Red Phoenix Rising: The Soviet Air Force in World War II

Modern War Studies

by Von Hardesty, Ilya Grinberg

A groundbreaking account of the Soviet Air Force in World War II, the original version of this book, Red Phoenix, was hailed by the Washington Post as both "brilliant" and "monumental." That version has now been completely overhauled in the wake of an avalanche of declassified Russian archival sources, combat documents, and statistical information made available in the past three decades. The result, Red Phoenix Rising, is nothing less than definitive.

The saga of the Soviet air force, one of the least chronicled aspects of the war, marked a transition from near annihilation in 1941 to the world's largest operational-tactical air force four years later. Von Hardesty and Ilya Grinberg reveal the dynamic changes in tactics and operational art that allowed the VVS to bring about that remarkable transformation. Drawing upon a wider array of primary sources, well beyond the uncritical and ultra-patriotic Soviet memoirs underpinning the original version, this volume corrects, updates, and amplifies its predecessor. In the process, it challenges many "official" accounts and revises misconceptions promoted by scholars who relied heavily on German sources, thus enlarging our understanding of the brutal campaigns fought on the Eastern Front.

The authors describe the air campaigns as they unfolded, with full chapters devoted to the monumental victories at Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kursk. By combining the deeply affecting human drama of pilots, relentlessly confronted by lethal threats in the air and on the ground, with a rich technical understanding of complex military machines, they have produced a fast-paced, riveting look at the air war on the Eastern Front as it has never been seen before. They also address dilemmas faced by the Soviet Air Force in the immediate postwar era as it moved to adopt the new technology of long-range bombers, jet propulsion and nuclear arms.

Drawing heavily upon individual accounts down to the unit level, Hardesty and Grinberg greatly enhance our understanding of their story's human dimension, while the book's more than 100 photos, many never before seen in the West, vividly portray the high stakes and hardware of this dramatic tale. In sum, this is the definitive one-volume account of a vital but still underserved dimension of the war--surpassing its predecessor so decisively that no fan of that earlier work can afford to miss it.

Genres: History, Military History, World War II, Russian History, Aviation

448 pages, Hardcover

First published April 17, 1991

About the author

Von Hardesty is currently a curator in the Division of Aeronautics at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. He has written a number of books, and lives in the metropolitan D.C. area.

Reviews

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An important, if fairly dry, study on the VVS in WW2 and immediately post war.

[Nate Huston · Rating 2 out of 5]

One thing is clear: This book is comprehensive. Perhaps a bit too comprehensive. This version is a reboot of an earlier version that was published prior to the opening of Soviet archives on the subject. While the authors provide a comprehensive discussion of Soviet air power on the Eastern Front, the book is somewhat workmanlike. Perhaps the bar was set too high having read Bungay's book immediately prior.

Regardless, the point is well made (if made over and over again). Leading into WWII, the Soviets realized they needed to refit, retool, reorganize and modernize their air forces. Oh, and the purges didn't help anything. The Germans hit them before they could get their plans into full motion, though, and they took a pretty huge blow at the beginning. Be that as it may, they "traded space for time" and eventually prevailed. The constant theme, overall as well as in Moscow and Stalingrad, was an initial punch from the Germans, a surprisingly strong, if not altogether effective, counterpunch from the Soviets, a couple more back-and-forths and eventually, an all-out push-back from the Soviets. While most believe the Soviets prevailed due to sheer quantity (and that definitely played a part), the authors argue that the Soviets should be credited with vigorous technological, organizational and tactical improvements made throughout the war, both pre-planned and in response to actual lessons learned on the battlefield.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant rewriting and re-visioning of Hardesty's classic _Red Phoenix_, making this the essential work on the subject.

[Mark Jacobsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book chronicles the resurrection of the Soviet Air Force after its catastrophic first encounter with the Germans during Operation Barbarossa. For a country that had recently purged its most talented and innovative military officers, the Soviet Union did a remarkable job reorganizing its war machine to meet the German challenge. As the Soviet Air Force improved, it played increasingly important roles in devastating the German military at Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kursk--albeit at great cost. The book is an intriguing work of history, as well as a case study of organization learning. It is well-organized and easy to read, despite covering territory unfamiliar to most Western readers.

[Michael Brady]

Very accessible discussion of the rise of Soviet airpower from Hitler's surprise in 1941 to Hitler's demise in 1945. Interesting that Soviets chose tactical air power as part of a combined arms approach over strategic bombing. good read.

[Conner Crowder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Analysis of the Soviet Air Force. Must read for anybody looking for a perspective different than the opinions of the germans and western allies.