Soviet Fighters of the Second World War

Soviet Fighters of the Second World War
Author: Jason Nicholas Moore
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Total Pages: 454
Release: 2021-07-30
Genre: History
ISBN:

The Red Air Force had just started to re-equip with modern monoplane fighters when the Germans opened Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Hundreds of fighters were destroyed in the first few days, but many of these were obsolete biplanes. Soviet Fighters of the Second World War details fighter development from the dark days of Barbarossa to eventual triumph over Berlin. Starting with outdated aircraft such as the Polikarpov Po-2 biplane and monoplane fighters, the Soviets then settled on two main lines of development: the inline-engine LaGG-3 and its radial-engine derivatives, the La-5 and La-7, and the inline-engine Yakovlev fighters, which were produced in greater numbers than any other series of fighters. Not only are these aircraft accurately described, but experimental fighters are also dealt with. In addition, colour profiles illustrate these aircraft in terms of design, camouflage and markings. From the I-15bis biplane of the late 1930s to the superb La-7 and Yak-3 fighters of the last year of the war, all Red Air Force fighters are covered in this comprehensive volume.

Soviet Bombers of the Second World War

Soviet Bombers of the Second World War
Author: Jason Nicholas Moore
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2019-09-08
Genre: History
ISBN:

Soviet bombers were a varied lot during the Second World War, ranging from single-engined biplanes such as the 1920's era Polikarpov U-2 to the excellent and modern twin-engined Tu-2 medium bomber. Although the use of four-engined strategic bombers was mostly limited to use of the huge Pe-8 bomber, the Soviets used many other aircraft for both strategic and tactical bombing. As the bombers of the Red Air Force were mainly tasked with supporting the Red Army, most of the bombers were used for tactical bombing, attacking tanks, troop convoys, trains, and airfields. This book will deal with both strategic bombers and tactical bombers, but will concentrate on the smaller tactical bombers, as this is where the Red Air Force's emphasis lay. Such types as the Il-4, the Su-2, the aforementioned Tu-2, and the most important bomber of all, the Il-2 Shturmovik attack bomber, will be described in great detail, including not only details on the aircraft themselves, but how they were deployed in combat. The one truly strategic bomber, the Pe-8, will not be forgotten, and neither will the comparatively tiny U-2 biplane, which was so effective in its use as a night-time "nuisance" raider that the Germans copied the tactic wholesale. Accurate colour profiles in some number will accompany the text in this comprehensive work on Soviet bombers.

Soviet Aces of World War 2

Soviet Aces of World War 2
Author: Hugh Morgan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 159
Release: 2013-01-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472800575

At the time of publication, no single volume in English had ever appeared in the West dealing with this intriguing subject area. Once restrictions relaxed in the former Soviet Union, the records of their elite pilots' deeds - detailed in this book - came to light. Although initially equipped with very poor aircraft, and robbed of effective leadership thanks as much to Stalin's purges in the late 1930s as to the efforts of the Luftwaffe, Soviet fighter pilots soon turned the tables through the use of both lend-lease aircraft like the Hurricane, Spitfire, P-39 and P-40, and home-grown machines like the MiG-3, LaGG-3/5, Lavochkin La-5/7/9 and the Yak-1/3.

Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2

Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2
Author: George Mellinger
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 147
Release: 2012-10-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782005544

The Soviet government tried to minimize the importance of Lend-lease fighters well into the 1980s. Only in recent years have these pilots felt free to admit what they flew, and now the fascinating story of these men can emerge. By the end of 1941 the Soviet Union was near collapse and its air force almost annihilated, leaving large numbers of surviving pilots with no aircraft to fly. To help prevent this collapse the UK eventually supplied a total of 4300 Hurricanes and Spitfires to the USSR. After the United States entered the war, the Americans extended Lend-lease to include direct supply to the Soviets as well as the British, and among the aircraft sent were almost 10,000 fighters. Although the aircraft were outdated and often unsuitable to Russian conditions, they served when they were needed, and this book tells how a number of Russian pilots became Heroes of the Soviet Union flying Lend-lease aircraft.

