The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft (General Aviation) (Paperback)

~ Bill Gunston (Author) "Aviatsionnaya Ispitatelnaya Stantsiya, Morskaya Vedomstva, naval air test station, founded late 16 at Petrograd Poly Inst. with seaplane base at Krestovsky Island..." (more)
Key Phrases: ignoring rotors, tabbed rudder, alighting speed, Soviet Union, Second World War, Central Aerodrome (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Sweeping away the "red herrings" and spurious details invented in the West between 1950 and 1970, this exhaustive volume can be offered to the public with the knowledge that it documents the true histories of some 1000 aircraft types. Much of what was believed to be fact has been proven wrong in various degrees, and it can confidently be claimed that no book in the history of aviation has ever contained so much new information. The volume is prefixed by sections on aircraft designations, engines, air launched weapons and much more - this really is the definitive work on Russian aircraft.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (May 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184176096X
• ISBN-13: 978-1841760964
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,920,623 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most comprehensive book on Soviet Aircraft, November 22, 2000

By	B.M. Kluytmans (Beek en Donk Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This book is a must-have for all people interested in aviation of our "coldwar-eastern enemy". The often different approach of russian designers to aircraft design gave us some very surprising en extotic aircraft types. Much more than in the west, soviet aircraft were being designed and built for an operational purpose. The result often was an aircraft, very rugged and suited to it's operational requirements but often lacking in economic operations. Solutions were solutions, no mather how expensive or uneconomical. Off course some of the soviet aircraft are still unrivalled in their class. The IL76 is still one off the most rugged heavy transports and if you look at the technical propulsion system of the Lockheed X-35 S/VTOL demonstrator, one can see that it is directly derived from the YAK141 prototype. The russian designers often were much more practical in approach and with limited resources they achieved very much. This book contains them all. From the early "kites" till Ekranoplans! The definitive work on this subject!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Single Reference source in English or Russian, July 16, 2002

By	J. Collins (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Many books tout, "new information never before seen from the Soviet archives", but few really deliver anything substantial. Mr Gunston though, has achieved what many historians hoped would happen with former Iron Curtain material coming to light: a truly enlightening book. Many of the details of the Soviet design bureaus, let alone some of the experimental aircraft have never had their stories told before. The depth of this work exceeds anything I've seen in the West, or Russia. The listings of aircraft before 1917 are almost worth the price alone. However, the prose is terse to say the least, one would have thought an additional few pages could have been spared for descriptions/tech data. Also, some of the comments are, well if not quite from the sales brochure, they're close. Mr Gunston has a reputation for taking manufacturer data at face value. Certainly his comments on the MiG21 and 29 don't give the reader the full story of real combat limitations of these otherwise fine designs.
That said though, this an encyclopedia no aviation enthusiast, or Russian historian should be without. Well worth the money.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you ever had a question about a Russian aircraft..., December 14, 2004

By	Todd M. Allen (Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The best Russian aviation book out there...it has it all.
They have added just about evry variation and every modification to every airplane the russians ever thought of.