Soviet Strategic Bombers: The Hammer in the Hammer and the Sickle

Description

The history of Soviet strategic bombers after the Second World War is a fascinating one: from the reverse-engineering of interned American Boeing B-29 bombers into the first Soviet strategic bomber, the Tu-4; to the huge jet and turbo-prop powered aircraft of today's Russian Air Force. This comprehensive history of these aircraft will deal not just with the development of aircraft that entered service, but of experimental aircraft as well, and projects that were never even built will also be explored. The service life of these bombers will be covered, including both active and retired aircraft, and their use outside of the Soviet Union, in places such as the Middle East and Afghanistan, will be described in detail. The Soviet Union built some of the first jet-powered strategic bombers, and the Tu-95 Bear, the only swept-winged turbo-prop bomber to ever enter service, remains in service to this day. Less successful aircraft, like the graceful but problem-plagued supersonic Tu-22 Blinder, and the Mach 3 Sukhoi T-4 will also be examined.

Jason Nicholas Moore is an avid air historian and modeller, with a particular interest in Soviet aircraft. He has spent the last 40 years doing both historical research and constructing model aeroplanes. He has written a comprehensive history on the Il-2 Shturmovik and the Lavochkin fighters of the Second World War.

"This book will likely be a standard reference work on Soviet strategic bombers and is highly recommended for anyone fascinated with Soviet-era military aviation."-- "Air Power History" "This is a good read. There is a lot of information within these pages. [...] I recommend this book to all with an interest in Soviet aircraft, strategic bombers and aviation history as well as modelers worldwide!"-- "IPMS/USA"