Oplysninger om mere end 800 civile og militære fly samt om alle kendte sovjetiske flykonstruktører. Ca. 900 illustrationer.

Aviation.

This popular and highly-acclaimed series includes an abundance of photos, accurate line drawings, fascinating evaluations of aircraft design, and complete histories of aircraft manufacturers.

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.

Born in the 1930s, the Soviet Air Force's long-range bomber arm (known initially as the ADD and later as the DA) proved itself during the Second World War and continued to develop in the immediate post-war years, when the former allies turned Cold War opponents. When the strategic bomber Tu-4 was found to be too 'short-legged' to deliver strikes against the main potential adversary - the USA, both Tupolev and Myasishchev OKBs began the task by creating turbine-engined strategic bombers. By the Khrushchev era in the mid/late 1950's the Soviet defence industry and aircraft design bureaux set about adapting the bombers to take air-launched missiles for use against land and sea targets and in 1962 the DA fielded its first supersonic aircraft - the Tu-22 Blinder twinjet, which came in pure bomber and missile strike versions. The Brezhnev years saw a resurgence of strategic aviation with the Tu-22M Backfire 'swing-wing' supersonic medium bomber entering service in the mid-1970s followed in 1984 by the Tu-95MS Bear-H and Tu-160 Blackjack which were capable of carrying six and 12 air-launched cruise missiles respectively. Soviet Strategic Aviation in the Cold War shows how the DA's order of battle changed in the period from 1945 to 1991. Major operations including the air arm's involvement in the Afghan War, the Cold War exercises over international waters in the vicinity of the 'potential adversary' and the shadowing of NATO warships are covered together with details of Air Armies, bomber divisions and bomber regiments, including their aircraft on a type-by-type basis. Over 500 photos, most of which are previously unpublished in the West, are supplemented by 61 colour profiles, colour badges and line drawings of the aircraft and their weapons, making this an essential reference source for the historian and modeller alike.

This book surveys all the Soviet/Russian aircraft that either remained “paper projects” (the work progressed no further than the design documents or even merely a design proposal) or were abandoned at the prototype construction stage. Over many years, the authors have unearthed a mass of unpublished material on these aircraft projects including the Isayev/Shevchenko bi-monoplane fighters with retractable lower wings developed in the 1930s, early Soviet jet fighter projects of the Second World War period, and the twin-boom fighters and attack aircraft developed by Semyon M. Alekseyev in the late 1940s. Wherever possible, images of the aircraft are shown, including pictures of models, and line and cutaway drawings from the project documents, giving the readers the maximum available information on Soviet aircraft projects developed over a large time scale. The book is richly illustrated with numerous photos, drawings, and diagrams, as well as color side views of the unbuilt aircraft, which will be of interest not only to the numerous Soviet/Russian aviation enthusiasts but also to scale modelers.

The first recipient of Soviet military hardware in the Americas was Cuba in 1959. Since then the Cuban Air Force has operated the MiG-15 to the MiG-29, An-26 and Il-76MD transports and more. Cuban combat aircraft have seen action against the ships and aircraft used by the CIA in its subversive activities against Cuba. Other Latin American nations have also ordered Russian military aircraft - based on common sense and economic expediency rather than political affiliations. These include Mexico; Brazil; neighboring Colombia; the Argentina Air Force and Bolivia which is among the latest customers for the Mi-17, with plans to use for drug-busting operations. Another major customer for Soviet aircraft was Peru, which ordered An-26 and An-32 transports, MiG-29 fighters, Su-20/Su-22 fighter-bombers and Su-25 attack aircraft. Peruvian Su-22s have been involved in the border conflict with neighboring Ecuador and Soviet aircraft (notably Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters) have been actively used by the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua against the US-backed Contras insurgents during the civil war. More recently, Venezuela, another country noted for its anti-US stance, purchased a large batch of Su-30MKV multi-role fighters, as well as Mi-17 and Mi-26 helicopters. Written by the acknowledged experts in the field and illustrated throughout with photographs and color artwork, this is the definitive record of Soviet and Russian military aircraft and their combat operations in this region.

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.

From the outset, the export of revolution and Communist ideology had been one of the cornerstones of Soviet Russia's (and later the Soviet Union's) foreign policy and by the mid-1950s the export of Soviet arms expanded into Africa with Algeria being amongst the first African countries to receive Soviet combat aircraft. By the 1960s and 1970s, a large number of African states had gained independence and the Soviet Union increased supply. This situation persisted until the early 1990s when most of the former Soviet allies shed socialism and switched allegiance to the West. Having often been flown by foreign volunteer or mercenary pilots such as the Cubans in Angola and South Africans in Sierra Leone, Soviet/Russian military aircraft can now be seen in countries as varied as Algeria, Libya, the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, and Sudan. Combat types from the MiG-15 to the latest Su-30MK fighters, Su-24MK tactical bombers, Su-25 attack aircraft, Mi-24/25/35 helicopters and transports from the Antonov An-12 to the Il'yushin Il-76 can all be seen across Africa. Arranged by country and using previously classified sources, Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft in Africaincludes comprehensive fleet lists of all known Soviet/Russian military aircraft together with their Chinese derivatives. Highly illustrated with contemporary photographs, air force insignia and color profiles this book forms an invaluable reference for modellers, enthusiasts and aviation historians alike. As every conflict involving Egyptian aircraft has been fought in the Middle East, full details of those aircraft will feature in the forthcoming companion volume Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft in the Middle East.

After the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union tried to exert its political influence on the Asian continent. A major pillar of this cold‐war policy was the widespread supply of arms to the Continent including many combat, transport, training and utility aircraft. Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft in Asia reviews in detail the Soviet and Russian aircraft types used throughout Asia, starting in the 1950s and continuing through to the present day. Each nation is reviewed individually with an overview of the types used, their service record (including combat in conflicts of varying intensities) and extensive tables of individual aircraft with serials, construction numbers, versions and notes. Although the ubiquitous MiG fighters and Mil helicopters feature prominently, there are many other types to consider and aircraft from all the leading design bureaux, including Antonov, Beriyev, Il'yushin, Kamov, Sukhoi, Tupolev and Yakovlev are covered in this book. Chinese 'copies' of Soviet designs are reviewed and also included are those quasi‐military and ostensibly civilian transports which have clearly been operated largely on behalf of the military. Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft in Asia is a treasure trove of exotic colours and markings, combined with a mass of unpublished, original information including over 320 photos, over 140 colour profiles and around 50 insignia to delight modellers and fascinate all readers.