The work of international journalist A. Alyabyev is not only the history of the Second World War, but also an excursion into the history of the development of military aviation during this period. The author draws on a wealth of documentary material: official reports from governments, news agencies, radio and the press, providing the opportunity to compare the point of view of the warring parties on the same events. Provides excerpts from orders, instructions, diaries and memoirs of command officers and pilots who completed combat missions.