Ilyushin Il-2
Encyclopedia
The Ilyushin Il-2 (Cyrillic
Илью́шин Ил-2) was a ground-attack aircraft (Shturmovik) in the Second World War
, produced by the Soviet Union
in very large numbers. In combination with its successor, the Ilyushin Il-10
, a total of 42,330 were built, making it the single most produced military aircraft design in all of aviation history, as well as one of the most produced piloted aircraft in history along with the American postwar civilan Cessna 172
and the Soviets' own Polikarpov Po-2
. It is regarded as the best ground attack aircraft of World War II. It was a prominent aircraft for tank
killing with its accuracy in dive bombing and its 37mm guns being able to penetrate tanks' thin back armour.
To Il-2 pilots, the aircraft was simply the diminutive "Ilyusha". To the soldiers on the ground, it was the "Hunchback", the "Flying Tank" or the "Flying Infantryman". Its postwar NATO reporting name was "Bark". The Il-2 aircraft played a crucial role on the Eastern Front, and in Soviet opinion it was the most decisive aircraft in the history of modern land warfare. Joseph Stalin
paid the Il-2 a great tribute in his own inimitable manner: when a particular production factory fell behind on its deliveries, Stalin sent an angrily-worded cable to the factory manager, stating "They are as essential to the Red Army as air and bread."
designed TSh-1 and TSh-2 armored biplanes. However, Soviet engines at the time lacked the power needed to provide the heavy aircraft with good performance. Il-2 was designed by Sergey Ilyushin and his team at the Central Design Bureau in 1938. TsKB-55 was a two-seat aircraft with an armoured shell weighing 700 kg (1,540 lb), protecting crew
, engine
, radiator
s, and the fuel tank
. Standing loaded, the Ilyushin weighed more than 4,700 kg (10,300 lb), making the armoured shell about 15% of the aircraft's gross weight. Uniquely for a World War II attack aircraft, and similarly to the forward fuselage design of the World War I-era Imperial German Junkers J.I
armored, all-metal biplane, the Il-2's armor was designed as a load-bearing part of the Ilyushin's monocoque
structure, thus saving considerable weight. The prototype TsKB-55, which first flew on October 2, 1939, won the government competition against Sukhoi Su-6 and received VVS
designation BSh-2. The prototypes - TsKB-55 and TskB-57 - were built at Moscow plant #39, at that time the Ilyushin design bureau's base.
The BSh-2 was overweight and underpowered, with the original Mikulin AM-35 1,022 kW (1,370 hp) engine designed to give its greatest power outputs at high altitude. Because of this it was redesigned as the TsKB-57, a lighter single-seat design, with the more powerful 1,254 kW (1,680 hp) Mikulin AM-38
engine, a development of the AM-35 optimised for low level operation. The TsKB-57 first flew on 12 October 1940. The production aircraft passed State Acceptance Trials in March 1941, and was redesignated Il-2 in April. Deliveries to operational units commenced in May 1941.
invaded the Soviet Union
on 22 June 1941.
Production early in the war was slow because after the German invasion the aircraft factories near Moscow and other major cities in western Russia had to be moved east of the Ural Mountains
. Ilyushin and his engineers had time to reconsider production methods, and two months after the move Il-2s were again being produced. The tempo was not to Premier Stalin's
liking, however, and he issued the following telegram to Shenkman and Tretyakov:
As a result, "the production of Shturmoviks rapidly gained speed. Stalin's notion of the Il-2 being 'like bread' to the Red Army took hold in Ilyushin's aircraft plants and the army soon had their Shturmoviks available in quantity."
days after the invasion began. The aircraft was so new that the pilots had no training in flight characteristics or tactics, and the ground crew no training in servicing or re-arming. The training received only enabled the pilots to take-off and land, none of the pilots had fired the armament, let alone learned tactics. There were 249 Il-2s available on 22 June 1941. In the first three days, 4th ShAP had lost 10 Il-2s to enemy action, a further 19 were lost to other causes, and 20 pilots were killed.
By 10 July, 4th ShAP was down to 10 aircraft from a strength of 65.
shaped charge
bomblets (protivotankovaya aviabomba, "anti-tank aviation bomb"). They were designated PTAB-2.5-1.5, as they had the size of a 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) bomb, but weighed only 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) due to the empty space in the shaped charge. Up to 192 were carried in four external dispensers (cluster bomb
s) or up to 220 in the internal weapon bays. The HEAT charge could easily penetrate the relatively thin upper armor of all heavy German tanks. PTABs were first used in large scale in the Battle of Kursk
.
Thereafter, the Il-2 was widely deployed on the Eastern Front. The aircraft could fly in low light conditions and carried weaponry capable of defeating the thick armor of the Panther
and Tiger I
tanks. They also proved capable of defending themselves against enemy fighters, claiming an occasional Messerschmitt Bf 109
.
In the Battle of Kursk, General V. Ryazanov became a master in the use of attack aircraft en masse, developing and improving the tactics of Il-2 operations in co-ordination with infantry, artillery and armoured troops. Ryazanov was later awarded the Gold Star
of Hero of Soviet Union twice, and the 1st Attack Aircraft Corps under his command became the first unit to be awarded the honorific title of Guards.
