Expect excellence from Osprey's "Aircraft of the ACEs" series. This one, #15, is no exception. A brief history of the V-VS preceeds the chronicle of its record, from battle to battle, during the War. After the massive losses of Barbarossa, the Red air force very gradually, and at great cost, achieved air superiority. The progression of improvements in tactics is covered quite nicely in the text. The book contains many rare action photos from Soviet and German military archive, descriptions of all the fighter aircraft in the Soviet inventory, bios of the ACEs, color plates of uniforms and individual pilots' aircraft, reproductions of propaganda posters, and plenty of lists and stats. In addition is information about the famous "Free French" Normandie Niemen regiment and Polish, Czech, Romanian and Yugoslav divisions; female regiments and women ACEs; "suicide" (taran) rammers; and "legless wonders" -- amputees who returned to the front and flew with artificial limbs. Readers of this book will also appreciate Osprey #6,"Fw 190 ACEs of the Russian Front" and Time-Life's out-of-print (Epic of Flight) "The Soviet Air Force at War".