Lend-Lease And Soviet Aviation In The Second World War

Lend-Lease And Soviet Aviation In The Second World War will go down as the definitive book on this topic. Author Vladimir Kotelnikov has assembled in these pages as comprehensive a study as one could want regarding this subject matter. Not only is the book extremely detailed and well-researched, but it contains numerous nuggets of information even the well-informed Second World War enthusiast will find novel.

Kotelnikov walks the reader through the entire process involved in selecting, delivering, modifying, and using the various Allied aircraft shipped to the Soviet Union. Organized into eleven chapters, the book begins by looking at the Lend-Lease program, the routes taken for delivering aircraft to Russia, and other behind-the-scenes information regarding how Lend-Lease actually worked.

The meat of the book is in its description of the aircraft delivered under Lend-Lease. Each section details a specific aircraft, and includes it's development history and initial deployment as well the selection and delivery to the Soviet Union. From there, the book covers not only the taking in of these aircraft and training of pilots and crew, but the modifications which were done in order to suit the demands of the Russian climate. This includes covering how Soviet industry and aircraft design were changed by this process. Each section also details the specific operational usage of each plane, and how Soviet pilots employed the individual aircraft in combat. This includes actual reports from Soviet pilots, designers, and other personnel detailing the respective strengths and weaknesses of a given combat aircraft. Individual combat actions are chosen to further highlight the points made in these pages. The book is filled with first-hand accounts as well as archival information. The detail is truly remarkable - even going into the Cold War usage of these aircraft.

If that were all this book did it would be enough. However, this is all highlighted by the inclusion of nearly 700 color and b/w photographs, maps, and charts. In addition, there are roughly 100 color aircraft profiles that are very well done. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in not just Soviet aviation, but the enormous Allied effort to assist in arming the Red Army Air Force with the tools it needed to combat Nazi Germany.