Red Stars 1
The Soviet Air Force in WWII

By Carl-Fredrik Geust, Kalevi Keskinen, Kari Stenman
Ar-Kustannus Oy [Finland]
ISBN 951-95821-4-2
Hardbound, 160 Pages

Reviewed by Erik Pilawskii

Red Stars represents an excellent photographic account of the aircraft and pilots of the VVS during the Great Patriotic War. Most of the photographs in Red Stars hail from the Finnish Quarterly of the same name, and are taken from the collection of C.Geust. Working through G.Petrov in St. Petersburg, and other sources, Geust has amassed one of the outstanding collections of War-time VVS photographs outside of Russia. A fine a sample of these photos are offered in Red Stars , largely documenting most of the important VVS types, and a number of important pilots, as well. Most of the shots are well-chosen, of high quality replication, and those vary rarely seen in the West.

The book's captions are rendered in both English and Finnish, and are typically well-researched and correct in detail. An impressive appendix rounds out the collection, offering important information on the War-time structure of the VVS, command organizations, statistics on losses and victories, a table of organization for Guard's Units, and much else.

If a modeler were allowed only one single volume on the VVS of the Great Patriot War, Red Stars should certainly be it. This excellent work is an invaluable resource for both the student and the enthusiast of the VVS of WWII. This book, simply put, belongs on the shelves of every modeler of GPW VVS aircraft.