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by Tomasz J. Kopanski.
Softcover (8.3×11.7 inches). 96 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: Luftwaffe Kills in the East Vol. 2
This oversized photo booklet carries on the Camera On excellence with unusual photos of the topic at hand — in this case, shot up and partially destroyed WWII Soviet aircraft mostly from the initial attack in 1941. Some aircraft pictured were captured as the Heer overran airfields.
The list of aircraft types is impressive: Yak-1, Yak-2, Yak-4, Polikarpov R-5, Polikarpov R-ZET, Polikarpov UT-1, Polikarpov U2, Neman R-10, Petlakov PE-2, Lisunov PS-84, Sukhoi SU-2, Iliushin IL-2, Ilyushin DB-3, Tupolev SB, Tupolev TB-3, Tupolev R-6, and the Arkhangelskiy AR-2.
Note that “Iliushin” is spelled with an i and “Ilyushin” with a y. This seems like a typo to me, but I don’t know enough about Russian spelling for specific aircraft to definitely pick one.
A number of aircraft on the list were new to me, like the Arkhangelskiy AR-2. A number of aircraft reminded me of counters in GDW’s Drang Nach Osten/Fire in the East wargame.
The photos, mostly two to a page, are generally sharp and include various aircraft and German personnel in all types of weather, from summer heat to winter snow.
Favorite photo for me 0out of the 164 black and white photos? An obsolete, but still used, Tupolev TB-3 abandoned with a dusting of snow at the edge of a forest (p85). It’s a nice, moody shot. Runner up: Arkhangelskiy AR-2 (p58), just because I never heard of the plane before.
Bonus Info: An extensive June 1941 Soviet OOB (p91-95), complete with a listing of all aircraft (not just the ones listed above) available in various districts (Baltic, Leningrad, Western, etc.) at the time of the invasion. The listing includes readiness states per aircraft type (although the I through IV column heads are not explained — presumably, but I don’t know, that I and II are ready to fly, III needs minor repairs, and IV are write-offs or major repairs?). Also, 1941 production figures are included in a separate table.
With the tabular info, MMP stepped up its already excellent volume in the Camera On series.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
