Red Star vol.4
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.

История создания первых реактивных истребителей КБ Сухого.

This detailed review of Soviet experimental aircraft from the early 1900s to the latest Russian prototypes of today is the first book to take a close look at all of the major Soviet experimental aircraft in one concise volume. Working from original sources, the authors have produced an outstanding reference which, although concentrates on hardware, also includes many projects that were built but never flew, and even a few that never got off the proverbial drawing board. About 150 aircraft types are described, each with relevant data, including many three-view drawings.

Red Star vol.1
Conceived in the early 1980s to ease the threat posed by the American ATF program, these fighters were developed as the Soviet Union's fifth-generation fighters. This book gives a detailed account of how Russia's two leading fighter aircraft designers competed for the order and how a third contender never made it to the hardware stage. It deals with the way these aircraft were conceived, designed, built, and flown.

This book represents probably the most detailed study published in the English language of the camouflage and markings of the fighter aircraft of the Soviet Air Force during World War II. Erik Pilawskii is a scholar of the Soviet Air Force in World War II and has undertaken several years of research to produce this ground-breaking book. With information drawn from previously inaccessible Soviet archives, the author first presents a detailed analysis of the developments, trends, patterns and irregularities of the color systems seen on Russian fighters and offers a fascinating insight into the workings of the Soviet manufacturing system responsible for this task. He then brings readers a technical study of each of the main fighter aircraft and variants, and each description is followed by coverage of camouflage and markings, factory-applied, field variations and seasonal.

The first of a two-volume set detailing Soviet Second World War combat aircraft - both prototype and operational.

In the early 1950s a need arose in the Soviet Union for a heavy transport and assault helicopter capable of airlifting cargo weighing up to 6 tons (13,230 lbs) - primarily artillery systems. THe chief Soviet "helicopter maker" - OKB-329 headed by Mikhail L. Mil - took on this important task. The prototype of the V-6 (eventually redesignated Mi-6), which first flew in June 1957, was a much larger machine. For the first time not only in the Mil OKB's practice but also in the world helicopter design practice, the powerplant consisted of two gas turbine engines; another peculiarity was the use of auxiliary wing offloading the main rotor in cruise flight. The Mi-6 provided a major boost to the Soviet Air Force's capability. In 1959 it served as the basis for the unconventional Mi-10 capable of straddling bulky loads.

Red Star vol.3
Aviation historians often dismiss the Polyikarpov I-16 because it did not fare well against its more modern adversaries in WWII. It was often referred to in the West by the disparaging nickname of Rata, the Russian word for rat! Nikolay Polyikarpov's I-16 was nevertheless an outstanding fighter in its day--among other things, because it was the world's first monoplane fighter with a retractable undercarriage. Its capabilities were demonstrated effectively during the Spanish Civil War and it was still in front line service when the German armed forces fell on the Soviet Union in 1941.
This book details every variant of this diminutive fighter, including development aircraft and unbuilt projects. An account is also given of Polyikarpov's early monoplane fighters that presaged the I-16 and of the later designs that evolved from it. Details are given of all surviving examples including the six aircraft that were restored to airworthy condition in Russia in the 1990s.

Arranged by designers, this second installment of a two-volume set includes the aircraft of such famous names as Ilyushin, Petlyakov, and Tupolev, as well as lesser-known types. In preparing this volume, the authors combed untapped archives in the Soviet Union to uncover a wealth of data that rewrites longheld Western beliefs.

As the Warsaw Pact disbands and the military information on Soviet material becomes more accessible, aviation professionals and enthusiasts are studying Russian topics more intensively than before. This volume seeks to act as a base for a broader study of Soviet rotary wing aviation.

Red Star vol.19
In the nervous 1950s, the Soviet Union faced the task of defending its borders against intrusions by Western spyplanes and deterring an attack by Western bomber armadas. The mission was to intercept incoming adversaries at long range, which required plenty of engine power, ample fuel and heavy armament. Several Soviet design bureaus took on this priority task. The first heavy interceptor from the Mikoyan stable was the swept-wing I-3 of 1956 which, though never flown, was the precursor of the cannon-armed I-7U and the missile-armed I-75. These were followed by the delta-winged Ye-150 series of the late 1950s and early 1960s - the single-engined Ye-150 and Ye-152 and the twin-engined Ye-152A. Known to the outside world as the Ye-166, the huge Ye-152M set an impressive speed record of 2,681 km/h on 7th July 1962. These aircraft paved the way for the MiG-25 interceptor. Other contenders included the Sukhoi T-37, terminated by government order before it had a chance to fly. Even the Tupolev OKB, traditionally specializing in heavy bombers and airliners, developed the twin-engined Tu-128 - the world's largest interceptor - which was so huge that it was initially mistaken for a medium bomber.

Wings No.8

As a long-range fighter, the Luftwaffe's Bf110 was highly effective in the early years of World War II, although the introduction of quicker Allied fighters eventually revealed its deficiencies. This development, production, and service history of the Luftwaffe's most-feared World War II fighter features many rare period photographs of the Bf110 in action.

This entertaining (and thought-provoking) technical manual offers readers the lowdown on the scientifically advanced World War II aircraft from Ted Nomura's critically acclaimed alternate history series.

Shlapentokh undertakes a dispassionate analysis of the ordinary functioning of the Soviet system from Stalin's death through the Soviet collapse and Russia's first post-communist decade. Without overlooking its repressive character, he treats the USSR as a "normal" system that employed both socialist and nationalist ideologies for the purposes of technological and military modernization, preservation of empire, and expansion of its geopolitical power. Foregoing the projection of Western norms and assumptions, he seeks to achieve a clearer understanding of a civilization that has perplexed its critics and its champions alike.

Red Star vol.20
While Soviet combat aircraft have received extensive coverage, the many UAVs developed in the Soviet Union and, more recently, Russia remain unsung. Nevertheless, this is a subject deserving attention. The first Soviet UAV to find large-scale use was the La-17 developed by the Lavochkin OKB, a fighter maker of World War II fame; it came in both target drone and reconnaissance versions. The Tupolev OKB, best known for its heavy bombers and commercial aircraft, also had a line of UAVs of varying size. The first of these was the Tu-123 Yastreb which started life as a heavy cruise missile but evolved into a supersonic unmanned spyplane; the book also describes the Tu-141 Strizh (Swift), which again came in reconnaissance and target versions, the Tu-243 Reys (Flight) and the latest Tu-300 recce/strike UAV.

Alexandr S. Yakovlev was one of the most versatile aircraft designers of his age, but he had the misfortune to work in the USSR which made him almost unknown to the outside world. In 1926-27 he built his first aeroplane and from then on he designed structures which were, time and again, ahead of their time. In 1934, he was offered a derelict bed factory which he shortly transformed into a major design and manufacturing plant. From those premises came, to mention just some, a spate of sporting and training aircraft which gained many world-class records: the chief family of Soviet single-seat fighters of World War II, the Yak-1, -3, -7 and -9 of which 36,769 were built.

With access to much previously unpublished information the authors bring to life futuristic shapes that might have terrorized the Allies had the war gone beyond 1945. Full color action illustrates and contemporary unit markings show vividly what might have been achieved. Careful comparison with later Allied and Soviet aircraft show the legacy handed on, right up to today's stealth aircraft.