Epic air war in east
Black Cross, Red Star: The Air War Over the Eastern Front, Volume 2

By C. Bergström and A. Mikhailov. Pacifica Military History (distributed by Crusader Books). 212pp. $90

Reviewer :: Air-Cdr Mark Lax

This book is the second in a series that will cover the entire air war in the east – the largest and longest air campaign in history (yes, bigger than the strategic bombing of Germany and Japan). Volume One concentrated on Operation Barbarossa, the German attack from June to December 1941. This volume covers the Russian fightback to mid-1942 during their vast and costly winter offensive.

Black Cross, Red Star will eventually be six volumes and a complete and reasonably balanced account of this epic struggle for control of the air. The authors have made every effort to include data from both German and Soviet records, plus interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses.

At the end of this volume are detailed descriptions of the dramatic large-scale air battles during the German offensives at Kharkov and against Sevastopol in May and June 1942, where the scope of losses for both sides is mind-boggling. In this period, the Soviet Military Air Force, or VVS, lost 6976 aircraft and the Germans 1170, resulting in the astonishingly high claims recorded by Germany’s many aces by war’s end. Eric Hartmann’s 352 claims for example, should not be scoffed at when you read this account.

Subtitled Resurgence January-June, 1942, this hardback book is beautifully illustrated. It contains more than 150 select black-and-white photographs from both sides, and 30 magnificently produced, accurate full-colour aircraft profiles. Also included are appendices, chapter notes and index.

At $90 it is expensive but such high-quality books are worth it when you consider they become collectors items and add a new dimension to your aviation library.

The book will be especially interesting for fans of WW2 computer simulations (such as IL*2 Sturmovik and the various modules that can be added to MS Flight Sim II and III), those who want to know more about the vicious air war fought over the Russian Front, and serious aero-modellers looking for information on aircraft colour schemes and aces.