Customer Reviews

Lisunov Li-2 - Red Star Vol. 27

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This is the only book I know of on the Li-2. It is very well done with 127 pages of photos and text. There are also 18 color photos and three pages of color profiles at the end of book. All variants are covered, including the Night Bomber versions. An excellent addition to my library on the world's greatest aircraft, the DC-3!

Perhaps the least-explored aspect of the Douglas DC-3's history is its license manufacture and use by the Soviet Union as the PS-84/Lisunov Li-2. This lack is highlighted by the fact that of the total worldwide DC-3 production of 15,000 to 16,000 examples, Russian variants accounted for 5,000 or so of these and continued to be built until 1953, nine years after the line had closed in the US. This book takes a big step toward filling that gap in our knowledge. Like the other books in the "Red Star" series it leaves little to the imagination, being well illustrated with photos (most rare or unpublished in the West) and high-quality line drawings.

The authors take us through the design team's struggle to redesign the airplane for Soviet materials and manufacturing methods, including converting all the measurements to metric. Considering that the DC-3 was one of the most advanced airplanes of its day this more challenging than might be expected. Many of the Li-2 variants have a fairly close US analog, being similar in purpose to such C-47 models as the TC-47 navigator trainer, VC-47 VIP transport , and EC-47 "Electric Gooney Bird." Others are completely different, such as the night bomber version of the PS-84 (which saw extensive and effective use in WW II) and the glass-nosed Li-2PR fishery reconnaissance aircraft.

Considering the DC-3's ubiquity even after being superseded by later types it would have been reasonable to expect something similar to have happened with the Li-2, but it appears that at least part of the reason the Li-2 is so little known is that its post-WW II heyday encompassed the coldest years of the Cold War and that by the time detente rolled around it was replaced in service by the "Annushka" (Antonov An-2) and hand-me-down Ilyushin Il-14s. Alas, at the time of the book's publication there was only one Li-2 known to be flying. Home-based in Hungary, it was restored to airliner configuration and colors and could be seen on the airshow circuit in Europe. At a time when some DC-3s are getting a new lease on life via the Basler turbine conversion, it appears such a renaissance will not be possible for the Li-2, unless there is a cache of airworthy airframes somewhere like China.

It almost goes without saying that this is the best book available to the English reader on the PS-84/Li-2, and as such adds a whole new dimension to our knowledge of the DC-3, arguably the single most influential and important transport aircraft design in aviation history.