The Sturmovik nevertheless suffered heavy losses: the Luftwaffe command claimed 6,900 Il-2s in 1943 and 7,300 in 1944. Although these figures were exaggerated by a factor of between 2 to 2.2, the actual losses were substantial. In 1943, one loss corresponded to 26 Sturmovik sorties. About half of those lost were shot down by fighters, the rest falling to anti-aircraft fire.
The main problem with the Il-2 was the inaccuracy of its attacks. Towards the end of war the Soviets were able to concentrate massive numbers of Shturmoviks to support their main offensives. However, particularly against dug-in and armored targets, the effect was often more psychological than actual physical destruction of targets. In the 9 June offensive in the Karelian Isthmus
in Finland, the Finnish AA forces were far too few in numbers to counter the armadas of Pe-2 and Il-2, but they quickly found that the Il-2 attacks generally missed their marks widely, particularly with bombs. While some attacks against large unprotected targets such as horse and truck convoys and railyards had devastating results, attacks against dug-in point targets were usually ineffective. The frequent duels between dug-in 20 and 40mm AA guns and Il-2 attackers never resulted in the complete destruction of the gun, while many Il-2s were brought down in these attacks.
The heavy armor of the Il-2 also meant that it would typically carry only comparatively light bomb-loads, which together with the poor accuracy of its attacks made it a far less deadly attack aircraft than the contemporary Allied fighter-bombers such as the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Hawker Typhoon
. The rocket projectiles especially were not effective, even the larger RS-132 (of which four were carried) having a warhead with only 0.9 kg (2 lb) of explosives, which compared poorly with the P-47's typical load of 10 5 inches (12.7 cm) HVAR
s each with 21 kg (46.3 lb) warhead, or the 8 to 12 "60 lb" (27 kg) warhead RP-3
rockets of the Hawker Typhoon. Likewise the Shturmovik's bombs were usually only 50 kg (rarely 100 kg), too small to compensate for the typically wide variation from target point.
To compensate for the poor accuracy of the Il-2's bombsight, in 1943 the Soviet Command decided to use shaped-charge armor-piercing projectiles against enemy armored vehicles, and the PTAB-2.5-1.5 SCAP
aircraft bomb was put into production. These small-calibre bombs were loaded directly into the bomb bays and were dropped onto enemy vehicles from altitudes up to 100 meters (328 ft). As each Il-2 could carry up to 192 bombs, a fire carpet 70 meters (229 ft.) long and 15 meters (49 ft) wide covered the enemy tanks, giving a high "kill" probability.
Pilots of 291st ShAP were the first to use the PTAB-2.5-1.5 bombs. During one sortie on 5 June 1943, six attack aircraft led by Lt. Col. A. Vitrook destroyed 15 enemy tanks in one attack, and during five days of the enemy advance the 291st Division claimed to have destroyed or damaged 422 enemy tanks.
A major threat to the Il-2 was German ground fire. In postwar interviews, Il-2 pilots reported 20 mm (0.79 in) and 37 mm (1.46 in) artillery as the primary threat. While the fabled 88 mm (3.46 in) calibre gun was formidable, low-flying Il-2s presented too fast-moving a target for the 88's relatively low rate of fire, and while occasional hits were scored Soviet pilots apparently did not treat the 88 with the same respect as high-altitude Western heavy bomber crews. Similarly the attempts in Finland during summer '44 to augment the small numbers of 20/40mm AA in the field army by heavier 76mm guns drawn from homeland defence proved also relatively ineffective and few Il-2s were downed despite attempting different tactics with time-fuzed fragmentation, contact-fuzed, and shrapnel ammunition: the heavy guns simply lacked the reaction times to take advantage of the brief firing opportunities presented by the low-altitude Il-2 attacks. Single-barrel 20mm guns were also found somewhat inadequate due to limited firepower: one or two shells were often not enough to destroy the Il-2, and unless the Il-2 was attacking the gun itself, thus presenting effectively a stationary target, scoring more hits during a firing opportunity was rare. However, a single hit from a 40mm AA gun was usually enough to bring down an Il-2. Soviet anti-aircraft artillery also frequently mistook it for German aircraft, often with lethal consequences.
The armored tub, ranging from 5–12 mm (0.2-0.5 in) in thickness and enveloping the engine and the cockpit, could deflect all small arms fire and glancing blows from larger-caliber ammunition. There are reports of the armored windscreen surviving direct hits from 20 mm (0.79 in) rounds. Unfortunately, the rear gunners did not have the benefit of all-around armor protection, especially from the rear and to the sides and suffered about four times more casualties than the pilots. Added casualties resulted from the Soviet policy of not returning home with unused ammunition which typically resulted in repeated passes on the target. Soviet troops often requested additional passes even after the aircraft were out of ammunition to exploit the intimidating effect Il-2s had on German ground troops, who gave it the nickname Schlächter (Slaughterer), perhaps a play on the term Schlachtflugzeug ("ground attack aircraft"). Nicknames such as "The Flying Tank" and "Der Schwarze Tod" (the "Black Death") were coined by soldiers. Luftwaffe pilots called it Eiserner Gustav (Iron Gustav) or the Zementbomber (Concrete bomber). The Finnish nickname maatalouskone ("agricultural machine" or "tractor") derived from a word play with maataistelukone (ground attack aircraft, literally "ground combat aircraft" where kone, literally "machine", in turn is shortened from lentokone, aircraft, literally "flying machine")
To improve performance, the Mikulin Design Bureau started work on an uprated AM-38 engine. The new engines produced 1,700 hp at takeoff and 1,500 hp at 750 meters. They gave an improved takeoff and low-altitude performance. On 30 October 1942, production Il-2s powered by AM38s were used on the Central front for the first time when they successfully attacked Smolensk
airfield occupied by Germans. The Shturmovik rear guns proved to be effective against hostile fighters, and during the service trials alone, gunners shot down seven Bf 109s and repulsed many attacks. In January 1943 two-seat attack aircraft powered by uprated AM-38F engines (Forseerovannyy - uprated) began to arrive at front line units.
