3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the finest book I own on Russian aviation., November 12, 2000
This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875-1995 (Hardcover)
If you are looking for a lot of color photos of Russian and Soviet aircraft in action, squadron paint schemes and commercial liveries, or modeling details, then perhaps you should look for other titles. However, if you are looking for an insightful history of Russian air power, then I believe this is your book.
This true "encyclopedia" covers the history of Russian flight since its inception through the mid-90s, from czarist biplanes through modern MiGs and Sukhois, helicopters, space planes, and even the strange and little-known "ekranoplans", which use "wing-in-ground" effect to skim the water's surface. The book is arranged alphabetically by design bureau, then each aircraft is listed by its alphanumeric designation and described in varying degrees of detail.
Don't sell this book short, though. It not only covers the standard warbirds, but looks into the development history of Russian transports and passenger aircraft, touching on light civil aircraft and even sport planes as well. The author does not bludgeon the reader with a glut of well-known information on popular types, but treats each type with an even hand. Naturally, with more information available on, for example, the Sukhoi 27, it is understandable that it received more attention than the lesser-known MiG-8 Utka canard.
Filled with historic and, I presume, rare photographs, this volume is also lavishly illustrated with line drawings and packed with specifications and data. The text is not overly wordy, providing development histories and information on variants, covering lesser-known design bureaus and aircraft as well as those more famous. Though mostly technical and concise in its presentation, this encyclopedia manages to convey a wealth of historical information reflecting the social, political and economic climates and bureaucracies of Russia and the USSR through the past century.
If you love aircraft as I do, and are fascinated by Russian and Soviet technology, I believe this book will give you a unique perspective on an often-ignored but significant segment of world of flight. The Soviet Union was a major world power for more than seventy years. This book, while technical and not political, helps give the reader a fair sense of the kinds of innovations and designs that gave the Russians that power.
I've acquired many books on various aircraft over the years, often using them only as reference and skimming the pages looking at the photographs, specs and drawings. This book got me reading the text, answering questions I never even knew I had about Russian aircraft design and history.
This volume is written/edited by the respected and prolific aviation writer Bill Gunston. The book is fairly large, but so is its scope. I do not believe that anyone interested in this subject will be disappointed in this book. Find a copy if you can. Get a soft-cover if necessary, but find one. Once you have it, I believe that you will agree that it is difficult to put down.
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