Yakovlev's Piston-Engined Fighters

Red Star Volume 5
By Yefim Gordon and Dmitriy Khazanov
Midland Publishing, 2002
ISBN 1-85780-140-7
144 Pages, Softbound
$29.95

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

This latest volume in the growing Red Star series put out by Midland Publishing covers the largest fighter series produced in the Soviet Union during the Second World War, that of Yakovlev.  Starting with the Yak-1 and continuing on through the Yak-9, the Yak series was a common sight on the Eastern Front right from the beginning.  Even after the Second World War the Yak series continued in combat, flying with the North Koreans during the Korean Conflict of the early 1950s.

This book does a good job of detailing the design, production and operations of the four main fighter types: the Yak-1, Yak-3, Yak-7 and Yak-9.  In addition to these mainstream types there is also ample coverage of the prototypes and many of the one-off types.  Coupled with the interesting text are lots and lots of photos, over 300 black and white as well as some color photos providing a glimpse of the many different schemes worn by Yakovlev fighters over the years, including those flown after the Second World War both in Korea and in Eastern Europe.  In addition to the photos there are several color profile illustrations providing a glimpse at a handful of planes out of the over 35,000 built.  Rounding out the book are several drawings illustrating the differences between the series.

If you're interested in Soviet aircraft from the Second World War this is a book you'll definitely want to track down.  The copious amount of photos are worth the price of the book alone, and coupled with the rest of the contents this becomes a great addition to any library.