Nonetheless, the death rate among the air gunners remained exceptionally high and not until late models produced after 1944, did the 13 mm (.5 in) rear plate of the armour shell get moved rearwards into the (wooden) rear fuselage to allow a gunner to sit behind the fuel tank. The armour did not extend to the rear or below although side armour panels were riveted to the rear armour plate to protect the ammunition tank for the UBT machine gun, providing some measure of protection. The modifications including adding the rear gunner and gun had added weight behind the cg, resulting in "marginal" stability and handling characteristics that were "barely acceptable". This was the reason for the swept back outer wings in later Il-2s.
and Focke-Wulf Fw 190
, in dogfights, the Il-2 could take on other Luftwaffe
aircraft with some success. German front line units equipped with the Henschel Hs 126
suffered most of all from the ravages of Il-2s. Il-2 pilots also often attacked close formations of Junkers Ju 87
s, as the 7.92 mm machine guns of the Stukas were ineffective defensively against the heavily armoured Shturmoviks. In the winter of 1941–1942, Il-2s were used against Luftwaffe transport aircraft, and became the most dangerous opponent of the Junkers Ju-52/3m
. Pilots of 33rd GvShAP were the most successful in these operations, but other successful units were those operating near Stalingrad. Their targets were not only Ju 52s but also Heinkel He 111 and Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor bombers, delivering supplies to the besieged German troops.
While the Il-2 was a deadly air-to-ground weapon, and even a fairly effective interceptor against slow bombers and transport aircraft, heavy losses resulted from its vulnerability to fighter attack. Losses were very high, the highest of all types of Soviet aircraft, though given the numbers in service this is only to be expected. Sturmovik losses (including Il-10 type), in 1941-1945, were of 10,762 aircraft (533 in 1941, 1,676 in 1942, 3,515 in 1943, 3,347 in 1944 and 1,691 in 1945).The main defensive tactic was flying low and power down as the fighters closed in to let the fighter overshoot and fly into the IL-2's firing range.
Senior Lieutenant Anna Yegorova
piloted 243 Il-2 missions and was decorated three times. One of these awards was the Gold Star of Hero of the Soviet Union
that she had received "posthumously" in late 1944, as she was presumed dead after being shot down. She managed to survive imprisonment in a German POW camp. Junior Lieutenant Ivan Grigorevich Drachenko, another Il-2 pilot, was reputedly one of only four men who were decorated as both Heroes of the Soviet Union and also won all three of the Orders of Glory
.
Hero of the Soviet Union recipient T. Kuznetsov survived the crash of his Il-2 in 1942 when shot down returning from a reconnaissance mission. Kuznetsov was able to escape from the wreck and hide nearby. To his surprise, a German Bf 109 landed near the crash site and the pilot began to scrounge around the wrecked Il-2 for souvenirs. Thinking quickly, Kuznetsov ran to the German fighter and used it to fly home, barely avoiding being shot down by Soviet fighters in the process.
, a large, shallow lake in Hungary
, which is located near the historic site of a large World War II tank battle (see Operation Frühlingserwachen
).
trainer. Performance and handling were much improved and this became the most common version of the Il-2. A radial engine powered variant of the Il-2 with the Shvetsov ASh-82
engine was proposed in 1942 to remedy projected shortages in Mikulin inline engines. However, the ASh-82 was also used in the new Lavochkin La-5
fighter which effectively secured all available engines to the Lavochkin bureau. The radial engine Sukhoi Su-2
ground attack aircraft was produced in small quantities, but was generally considered unsuitable due to inadequate performance and lack of defensive armament.
TsKB-55
BSh-2
TsKB-57
Il-2 (TsKB-57P)
Il-2 two seat
Il-2 production of 1943
Il-2 with NS-37
Il-2 production 1944 "wing with arrow"
Il-2U
Il-2T
Il-2I
Il-2 with M-82
1. Original Il-2 is now at Aircraft museum in Belgrade, Serbia. Airframe #308331, built by Plant 30, Moscow
2. Original Il-2 is now at Warsaw Military Museum in Poland
3. Original Il-2 is now at National Aviation Museum in Krumovo, Bulgaria
4. Restored Il-2 is now at Monino aircraft museum, Russia. Airframe #301060, built by Plant 30, Moscow
5. Restored Il-2 is at Grenselandsmuseet in Kirkenes (Norway), close to the Norwegian - Russian border. The plane was recovered from a lake on the Norwegian side in the 1990s and sent to Russia for restoration. After restoration it was returned to Norway. Sadly, the restoration was not done 100% correct as it included the use of parts from other types.
