The onset of war in the summer of 1941 was a disaster for the Soviet Air Force. In a few weeks, faced by the onslaught of the Luftwaffe, most of the Soviet frontline aircraft were destroed, and the casualty rate among the pilots was cripplingly high. Yet the surviving few gained precious battle experience and they formed the core of the fighter force that turned the tables on the Germans and eventually won air superiority over the Eastern Front. Many of these Soviet pilots are still alive today and in this book they AUTHOR: Artem Drabkin is the creator of the website I Remember which is devoted to recording the oral history of the soldiers and airmen who fouhgt on the Eastern Front. His archive of memoirs and eyewitness accounts is a valuable source for researchers who are studying the Soviet side of the fighting, and it is a fascinating record of the experience of warfare. 50 b/w photographs
