 Soviet Secret Projects
Volume 1: Bombers Since 1945
By Tony Buttler and Yefim Gordon
Midland Publishing, ©2004
ISBN –85780-194-6
Hardbound, 176 Pages
Available from Specialty Press for
$44.95
With all the attention on Luft '46 aircraft, it is a relief to see
this book, covering project aircraft from a different country, the Soviet
Union. Every country with an aviation industry has had some secret project
aircraft, planes that never made it off the drawing board. Such is the
case with the Soviet Union, who managed to produce quite a varied selection
of aircraft. With a large selection of aircraft in active service, the
list of project aircraft must have been vast, and this book aims to crack
the shroud of secrecy a bit on these interesting aircraft.
As this book deals with post-war bombers, it understandably begins
with a section on piston-engined bombers. While the Tu-4 formed the mainstay
of the early Soviet strategic bomber force, there were many other designs,
some based off of the Tu-4, others completely new designs. The advent
of the jet engine changed things dramatically, though, and the following
sections deal with the development and evolution of jet bombers. This
includes the first heavyweight bombers, the first supersonic bombers,
and alternative bombers such as flying wings and nuclear powered bombers.
The book rounds out the selection with a piece on the Backfire and Blackjack
bombers.
For those who are interested in what the Soviet Union was thinking
about during the Cold War, this is a great book. By relating these projects
to what the United States was developing at the same time, a very interesting
picture of the Cold War develops. For the modeler, there are plenty of
interesting subjects that would make a great kit. My thanks to Specialty
Press for the review copy.
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