Liezen, Styria, central Austria, May 1945. A Lend-Leased American-made M4A2(76)W VVSS Sherman in Russki livery (and with no muzzle brake) comes to the rescue of one of the Motherland’s T-34-85s.
LIFE Arnold E. Samuelson Photographer
Both tracks are from the Soviet 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, which had just “liberated” Vienna, some 140 miles to the East of Liezen, and was soon to be denoted as the “Vienna Order of Lenin Order of Kutuzov Mechanized Corps.”
This top image was apparently during a Victory Parade along with the U.S. 9th Armored “Phantom” Division, which they met at the demarcation line.
The 6th Guards (Order of Red Banner) Tank Army of Colonel General of Tank Troops Andrei Grigorievich Kravchenko– who had earned a Hero of the Soviet Union title after Kursk as head of the 5th Guards Tank Corps– was formed in Ukraine in early 1944 and, earning its “Guards” title after suppressing the the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket and smashing West during the follow-on Iassy-Kishinev Offensive, entered Hungary on the Debrecen Offensive on the 2nd Ukrainian Front by the end of that year. Still pushing as part of Stalin’s steamroller, it helped smash the last German offensive in the East (Frühlingserwachen under Sepp Dietrich’s 6th SS Panzer Army) along the shores of Lake Balaton in March 1945 and, after brutal street-to-street fighting, by 11 April had outflanked and entered Vienna, which was fully captured by the 15th.
There, in all its majesty, the great 6th Tank Army showed off all of its fine Detroit muscle, courtesy of Lend Lease, M4A2(76)W Shermans in the lead.
Going on to capture Prague by 12 May, the 6th Tank Army was pulled from Central Europe and shipped 11,000 km across Siberia to the Transbaikal. There, the 1,100 armored vehicles of the 6th Tank Army were ready to take on the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria by 9 August 1945 and would fight the last armored battle of WWII, famously racing 150km across the Gobi Desert in the first day of the offensive against the Japanese, seizing the passes of the Greater Khingan mountains and effectively bottling up toughest remaining Japanese units in its wake on the Manchurian plain.
Soviet Japanese Defeat of the Kwantung Army, 1945
Kravchenko was made a Twice Hero of the Soviet Union and, surviving Stalin, would retire from the military in 1955 and pass in 1963.
In the mood for some light reading on lessons learned in blood and treasure from the war in Ukraine. Well, here are 359 pages courtesy of the U.S. Army War College.
Written by John A. Nagl and Katie Crombe, A Call to Action: Lessons from Ukraine for the Future Forceexplores the changing character of war through the lens of the Russia- Ukraine War. The authors analyze the conflict’s history, each side’s warfighting functions, the role of multidomain operations, and more. The radical changes in the character of war suggest the United States is at a strategic inflection point.
The authors draw lessons from both the Ukrainians and the Russians to suggest improvements for the United States. Advances in drone technology, cyber warfare, and electromagnetic warfare pose new technological vulnerabilities and possibilities. In addition, the war has highlighted the roles of allies in deterrence and training, as well as how leadership styles within the military—specifically, in the implementation of mission command—can be a decisive factor. As the Russia- Ukraine War has demonstrated, modern conflict touches a plethora of domains; thus, having sufficient personnel who are ready to fill a variety of capacities will be critical in the future.
Finally, the war has shown that history and justice are critical aspects of going to war and achieving peace, so crafting a narrative and satisfying stakeholders will be necessary for establishing a stable world order. The Russia- Ukraine War foreshadows the challenges the United States will face in future conflict and highlights the keys to adapting to modern warfare.
The curious, but very normal, 1944-45 sight of Lend-Leased Bell P-63 Kingcobras flying over Niagara Falls, clad in the Red Stars and tactical dark green livery of the Soviet Air Force.
P-63A-10-BE at Bell’s Wheatfield, New York factory
From there, after passing inspections by first an American and the Soviet AF officer, these P-63s would be immediately attached to twin 285-liter drop tanks, flown by USAAF Air Transport Command ferry pilots across the Dakotas to Great Falls, Montana, then to RCAF Station Edmonton, Alberta, and finally to Ladd Field at Fairbanks Alaska– a trip of over 4,000 miles– where the “Reds” picked them up and flew them on to Siberia and points west.