On 27 September 2011, an Il-2M3 flew again at Novosibirsk
, Russia, after being restored to fly by specialist firm Retro Avia Tech for Paul Allen's
Flying Heritage Collection
. It is powered by an Allison V-1710 engine, rather than the scarce Mikulin AM-38
of the original. The rebuild incorporated the remains of an aircraft recovered from marshes near Pskov
. It is painted to represent the aircraft of twice-awarded Hero of the Soviet Union
Air Marshal Alexander Yefimov of the 298th Air Division.
Mongolia
Russian alphabet
The Russian alphabet is a form of the Cyrillic script, developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
Илью́шин Ил-2) was a ground-attack aircraft (Shturmovik) in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, produced by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in very large numbers. In combination with its successor, the Ilyushin Il-10
Ilyushin Il-10
Ilyushin Il-10 was a Soviet ground attack aircraft developed at the end of World War II by the Ilyushin construction bureau...
, a total of 42,330 were built, making it the single most produced military aircraft design in all of aviation history, as well as one of the most produced piloted aircraft in history along with the American postwar civilan Cessna 172
Cessna 172
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...
and the Soviets' own Polikarpov Po-2
Polikarpov Po-2
The Polikarpov Po-2 served as a general-purpose Soviet biplane, nicknamed Kukuruznik for maize; thus, 'maize duster' or 'crop duster'), NATO reporting name "Mule"...
. It is regarded as the best ground attack aircraft of World War II. It was a prominent aircraft for tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
killing with its accuracy in dive bombing and its 37mm guns being able to penetrate tanks' thin back armour.
To Il-2 pilots, the aircraft was simply the diminutive "Ilyusha". To the soldiers on the ground, it was the "Hunchback", the "Flying Tank" or the "Flying Infantryman". Its postwar NATO reporting name was "Bark". The Il-2 aircraft played a crucial role on the Eastern Front, and in Soviet opinion it was the most decisive aircraft in the history of modern land warfare. Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
paid the Il-2 a great tribute in his own inimitable manner: when a particular production factory fell behind on its deliveries, Stalin sent an angrily-worded cable to the factory manager, stating "They are as essential to the Red Army as air and bread."
Design and development
The idea for a Soviet armored ground-attack aircraft dates to the early 1930s, when Dmitry Pavlovich GrigorovichDmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich
Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich, in Russian: Дмитрий Павлович Григорович, was a Russian/Soviet aircraft designer of a number of planes under the Grigorovich name....
designed TSh-1 and TSh-2 armored biplanes. However, Soviet engines at the time lacked the power needed to provide the heavy aircraft with good performance. Il-2 was designed by Sergey Ilyushin and his team at the Central Design Bureau in 1938. TsKB-55 was a two-seat aircraft with an armoured shell weighing 700 kg (1,540 lb), protecting crew
Crew
A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard...
, engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
, radiator
Radiator (engine cooling)
Radiators are used for cooling internal combustion engines, mainly in automobiles but also in piston-engined aircraft, railway locomotives, motorcycles, stationary generating plant or any similar use of such an engine....
s, and the fuel tank
Fuel tank
A fuel tank is safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled or released into an engine...
. Standing loaded, the Ilyushin weighed more than 4,700 kg (10,300 lb), making the armoured shell about 15% of the aircraft's gross weight. Uniquely for a World War II attack aircraft, and similarly to the forward fuselage design of the World War I-era Imperial German Junkers J.I
Junkers J.I
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Flight 18 March 1920* Grey, C. G. Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1919. London: Putnam, 1919.* Grosz, P.M. Junkers J.I, Windsock Datafile 39. Hertfordshire, UK: Albatros Productions Ltd., 1993. ISBN 0-948414-49-9.* Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia...
armored, all-metal biplane, the Il-2's armor was designed as a load-bearing part of the Ilyushin's monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
structure, thus saving considerable weight. The prototype TsKB-55, which first flew on October 2, 1939, won the government competition against Sukhoi Su-6 and received VVS
VVS
VVS is a three letter acronym which may refer to:* Very Very Slightly Included, a way of describing the clarity of a diamond* Vulvar vestibulitis syndrome, a syndrome of vulvodynia associated with chronic disease* V. V. S...
designation BSh-2. The prototypes - TsKB-55 and TskB-57 - were built at Moscow plant #39, at that time the Ilyushin design bureau's base.
The BSh-2 was overweight and underpowered, with the original Mikulin AM-35 1,022 kW (1,370 hp) engine designed to give its greatest power outputs at high altitude. Because of this it was redesigned as the TsKB-57, a lighter single-seat design, with the more powerful 1,254 kW (1,680 hp) Mikulin AM-38
Mikulin AM-38
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
engine, a development of the AM-35 optimised for low level operation. The TsKB-57 first flew on 12 October 1940. The production aircraft passed State Acceptance Trials in March 1941, and was redesignated Il-2 in April. Deliveries to operational units commenced in May 1941.
