Stalin's Falcons: The Aces of the Red Star, a Tribute to the Notable Fighter Pilots of the Soviet Air Forces 1918-1953 [Hardcover]

Tomas Polak (Author), Christopher Shores (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999

Between 1918 and 1953 Soviet fighter pilots were involved in no less than ten separate air wars of varying length and intensity. During the period from June 1941 to May 1945, Soviet fighters were credited with more aerial victories than any of the other Allied nations. The most successful Soviet pilots of the various conflicts include Ivan Kozhedub, Grigorii Rechkalov, Alexandr Pokryshkin, Nikolai Gulayev, Kirill Yevstigneyev and Nikolai Shutt, each of whom was credited with more than 50 individual successes. This book includes brief biographies of more than 1000 pilots and of the fighter regiments they served. The Soviet unit structures, decorations, and wartime operations to which they relate are detailed, together with explanatory maps and illustrations of the aircraft. Aerial engagements from the Civil War to the Korean War are covered.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Grub Street (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1902304012
• ISBN-13: 978-1902304014
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,363,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars authoritative reference book, February 10, 2008

By 

David Taylor (melbourne, australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stalin's Falcons: The Aces of the Red Star, a Tribute to the Notable Fighter Pilots of the Soviet Air Forces 1918-1953 (Hardcover)

This is the 380 page hard-cover book by Tomas Polak is an excellent reference book covering all the noteable pilots/aces of the soviet airforce from 1918-1953. A 20 page overview of the history and organisation of the red air force is followed by 40 pages that gives a brief (one paragraph) history of each/all the Soviet fighter regiments that existed, their known campaign history and any noteable pilots that served with them. Last is 300-odd pages of all the air aces listed alphabetically with a paragraph or two detailing as much as is known about their fighting history, number of missions, victories etc.