[vanir]

I had the impression, since virtually the entire Soviet bomber force was destroyed by the Luftwaffe within the first three weeks of Barbarossa, but as the assault on Moscow approached and German aircraft serviceability and availability plummeted, the VVS re-equipped many of its fighters as fast ground support aircraft. It is said on the Moscow Front alone there were as many aircraft as the entire German Eastern Front, operating from good fields.

It seems the early Yak, Lavochkin and MiG were fitted with bombs or rockets at this time.

Certainly I understand there was no genuine standardisation of "a MiG-3 model A1" as such. In the field each MiG could have a different engine, armament, canopies, even wings. Only the basic airframe was generally common (alongside MiG-1's and on the carousel goes). It's a good idea to have ground attack layout with the AM-38, but I have to wonder how standardised such a layout might've been. It seems MiGs were a bit of a hodgepodge with all sorts of customisations, and then in the winter of 41 everything was fitted for ground attack. By late 42 however the numbers of specialised, new ground attack types were finally back up and their models sorted.

Just some random thoughts. I like the idea too.