Technical description
The Il-2 is a single-engine, propeller-driven, low-wing monoplane of mixed construction with a crew of two (one in early versions), specially designed for assault operations. Its most notable feature was the inclusion of armor in an airframe load-bearing scheme. Armor plates replaced the frame and paneling throughout the nacelle and middle part of the fuselage, and an armored hull made of riveted homogeneous armor steel AB-1 (AB-2) secured the aircraft’s engine, cockpit, water and oil radiators, and fuel tanks.Production
The Il-2 was eventually produced in vast quantities, becoming the single most widely produced military aircraft in aviation history, but only 249 had been built by the time Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
on 22 June 1941.
Production early in the war was slow because after the German invasion the aircraft factories near Moscow and other major cities in western Russia had to be moved east of the Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
. Ilyushin and his engineers had time to reconsider production methods, and two months after the move Il-2s were again being produced. The tempo was not to Premier Stalin's
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
liking, however, and he issued the following telegram to Shenkman and Tretyakov:
As a result, "the production of Shturmoviks rapidly gained speed. Stalin's notion of the Il-2 being 'like bread' to the Red Army took hold in Ilyushin's aircraft plants and the army soon had their Shturmoviks available in quantity."
Operational history
Initial use and operational confusion
The first use in action of the Il-2 was with the 4th ShAP (Ground Attack Regiment) over the Berezina RiverBerezina River
The Berezina is a river in Belarus and a tributary of the Dnieper River.The Berezina Preserve by the river is in the UNESCO list of Biosphere Preserves.-Historical significance:...
days after the invasion began. The aircraft was so new that the pilots had no training in flight characteristics or tactics, and the ground crew no training in servicing or re-arming. The training received only enabled the pilots to take-off and land, none of the pilots had fired the armament, let alone learned tactics. There were 249 Il-2s available on 22 June 1941. In the first three days, 4th ShAP had lost 10 Il-2s to enemy action, a further 19 were lost to other causes, and 20 pilots were killed.
By 10 July, 4th ShAP was down to 10 aircraft from a strength of 65.
New tactics
Tactics improved as Soviet aircrew became used to the Il-2's strengths. Instead of a low horizontal straight approach at 50 metres altitude, the target was usually kept to the pilot's left and a turn and shallow dive of 30 degrees was utilized, using an echeloned assault by four to 12 aircraft at a time. Although the Il-2's RS-82 and RS-132 rockets could destroy armored vehicles with a single hit, they were so inaccurate that experienced Il-2 pilots mainly utilized the cannon. Another potent weapon of the Il-2s was the PTABPTAB
PTAB was a Soviet World War II design of a Shaped Charge bomb.-Use:...
shaped charge
Shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
bomblets (protivotankovaya aviabomba, "anti-tank aviation bomb"). They were designated PTAB-2.5-1.5, as they had the size of a 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) bomb, but weighed only 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) due to the empty space in the shaped charge. Up to 192 were carried in four external dispensers (cluster bomb
Cluster bomb
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller sub-munitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles...
s) or up to 220 in the internal weapon bays. The HEAT charge could easily penetrate the relatively thin upper armor of all heavy German tanks. PTABs were first used in large scale in the Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
.
Thereafter, the Il-2 was widely deployed on the Eastern Front. The aircraft could fly in low light conditions and carried weaponry capable of defeating the thick armor of the Panther
Panther tank
Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...
and Tiger I
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
tanks. They also proved capable of defending themselves against enemy fighters, claiming an occasional Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
.
Effectiveness as attack plane
The true capabilities of the Il-2 are difficult to determine from existing documentary evidence. W. Liss in Aircraft profile 88: Ilyushin Il-2 mentions an engagement during the Battle of Kursk on 7 July 1943, in which 70 tanks from the German 9th Panzer Division were claimed to be destroyed by Ilyushin Il-2s in just 20 minutes. In another report of the action on the same day, a Soviet staff publication states that:In the Battle of Kursk, General V. Ryazanov became a master in the use of attack aircraft en masse, developing and improving the tactics of Il-2 operations in co-ordination with infantry, artillery and armoured troops. Ryazanov was later awarded the Gold Star
Gold Star
The Gold Star medal is a special insignia that identifies recipients of the title "Hero" in the Soviet Union and its communist allies, and several post-Soviet states.-Soviet origin:...
of Hero of Soviet Union twice, and the 1st Attack Aircraft Corps under his command became the first unit to be awarded the honorific title of Guards.
The Sturmovik nevertheless suffered heavy losses: the Luftwaffe command claimed 6,900 Il-2s in 1943 and 7,300 in 1944. Although these figures were exaggerated by a factor of between 2 to 2.2, the actual losses were substantial. In 1943, one loss corresponded to 26 Sturmovik sorties. About half of those lost were shot down by fighters, the rest falling to anti-aircraft fire.
The main problem with the Il-2 was the inaccuracy of its attacks. Towards the end of war the Soviets were able to concentrate massive numbers of Shturmoviks to support their main offensives. However, particularly against dug-in and armored targets, the effect was often more psychological than actual physical destruction of targets. In the 9 June offensive in the Karelian Isthmus
Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus is the approximately 45–110 km wide stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva . Its northwestern boundary is the relatively narrow area between the Bay of Vyborg and Lake Ladoga...
in Finland, the Finnish AA forces were far too few in numbers to counter the armadas of Pe-2 and Il-2, but they quickly found that the Il-2 attacks generally missed their marks widely, particularly with bombs. While some attacks against large unprotected targets such as horse and truck convoys and railyards had devastating results, attacks against dug-in point targets were usually ineffective. The frequent duels between dug-in 20 and 40mm AA guns and Il-2 attackers never resulted in the complete destruction of the gun, while many Il-2s were brought down in these attacks.
