Red SAM: The SA-2 Guideline Anti-Aircraft Missile

Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Pub Co, 2007. New book, 48 pages, NVG134. The Russian SA-2, nicknamed 'Red SAM' is history's dominant antiaircraft missile. In 1960 it famously downed Gary Powers’ U-2 spyplane, and two years later it was one of the missiles deployed during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which almost sparked a nuclear showdown between America and the USSR. The SA-2 was also deployed in Vietnam, North Korea, Egypt, and even the Gulf War. Using photographs, color artwork, and rare accounts from the weapon’s designers, Steven J Zaloga examines the missile’s development, linking this to its massive impact on Cold War air campaigns, and investigates the design changes that have helped the SA-2 stand the test of time. Contents: SAM Origins; The Spyplane Menace; Operation Anadyr: the Cuban Missile Crisis; Deep Modernization; The Flying Telephone Pole in Vietnam; Operation Kavkaz: S-75 in the 1967-73 Middle East Wars; Foreign Guidelines; Final Refinements; Further Reading; Color Plate Commentary; Index.. Soft Cover. As New. Illus. by Laurier, Jim. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.