Foundations of Russian Military Flight, 1885-1925. This item is unavailable.Foundations of Russian Military Flight, 1885-1925

Foundations of Russian Military Flight focuses on the early use of balloons and aircraft by the Russian military. The best early Russian aircraft included flying boats designed by Dimitrii Grigorovich and large reconnaissance-bombers created by Igor Sikorsky. As World War I began, the Imperial Russian Navy made use of aircraft more quickly than the army. Indeed, the navy established a precursor to the aircraft carrier. The Imperial Russian Army came to respect over time the work of aircraft that evolved from reconnaissance and bomber to fighter planes. Over 250 army pilots during the war received awards of high distinction for their wartime flights. After the 1917 revolution, both the new Bolshevik government and the reactionary White forces created air arms to combat each other. In the 1920s, the Soviet Union and Germany negotiated agreements that allowed Germany to violate the Treaty of Versailles by building military aircraft and training German military pilots in the USSR. This provided the Soviet Union access to the latest aviation technology and prevented them from falling too far behind the West in this crucial sphere.

James K. Libbey is professor emeritus at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he taught aviation history and Russian-American relations. His numerous publications include articles in such journals as Aviation History, American Aviation Historical Society Journal, and Russian History, as well as aviation related entries in reference works such as Air Warfare. Six of Libbey’s seven previous books deal with Russian personalities or the economic and political relations between the United States and Russia.