IRIAF vs. Allied Air Power in Europe

[K. A. Pital]

Once this aircraft arrives, but all the other Luftwaffe craft vanish, the pattern of the battles will start to change rather drastically, would it not?

Also, I'm really curious about airfields outside of Germany. If they aren't all brought to the modern standard... well, let's say Germany will have a problem employing their new planes in the East.

[Big Phil]

we're still talking quite a few modern aircraft with PGM capability that could seriously hurt the Allies, even in small numbers.

When have the Iranians demonstrated an ability to accurately deploy precision guided munitions?

The F-4/Su-24 combination would be virtually unstoppable against Allied shipping, particularly given they carry stand off weapons such as C. 801s.

Anti-ship missiles would be unpleasant, but the Iranians don't have enough to sink even a significant minority of Allied shipping.

[Patrick Degan]

Another question: how long could the Iranian airforce sustain itself before its available fuel ran out in a world which totally lacks any capacity to produce replacement fuel of the quality required for modern jet engines? How about machine parts? The dies for making their replacements don't exist in 1945 either.

[thejester]

we're still talking quite a few modern aircraft with PGM capability that could seriously hurt the Allies, even in small numbers.

When have the Iranians demonstrated an ability to accurately deploy precision guided munitions?

Is that a joke?

In the event it's not, here's (just for starters) a list of vessels attacked during the Tanker War. Scroll down and you'll see a list of vessels sunk by Iranian F-4Es with Mavericks.

The F-4/Su-24 combination would be virtually unstoppable against Allied shipping, particularly given they carry stand off weapons such as C. 801s.

Anti-ship missiles would be unpleasant, but the Iranians don't have enough to sink even a significant minority of Allied shipping.

I was more thinking they could deploy enough to wreck Allied efforts to resupply Malta, which would be (if nothing else) a pretty serious moral blow to the Allies at this stage of the war.

Another question: how long could the Iranian airforce sustain itself before its available fuel ran out in a world which totally lacks any capacity to produce replacement fuel of the quality required for modern jet engines? How about machine parts? The dies for making their replacements don't exist in 1945 either.

OP says it's everything the Iranians can make...I have no idea if they make their own jet fuel, but they certainly have a sophisticated spare parts infrastructure due to the Shah's efforts in the '70s, though again it remains open to debate how reliant they are on foreign (ie Chinese) sources.

[thejester]

Once this aircraft arrives, but all the other Luftwaffe craft vanish, the pattern of the battles will start to change rather drastically, would it not?

Not necessarily. OP says 1942, so I'm guessing that means the actual change happens on 1 January 1942. Assuming some units are rushed to the front (MiG-29s have something of a rough field capability, don't they?) and then more are shifted as proper airfields become available, the Wehrmacht should have some cover for the end of the Soviet counteroffensive, and you would think would definitely have the infrastructure in place by the 7th of May, when Blau was historically unleashed.

Also, I'm really curious about airfields outside of Germany. If they aren't all brought to the modern standard... well, let's say Germany will have a problem employing their new planes in the East.

Why would they all need to be? Only need a few to be brought up to standard with such a relatively small number of planes, shouldn't be that logistically hard.

[Master of Ossus]

I don't see the aircraft as being the significant determinant, here. The Iranian air-defense network would basically tear the 8th Airforce and RAF strategic bombers to shreds by itself. That probably wouldn't win the war for the modified Germany, but it would sure as hell slow things down if the Allied bombers couldn't touch German industrial centers, or could do so only with limited success and at tremendous material cost. In 1942, that would significantly slow down the western ground actions and draw out the War, even if the Germans couldn't re-arm or even service their new aircraft.

[Vympel]

Well, cross referencing sources at globalsecurity and the ever popular wikipedia, Iran doesn't seem to have any heavy bombers other than a few H-6 (Tu-16s) and Tu-22Ms

No Tu-22M BACKFIRESs are in service outside the FSU, if Iran has anything it's Tu-22 BLINDERs. Perfectly adequate for bombing shit with impunity, though.

[PeZook]

The biggest problem here is that Iranian airplanes replace the Luftwaffe, as Stas pointed out ; They will prett much be able to destroy anything they are pointed at, but they can only be pointed at a limited number of things.

They will be useless for CAS work as well, since the are piloted by Iranians! Unless the Wehrmacht gets a lot of persian-speaking personnell, it will be next to impossible to co-ordinate airstrikes with ground units.

So we can expect that German ground advance into Russia will actually slow down, since they relied on their air support quite a lot,and now they practically have none. Germany is in some deep shit now on the Eastern Front...

However, they can still use their aircraft strategically. Others have mentioned they can easily wreck Scapa Flow along with the entire British home fleet, and destroy Malta completely. They could also wreck British drydocks at Gibraltar, destroy radar stations in Britain, airfields and factories.

If I was Germany, I think I'd use these aircraft to sink the Royal Navy and bring Britain to the negotiating table before they come to their senses. I get to keep France, they get to keep their Empire, but are forbidden from owning an air force. The US gets offered a few F-14s and missiles in exchange for neutrality. Then I hope I can kill Russia.

It's still a long shot ; Simple accidents and lack of spare parts may make this whole excercise moot before the uberplanes can accomplish much.

Oh, and the British can read all Luftwaffe codes with ease, so shock & awe may not work on them once they learn what a pitiful air force I have now.

[thejester]

Well, cross referencing sources at globalsecurity and the ever popular wikipedia, Iran doesn't seem to have any heavy bombers other than a few H-6 (Tu-16s) and Tu-22Ms

No Tu-22M BACKFIRESs are in service outside the FSU, if Iran has anything it's Tu-22 BLINDERs. Perfectly adequate for bombing shit with impunity, though.

Don't think they've got anything heavier than Su-24s.

[Sea Skimmer]

While a few hundred planes couldn’t provide remotely adequate direct support to the entire Russian front, they could fuck over the Russians in a big way by systematically bombing every major railway bridge within 500 miles of the frontline. Back in WW2 bridges made for very tough targets and the Germans couldn’t even try this sort of campaign, but Iran would need only a few sorties to destroy each one, and the ONLY possible defense would be smokescreens.

[Wanderer]

Back in WW2 bridges made for very tough targets and the Germans couldn’t even try this sort of campaign, but Iran would need only a few sorties to destroy each one, and the ONLY possible defense would be smokescreens.

Out of morbid curiosity, what makes for the best smokescreen device or method?

[K. A. Pital]

While a few hundred planes couldn’t provide remotely adequate direct support to the entire Russian front, they could fuck over the Russians in a big way by systematically bombing every major railway bridge within 500 miles of the frontline.

Yeah, that'd fuck over the logistics. But not for a long time I guess - Russian forces crossed around a hundred bridge-less rivers in the course of advancing against the German frontline, when the Germans thoroughly destroyed bridges on fallback.

Engineering units will spring up across the front and in the rear, to deal with the problem.