SOVIET AIR POWER

I bought this book in 1986 from a pavement bookseller in New Delhi. I remember seeing the glorious red dust jacket with bold black lettering and I knew it was mine. I asked the bookseller how much it cost and he said: "Rs 90." In those days that amounted to barely $5. I could have bargained it down to Rs 70 but I knew it was worth much more. The book was brand new and the original price was something like $24. The book is lavishly illustrated and there are a large number of foldouts of superb drawings of aircraft, missiles and mighty ICBMs. There is a big section dealing with the MiG line of fighters, Sukhois, Yaks, Tupolevs, Illyushins, and more. A separate section on Warsaw Pact air forces is very informative. The book also has a section on Soviet army equipment such as tanks and field guns, warships, submarines, and hand held guns such as the Dragunov sniper's rifle. There is a glossary of Soviet military terms and acronyms, and a final section on the names of satellites launched every year by the Soviet Union. Over 99% of the photographs are crystal clear. Bill Sweetman and Bill Gunston demolish the stereotypes about Soviet weapons being slightly backward technologically compared with the west. According to them, Soviet weapons were designed to work. While the whole of their economy was a command one, the military companies had to face real competition from each other, leading to cutting edge weapons that were far ahead of anything the west head. According to the authors, "In the entire history of the human race, there has never been a fighting machine as formidable and terrifying as the air and rocket forces of the Soviet Union." While the Soviet Union is long gone, this book is still relevant as a history/record of the mighty forces Moscow commanded. This book has traveled thousands of miles with me yet it is still in great condition. It is big, beautiful and a joy to own. And the write-ups are brilliant and highly detailed.