The heavy armor of the Il-2 also meant that it would typically carry only comparatively light bomb-loads, which together with the poor accuracy of its attacks made it a far less deadly attack aircraft than the contemporary Allied fighter-bombers such as the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Hawker Typhoon
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...
. The rocket projectiles especially were not effective, even the larger RS-132 (of which four were carried) having a warhead with only 0.9 kg (2 lb) of explosives, which compared poorly with the P-47's typical load of 10 5 inches (12.7 cm) HVAR
Hvar
- Climate :The climate of Hvar is characterized by mild winters and warm summers. The yearly average air temperature is , 686 mm of precipitation fall on the town of Hvar on average every year and the town has a total of 2800 sunshine hours per year. For comparison Hvar has an average of 7.7...
s each with 21 kg (46.3 lb) warhead, or the 8 to 12 "60 lb" (27 kg) warhead RP-3
RP-3
The RP-3 , was a British rocket used in the Second World War. Though primarily an air-to-ground weapon, it saw limited use in other roles. Its 60 lb warhead gave rise to the alternative name of the "60 lb rocket"; the 25 lb solid-shot armour piercing variant was referred to as the "25 lb rocket"...
rockets of the Hawker Typhoon. Likewise the Shturmovik's bombs were usually only 50 kg (rarely 100 kg), too small to compensate for the typically wide variation from target point.
To compensate for the poor accuracy of the Il-2's bombsight, in 1943 the Soviet Command decided to use shaped-charge armor-piercing projectiles against enemy armored vehicles, and the PTAB-2.5-1.5 SCAP
PTAB
PTAB was a Soviet World War II design of a Shaped Charge bomb.-Use:...
aircraft bomb was put into production. These small-calibre bombs were loaded directly into the bomb bays and were dropped onto enemy vehicles from altitudes up to 100 meters (328 ft). As each Il-2 could carry up to 192 bombs, a fire carpet 70 meters (229 ft.) long and 15 meters (49 ft) wide covered the enemy tanks, giving a high "kill" probability.
Pilots of 291st ShAP were the first to use the PTAB-2.5-1.5 bombs. During one sortie on 5 June 1943, six attack aircraft led by Lt. Col. A. Vitrook destroyed 15 enemy tanks in one attack, and during five days of the enemy advance the 291st Division claimed to have destroyed or damaged 422 enemy tanks.
"The flying tank"
Thanks to the heavy armor protection, an Il-2 could take a great deal of punishment and proved difficult for both ground and aircraft fire to shoot down. One Il-2 in particular was reported to have returned safely to base despite receiving more than 600 direct hits and having all its control surfaces completely shredded as well as numerous holes in its main armor and other structural damage. Some enemy pilots favored aiming down into the cockpit and wing roots in diving attacks on the slow, low-flying Il-2 formations. Several Luftwaffe aces claimed to attack while climbing from behind, out of view of the rear gunner, aiming for the Il-2's non-retractable oil cooler. This has been disputed by some Il-2 pilots in postwar interviews, since Il-2s typically flew very close to the ground (cruise altitudes below 50 m (160 ft) were common) and the radiator protruded a mere 10 cm (4 in) from the aircraft.A major threat to the Il-2 was German ground fire. In postwar interviews, Il-2 pilots reported 20 mm (0.79 in) and 37 mm (1.46 in) artillery as the primary threat. While the fabled 88 mm (3.46 in) calibre gun was formidable, low-flying Il-2s presented too fast-moving a target for the 88's relatively low rate of fire, and while occasional hits were scored Soviet pilots apparently did not treat the 88 with the same respect as high-altitude Western heavy bomber crews. Similarly the attempts in Finland during summer '44 to augment the small numbers of 20/40mm AA in the field army by heavier 76mm guns drawn from homeland defence proved also relatively ineffective and few Il-2s were downed despite attempting different tactics with time-fuzed fragmentation, contact-fuzed, and shrapnel ammunition: the heavy guns simply lacked the reaction times to take advantage of the brief firing opportunities presented by the low-altitude Il-2 attacks. Single-barrel 20mm guns were also found somewhat inadequate due to limited firepower: one or two shells were often not enough to destroy the Il-2, and unless the Il-2 was attacking the gun itself, thus presenting effectively a stationary target, scoring more hits during a firing opportunity was rare. However, a single hit from a 40mm AA gun was usually enough to bring down an Il-2. Soviet anti-aircraft artillery also frequently mistook it for German aircraft, often with lethal consequences.
