I got the rudder blown off my il2 and it wasn’t that bad to control and land.
Which got me thinking what would happen it the elevator got blown off instead?
I have never had the elevator blown clean off before. Usually it gets damaged and it pitches.
Without elevator you are screwed.
Without rudder can work, even without aileron can work to a certain degree in some planes.
Probably not for landing though. And even missing rudders can be a problem if there is any crosswind.
No elevator means you are in real trouble. At best, you are looking at a controlled crash.
Interesting reading:
You can lose half an elevator (left or right) and usually be ok.
You can lose the rudder and usually be ok, depends on how you’re flying or if you’re a twin engined plane with one engine out.
You cannot lose the entire vertical surface and be ok, you’ll be lucky to survive.
You cannot lose the entire elevator (or have the cables stuck/cut) at all.