Notably, on both the American and Soviet ends of the Alaska-Siberia route, a predominance of ferry pilots was female.
WASP “skippers” on Wheatfield P-39s and P-63s
Besides the P-63s and the earlier P-39s, P-40s, A-20s, C-47s, and B-25s were also ferried from CONUS and then across the Bering Sea, with 7,983 aircraft successfully delivered to the Russians, and only 133 of all types were lost to weather or pilot error.
Warming pre-flight
P-63 Kingcobra fighters in flight during a ferry flight along the Alaska-Siberia air route, with Avachinskaya Sopka in Kamchatka in the background
Being slow compared to the P-38 and P-51 and less of a brute than the P-47, the Kingcobra saw negligible service with the USAAF. However, the Russkis loved the tough, heavily-armed, and reliable aircraft, which was well-suited to their particular brand of tactical aviation.
Of the 3,303 production aircraft, some three-quarters, at least 2,397 airframes, were delivered new to Uncle Joe and the gang, with only the hours racked up in the ferry flights from Niagara. They endured in Soviet service so long that they picked up a NATO F-code (fighter) reporting name in the 1950s (Fred).
Ace pilots of the 9th Guard Aviation Division at the Bell P-39 fighter Airacobra by GA Rechkalova. From left to right: Alexander Fedorovich Klubov (twice Hero of the Union, shot down 31 airplanes personally, 19 in a group), Grigory Andreevich Rechkalov (twice a Hero, shot down 56 airplanes personally and 6 in a group), Andrei Ivanovich Trud (Hero of the USSR, shot down 25 airplanes individually and 1 in a group) and commander of the 16th Guards Fighter Squad Air Regiment Boris Borisovich Glinka (Hero of the Soviet Union, shot down 30 airplanes personally and 1 in a group). The 2nd Ukrainian Front. The photo was taken in June 1944 – the number of stars on Rechkalov’s plane corresponds to his achievements at that time (46 planes shot down personally, 6 in a group).
Soviet Red Air Force ace Alexander Pokryshkin chalked up 65 victories on the Eastern Front, almost all in P-39 Aircobras and P-63 Kings
Soviet P-63 Kingcobra of the VVS. Artist Vladimir Voronin.
The old turboprop-powered Tu-95 Bear, first flown in 1952, is still poking around, spotted this time over the Bearing and Chukchi Sea, and a whole new generation of interceptors are now rising to meet them.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft positively identified and intercepted two Russian Tu-95 and two Su-35 military aircraft over the Bering Sea, on 18 Feb. 2025.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft positively identified and intercepted two Russian Tu-95 and two Su-35 military aircraft over the Chukchi Sea, on 19 Feb. 2025.
Two Russian Tu-95 and two Su-27 military aircraft are positively identified and intercepted by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft over the Chukchi Sea,19 Feb. 2025.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft positively identified and intercepted two Russian Tu-95 and two Su-35 military aircraft over the Bering Sea, on 18 Feb. 2025.
Via Alaskan Command:
On Feb. 18th and 19th, 2025, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft positively identified and intercepted two Russian Tu-95 and two Su-35 military aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) remaining in international airspace west of Alaska.
NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North American including meeting presence with presence.
The bandits appear to include Tupelov Tu-95MS Bear-H Red 45 (RF-94189), a strategic missile slinger of the Amur long-range aviation unit, escorted by Sukhoi Su-35 Super Flankers Blue 24 (95493) and Red 51– possibly of the 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment.
Of note, Blue 24 seemed to be armed with two long-range Vympel NPO R-77s and two short-range R-73 AAMs, which is a flex.
You may have missed a series of incidents and noteworthy news from the 17th Coast Guard District, Alaskan Command (ALCOM), Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, and the Eleventh Air Force in the past couple of weeks.
USCG Bumps into Chinese Coast Guard, Russian Border Guard patrol in Bering Sea
An HC-130J Super Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak observes two Russian Border Guard ships and two Chinese Coast Guard ships approximately 440 miles southwest of St. Lawrence Island on Sept. 28, 2024. This marked the northernmost location where Chinese Coast Guard vessels have been observed by the U.S. Coast Guard. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
1 October: JUNEAU, Alaska – The U.S. Coast Guard located four vessels from the Russian Border Guard and Chinese Coast Guard conducting a joint patrol in the Bering Sea, on Saturday.
