September 1943. This was represented on his personal mount by an application of the 3rd UFE's unit colour on the rudder, nose and upper forward deck of his aircraft. Previously, this had been the same dark blue as the side number, but E/L Azmoun chose to apply underside blue as a low-visbility compliment to the Caspian Grey camouflage scheme of grey and blue-grey. With this scheme, 11 red star kill markings and drop tanks, Blue 18 was presented to E/L Azmoun on 19 September 1943.




E/L Azmoun flew with the 3rd UFE until 10 January 1944. On that date he was shot down by Soviet flak, captured and interned as a POW. He was liberated by the Moscow Pact's Red Army on 2 September. After a period of convalescence, he returned to Iran in mid-1945 and joined the reconstructed Imperial Iranian Air Force in 1946. He retired with the rank of Brigadier General in 1972.

[NARSES2]

I like that 

That part of the world is absolutely ripe for Whiffery.

[PR19_Kit]

That part of the world is absolutely ripe for Whiffery.

I don't even know here that part of the world IS! 

[zenrat]

Bottom left corner of the Soviet Union Kit.  Near where Noah parked the ark.

Good job Comrade.  Smashing camo as usual.  Is this the Brengun kit?

[comrade harps]

Bottom left corner of the Soviet Union Kit.  Near where Noah parked the ark.

Good job Comrade.  Smashing camo as usual.  Is this the Brengun kit?

Yes, it's the Brengun kit. It's OK, butt not great and I kitbashed the undercarriage as the originals are thin and encased in flash.The exhausts are also from a spares box as the Brengun originals have individual exhaust stacks and one got flicked from the tweezers into the Aether.

As for Turkmenistan, it's immediately above Iran. I've done well out of MiG-29 decal sheet with places like Moldova, Turkmenistan etc.