Based on an analysis of archival materials from the country's governing bodies, the General Staff and Central Directorates of the Red Army, Air Force and defense industry organizations, the first volume of "Stormtroopers of the Red Army" examines in detail the process of shaping the appearance of a battlefield aircraft, an attack aircraft in the period preceding the Great Patriotic War war. The book shows how this process was influenced by views on the nature of the future war, achievements in the field of aircraft construction and the creation of a motor base in the USSR, traditional and original types of aviation weapons, and the characteristic features of the development of targets on the battlefield. The history of the creation of more than 100 types of attack aircraft in the USSR is described in detail. Positive results and obvious failures are analyzed. Materials on a number of aircraft are published for the first time. The history of the creation of the armored attack aircraft BSh-2 (IL-2) is described most fully. The appearance of the optimal attack aircraft for combat conditions on the Eastern Front is analyzed. It is shown that a number of Soviet experimental attack aircraft sufficiently met the requirements of this design. The content of the book differs from the “contrasting black and white” presentation generally accepted in historical literature. The book contains over 200 photographs, diagrams and drawings, some of which are published for the first time.