This unique work is the first in a series of publications dedicated to the condition of the air forces of the Red Army prior to the Nazi invasion of 22 June 1941. The author describes in detail the composition and the capabilities of the Soviet aviation alignment in the Baltic Special Military District, as well as the training of flight crews and technical personnel; the number and quality of the materiel; the condition of the logistics structures, as well as the operational and tactical plans of both Soviet and German Command; and their reconnaissance operations. By using data from Soviet and German archive documents, a chronology is recreated (along with the details) of the air battles in the skies over the Baltic region on the first day of the Great Patriotic War. The photographs, as well as biographies, are presented of all the commanders of the divisions, regiments and of the command headquarters of the Baltic Special Military District. More than 300 unique photographs of Soviet and German aircraft are presented (together with those of their pilots) from the Soviet and German Archives, as well as from private collections. The camouflage, markings and insignia of aircraft that participated in the air battle are recreated, and maps illustrating the bases belonging to the two warring sides (both original and those recreated from archive documents) are presented.
