Unquestionably the most successful dive-bomber ever to see frontline service with any air arm; the Douglas SBD Dauntless was the scourge of the Japanese Imperial Fleet in the crucial years of the Pacific War of World War II (1939-1945). The revolutionary all-metal stressed-skin design of the SBD exhibited airframe strength that made it an ideal dive-bomber; its broad wing; with horizontal centre section and sharply tapered outer panels with dihedral; boasting perforated split flaps that doubled as dive brakes during the steep bombing attacks
#1666772 in Books Greenhill Books 1997-11-30Original language:RussianPDF # 1 9.50 x 1.13 x 6.25l; .0 #File Name: 1853672807304 pages
Review
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful. Good source data. However...By J. CollinsThis book edited by Col-Gen Krivosheev is an excellent example of the history we can expect as historians work through the voluminous Soviet/Russian (and E. German) archives. In one volume we have authoritative figures on losses due to all causes-not just combat. Even more interesting than the WW2; are the Korean and "Assistance to Other Countries" sections. I would point USAF historians to the losses reported of aircraft and pilots during the Korean Conflict. Having said this; as other reviewers have commented on; there are some sections that raise one's eyebrow. For instance; on the chapter including the Winter War we read; "[Finnish]military airfields built with [German help] had capacity for ten times more aircraft than were operated by the Finnish air force"-blatantly untrue. Elsewhere: "The Finnish Army had] 600;000 men including reserves; supported by approximately 900 guns...270 aircraft and 29 ships". The real numbers are: some 350;000 men fully mobilized; 120 or so guns; 100 aircraft and 14(!) ships. Finally; all readers should keep in mind that the enormous sacrifice in lives and material was partially self-inflicted due to poor leadership; and Stalin's interference/paranoia. Sustaining heavy casualties is certainly no indicator of military excellence. Which makes the Great Patriotic War even more tragic for the Russian people. Recommended for military historians.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Take it From a Ninth GraderBy CucckevWhen I purchased the book; I was in the Ninth grade. I need to do a research project and chose to write about Soviet casualties and losses during World War II. My teacher was slightly skeptical about this book. He had his book; Between Kyiv and Constantinople: Oleksander Lototsky and the Quest for Ukrainian Autocephaly; published by the Canadian Inst of Ukranian Study Pr. "The present work is based on his doctoral thesis; completed at the University of Illinois (Chicago)". And was smewhat an expert on the Soviets. When I informed him of the author he was please crediting the man as a credible source.The book is very interesting; listing out soviet losses. It is well written and translated. It is a great reference book; and really gives you more information then you ever would have imagined needing. This book is difficult to find in a library; and I can not imagine why. It is a reference book that will not change much with the times. World War II and Cold War guru's will especially love this book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good for research papersBy K.AustinWas writing a research paper on deaths due to illness in the soviet union during WWII. This book while not focusing specifically on deaths due to disease did have lots of numbers on deaths from various battles; regions; and troops. Lots of graphs and box charts showing the numbers.
