Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer

Soviet Swing-Wing Bomber
By Yefim Gordon & Keith Dexter
Aerofax, ©2005
ISBN 1-85780-202-0
Softbound, 160 Pages
Available from Specialty Press for $36.95

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

The Su-24 has often been described as a copy of the US F-111 bomber due to its side by side cockpit and swing-wing arrangement, but as this book illustrates, it was a logical progression from existing Sukhoi designs, rather than imitation. Add into this equation the different roles of both of these aircraft and it quickly becomes apparent that the Su-24 was an independently designed aircraft aimed at fulfilling a different role. In fact, as the book points out, the Su-24 is actually more closely aligned with the Panavia Tornado in both mission, range, and weapons load.

Before making these comparisons, though, the book follows in typical Aerofax style the development process of the Su-24. Building on their strike aircraft experience with the Su-7/17/22 family, Sukhoi expanded their design with an aircraft that would hopefully be able to operate supersonically at low altitudes. To meet this demand not only was there a call for a new aircraft, but a new avionics suite as well. The complexities of low-altitude, high-speed flight led Sukhoi through many different potential designs before settling on the final format. This design and testing phase is very nicely detailed in the text, and is accompanied by plenty of photos showing these early designs, both on the ground and in the air.

Following this comes a detailed section that outlines all the different Su-24 variants. For those who thought that this was just a single type, this chapter will enlighten you, to say the least. Not only are all the variants described, but the differences between them are carefully explained in both the text and in photos. To further enhance this, the following section describes the Su-24 in detail, in a walk-around fashion. This section will be of enormous use to the modeler, as just about everything is illustrated here.

After describing the Su-24, the remainder of the book shows who operated the type. Although not as widely exported as, say, the MiG-21, the Su-24 does have some foreign operators, and following the breakup of the Soviet Union, several of the former republics have the type in their air forces. A complete list of Su-24 operators include the Soviet Union/Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. Unfortunately, few of these operators are illustrated in photos, with the Ukraine, Algeria, and Iran being the only ones with photos. The color profile section adds an Iraqi example, but the rest remain shrouded in mystery, at least for now. Finishing up the book, in addition to the aforementioned color profile section, are a set of nicely done scale drawings showing many of the different variants.

This is an excellent reference on the Su-24; probably the best in the English language. The high quality of the photos, coupled with the detailed text, makes this book a great addition to any Soviet or Russian aviation library. My thanks to Specialty Press for the review copy. Visit their website for the entire Aerofax line, including this title.