Il-2 Shturmovik

Il-2 Shturmovik
Author: Jason Nicholas Moore
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2017-05-17
Genre: History
ISBN:

Lend-Lease and Soviet Aviation in the Second World War

Lend-Lease and Soviet Aviation in the Second World War
Author: Vladimir Kotelnikov
Publisher: Helion
Total Pages: 576
Release: 2021-12-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781914059599

Seventy years have passed since the Second World War yet the books and articles still keep coming in a never-ending stream discussing the question of what role the deliveries of arms and materials by Soviet allies played in the victory of the Red Army. In Russia, the American Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter along with the Studebaker US6 truck and canned stewed meat became the symbols of Allied help to the USSR during the Second World War. Other aircraft which arrived to the country under the Lend-Lease program are less known but also made a valuable contribution to the victory. The author of this book for the first time has assembled a huge volume of information related to the delivery of aviation equipment from the UK and USA. Based on documents from Russian and foreign archives, museums, and veterans' recollections, the author has made a qualitative and quantitative appraisal of the influence of these deliveries upon the Soviet war effort and airpower during the conflict. The book details the routes of the aircraft deliveries to Russia, the modifications which were done in order to suit the demands of the Russian climate and specifics of their front-line use, as well as the process of the new aircraft being mastered by the units of the Red Army Air Force. The first foreign aircraft arrived in the Soviet Union with No. 151 Wing RAF in 1941, and their use expanded rapidly - they took part in the counteroffensive near Moscow, the battles for Stalingrad and the Kursk salient, and operations of the war up to the battle for Berlin and the capitulation of Japanese forces in the North China. The author includes the results of the combat assessments of the aircraft, which were done at the Scientific Testing Institute of the Air Force, as well as reports from front-line regiments, and multiple combat episodes, detailing the views of the Soviet designers and pilots on the British and American aircraft. A separate chapter provides information about the aircraft which were not officially delivered but appeared in the Soviet Union accidentally. For the first time an attempt has been made to assess the influence of the deliveries of material and equipment upon the Soviet aviation industry and war effort. The author's impressive text is supported by nearly 700 color and b/w photographs, 100 color aircraft profiles, plus maps, charts etc.

Soviet Cold War Fighters

Soviet Cold War Fighters
Author: Alexander Mladenov
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Total Pages: 600
Release: 2017-04-20
Genre: History
ISBN:

Beautifully illustrated with many rare and unpublished photographs, Soviet Cold War Fighters looks at the main development periods of Soviet fighter designs and covers all the important features and developments for each - a total of four generations of fighter were developed from the late 1940s to the early 1980s - that witnessed the most iconic and powerful fighters such as the legendary MiG-15, MiG-21, Tu-128, Su-9, MiG-23, MiG-25 reach for the skies, followed by the modern day MiG-29, MiG-31 and Su-27, which strike fear in the West for their phenomenal weaponry and blistering performance. All aircraft are described in detail with facts and figures, including their weapons and instances of combat employment, as well as explaining how the Cold War drastically changed Soviet fighter design to counter the West. Researched and written by Alexander Mladenov, a leading aviation journalist, this is a highly detailed testament to leading Soviet fighter design and development.

Soviet Secret Projects

Soviet Secret Projects
Author: Tony Buttler
Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2004
Genre: History
ISBN:

Among the best-selling aviation titles of recent years have been Midland's Lutwaffe and British Secret Projects series. Soviet secret projects now come under the spotlight. This first volume covers bomber concepts from the various design bureaus from the 1940s onwards. Many unusual and sophisticated aircraft are featured in these pages, allowing comparisons between what the Soviets were working on and what was being produced in the West during that period.

Early Soviet Jet Fighters

Early Soviet Jet Fighters
Author: E. Gordon
Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN)
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2002
Genre: Fighter planes
ISBN: 9781857801392

This charts the development and service history of the first-generation Soviet jet fighters designed by such renowned fighter makers as Mikoyan, Yakovlev and Sukhoi, as well as design bureau no longer in existence--the Lavochkin and Alekseyev OKBs, during the 1940s and early 1950s. Each type is detailed and compared to other contemporary jet fighters. As ever the extensive photo coverage includes much which is previously unseen.