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The Soviet Air Force had just started to re-equip with modern
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 and
monoplanes. The remaining fighters, including more modern types
such as the MiG-3 and LaGG-3, tried to stem the Nazi advance. This
book details the development of the Red Air Force fighters, from
the dark days of Operation Barbarossa, to eventual triumph over the
ruins of Berlin. Starting with obsolete aircraft such as the
Polikarpov biplane and monoplane fighters, the Soviets then settled
on two main lines of development; the inline-engined LaGG-3 and its
radial-engined derivatives, the La-5 and La-7, and the
inline-engined Yakovlev fighters, which were produced in greater
numbers than any other series of fighters. Not only are these
aircraft described in great detail, but experimental fighters are
also dealt with. In addition to the descriptions, accurate colour
profiles are provided illustrating the evolution of these aircraft
in terms of design, camouflage, and markings. From the fixed
undercarriage I-15bis biplane of the beginning of the Great
Patriotic War, to the superb La-7 and Yak-3 fighters of the last
year of the war, the fighters of the Red Air Force are all covered
in this comprehensive book.
Long-ranged maritime reconnaissance aircraft were a part of British
wartime strategy since the First World War, in the form of flying
boats. During the Second World War, the flying boats were
increasingly replaced by land-based aircraft, such as the American
Lend-Lease Flying Fortresses and Liberators. After the war, these
aircraft were replaced by a purpose-built aircraft, the Avro
Shackleton, which traced its ancestry through the Lincoln and
Lancaster all the way back to the early Second World War bomber,
the Manchester. The road from the Manchester to the Shackleton was
a long one, and it is described comprehensively. The Shackleton
itself went through two major changes - from the MR.1 to the MR.2,
then from the MR.2 to the MR.3. Along with a detailed technical
description of the Shackleton and its weaponry, photographs and
accurate colour profiles accompany the text, to illustrate the
Shackleton. This aircraft is compared and contrasted with its
post-war piston-engined counterparts. Its former use with the
United Kingdom and South Africa is also described. The current
survivors, especially an MR.2 (WR963) in the United Kingdom and an
AEW.2 (WL790) in the United States, are described in great detail.
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.
Although one of the best medium bombers of the Second World War,
fast, tough, and with an excellent bomb load, the Tu-2 is little
known in the West. This book provides a comprehensive history of
this important aeroplane, complete with its developmental history
in the Second World War and later, and its long postwar history,
both with the Soviet Union and other countries. First produced in
1942, the Tu-2's initial production ended in 1943, then as its
combat capabilities became clear, it was reinstated into
production. Because of the stop in production, the Tu-2 was not
used in large numbers until the last year of the war, where it
proved a very useful weapon indeed. Neither its development nor
production stopped with the end of the war, and it was developed
into additional variants, including an all-weather fighter. In
addition to its service in the Great Patriotic War, it saw service
in the Korean War with the Chinese Air Force. This book also
features accurate colour profiles of the Tu-2 in the colours of the
various nations it was in service with postwar, as well as colour
profiles from its wartime service with the Red Air Force.
The Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik became the aerial representative of
the Soviet response to the German invasion on the Eastern Front
during the Second World War. The Il-2 was designed as a low-level
close-support aircraft capable of defeating enemy armour and other
ground targets. Hardly a fighter, the Il-2 was exclusively
engineered to take an enormous amount of punishment and still keep
the pilot, rear gunner and critical mechanical components unharmed.
In the end, the Il-2 would become the most important aircraft to
the Soviet Union in the defence of the homeland against advancing
hordes of panzers. At its height, production of the Il-2 hit a peak
of 300 aircraft per month and variants boasted potent 23-mm cannon,
200 anti-tank bomblets and 4 x 132-mm rockets. The Il-2 became a
highly respected and highly feared adversary. Soviet air crews
dubbed the Il-2 as the 'Flying Tank' for its incredible ability to
withstand a tremendous amount of damage and still release its
payload only to return home intact. Not only did its rear gunners
shoot down Luftwaffe aces thanks to its 12.7-mm machine gun, the
Il-2 was also used as a fighter and German pilots were amazed to
see 20-mm cannon shells bouncing off its armour plates. Crews were
also known to weld additional armour to their Il-2s. The Shturmovik
proved so effective that many Soviet crews were recipients of the
Gold Star of Hero of the Soviet Union. Even today, the Il-2 is
regarded as the Russian equivalent of the Spitfire. By the war's
end, some 36,000 Il-2s were produced and became the symbol of the
Eastern Front.
The history of Soviet strategic bombers after the Second World War
is a fascinating one: from the reverse-engineering of interned
American Boeing B-29 bombers into the first Soviet strategic
bomber, the Tu-4; to the huge jet and turbo-prop powered aircraft
of today's Russian Air Force. This comprehensive history of these
aircraft will deal not just with the development of aircraft that
entered service, but of experimental aircraft as well, and projects
that were never even built will also be explored. The service life
of these bombers will be covered, including both active and retired
aircraft, and their use outside of the Soviet Union, in places such
as the Middle East and Afghanistan, will be described in detail.
The Soviet Union built some of the first jet-powered strategic
bombers, and the Tu-95 Bear, the only swept-winged turbo-prop
bomber to ever enter service, remains in service to this day. Less
successful aircraft, like the graceful but problem-plagued
supersonic Tu-22 Blinder, and the Mach 3 Sukhoi T-4 will also be
examined.
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