Throughout the period of the USSR, from the Revolution up to the recent break-up of the Soviet Union, the history of that vast country's aviation, both military and civil, has been concealed and distorted by secrecy and propaganda.<BR>Now, for the first time, a highly detailed record of all aspects of Soviet aviation is available as a result of massive research undertaken by the Swedish author Lennart Andersson. As well as covering some 300 aircraft in the usual Putnam style, he analyses a number of particularly interesting aspects of this period of Soviet aviation such as the early use of Soviet airpower, the secret co-operation with the German military, the struggle to build indigenous Russian aircraft, the use of civil aviation as an instrument of economic development, and the early use of aircraft for spraying, photographic and ambulance duties and Arctic exploration.<BR>All types of Soviet-designed and built aeroplanes, autogiros, helicopters and airships are described, as are imported types, and there are tables of aircraft registrations and individual names.<BR>The information amassed here adds substantially to that previously available and makes this book a genuine milestone in the literature of Soviet aviation.