Specialty Press

Soviet Air Power in World War 2

by  Yefim Gordon

Reviewed By  Robert DeMaio, IPMS# 45186

MSRP: $79.99 ISBN: 978-1-85780-304-4 Review copy courtesy of Specialty Press ( www.specialtypress.com ) Yefim Gordon is no stranger to Russian aviation publications over the past twenty years, though most have been focused on the jet age. I have been a buyer of several of his books as both historical and as a model builder, and I purchase books with either of those intentions in mind. His Red Star series books have been popular with aviation buffs as well as the modeler's domain. When I received this book for review, I saw Yefim as the author of World War II Soviet aircraft and was anxious to give considerable time to it. This is a beast of a book 9x12x1 ¼ inches in dimension with 528 pages printed on heavy gloss paper which makes a difference in photo clarity. It is obvious that Yefim spent numerous hours to compile a book of this magnitude. The Table of Contents is comprised of just six parts referred to as Soviet World War 2 Phases that start on page 3 with continued non-stop history, photos, charts and color profiles throughout. The book was delivered to me with a flyer and is advertised as having a combination of 650 b/w and color photos. There are no color photos per say as stated for I do not consider color profile line drawings color photos. Many previously published World War II Russian aircraft photos are usually poor quality, but most of these are newly published and image clean. With the use of a strong magnifier, the modeler will be able to pick out some further details. There isn't an index for quick lookup referencing which is always helpful, nor were the top of the pages labeled with an aircraft designation for any kind of quick find. Instead every page was titled "The Great Patriotic War" and the flip side page was "Soviet Air Power." Each aircraft is detailed in a few consecutive pages which makes finding the aircraft that much harder to locate. Once I started reading this book to get the feel for its content, I found it difficult to put it down with the amount of detailed information it contained. Yefim avoids facts and figures dry reading by mixing in some brief combat experiences pilot's had using the aircraft's performance abilities. The Introduction briefly explains the phases of the book consisting of the Soviet Industry, Soviet Air Force Organization and Equipment, Naval Aviation, Combat Aircraft, Lend Lease Agreement, and Soviet Pilots prior to Germany's invasion in 1941 thru their Great Patriotic War. Yefim's intention was to bring readers new facts and more accurate figures of Soviet World War II aviation and he has done so in a big way. It takes a close look at Russia's Air Force's structure in World War 2 by providing those statistics, and at times political influences. The Industry phase covers twenty-eight pages of photos of different manufacturing assembly lines. The picture captions lack the factory names and locations, and just make mention of what aircraft is being built. Several statistical charts are provided containing production plant numbers in a major city and what aircraft was produced there. There are principal (steady output) aircraft production numbers and advanced (maximum wartime) production numbers for both aircraft and engines built. Two full pages give the appearance of a class graduation picture book that contains some of the Soviet Union's top-ranking aircraft industry and notable designers. One of the book phases cover aircraft of the Naval Aviation in the North, Baltic, and Black Sea Fleets. Several color page profiles contain the MBR-2bis and KOR-2 float planes among other aircraft represented here. This is where the color profiles begin and continue a steady flow mixed in with the b/w photos to the end of the book; 465 pages worth. Yefim is definitely on target to capture the aviation buff and modeler for all the historical information provided, but needed to go a few pages more for top aircraft views of camouflaged paint schemes for the modelers. I will be using this book for both reference material and will be a great start for choosing a paint pattern but will have to search out more sources. I found a top and bottom color scheme views for the SB-2M unique camouflaged pattern, and an A-20B and B-25C in the Lend Lease Agreement section were included only to show the Russian star placement on the wings; both aircraft having one topside color. If the modeler is looking for lots of new color profiles, new b/w pictures, divisions and regiments, and unit insignia of the Soviet Air Forces during World War II, you will find it in this book. All the Soviet armed aircraft of World War II are represented here from the first flight thru each version. More charts provide extensive breakdowns of Aircraft Division's Compositions and Dispositions of both fighters and bombers, including the Commanding Officers. Flight specifications and production figures are provided for each aircraft family. Anything that the Soviet's had that could fly during the war was used even biplanes that were obsolete. Fourteen pages review the Polikarpov biplanes used thru 1945 with the same detailed format, statistics, and photos. Those prototype aircraft that started the family of planes into production are included. For whatever the reason that the aircraft changed shape, Yefim points it out, sometimes in photos or profiles. I hardly viewed a book where picture captions were flawless even if a few escape a translator or author's proof reading. I found 'night' and 'nihgt' on the same page, and a wrongly identified aircraft caption under a photo, but we could get past all the minor errors if the subject matter is there. The Lend Lease Agreement phase covers 78 pages of American, British, and some Canadian built aircraft (19,100) that were sent to the Russian Air Forces and Air Fleets. A chart lists the breakdown numbers by aircraft type sent. I was amazed to read that in the middle of a war crisis for much needed aircraft to fight, Russian engineers would take delivery of the aircraft and experiment with some in attempts to improve the performance of them. The Russian pilots tell their experiences in American and British aircraft. While returning to base, one Russian pilot used his ammo depleted aircraft to ram the wing of a German Fw-189 Recon aircraft. The last phase of eighteen pages are devoted to the many Soviet pilots with a list of the top ten aces, and a list of 50 other ace pilots. Some of the aces are posing in photos with their aircraft and numerous kill markings, including Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak, a famous female ace pilot (12 kills) with her Yak-1. The Russian women pilots who flew night mission light bomber raids got their recognition also in photos. Color profiles are plentiful due to the tremendous variety of camouflages used over the vast lands of Russia, but the modeler will have to search elsewhere for those color top views. Soviet Air Power in World War 2 is a book I will value on my shelf for its content as a first reference book when I build a model. A recommended book purchase and read. Thank you to Marie Ray at Specialty Press and IPMS/USA for this review copy.

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