The armored tub, ranging from 5–12 mm (0.2-0.5 in) in thickness and enveloping the engine and the cockpit, could deflect all small arms fire and glancing blows from larger-caliber ammunition. There are reports of the armored windscreen surviving direct hits from 20 mm (0.79 in) rounds. Unfortunately, the rear gunners did not have the benefit of all-around armor protection, especially from the rear and to the sides and suffered about four times more casualties than the pilots. Added casualties resulted from the Soviet policy of not returning home with unused ammunition which typically resulted in repeated passes on the target. Soviet troops often requested additional passes even after the aircraft were out of ammunition to exploit the intimidating effect Il-2s had on German ground troops, who gave it the nickname Schlächter (Slaughterer), perhaps a play on the term Schlachtflugzeug ("ground attack aircraft"). Nicknames such as "The Flying Tank" and "Der Schwarze Tod" (the "Black Death") were coined by soldiers. Luftwaffe pilots called it Eiserner Gustav (Iron Gustav) or the Zementbomber (Concrete bomber). The Finnish nickname maatalouskone ("agricultural machine" or "tractor") derived from a word play with maataistelukone (ground attack aircraft, literally "ground combat aircraft" where kone, literally "machine", in turn is shortened from lentokone, aircraft, literally "flying machine")
Il-2 Rear gunners
Heavy losses to enemy fighters forced the addition of a rear gunner; early IL-2s were field modified by cutting a hole in the fuselage behind the cockpit for a gunner sitting on a canvas sling armed with a 12.7 mm UBT machine gun in an improvised mounting. The semi-turret gun mount allowed the machine gun to be fired at angles of up to 35° upwards, 35° to starboard and 15° to port. Tests showed that maximum speed decreased by between 10 and 20 km/h (6.2–12.4 mph) and that the two-seater was more difficult to handle. At the beginning of March 1942, a production two-seat Il-2 with the new gunner's cockpit began manufacturer tests. The second cockpit and armament increased all-up weight by 170 kg (374 lb) so the flaps were allowed to be deployed at an angle of 17° to avoid an over-long takeoff run. The new variant had a lengthened fuselage compartment with an extended canopy offering some protection from the elements. Unlike the well-armoured cockpit of the pilot compartment with steel plating up to 12 mm (0.47 in) thick behind, beneath and on both sides as well as up to 65mm thick glass sections, the rear gunner was provided with 6 mm (.23 in) thick armour, only effective against rifle-calibre rounds.To improve performance, the Mikulin Design Bureau started work on an uprated AM-38 engine. The new engines produced 1,700 hp at takeoff and 1,500 hp at 750 meters. They gave an improved takeoff and low-altitude performance. On 30 October 1942, production Il-2s powered by AM38s were used on the Central front for the first time when they successfully attacked Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
airfield occupied by Germans. The Shturmovik rear guns proved to be effective against hostile fighters, and during the service trials alone, gunners shot down seven Bf 109s and repulsed many attacks. In January 1943 two-seat attack aircraft powered by uprated AM-38F engines (Forseerovannyy - uprated) began to arrive at front line units.
Nonetheless, the death rate among the air gunners remained exceptionally high and not until late models produced after 1944, did the 13 mm (.5 in) rear plate of the armour shell get moved rearwards into the (wooden) rear fuselage to allow a gunner to sit behind the fuel tank. The armour did not extend to the rear or below although side armour panels were riveted to the rear armour plate to protect the ammunition tank for the UBT machine gun, providing some measure of protection. The modifications including adding the rear gunner and gun had added weight behind the cg, resulting in "marginal" stability and handling characteristics that were "barely acceptable". This was the reason for the swept back outer wings in later Il-2s.
Air-to-air combat
Owing to a shortage of fighters, in 1941–1942, Il-2s were occasionally used as fighters. While outclassed by dedicated fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
and Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
, in dogfights, the Il-2 could take on other Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
aircraft with some success. German front line units equipped with the Henschel Hs 126
Henschel Hs 126
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-356-02382-6....
suffered most of all from the ravages of Il-2s. Il-2 pilots also often attacked close formations of Junkers Ju 87
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...
s, as the 7.92 mm machine guns of the Stukas were ineffective defensively against the heavily armoured Shturmoviks. In the winter of 1941–1942, Il-2s were used against Luftwaffe transport aircraft, and became the most dangerous opponent of the Junkers Ju-52/3m
Junkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...
. Pilots of 33rd GvShAP were the most successful in these operations, but other successful units were those operating near Stalingrad. Their targets were not only Ju 52s but also Heinkel He 111 and Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor bombers, delivering supplies to the besieged German troops.
While the Il-2 was a deadly air-to-ground weapon, and even a fairly effective interceptor against slow bombers and transport aircraft, heavy losses resulted from its vulnerability to fighter attack. Losses were very high, the highest of all types of Soviet aircraft, though given the numbers in service this is only to be expected. Sturmovik losses (including Il-10 type), in 1941-1945, were of 10,762 aircraft (533 in 1941, 1,676 in 1942, 3,515 in 1943, 3,347 in 1944 and 1,691 in 1945).The main defensive tactic was flying low and power down as the fighters closed in to let the fighter overshoot and fly into the IL-2's firing range.
