Hello!
I am trying to create a historically accurate mission for a WW2 flight simulator. Specifically centered around one of the first uses of super-heavy bombs, the Soviet FAB-5000.
I know that on July 19, 1943 two VVS PE-8 bombers, № 42059 and №422110, dropped two FAB-5000 on Oryol, targeting the railyard in the city. I also know the two PE-8s were captained by Shatrov and Dodonov crews from the 746th Regiment or maybe the 890th Long-Range Aviation Regiment. I found this article about the pilot of the PE-8 who dropped the bomb, but it doesn't really tell me anything about the mission itself.
What I would like to find out is more mission specific details so I can try to recreate it. What time of day was it? Where did the two PE-8s take off from and where did they land? Did they have escorts? Any idea what the weather was like?
Thank you!
Hi there - we're happy to approve your question related to your creative project, and we are happy for people to answer. However, we should warn you that many flairs have become reluctant to answer questions for aspiring novelists and the like, based on past experience: some people working on creative projects have a tendency to try to pump historians for trivia while ignoring the bigger points they were making, while others have a tendency to argue with historians when the historical reality does not line up with what's needed for a particular scene or characterization. Please respect the answers of people who have generously given you their time, even if it's not always what you want to hear.
Additionally, as amazing as our flair panel is, we should also point out that /r/AskHistorians is not a professional historical consultation service. If you're asking a question here because you need vital research for a future commercial product such as a historical novel, you may be better off engaging a historical consultant at a fair hourly rate to answer these questions for you. We don't know what the going rate for consultancy work would be in your locality, but it may be worth looking into that if you have in-depth or highly plot-reliant questions for this project. Some /r/AskHistorians flairs could be receptive to working as a consultant in this way. However, if you wish for a flair here to do this work for you, you will need to organize this with them yourselves.
For more general advice about doing research to inform a creative project, please check out our Monday Methods post on the subject.