While patrolling the maritime boundary between the United States and Russia on routine patrol in the Bering Sea, an HC-130J Super Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak observed two Russian Border Guard ships and two Chinese Coast Guard ships approximately 440 miles southwest of St. Lawrence Island.
The vessels were transiting in formation in a northeast direction, remaining approximately five miles inside the Russian Exclusive Economic Zone. This marked the northernmost location where Chinese Coast Guard vessels have been observed by the U.S. Coast Guard.
“This recent activity demonstrates the increased interest in the Arctic by our strategic competitors,” said Rear Adm. Megan Dean, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District. “The demand for Coast Guard services across the region continues to grow, requiring continuous investment in our capabilities to meet our strategic competitors’ presence and fulfill our statutory missions across an expanding operational area.”
The HC-130 aircrew operated under Operation Frontier Sentinel, an operation designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters. The Coast Guard’s presence strengthens the international rules-based order and promotes the conduct of operations in a manner that follows international law and norms.
In its own statement, the CCG issued images of the 3,450-ton Zhaoyu-class patrol cutter Haijing 2303 and noted it was the first time the service has entered the Arctic Ocean– but keep in mind the 16,000-member force was only formed in 2013:
The 3,450-ton Zhaoyus, which are frequently seen in the South China Sea harassing Philipino ships, is armed with a H/PJ-26 76 mm naval gun, two 30mm guns, and two anti-aircraft machine guns.
This is the first time that Chinese Coast Guard ships have entered the Arctic Ocean, which effectively expanded the scope of the Coast Guard’s ocean-going navigation, comprehensively tested the Coast Guard ships’ ability to carry out missions in unfamiliar waters, and provided strong support for active participation in international and regional ocean governance.
A NORAD F-16 Fighting Falcon intercepts a Russian IL-38 in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone in September 2024 under Operation Noble Eagle. NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars, and fighter aircraft in seamless interoperability to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD remains ready to employ several response options in defense of North America.
There have been lots of incursions from Russian aircraft into the Alaska Air Defense Indication Zone (ADIZ) in the past few weeks.
Notable incidents include:
Two unspecified Russian military aircraft on Sept. 11.
Four aircraft including Tu-95 Bears escorted by Su-35s on Sept. 23.
Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, spoke on the latter event, stating:
“On Monday (Sept. 23), NORAD aircraft flew a safe and disciplined intercept of Russian military aircraft in the Alaskan ADIZ. The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all – not what you’d see in a professional air force.”
Healy Heads Back to the Arctic
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) transits with assist tugs through Elliott Bay near Seattle following its departure from Base Seattle, Oct. 1, 2024. The crew of the Healy are scheduled to resume their scientific mission that was cut short due to an onboard fire in late July. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Steve Strohmaier)
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20)departed Seattle on Tuesday, beginning her months-long Arctic deployment.
Healy’s earlier science mission was cut short due to a high-profile fire while underway in July. The icebreaker– the country’s only medium polar capable breaker– returned to Seattle in August for a thorough inspection and repairs but is now back on her mission.
While essentially unarmed other than the contents of her small arms locker, she at least has 16,000 tons of presence, a decent common suite, and a helicopter/UAV capability.
She will support NSF/UNOLS scientists and NOAA survey personnel conducting three distinct science missions:
The first mission supports the Arctic Port Access Route Study (PARS). During this mission, the cutter will perform bathymetric mapping in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The Coast Guard has initiated an Arctic PARS to analyze current vessel patterns, predict future vessel needs, and balance the needs of all waterway users by developing and recommending vessel routing measures for the Arctic. The Arctic PARS may lead to future rulemaking or international agreements that consider coastal communities, fishing, commercial traffic, military needs, resource development, wildlife presence and habit, tribal activities, and recreational uses.
For the second mission, Healy will embark 20 early career polar scientists and their mentors on an Arctic Chief Scientists Training Cruise sponsored by the National Science Foundation and University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System. These early career scientists will conduct multidisciplinary research, including mapping to fill critical bathymetric gaps and scientific sampling across various disciplines, in addition to developing skills in shipboard leadership, coordination, and execution.
