The Polikarpov U-2 or Po-2 served as a general-purpose Soviet biplane, nicknamed Kukuruznik (Кукурузник, from Russian "kukuruza" (кукуруза) for maize). The reliable, uncomplex and forgiving aircraft, powered by a 99 hp Shvetsov air-cooled radial engine, first flew in January 1928. Initially the Po-2 (it did not take this name until 1944) served as a trainer and crop-duster.

Although entirely outclassed by contemporary aircraft, the Kukuruznik served extensively on the Eastern Front in World War II as a light ground attack and general supply aircraft. German Wehrmacht troops nicknamed the craft the Nähmaschine (sewing machine) for its rattling sound. Its low cost and easy maintenance led to a production run of over 30,000, and manufacturing of the model continued into the 1950s.

The U-2 became famous as the plane used by the 588 NBAP (588th Night Bomber Regiment), composed of all-women pilots and ground crew. The unit became known for its daring low-altitude night raids on German rear-area positions, veteran pilots Katya Ryabova and Nadya Popova on one occasion flying 18 such missions in a single night. German troops considered them more than a nuisance, and gave them the nickname Nachthexen (night witches). The unit earned numerous Hero of the Soviet Union and dozens of Order of the Red Banner medals; most surviving pilots had flown nearly 1000 combat missions at the end of the war and had taken part in the Battle of Berlin (1945). Their usual tactics involved flying only a few meters above the ground, rising for the final approach, cutting off the engine and making a gliding bombing run, leaving the targetted troops with only the eerie whistling of the wind in the wings' bracing-wires as an indication of the impending attack. Luftwaffe fighters found it extremely hard to shoot down the Kukuruznik, because the stall speed of both the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 exceeded the Soviet craft's maximum speed.

North Korean forces used the Po-2 in a similar role in the Korean War (1950 - 1953). UN forces named it Bedcheck Charlie and had great difficulty in shooting it down - even though night fighters had radar as standard equipment in the 1950s, the wood-and-fabric-construction of the Po-2 gave only a minimal radar echo, making it hard for a hostile fighter pilot to acquire his target.

Trivia

Soviet people later used kukuruznik as a nickname for Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, notorious for his indiscriminating introduction of maize all over the Soviet Union; as well as for a plane with similar characteristics, the Antonov An-2.

External link

• Polikarpov U-2, Po-2

U-2 Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: two, student and instructor
• Length: 8.70 m (28 ft 6 in)
• Wingspan: 11.40 m (37 ft 5 in)
• Height: 3.10 m (10 ft 2 in)
• Wing area: 33.2 m² (357 ft²)
• Empty: 770 kg (1,694 lb)
• Loaded: 1,350 kg (2,970 lb)
• Maximum takeoff: kg ( lb)
• Powerplant: 1x Shvetsov M-11D radial, 86 kW (115 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 152 km/h (95 mph)
• Range: 530 km (330 miles)
• Service ceiling: 3,000 m (9,840 ft)
• Rate of climb: 167 m/min (546 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 41 kg/m² (8 lb/ft²)
• Power/Mass: 0.06 kW/kg (0.04 hp/lb)

Armament

• 1x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun
• 2x to 120 kg (264 lb) bombs or
• 4x RS-82 rockets

Related content

Related development:

Comparable aircraft:

Designation sequence: