Air War Over Kursk: Turning Point in the East

by Dmitriy Khazanov

The first of the new and exciting series of publications focused on significant air campaigns throughout the history of Aviation. The German 'Kursk' offensive, or 'Operation Zitadelle,' was launched on 4 July 1943; however a resolute Soviet defense ensured that the Germans failed to make their planned breakthrough and after three weeks defense was turned to assault as two counter-attacks saw the Red Army seize the initiative and ultimately force the Germans to retreat. During this period of time whilst the fierce battle raged on the ground, literally, thousands of aircraft were pitted against each other in the skies above Kursk, and in this superb new book author Dmitriy Khazanov looks in intricate detail at this momentous air conflict, bringing together a complete and utterly compelling account of the aerial battles, the aircraft involved and their pilots. He also documents both the both Soviet and German combat strengths and losses, charts the combat sorties, and looks in depth at how this bloody campaign unfolded. This new book contains many hitherto unpublished photographs and historical references along with concise informed text, all supported by over seventy high quality, full-color profiles which show each type of aircraft employed and their camouflage and markings. For the enthusiast, historian and modeler, this will be the ultimate reference work and one that will become the acknowledged source book on the subject

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2011

Reviews

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I often enjoy trying to get a glimpse of warfare as told from another viewpoint, and frankly the Russian viewpoints on WW2 can be difficult to find with any semblance of reading like a historically accurate chronicle of events. They often seem like wishful thinking or just pure propaganda. Khazanov here does a solidly decent effort of portraying the Soviet air war efforts over Kursk in a generally honest and accurate manner. The book is well written with the chapters ordered in a logical manner. I was very appreciative of the large numbers of photographs which greatly flavored the text.

Now this said, I am forced to point out that this is a pretty narrative dry book, with most discussion covering the actual aircraft and not nearly enough about the pilots or actions themselves. This is no Christopher Shores work, by any means. There are a few personal accounts provided, but just not enough in my opinion.

Another strike is a big one. There are virtually no references or citations provided. This is simply not forgivable as any writer discussing history should be giving a full set of references unless he is just telling his own story. Clearly some of the material came from elsewhere, leaving the reader with no way to fact check or qualify the sources. -1 one star

There were typos and a fairly large number of acronyms provided that should have been caught in the editing process. Acronyms need to be explained at least once at the first usage so readers without the background can follow what they are. I was generally familiar, so it was no bother for me, but it is a pet peeve for me to experience as most readers will not have my background. The spelling errors are never acceptable.

I'll end on a positive note, with compliments on the color plates and illustrations. They were of high quality and could be very useful for hobbyists looking for good painting schemes accurate for Kursk.

Overall, I feel like this book was decent, but could have used some more polish. I deducted a star for the references missing, and dropped a star for the typos and general poor editing. My final score would be a 2.5 Stars, rounding up to 3 for the fine color plates.