Sukhoi SU-25 (Russian Aircraft in Action) (Hardcover)

by Yefim Gordon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Vietnam War showed that the need still existed for dedicated strike aircraft performing World War II-style close air support missions. Hence, in 1968, the Sukhoi Design Bureau started work on an aircraft initially known as the SPB (the acronym stood for "battlefield support aircraft") and then as teh T-8. First flown in February 1975, the aircraft incorporated much of the philosophy which had gone into the famous Ilyushin Il-2 attack aircraft, including a forward fuselage made of welded armor to offer maximum protection for the pilot.

Designated Su-25 in service, the aircraft entered the fray of the Afghan War immediately after entering service with the Soviet Air Force and quickly earned a reputation as a mean fighting machine. The survivability measures incorporated by the Sukhoi OKB more than paid off, the aircraft often coming home with tremendous damage inflicted by Stinger missiles. The type has also seen action in other parts of the world, including Angola and Bosnia.

This book contains approximately 200 black-and-white and color photos illustrating the Su-25's development and service, detailing the various versions and operator nations. Photos are provided with detailed captions.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Midland (March 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932525025
• ISBN-13: 978-1932525021
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,601,961 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of photos for the enthusiast, but not Gordon's best work, June 28, 2005

By	A. G. Corwin (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Of all the Yefim Gordon books I have bought, this one regarding the Sukhoi Su-25 FROGFOOT is the most disappointing of the lot. Though chock full of some of the most fascinating aerial and ground photography, covering every modification of the FROGFOOT, the design and development history is only a few pages long. This book seems somewhat rushed in terms of writing, and Gordon's prolific output may be responsible. Details regarding its prototype history, modification history, combat record in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and current service are truncated and unusually brief. No comment is made on its obvious similiarities with the Lockheed Y-9 design that was beat out by the A-10 WARTHOG, and the book contains no really updated information from this decade.

All in all though, the pictures are the real reason to purchase this book. At $12.00 for 70 odd photographs of the FROGFOOT, it is worth the money. For an in-depth study of the Su-25, this is not the answer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Long Ago this Book Would Have Been Highly Classified., March 29, 2005

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It gives me a kind of a funny feeling just to hold this book. I look at the pictures and read the descriptions of the various developmental models and then the production line machine. And all of a sudden I realize that not too many years ago this information would have been so secret that only the CIA (and other such agencies whose names I couldn't even guess) would have had them. Now, for only a few bucks, here is the complete story of this airplane from its first conceptual prototype to recently upgraded prototypes showing how it will be kept in service into the future.

This plane was designed after American experiences in Viet Nam showed the Soviet planners that ground attack aircraft were still needed. It finished it's development just in time for the Soviets to use it in Afghanistan. It's still flying in the air forces of the now separate republics and of course in Russia itself. I find myself wondering if there wouldn't be a place in the US inventory for such a plane, but I then recognize that this is an old design, still useful, as is the US A-10 Warthog. Both of these planes are now 30 years old.

Although a small book, this covers a plane little known in the United States.

5.0 out of 5 stars great photography of a jet that tends to get very little press, April 28, 2007

By	Jeremy Housdan "Jeremy Housdan" (Wichita, KS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book isn't very big on text, but it does offer a good section of the development history of the Su-25. The vast majority of the book is devoted to photographs. Mostly of the Su-25UTB (of which pictures tend to be rare elsewhere) and all of the other later two and single-seat variants of the Grach/Frogfoot. A must have for any Frogfoot enthusiast or model builder!