About the book: 2015 / The Great Patriotic War, like any war, became an unprecedented impetus in the development of military affairs, especially aviation. At the beginning of the twentieth century, clumsy “whatnots” flew over the battlefields, and aviation was purely auxiliary in nature. And already during the Great Patriotic War, aviation experienced a real revolution: technology was transformed, the craft of an aviator turned into a deadly art. Crimean military historian Stanislav Saprykin presents a unique study. It is unique both in terms of the volume of material and the author’s special style of presentation. Through the fates of specific pilots, the historian takes us through the entire war, all the great battles and major milestones in the history of aviation that fell during this period. The book is being published for the first time and will become a reference book for anyone interested in the history of the Great War..