Books on the Sukhoi Su-7, 17, 20 & 22 "Fitter"

Aerofax "Sukhoi Su-7/-17/-20/-22"

     Yefim Gordon is prolific writer and his books feature throughout this web site as he has written widely on the topic of Russian Aviation both new and old. This book is yet another authored by him but, unusually, it is written by him alone this time and not in his usual partnership. My one criticism of his books is that he is very authoritative on his chosen topic area but his books are not targeted at the Model Making community. A quick browse of my web site sees his books often classified as "worthy but dull". Is this any exception? Thankfully, yes it is. Aerofax have tried hard to target an audience largely interested in visual reference material and less on the text. This is almost a perfect combination. ISBN 1 85780 108 3 This book normally retails at £20GBP but I picked this up off of EBay for just £8GBP in September 2006. At this price I heartily recommend it if only because this appears to be almost the only modeller's reference - or ANY reference - on the Sukhoi Su-7 family of ground attack jets. Its 175 pages are jam-packed with colour. There are some brief scale plans but plenty of colour profiles. The aircraft's service with many countries is covered here. There are plenty of close-up shots of various airframe features but this is not a true 'walkaround' production. However, it is better than nothing and I am sure most modellers will not be disappointed at the EBay price. Recommended as the most accessible Yefim Gordon book you will see and because there is little other choice on this topic.

Przeglad Konstrukcji Lotniczych "Su 22M4"

     This is a Polish Monograph entirely in Polish with a little detail about the publisher in English at the back. It was published back in 1991 and features only 30 pages softcover - it is more magazine than book. This was picked up in July 2007 as a bit of an oddity off of EBay. I bought it more out of curiosity than anything else. Can't say it was particularly cheap either! Of course the text is useless but you get a lot of great photo's of the Su-22 M4 in Polish service. There are five good colour pages with artworks and colour photo's. There is another four pages of 1/72nd scale plans. There are plenty of nice walkaround-style shots although, without any English some of the line-sketches are rather obscure! There is one page just devoted to the camouflage painting of the Polish Su-22 M4 - helpfully the colours are in English with FS numbers. Have thoughtful! The colour shots of the cockpit (right) are really useful. A strange, almost eccentric, piece of work but given its origin and date it is highly recommended. Obviously it is aimed directly at the model maker in Poland. If you find a copy snap it up.

AirDOC No 04 "Luftwaffe FITTER"

     ISBN 3 935687 04 4. Full Title: AirDOC - Aircraft Documentations Post WWII Combat Aircraft Series No. 04 Luftwaffe FITTER "The Su-22 in German Service" (Die Su-22 in deutschen Diensten).  Published by AirDOC (post-2000 - exact year indeterminate). Written by Ralf Jahnke and Andreas Klein. Sixty-eight pages in full colour dedicated to the Su-22 in Luftwaffe service around the time of its retirement. Obviously aimed at the model-maker the two center pages are full gate-fold scale plans. However these plans are 1/50th scale so they were set to fit the page. If they had put the plans in diagonally a conventional 1/48th scale would easily have fit. Never mind. Better that than nothing. The inside cover has a four-view colour artwork and elsewhere there are another eight (side-view only) artworks (plus a couple of squadron emblems). There is then 14 pages of full-colour walkaround detail shots of one airframe with the pictures taken outdoors in good sunlight. The back three pages has tables of detail including Fitter variants and Su-22M4 Serial Numbers.  There is also a scrap view of Su-22M4 Fitter "K" hard points. The first ten pages supplies a type history from Su-7 to Su-22 in various armed forces around the world before moving on to service in the German Airforce. This covers pretty much the rest of the book which is in A4-sized, magazine-style, softback. Text is in German and English. Given the limitations on size (most of the page space is dominated by colour photographs) the text is useful and informative. The service history includes handover to the Bundesluftwaffe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This latter section includes shots of older Su-22's being left to rot as they did all over former Warsaw Pact Countries (as well as the former Soviet Union). A delightful book. It seems sad I had to order this off the Internet from Meter Productions in the USA! (The dollar was weak is my excuse.) Recommended.

Squadron/Signal "Sukhoi Fitters" In Action

     ISBN 0 89747 214 4. "Sukhoi Fitters In Action" by Hans-Heiri Stapfer. Illustrated by Perry Manley and Don Greer. Published in 1989 by Squadron/Signal Publications Inc. Fifty pages detailing the design sequence from Su-7 Fitter A through to Su-22M-4 Fitter K. There is a good mix of clear black and white photo's with the usual center-spread of Colour Artwork side profiles. Pretty standard and formulaic. As the Fitter range was very broad then no model is covered in sufficient depth. On the plus side the are many scale plans and scrap sketch view showing significant airframe differences between each marque. Another plus is that the Su-7 gets more than its fair-share of coverage taking up the first eighteen pages of the book. However, just run-of-the-mill.