Tupolev SB, Soviet High Speed Bomber

By by Mikhail Maslov
Icarus Aviation Press
ISBN 0-9724527-1-0
Hardbound, 224 Pages
Available from Icarus Aviation Press for US$50.00
2459 Highway 14
Columbia, IA 50057
(641) 943-2348

Reviewed by Matt Bittner

I was asked to find something wrong with this book. Aside from the author's own admission of not having enough information on the use of the Tupolev SB in the Spanish Civil War, as well as its use by China, I truly can't find any faults with this book. Even at the price of the book I consider it excellent value for the money.

One important item - yes, one that is a pet peeve of mine. Note the title of the book, Tupolev SB. Not Tupolev SB-2, but Tupolev SB. I want to be sure that people refer to this aircraft the way it's supposed to be referred to as. The confusion exists because of its actual designation. The actual designation is Tuplov SB 2 M-100 or SB 2 M-103, etc.. The numeral "2" in that designation refers to the number of engines, not to a subtype of the SB (in Western parlance, the "second SB"). So, in the first case - SB 2 M-100 - it's an SB aircraft with 2 M-100 engines. There was only one SB and was never an SB-1 - let alone an SB-2. (SB is actually Skorostnoy Bombardirovshchik which is Russian for "high-speed bomber".)

Mikhail Maslov is a very well respected author on the subject of Russian and Soviet aviation. Unfortunately this is only the second of his works to be translated into English (the first being the book Russian Aeroplanes 1914-1918, also published by Icarus Aviation Press). His research is impeccable and it shows in this book. The book is broken out into 13 major sections: Abbreviations; Preface; Introduction; Development, evolution, and series production of the SB high-speed bomber; AR-2 dive-bomber; Civil application of the SB and its versions; The SB in combat; Technical description of the SB bomber; SB - an exhibit at the Russian Air Force Museum in Monino; Specifications; Sources and literature; Scale drawings; and Colors & markings. This book covers the full gamut of the SB.

Not only is this a book for historians but those modelers interested in building an accurate and complete SB model should buy this book. There are a lot of detailed photos and drawings, 17 pages of 1/72nd drawings of each and every version and subtype, as well as 16 pages of color profiles. Very highly recommended.