RUSSIA: Red Air

Western air attachés standing in a light drizzle at Moscow’s suburban Tushino airport got an impressive and disquieting glimpse of Red air power.

The military air show was commanded by Air Force Lieut. General Vassily J. Stalin, the boss’s son. It was preceded by a plane towing a giant portrait of Joseph Stalin. Following it was a squadron flying in a formation that spelled out Slava Stalinu (Glory to Stalin). The Marshal himself was there, looking tanned and healthy in a new light grey uniform. What interested the Western observers far more were five new Soviet jet types, that whizzed past the grandstand so fast they were almost out of sight before their engines were heard. Air attachés openly wondered at the resourcefulness of Russian designers and plane builders.

Other new exhibits: nine giant Soviet helicopters, plus Russia’s first display of naval aircraft—a twin-jet fighter bomber and an amphibian. The whole 500 plane & glider show seemed to confirm the opinion of U.S. air force officers: Soviet aviation has made enormous strides since the war, is catching up in quantity and quality to the best in the West.