Early Soviet Jet Fighters

Red Star Volume 4
By Yefim Gordon
Midland Publishing, 2002
ISBN 1-85780-139-3
Softbound, 144 Pages
$29.95

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

While a fair amount of stuff has been written on WW2 Soviet aircraft, the immediate post-war period has always been in the shadows.  This book takes care of that gap between the end of the Second World War and the advent of the MiG-15 over the skies of Korea.  Like every other country developing jet fighters the Soviet Union went through a teething period, with many interesting designs that became obsolete almost as quick as they went into service.  All the big names are covered, including Mikoyan, Sukhoi and Yakovlev, as well as those who are no longer manufacturing aircraft, like Lavochkin and Alekseyev. 

So what’s inside?  The book is broken down into sections by manufacturer, with each of those sections split up to give coverage of each early jet fighter designed.  Included aircraft are the MiG-9; the Yak-15, 17, 19 and 23; the  Su-9, 11, and 13; the Lavochkin 150, 152, 154 and 174; and the Alekseyev I-21 and I-211.  There are lots of photos from mainly Russian sources illustrating this book, many of which have never been seen before.  In addition to the well-written text and photos there are a handful of color profile illustrations showing off the color schemes worn by these early jet fighters.

This is easily the best single reference on early Soviet jets that you’ll find anywhere.  Now that I have some references I’m thinking of redoing my Yak-17 in a more interesting scheme.

Our thanks to Specialty Press for the review sample.  This book is available from their website for $29.95 plus a $4.95 shipping & handling fee.