Editing Polikarpov Po-2 (section)

==Operational history==
=== World War II ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 169-0112, Russland, erbeutetes Flugzeug Po-2 - restored.jpg|thumb|Damaged and abandoned Po-2 forced to land in [[Ukraine]], and subsequently captured by German troops, 1941.]]

From the beginning, the U-2 became the basic Soviet civil and military trainer aircraft, mass-produced in a "Red Flyer" factory near Moscow. It was also used for transport, and as a military [[liaison aircraft]], due to its [[STOL]] capabilities. Also from the beginning it was produced as an agricultural aircraft variant, which earned it its nickname ''Kukuruznik''. Although entirely outclassed by contemporary aircraft, the ''Kukuruznik'' served extensively on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] in [[World War II]], primarily as a liaison, [[medevac]] and general-supply aircraft. It was especially useful for supplying [[Soviet partisans]] behind the German front line. Manufacturing of the Po-2 in the USSR ceased in 1949, but until 1959 a number were assembled in Aeroflot repair workshops.

The first trials of arming the aircraft with bombs took place in 1941.

During the [[Siege of Odessa (1941)|defence of Odessa]] in September 1941, the U-2 was used as a [[reconnaissance]] aircraft and as a light, short-range, bomber. The bombs, dropped from a civil aircraft piloted by Pyotr Bevz, were the first to fall on enemy [[artillery]] positions.<ref name="Smith" /><ref name= "Gordon p. 285.">Gordon 2008, p. 285.</ref> From 1942 it was adapted as a light night ground attack aircraft.

Nikolay Polikarpov supported the project, and under his leadership, the U-2VS (''voyskovaya seriya'' - Military series) was created. This was a light night bomber, fitted with bomb carriers beneath the lower wing, to carry 50 or 100&nbsp;kg (110 or 220&nbsp;lbs) bombs up to a total weight of 350&nbsp;kg (771&nbsp;lb) and armed with [[ShKAS]] or DA machine guns in the observer's [[cockpit]].<ref name= "Gordon p. 285."/>

The U-2 became known as the aircraft used by the [[Night Witches|588th Night Bomber Regiment]], composed of an all-woman pilot and ground crew complement. The unit became famous for daring low-altitude night raids on German rear-area positions. Veteran pilots [[Yekaterina Ryabova]] and [[Nadezhda Popova]] on one occasion flew eighteen missions in a single night. The women pilots observed that the enemy suffered a further degree of demoralization simply due to their antagonists being female. As such, the pilots earned the nickname "Night Witches" (German ''Nachthexen'', Russian ''Ночные Ведьмы''/Nočnye Ved’my). The unit earned numerous [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] citations and dozens of [[Order of the Red Banner]] medals; most surviving pilots had flown nearly 1,000 combat missions by the end of the war and took part in the [[Battle of Berlin]].
[[File:Бойцы во время переноса раненого на борт многоцелевого самолета У-2.jpg|thumb|A wounded soldier being loaded onto a U-2 for evacuation to a hospital in the rear, 1941]]
The material effects of these missions may be regarded as minor, but the psychological effect on German troops was noticeable. They typically attacked [[Harassing fire#World War II|by surprise in the middle of the night]], denying German troops sleep and keeping them on their guard, contributing to the already high stress of combat on the Eastern front. The usual tactic involved flying only a few meters above the ground, climbing for the final approach, throttling back the engine and making a [[gliding flight|gliding]] [[bomb]]ing run, leaving the targeted troops with only the eerie whistling of the wind in the wings' bracing-wires as an indication of the impending attack.<ref name="Smith" /><ref>Handler, M. S., United Press, "Russia's New 'Secret' Weapon Revealed to Be Old-Type Training Ship: Crates Glide Through Skies, Blast Nazis; Veteran Planes Helping Write History on Eastern Front Despite Slow Speed", ''The San Bernardino Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Saturday 10 October 1942, Volume 49, page 4.</ref> Luftwaffe [[fighter aircraft|fighter]]s found it extremely hard to shoot down the ''Kukuruznik'' because of two main factors: the pilots flew at treetop level where they were hard to see or engage and the [[stall speed]] of both the [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] and the [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190]] was similar to the U-2s maximum speed, making it difficult for the fighters to keep a Po-2 in weapons range for an adequate period of time.<ref name="Smith" /><ref>Myles 1997{{page needed|date=November 2012}}</ref> The success of the Soviet night harassment units inspired the Luftwaffe to set up similar ''Störkampfstaffel'' "harassment combat squadrons" on the Eastern Front using their own obsolete 1930s-era, open cockpit biplanes (most often the [[Gotha Go 145]] and [[Arado Ar 66]] biplanes) and parasol monoplane aircraft, eventually building up to larger ''Nachtschlachtgruppe'' (night attack group) units of a few squadrons each.<ref name="Smith" />

