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Welcome to my book page! This is where I will highlight books that pertain to IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles and are valuable for your research. If you see a book listed here that you have read and would like to add a small review of it, feel free to email your comments to me here. Please keep your review to about 100 words. Enjoy the books. Burnin |
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Ever wonder how all those P-39’s actually got to Russia during WWII? Well, this book explains just that. Everett Long has taken the time to record the history of this little known part of World War Two and present it here in his book Cobras over the Tundra. This book tells of the human drama that unfolded high above the unforgiving Alaskan and Siberian landscape. Inside you’ll find en excellent re-telling of what happened over the Alaska-Siberia Air Bridge during the crucial years of 1941-1945 and how risky such an operation really was. Using personal accounts and thoroughly researched by the Author, the harrowing adventures of American and Soviet ferry pilots come to life as American Lend-Lease aircraft are flown to the Eastern Front. So very little has been written about this subject since WWII that the stories told here become even more special to the reader. These brave ferry pilots have rarely been mentioned in other aviation books, but Mr. Long finally gives them their due. In addition, you’ll find dozens of amazing and rare photos of American and Soviet pilots working together to get the desperately needed aircraft to the front. The book not only shows P-39’s being flown to Russia, but there are many pictures of B-25’s, A-20’s and P-63’s in-flight and enroute to the Soviet Union. If you are at all interested in the air war on the Eastern Front you should definitely invest in this book and see how the Lend-Lease operation to Russia actually worked. I highly recommend this book to fans of the computer flight simulation IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles.
Review by Burnin |
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This book gets into the day-to-day operational life of a Russian P-39 squadron. It's an excellent reference of life outside of the cockpit, and yet still let's you know that the P-39 was more than competitive against Me-109's & FW-190's. The point isn't stated exactly, but the reason they WERE competitive is that combat on the Russian Front was generally below 15,000 ft, and never above 20,000 ft. Remember, neither side was using high-altitude, long-range stategic bombers, it was all low-level tactical aviation. Still, the book doesn't get into the airplane specifics I would like, i.e. . . how specifically it was better than the 109/190, or even how it compared to their own MiG's, Yak's, LaGG's. Review by 1Fearless1 |
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No other book is available that can describe the opening phases of the great conflict between USSR and Germany as this can. Original documents from both sides carefully detail the fall of Stalin’s Falcons caused by the purges of the 30s to the flames of Barbarossa. Describes how the Luftwaffe was virtually able to sweep the skies of Russian aircraft during the opening days. The Russians were very determined however and such fierce aerial battles ensued which are described in the book by many first hand accounts. The quality of the printing is rather poor, with maps that are barely readable.
Review by PDog1 |
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A major improvement over the first volume, Volume 2 is what all the students of eastern front aerial warfare ever dreamed of. Large full page color profiles of all types of aircraft and many great black and white photos make this a visually appealing volume as well as mentally stimulating. The color maps included cover all areas described in the book. The two authors use a great number of original sources to tell the story of the great air battles of the Moscow offensive and the German drive into the Caucasus. Details the battles around Leningrad and the struggle to supply Russia through Murmansk. Review by PDog1 |
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P-39 Aircobra Aces of WW2 is the book to have for a highly detailed concise account of the P-39 Aircobras of WW2 and the men who flew them. From the USAAF's 8th Pursuit Group in New Guinea to the Panama Canal Zone and the Mediterranean Theater of Operations this book has it all. With detailed photos and accounts of the 13th Air Force's Capt. Dale Brannon and the legendary Soviet ACE Aleksandr Pokryshkin this book has it all. With nine beautifully rendered full color pages of 38 planes. The adventures are intriguing, the photos are inspiring with complete charts of the P-39 aces from the Soviet Union and the United States and their stats. A must for any fan of the P-39 Aircobra or the award winning flight simulator IL2 Sturmovik or IL2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles.
Review by Bearcat99
This is a pretty decent one for the Osprey series, covering both usage by the USAAF and the VVS, and is roughly even in it's treatment of both sides in terms of coverage. It is particularly interesting to read about the P-39s service with the USAAF in the southwest Pacific in more detail than in most books, which usually "cut to the chase" and go straight to the more glamourous (and successful) makes like the P-38. There is nothing new or startling here but many first hand accounts (which are the meat and potatoes of any good "Aces" book). The record of the P-39 in the Pacific, while far from glorious, was about even with the Japanese in terms of kills vs losses.