The final mission of the deployment will support other science of opportunity to include sea floor mapping for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Coast Survey.
The U.S. Coast Guard spotted four Russian Navy warships on Sunday, 57 miles northwest of Point Hope, Alaska.
The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) encountered and shadowed four Russian Federation Navy (RFN) vessels 57 miles northwest of Point Hope, Alaska, on Sept. 15, 2024. The Russian Surface Action Group consisted of a Severodvinsk-class submarine, a Dolgorukiy-class submarine, a Steregushchiy–class Frigate, and a Seliva-class tug. Stratton patrolled under Operation Frontier Sentinel, a Coast Guard operation designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
From USCG PAO:
While on a routine patrol in the Chukchi Sea, the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) observed the RFN vessels transiting southeast along the Russian side of the Maritime Boundary Line (MBL).
The crew of the Stratton witnessed the RFN vessels cross the MBL into the U.S. Arctic and moved to observe the vessels. The Russian vessels were assessed to avoid sea ice on the Russian side of the MBL and operated according to international rules and customs as they transited approximately 30 miles into the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.
“We are actively patrolling our maritime border in the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and the Chukchi Sea, with our largest and most capable cutters and aircraft, to protect U.S. sovereign interests, U.S. fish stocks, and to promote international maritime norms,” said Rear Adm. Megan Dean, Commander of Coast Guard District Seventeen. “Coast Guard Cutter Stratton ensured there were no disruptions to U.S. interests.”
The Russian Surface Action Group consisted of a Severodvinsk-class submarine, a Dolgorukiy-class submarine, a Steregushchiy–class Frigate, and a Seliva-class tug.
The Stratton is patrolling under Operation Frontier Sentinel, designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters. The Coast Guard’s presence strengthens the international rules-based order and promotes the conduct of operations in a manner that follows international law and norms.
Coast Guard Cutter Stratton is a 418-foot legend class national security cutter homeported in Alameda, Calif.
Meanwhile on Shemya Island…
The Russian naval group was spotted just after elements of the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division surged a force projection task force to Shemya Island in the Western Aleutians.
The airmailed group included a HIMARS and AN/TPQ-53 (Q-53) Multi-Mission Radar, delivered via C-17 Globemaster.
HIMARS has a published range of 130 or so miles while the Q-53 is limited to closer to 30-40.
Still, it sends a message.
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Radar Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, orient a Q-53 Radar on Shemya Island, Alaska as part of a force projection operation, Sept. 13, 2024. The operation to the remote island in the North Pacific Ocean demonstrates the division’s ability to project power quickly and effectively, throughout the Indo-Pacific, assuring allies and partner nations in the region. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez)
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Alpha Battery, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (Long Range Fires Battalion), 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, setup communication systems for the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) as part of the 11th Airborne Division’s force projection operation to Shemya Island, Alaska Sept. 12, 2024. The division’s ability to project power quickly and effectively assures allies and partner nations in the Indo-Pacific, and is the key to the strength of partnerships and relationships in the region. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brandon Vasquez)
As military history buffs, you have to appreciate the sublime irony of German Bundeswehr staff officers analyzing the Ukrainian Army’s offensive operations into the Kursk region, with Unternehmen Zitadelle now some 81 years in the rearview.
If there is anyone who knows what not to do with armor around Kursk, it is probably the Germans.
Commissioned in 1908, the SMS Augsburg, one of four Kolberg-class light cruisers in the Kaiserliche Marine, had been detailed to train torpedo and gun crews for the High Seas Fleet. Meanwhile, her three sisters, Kolberg, Mainz, and Cöln were assigned to the II Scouting Group and made ready to fight the British once the lights went out in Europe.
Fate being a funny thing, Augsburg was able to get into combat before her sisters when, on the night of 2 August 1914, the second day of the Great War, detailed along with the light cruiser Magdeburg, she bombarded the Russian harbor of Libau (today’s Liepaja, Latvia). She also apparently crossed swords with one of the Tsar’s torpedo boats, with neither suffering any reportable damage.
