TASA Product 17 MG

[comrade harps]

TASA Product 17 MG
Black 37, Родина Эскадрилья освобождения (Motherland Liberation Squadron), Soviet TransCaucasian Army Air Force
Senaki, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Socialist Republics of TransCaucasia (SSRT)
August 1944



In March 1938 the Soviet Volunteer Liberation Division deployed from the Soviet Socialist Republics of TransCaucasia (SSRT) to war-torn Spain. In March, 1939, Soviet troops found the wreckage of a Messerschmitt Bf 109E of the Condor Legion and quickly took it by truck to the Soviet occupied port of Valencia, from where it was shipped to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia. Delivered to the Tbilisi Aircraft State Association (TASA), the aircraft was soon being reverse engineered, the resultant TASA Product 17 prototype flying in March, 1940 (powered by a locally built Hispano-Suiza 12Y).




In April 1941 Stalin and Hitler reached a secret agreement that effectively carved-out spheres of influence in the Socialist Union. Although not formally part of the Axis Pact, Stalin's Soviet Army invaded  Trotsky's Socialist Union two days after Hitler's 22 June, 1941, invasion of the Socialist Union, making their way from the SSRT's border to about half-way to Volgograd by winter. In 1942 The Soviet Army joined their Axis collaborators in advancing on Volgograd, the Soviet Army forming the southern flank along the Volga River but south of the  Romanian 4th Army as the Germans entered the strategic city. When the Read Army launched Operation Uranus to encircle the German Sixth Army, they routed the Romanians but stopped short of engaging the Soviet Army, which had formed a defensive line to the east that stretched to the south of Rostov. The Red Army subsequently re-took Rostov and during 1943 engaged Soviet and Romanian forces to battle their way along the eastern shore of the Sea of Azov and to the Black Sea. Forced to retreat, the Soviet Army had fallen back the Georgian border by early July 1944.  With Turkey threatening to intervene if the SSRT was invaded, the Red Army and the Soviet Army faced-off in a stalemate until 19 August, 1944, just a day after Turkey declared war on Germany. By the end of September organised resistance in the SSRT ceased, with the Red Army on Turkey's border and Stalin found dead by suicide in the wine cellar of a Baku brothel.




By then the TASA Product 17 had gone through a process of rapid development, the final version being the MG (Mdzime Gaizarda = heavy, boosted). Powered by a locally built development of the Hispano-Suiza 12Z, the MG model featured methanol-water injection power boosting and was armed with two fuselage-mounted 12.7mm machine guns (reverse engineered Brownings) and two Hispano 20mm cannon.The centreline hardpoint could carry a fuel drop tank, bombs, petroleum incendiary tanks and (as seen here) the KB-250 cluster bomb. Underwing hardpoints could also carry 50kg bombs or rockets.




The MG was mostly used in the ground attack role, leaving pure fighter duties to the similar but lighter GS (Gaizarda sinat'lis = boosted, light) version, which dispensed of the 17.7mm weapons and carried less armour. The Rodinoy Osvobozhdeniye Eskadril'ya used their Product 17 MGs to attack the advancing Red Army between 19 August and 13 September, starting at Senaki in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and retreating to Nakhchivan in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, where they surrendered. This plane, Black 37, is seen in a typical late war Georgian Three camouflage, with yellow SSRT identification paint applied under the engine and wingtips.

[NARSES2]

That is nice  Interesting history as well

[zenrat]

 

[Army of One]

Great backstory and a very interesting colour scheme....

[DogfighterZen]

Great backstory and a very interesting colour scheme....

Same thoughts here, that's very nice work!