The section about the P-39 with the VVS is in the same tone, getting quickly to the meat and potatoes and telling the ace's stories. Some detail is given to the Kuban campaign and the P-39's extensive use there. Coverage of the usual aces is here (Pokryshkin, Rechalov) but also we hear accounts of legendary figures like Fedeev, who was nicknamed "Boroda" because of his distinctive goatee, and the "brothers Glinka" who flew and fought the P-39 in the Kuban.
Also included is a section on markings and camoflage with the VVS which is an especially confusing subject as the markings applied to lend-lease aircraft varied greatly, so the clarification is welcome. The color profiles are particularly good for an Osprey book, seeming to have more and finer detail than usual. Overall I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone interested in the P-39 and VVS aces.
Review by HarryM |
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Soviet Aces of World War2 is the difinitive primer for those who know nothing about the former Soviet Union's impressive military aircraft arsenal in WW2 and want a highly detailed crash course complete with stunningly rendered color plates and riveting accounts of the exploits of the likes of Aleksandr Koldunov, Ivan Kozhedub, Aleksandr Poryshkin, Grigoi Rechkalov and many more. Complete with accounts of the training recieved by the pilots, the evolution of VVS fighter Aviation and detailed performance information on such aircraft as the Yak3, Yak9, I-16 and the legendary Lavochkin series. There is even a section devoted to Soviet pi,ots who flew the American made lend lease P-40s and P-39s. This book is a MUST for any fan of the ground breaking simulator developed by Oleg Maddox and 1C games, IL2 Sturmovik and IL2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles. It will open up a whole new world for aviation buffs be they young or old, well versed or totally new to the genre.
Review by Bearcat99
This Osprey book is a definite disappointment compared to some others in the series, such as the P-39 Aces book or any of the John Weal authored ones. Part of the problem is the scope in trying to fit all the VVS pilots into one volume, there is simply too much to cover and get into any sort of interesting detail other than "ace X shot down several planes in campaign Y".
Compounding that is the fact that the first 3/4 of the volume is a study of doctrine, development of VVS tactics and aircraft. By the time we get around to the aces there is very little of the book left. Several tables are included in the rear which go into some air-army composition (what air regiment was in what division and then army) and the lists of aces and their scores. This may be of some use to someone wanting to build specific campaigns in Il-2 where that information would be handy and helps flesh out the lack of ace-specific detail a little, but is not very interesting in terms of a human story.
This volume is simply trying to cover too much and so only gives a very cursory look at the subject. I also did not find the color profiles very good, lacking in detail especially compared to the P-39 volume. If you have little knowledge of the VVS or pilots this is a pretty good place to start but if you already have several volumes including the excellent BCRS 1 & 2 than you may want to skip it.
Review by HarryM |
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This book is an excellent reference on Russian WWII
fighters. It gives the complete history of each line of Soviet fighters
from initial prototype development through combat use. Each aircraft is
meticulously examined giving excellent insight into the difficulties
of developing combat aircraft. Many obscure fighter types are included,
revealing the creativity of the Soviet aircraft designers. Combat reports
of the various aircraft are included but, tactics and combat usage are not
explored in depth.
Review by Faustnik 184 pages, forward by Bill Gunston, tons of great black and white pictures, but only 4 pages of VVS color plates for you skinners...more "dryly" written than BCRS...organized by DESIGN BUREAUS in alphabetical order from Bereznyak-Isaev down to Yatsenko...tables of data at the end...I've been told there are "inaccuracies", but Oleg references this book in IL2 and FB manual, so it can't be all wrong. Also, the book fails to talk about American lend-lease aircraft such as the P-39. The book focuses strictly on Russian design bureau aircraft. A solid acquisition for the VVS fan. Review by Musgrove |
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176 pages, forward by Bill Gunston, again large number of black and white pictures, but only 4 color plate pages...even more "dry" than Vol. 1..organized into 3 sections: twin-engine fighters, light bombers/recon/attack and bombers. Within each section, alphabetical by DESIGN BUREAU as in Vol. 1. data tables at the end of the book...unless you are a real BOMBER aficionado, I think you will prefer Vol. 1 over Vol. 2...but a great shelf reference source! Also, these book fails to talk about American lend-lease aircraft such as the B-25. The book focuses strictly on Russian design bureau aircraft.
Review by Musgrove |
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Review Coming Soon! |
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Review Coming Soon! |
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Review Coming Soon! |
Last Update 6/21/03
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