Types of the Red Air Fleet: Particulars of Some of the More Modern Russian Aeroplanes of which Details are Available

Abstract

IT has always been difficult to obtain information regarding the progress of aviation in the U.S.S.R. and, in particular, reliable details of aeroplane types have been especially hard to come by. This cloak of mystery arises from two causes: the natural reticence of the Soviet authorities (natural in the first place because of the poor state of development, and the inefficiency of, aeroplane design and production in the past, but now less understandable as a matter of settled policy) and the unreliable political colouring of such reports as those which do leave the country. It has usually been impossible to accept any description without careful “watering down,” for the communist enthusiast can see no wrong, while their political opponents can do naught but find fault. The following notes have been carefully prepared from a considerable quantity of the available data and, though regrettably incomplete, are believed to present accurate details of the machines described.

Citation

(1939), "Types of the Red Air Fleet: Particulars of Some of the More Modern Russian Aeroplanes of which Details are Available", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 11 No. 11, pp. 411-424. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb030566