Augsburg famously wired in the open a series of three messages, which were duly picked up in neutral Sweden and Denmark and repeated worldwide:
“Am bombarding the naval harbor at Libau on the Baltic Sea.”
“Am engaged with enemy’s cruiser.”
“Port Libau is in flames.”
The Russians quickly did damage control, and reported that Libau only suffered minor damage and counterclaimed a heroic torpedo boat had sent Augsburg to the bottom before she could flee into the night.
One of the first naval actions of the war, German artists made sure to flood the market with celebratory martial postcards and pulp illustrations which were duly snapped up and kept for generations.
To be sure, each embellished the “battle.”
Kreuzer Augsburg beschiesst Libau Magdeburg Wilhelm Jonas
Kreuzer Augsburg beschiesst Libau Magdeburg Hans Bohrdt
Note that she now only has two large funnels rather than three thin ones, and sports a profile more akin to a Nassau-class battleship
Kreuzer Augsburg beschiesst Libau Magdeburg, Harry Heusser
Kleinen Kreuzer SMS AUGSBURG. Illustrierte Geschichte des Weltkrieges 1914-15
Kreuzer Augsburg beschiesst Libau, C Schon, Berlin August 1914
Der Krieg 1914-19 in Wort und Bild, published 1919,
Moving past her minor engagement at Libau, Augsburg held on to her luck. While she was reported sunk at least two other times by the Russians in the course of the war, and two of her sisters (Cöln and Mainz) actually were sent to the bottom by the Royal Navy, the postcard hero survived the war, albeit flying a red flag for the last few weeks of it.
Post-Versailles, Augsburg was awarded to Japan as a war prize ship “Y” but the Emperor had no use for her and she was immediately sold for scrap, never leaving Europe.
An ancient 2-inch Konstantinov unguided rocket set up before Russian trenches, likely on the Caucus Front, circa 1915-1916.
Designed in the early 1850s by Lt. Gen. Konstantin Konstantinovich Konstantinov– an illegitimate son of the younger brother of Russian Emperor Alexander I– the Konstantinov rocket was considered more advanced in terms of performance and payload to the British Congreve rockets of the day.
By the Crimean War, the Russian Imperial Army adopted 2-inch, 2.5-inch, and 4-inch rockets of his design in fragmentation and incendiary variants which far outclassed field artillery of the day. For reference, the 4-inch rocket, loaded with a 10-pound frag grenade, had a maximum firing range of 4,150 m. By comparison, a 10-pounder Parrott rifle only had an effective range of about 1,700 m. Further, they could be ripple-fired as many as 36 rockets in a single salvo, forming a kill box.
The Russians had some 23.000 Konstantinov rockets on hand by the Crimean War and used them during the siege of Sevastopol– fired from the roofs and upper floors of buildings to strike British lines– and at Revel in the Baltic against ships of the Royal Navy,
By 1898, advances in field artillery had eclipsed their niche usefulness. They were withdrawn from service, and the last rocket batteries disbanded.
However, we all know the Russians never throw anything away when it comes to ordnance and, as seen above, Konstantinovs popped up again in the Great War.
Further, there is some anecdotal evidence the Finns still had a few of them in inventory during WWII, no doubt inherited from Tsarist stocks left behind in the former Grand Duchy in 1917.
Raketti vie 1300 valistusta ja uutisia sis�lt�vi� lentolehtisi� naapurin puolelle.
Classified by the Finns as fortress rockets (Linnoitusraketti) there are pictures of them being used to harass Soviet lines in 1941 near Hanko (Hango), some 90 years after they were introduced.
Linnoitusraketti valmiina lentämään. Hangon rintama 1941.09.20
The rocket takes off (night view) from the rock of the island over the back to the neighbor’s island across the border of the rental area. Hanko front 1941.09.20
The rocket has launched. Hanko front 1941.01.01
The Finns liked them so much that they went on to make an even more rudimentary version to carry propaganda leaflets (Propagandalehtisiä Lähetetään Raketin).
“Sending propaganda rockets: Situational information with local news is delivered to the neighbor’s side by rockets. According to the prisoners, the news delivered in this way is read carefully, because this news through us arrives much faster than the prisoners’ own situational information about the day’s events. Valkeajärvi (Uhtua direction) 1941.10.28”
