Over the years, the authors have produced some of the most detailed books on Soviet and Russian subjects that has ever been done. This one adds to their growing list of accomplishments and gives us a look at the Soviet Union's first jet bomber, the IL-28 'Beagle'.

Developed in concert with several other designs such as the Tu-14 'Boson' which never really succeeded, the IL-28 was a real ground breaking aircraft in terms of systems. Some of these, such as the radar and redesigned tail turret ended up lagging behind the production of air frames and a considerable number of early planes were delivered without these systems. Some of them never did get the proper radar and relied on a WWII era bombing system that relied on radio signals to determine the drop point.

Pilots liked the aircraft as it was not only fast but relatively easy to fly. The decreased crew (pilot, bombardier, gunner/radio operator) was new to many crews who transitioned from prop aircraft such as the Pe-2. The IL-28 was not designed as a nuclear bomber, but was a tactical bomber. Some were eventually modified to carry nukes, but most did not. The aircraft was also developed to carry an impressive number of hard points under the wings, the likes of which we did not see on tactical jets until the A-10

In addition to the bomber version, the IL-28 was developed into a fast recon plane. A special trainer version with an airline style cockpit in place of the glazed nose was also produced to assist in having crews learn the type. The aircraft was also developed into various test beds and types of target tugs. Some were expended at the end of their active lives as target drones.

In addition to the Soviet air force and navy, the type was widely exported to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Syria, Finland, Hungary, Rumania and many other nations. China also reverse engineered the IL-28s they received and built hundreds of H-5s. While the type never took part in conflicts with the Soviet air forces, they did in various wars around the world including Vietnam, Nigeria, various Arab nations against the Israelis, in Yemen and other events.

In tune with other books in this series, the authors have provided an in-depth background on the developement of the aircraft as well as its introduction into service. Different manufacturing plants build the planes a bit differently from each other, something I did not realize. Then we delve into the different roles the plane was designed for. Next is a look at its operational career, including various conflicts. The final section is on its operation with other nations. Here we get a look at some rather cool modifications done by some countries for its use in test programs. All of this is accompanied by superb period photography and some great color profiles. In all, it is a title that fans of the type or early jet bombers should not be without. Highly recommended.

May 2016

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