Red Star Against The Swastika

by Vasily B Emelianenko

This is the extraordinary story of Vasily B. Emelianenko, the veteran pilot of one of the Soviet Union's most contradictory planes of WWII - the I1-2. This heavily armored aircraft was practically unrivalled in terms of fire power, but it was slow to maneuver and an easy target for fighters. I1-2 had to attack enemy flak columns at extremely low altitudes, which led to enormous tolls both in equipment and personnel. It is no wonder then that, having flown eighty combat sorties against the Germans, Emelianenko was awarded the highest decoration - the Hero of the Soviet Union. He went on to complete a total of ninety-two sorties. His plane was shot down three times, and on each occasion he managed to pilot the damaged aircraft home, demonstrating remarkable resilience and bravery in the face of terrifying odds. Emelianenko's vivid memoirs provide a rare insight into the reality of fighting over the Eastern Front and the tactics of the Red Army Air Force. With remarkable clarity, he recalls what it was like to come face to face with a skilled, deadly and increasingly desperate enemy. Hair-raising encounters with fighters, forced landings on enemy territory, and the death of friends are all brought dramatically and movingly to life in this rare first-hand account.

Genres: History, World War II, War

271 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2006

Reviews

[Bogdan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I`m not a big fan of the aerial & naval combat in general, so I had my doubts when starting this book.

And the fact that the story gets straight to the point way faster that I was expecting, I hoped that I could discern more of the atmosphere of the first hours of the german invasion, hadn`t help either.

But it was a interesting read, with the ups and downs of the pilot life, with a lot of extreme sensations and adventures of the the writer and his comrades in those hard days.

Each front and Army, ground, aerial or naval, has to be respected in the end, and it`s an odd feeling that you have to be grateful to these simple people, but all of them heroes, in my eyes, for the life that we have today. And the fact that in some moments the pilots we`re expecting that the Allied side to open another front in Europe, and they didn`t do it way sooner, speaks a lot for their psychological state at those moments.

An excellent read in the end dedicated by the author to all of those that have sacrificed themselves in their Great Patriotic War. And a big signal for we, the readers, that we have to stay away from another Big War.

[Jdblair · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend gave me this book after he finished. It is an interesting account of Vasily B. Emelianenko's flying experience prior to and during WWII. Vasily takes the reader through his flight training, talks about the aircraft he flew, and gives in-depth descriptions of the Il-2 Sturmovik aircraft. Anyone interested in flying and WWII would probably enjoy reading this book.

[Astor Teller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vasily B. Emelianenko was an Ilyushin Shturmovik pilot who survived to be shot down more than once and in this book he retells his story in Second World War. The books isen’t too gritty, but still with a lot of action, but blending in all the different aspects of the life on the different air bases (they have to constantly move because of the German advance).

He is learning by doing as the Shturmovik is new when he joins the war, and at a point they only have two functioning planes, until the production of the ground/attack plane increases.

The Shturmovik isn’t presented as a magnificent plane, but it can take a beating, and even as a one-seater, they manage to rescue downed pilots by stuffing them in the fuselage. Apparently Messerschmitts had that capability too, as Czech pilots flew their Messerschmitts over to the Russians to switch side, bringing a fellow with them in the fuselage.

A lot of Emelianenko’s missions involves shooting up pontoon bridges and dropping burning phosphorus on planes on the airstrips and tanks but from low altitude so the phosphorus doesn’t burn up before hitting the target.

That they employed female armourers was unbeknownst to me, and also all the ferrying of both new planes and damaged planes that needed to go to a repair shop.

A short and easy read about being a Shturmovik pilot.

[Andres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible recollection of personal war-time events.