Continuing on their series on Soviet and Russian aviation, Gordon and Komissarov have produced this volume on Soviet Air Defense. This one covers the years from the end of WWII until the break-up of the Soviet Union; basically what we call the Cold War.

As with previous volumes, this one is divided into time sections, starting with the end of WWII until the 1950s. This was a period of transition from props like the La-9/11 into the first jets. These were basically the Yak German-derived designs and the La-15, which was removed from production once the MiG-15 came into being. Not because of faults with the airframe, but because the La-15's engine was based on German technology while the MiG-15 had the British derived RD-1.

It is interesting to note that the various time periods were generally devoted to certain aircraft types. For instance, the time from 1950 to 1960 was the time of the MiG 15/17/19 as well as the long range Yak-25. The next period of the 60's and 70s were MiG-21s, other Yak-25 variants, the Tu-128 as well as the MiG-23 and the very fast MiG-25. In this mix were also various Sukhoi designs like the Su-9/11 and Su-15. The last section covers the MiG-31 and Su-27s as the really new types. Of course, many of these aircraft transcended these time frames so it wasn't as if a decade ended and types were scrapped.

During these times, the weapons carried by these aircraft changed from the all gun armament in the first years to more and more potent missiles. I found it interesting that some types, like the Sukhois, Tu-128s and MiG-31s were strictly air defense interceptors and not used by any other part of the Soviet Air Force, unlike the MiG-14/17/21, which were also used as ground attack aircraft.

In addition to describing the types in use, much of the book covers various incidents where Soviet airspace was either purposely or accidentally invaded. Tales of Turkish F-100s swooping in a low level over Soviet bases before retreating at max thrust back to Turkish air space as well as Iranian spy flights were some of the stories I found fascinating. Of course, there was the usual Western flights of U-2s, SR-17s, RB-29s, RB-47s and a host of other snooper types. It is refreshing to hear of the intercept stories told by ex-Soviet pilots as in the West we usually only get one side of these sorts of stories.

Other sections of the book cover the two major incidents were Korean airliners were either shot down or force landed. A full listing of all the different types used by Air Defense Aviation are also covered as are the missiles that were used.

In all, it makes for a superb study of what was probably the largest aircraft air defense network in the world. This is not a book you can simply breeze through. Like all of Hikoki books on similar subjects, it has been well researched and makes for a great read. It is chock full of photos of the aircraft in question as well as some of the more important personalities. A book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and can most highly recommend to you. Purchase this one with confidence.

December 2012

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