The [[Polish Air Force]] used these slow and manoeuvrable aircraft for air reconnaissance and [[counter-insurgency aircraft|COIN]] operations against [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army|UPA]] detachments in mountainous area of [[Bieszczady Mountains|Bieszczady]]. Pilots and navigators were dispatched to look for concentrations of UPA forces and if needed, engage them with machine guns and grenades. On several occasions, the UPA managed to bring down some of the Po-2s, but never captured or operated them.<ref>''Kurs bojowy Bieszczady'', 1971.</ref>

The U-2's 5-cylinder engine had an unusual exhaust manifold arrangement that gave the engine a peculiar rattling or popping sound which made the airplane easily identifiable even at night. German soldier Claus Neuber listed in his war diary six different German nicknames for the plane, the most common of which were ''Nähmaschine'' (sewing machine) or ''Kaffeemühle,'' (coffee mill), both due to the distinctive engine sound.<ref name="Smith" /> Neuber added that some German troops derisively called it the "Runway Crow" or "Fog Crow." He also cited the nicknames "Iron Gustav," for the belly armor the plane carried to protect it from ground fire, and "The Duty NCO" because the plane almost always came at night at the same time.<ref name= "Neuber, p. 25">Neuber 2021, p. 25</ref> The fabric and wood construction of the airplane made it extremely vulnerable to catching fire when hit by tracer rounds, resulting in a Russian nickname of ''Kerosinka,'' or kerosene lantern.<ref name= "Grossman p. 133">Grossman 2007, p. 133.</ref> Finnish troops called it ''Hermosaha'' (Nerve saw){{citation needed|date=October 2015}}.

=== Korean War ===
[[North Korea]]n forces used the Po-2 in a similar role during the [[Korean War]]. A significant number of Po-2s were fielded by the [[Korean People's Air Force]], inflicting serious damage during night raids on [[United Nations Command (Korea)|United Nations]] bases.<ref>Dorr 2003, p. 50.</ref> During one such attack, a lone Po-2 attacked [[Pyongyang Air Base]].<ref name="Smith" /> Concentrating on the 8th Fighter-Bomber Group's parking ramp, the Po-2 dropped a string of fragmentation bombs squarely across the group's lineup of [[North American P-51 Mustang|P-51 Mustang]]s. Eleven Mustangs were damaged, three so badly that they were destroyed when Pyongyang was abandoned several days later.

On 17 June 1951, at 01:30 hours, [[Suwon Air Base]] was bombed by two Po-2s. Each biplane dropped a pair of fragmentation bombs. One scored a hit on the 802nd Engineer Aviation Battalion's motor pool, damaging some equipment. Two bombs burst on the flightline of the 335th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. One [[North American F-86 Sabre|F-86A Sabre]] (FU-334 / 49-1334) was struck on the wing and began burning. The fire took hold, gutting the aircraft. Prompt action by personnel who moved aircraft away from the burning Sabre prevented further loss. Eight other Sabres were damaged in the brief attack, four seriously.<ref name="Smith" /> One F-86 pilot was among the wounded. The North Koreans subsequently credited Lt. La Woon Yung with this damaging attack.<ref>''American Aviation Historical Society'', Vol. 30, 1985.</ref>

UN forces named the Po-2's nighttime appearance ''Bedcheck Charlie'' and had great difficulty in shooting it down &ndash; even though [[night fighter]]s had [[radar]] as standard equipment in the 1950s. The wood-and-fabric material of the Po-2 had only a small radar cross-section, making it hard for an opposing fighter pilot to acquire their target. As Korean war U.S. veteran Leo Fournier remarked about "Bedcheck Charlie" in his memoirs: "... no one could get at him. He just flew too low and too slow." On 16 June 1953, a [[United States Marine Corps|USMC]] [[Douglas A-1 Skyraider|AD-4]] from [[VMAQ-1|VMC-1]] piloted by [[Major (United States)|Major]] George H. Linnemeier and [[Chief Warrant Officer|CWO]] Vernon S. Kramer shot down a Po-2, the only documented Skyraider air victory of the war. The Po-2 is also the only biplane credited with a documented jet-kill, as one [[Lockheed F-94 Starfire]] was lost while slowing down to {{convert|161|kph|mph|0|abbr=on}} – below its stall speed – during an intercept in order to engage the low flying Po-2.<ref name="Smith" /><ref>Grier, Peter. [https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0611april/ "April 15, 1953"]. ''Air Force Magazine'', Air Force Association, June 2011, p. 57.</ref>