On June 22, 1941, the Soviet Union possessed the largest airforce in the world. Faced by an enemy almost one-fifth her size, the Russians managed to lose more aircraft by the end of the year than they started with in June. This resulted in the Luftwaffe having complete control of the air in 1941 and enabled the Germans to maintain their air superiority well into the war.

What follows is a revision of the Draft Air Order of Battle that, I feel, allows the destruction of the Soviet Air Force in a more realistic but playable way than the gradual release of aircraft through increases in Group Allowances. From this revision one can graphically see the destruction and rebirth of the Russian Airforce.

At the time of the German invasion more than half of the Soviet aircraft were unable to take off due to lack of maintenance and repair. This is represented by the large number of aircraft that begin in the Abort Box. During the first few weeks of the war the Soviet air force suffered heavy blows while German losses were small. Not only were thousands of Russian aircraft destroyed in neat uncamouflaged rows on airfields but many more were quickly slaughtered through confused tactics brought about by the suddenness of the holocaust.

Handling the effects in a more abstract way, while still allowing the German to conduct conventional air warfare, seems to me the best way to simulate the disaster while keeping playability (and Russian player morale) in mind.

From the initial Russian aircraft given, separate the Siberian air units from the regular Russian units. Place at random 16 Siberian units in the abort box. Place the remainder off board in Siberia and/or in the new production box.

Divide the remaining Russian aircraft into three piles. Each pile should consist of one type of unit, either fighters, bombers, or transports. Choosing units of a specific type (fighters, bombers, or transports) at random, set up the Russian units as indicated in the deployment table. Place the remaining units into the abort box.

After set-up is complete the German player rolls for the destruction of Russian aircraft that have been placed on the map. Roll once for every Russian air unit; a roll of 1 through 4 on one die destroys the unit in question. Place the destroyed units in the destroyed over friendly territory box. Normal play is now ready to begin. Please note that the Russian Group allowance does not go into effect until after the German player rolls for the destruction of Russian aircraft.

Aircraft in the New Production Box

In Russian Colors

6 x Yak-1
2 x DB-3
1 x Pe-8
1 x LaGG-3
7 x DB-3F
21 x SB-3
20 x MiG-3
4 x IL-2
15 x SB-RK
1 x MiG-1
7 x Su-2
3 x Po-2
10 x I-15b
7 x Pe-2
3 x U-2
37 x I-153
2 x Yak-4
10 x G-2
48 x I-16
13 x IL-4

In Siberian Colors

4 x LaGG-3
2 x I-15b
8 x DB-3
14 x SB-2
8 x 1- 16

Aircraft produced as of date shown

Model	1941				1942
	I	J	S	N	J	M
In Russian Colors
Yak-1	-	-	1	-	-	-
LaGG-3	-	5	5	8	-	-
MiG-3	-	2	2	2	-	-
IL-2	-	4	4	3	-	-
Su-2	-	1	2	1	-	-
Pe-2	-	5	4	3	-	-
IL-4	-	1	1	2	-	-
In Siberian Colors
1-16	-	-	1	1	-	-
Group Allowances
Russian	132	2	2	2	2	2
Siberian	20	-	1	-	1	-
Lend Lease	0	-	1	-	-	-

Deployment
Location	Fighter Types	Bomber Types	Airfields
At Murmansk	2	1	0
Within 10 hexes of Leningrad	8	13	1
Within 10 hexes of Riga	8	8	3
Within 10 hexes of Minsk	10	22	6
Within 10 hexes of Mev or Lwow	13	10	3
Within 7 hexes of Odessa	6	6	0
Adjacent to the Arctic Sea	1	1	0
Adjacent to the Baltic Sea	4	4	0
Adjacent to the Black Sea	3	4	0
Anywhere	Eight transports,/TD>

This article deals with the Draft Air OB/OA revision on DNO.