Russ,

Frank sent me these documents from Jacques about Russian changes with one more year (I can send them if you want). There are not introducting new planes needing high octane fuel, but producing in great numbers their most modern planes, developping infrastructures, radars, communications, etc.

The Black Sea was not much used in OTL because :
- Soviet infrastructures in the Black Sea had been a lot damaged by the Germans
- Turkey was quite hostile
- the Mediterranean and Black Sea were not safe because of Italian and German MTBs and submarines (until 1944, see uboat.net/maps/black_sea.htm)
- convoys were well organized from GB to Russia via Arctic and US ships had "simply" to join these convoys

The Allies ARE contesting Northern Aegean when FFO-Barbarossa begins, because they hold Limnos in April 42 and basing planes there. The Germans don't have enough attack planes to target convoys in the Bosphorus, because the fight over the Aegean and Greece since Feb. 1942 is bleeding them (IInd, VIth and Xth FK).

BTW, I'm not sure the Turks would appreciate mines in the Bosphorus ...