Although there are several books about Luftwaffe Stuka pilots,
there is almost nothing about their Soviet counterparts. This is
the extraordinary story of Vasily B Emelianenko, a veteran pilot
flying the Shturmovik ground attack aircraft.
NAME: Red Star Against the Swastika, The Story of a Soviet Pilot over the Eastern Front FILE: R2376 AUTHOR: Vasily B Emelianenko PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword, frontline BINDING: soft back PAGES: 271 PRICE: £12.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War 2, Second World War, World War Twp, Russian Front, Great Patriotic War, Eastern Front, ground support aviation, dive bombers, anti-tank aircraft ISBN: 1-78303-034-8 IMAGE: B2376.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/gsce74a LINKS: Current Discount Offers http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/sale DESCRIPTION: Although there are several books about Luftwaffe Stuka pilots, there is almost nothing about their Soviet counterparts. This is the extraordinary story of Vasily B Emelianenko, a veteran pilot flying the Shturmovik ground attack aircraft. It is particularly interesting to compare this story against that of German ace Col Hans-Ulrich Rudel who flew mainly the Junkers 87 Stuka but also, later, the FW190 ground attack fighter. Both pilots were shot down several times and managed to get back to their own lines. In the case of both pilots, this demonstrates the risky nature of flying low and slow to kill enemy tanks. The Shturmovik had the advantage of more armour, although it was large for a single engine warplane and made a very visible target. This book provides a very rare insight into the role and tactics of the Soviet air forces as they fought the Germans. The large open spaces lent themselves to an armoured war of movement as in the North African desert, where tanks and assault guns swept forward for many miles, only to be swept back again. In this form of warfare, the dive bomber held special importance and was in effect a combination of flying artillery and flying anti-tank guns. The author paints a dramatic and moving picture of life in this environment, the successes and the death of friends. The reader will gain a new perspective on this bitter and costly theatre of WWII.