Aircrew
Anna Yegorova
Lt. Anna Alexandrovna Timofeyeva-Yegorova was a pilot in the Red Army Air Force during the Second World War. She learned to fly and became a flight instructor before the war, then volunteered for the front when Germany invaded...
piloted 243 Il-2 missions and was decorated three times. One of these awards was the Gold Star of Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
that she had received "posthumously" in late 1944, as she was presumed dead after being shot down. She managed to survive imprisonment in a German POW camp. Junior Lieutenant Ivan Grigorevich Drachenko, another Il-2 pilot, was reputedly one of only four men who were decorated as both Heroes of the Soviet Union and also won all three of the Orders of Glory
Order of Glory
Established on 8 November 1943, the Order of Glory was an Order of the Soviet Union. It was awarded to non-commissioned officers and rank-and-file of the armed forces, as well as junior lieutenants of the air force, for bravery in the face of the enemy.The Order of Glory, which was modelled...
.
Hero of the Soviet Union recipient T. Kuznetsov survived the crash of his Il-2 in 1942 when shot down returning from a reconnaissance mission. Kuznetsov was able to escape from the wreck and hide nearby. To his surprise, a German Bf 109 landed near the crash site and the pilot began to scrounge around the wrecked Il-2 for souvenirs. Thinking quickly, Kuznetsov ran to the German fighter and used it to fly home, barely avoiding being shot down by Soviet fighters in the process.
Postwar
After the war, the Il-2 could be found in service with several Eastern European countries, with most of the Il-2/10 aircraft eventually scrapped with the advent of military jets. Only a handful of Il-2s survive to this day, including museum rebuilds of crashed airframes. In recent years, several Il-2 wrecks have been located and recovered from Lake BalatonLake Balaton
Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of its foremost tourist destinations. As Hungary is landlocked , Lake Balaton is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea"...
, a large, shallow lake in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, which is located near the historic site of a large World War II tank battle (see Operation Frühlingserwachen
Operation Frühlingserwachen
Operation Frühlingserwachen was the last major German offensive launched during World War II. The offensive was launched in Hungary on the Eastern Front...
).
Variants
The early two-seater prototype proved to be too heavy for the limited power of the early AM-35 engine. A redesigned single seat version was soon developed and saw combat, particularly in the early phase of the war in in the Soviet. While the Il-2 proved to be a deadly air-to-ground weapon, heavy losses resulted from its vulnerability to fighter attack. Consequently, in February 1942, the two-seat design was revived. The IL-2M, with a rear gunner under the stretched canopy, entered service in September 1942 with surviving single-seaters eventually modified to this standard. Later changes included an upgrade from 20 mm to 23 mm to 37 mm cannons, aerodynamic improvements, use of wooden outer wing panels instead of metal and increased fuel capacity. In 1943, the IL-2 Type 3 or Il-2m3 came out with redesigned wings that were swept back 15 degrees on the outer panels, and nearly straight trailing edges, resulting in a wing planform somewhat like the AT-6North American T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
trainer. Performance and handling were much improved and this became the most common version of the Il-2. A radial engine powered variant of the Il-2 with the Shvetsov ASh-82
Shvetsov ASh-82
The Shvetsov ASh-82 is a 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial aircraft engine developed from the Shvetsov M-62, itself a development from M-25 a licensed version of the Wright R-1820 Cyclone.-Design and development:...
engine was proposed in 1942 to remedy projected shortages in Mikulin inline engines. However, the ASh-82 was also used in the new Lavochkin La-5
Lavochkin La-5
|- See also :- References :NotesBibliography* Abanshin, Michael E. and Nina Gut. Fighting Lavochkin, Eagles of the East No.1. Lynnwood, WA: Aviation International, 1993. ISBN unknown....
fighter which effectively secured all available engines to the Lavochkin bureau. The radial engine Sukhoi Su-2
Sukhoi Su-2
-External links:***-Related content:*List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS...
ground attack aircraft was produced in small quantities, but was generally considered unsuitable due to inadequate performance and lack of defensive armament.
TsKB-55
- Two-seat prototype, AM-35 engine, first flight: 2 October 1939.
BSh-2
- VVS designation for TsKB-55 prototype.
TsKB-57
- Single-seat prototype, AM-38 engine, first flight: 12 October 1940.
Il-2 (TsKB-57P)
- Single-seat serial airplane, AM-38 engine, first flight 29 December 1940, some delivered to combat units in May–June 1941. Renamed to Il-2 in April 1941. Cannons 20 mm ShVAK or 23 mm VYa (depending on factory which manufactured Il-2).
Il-2 two seat
- Two-seat version, AM-38 engine, first action 30 October 1942 near Stalingrad. Maximum bomb load reduced from 600 kg to 400 kg. Used on edges of flight formations for defence against German fighters. Quickly replaced by "Il-2 production of 1943".
Il-2 production of 1943
- Referred in west as "Il-2M". Powered by an upgraded AM-38F engine. Delivered to front units since early 1943. In 1943, 20 mm ShVAK armed Il-2 production faded out, leaving only 23 mm VYa versions.
Il-2 with NS-37
- Referred in west as "Il-2 Type 3M". Based on two seat Il-2, armed with Nudelman-Suranov NS-37Nudelman-Suranov NS-37The Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 was a aircraft cannon, which replaced the unreliable Shpitalny Sh-37 gun. Large caliber was planned to allow destruction of both ground targets and planes .Developed by A. E. Nudelman and A...
instead of 20/23 mm cannons, this version is an approach to anti-tank airplane, prepared for the Battle of KurskBattle of KurskThe Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
. However, combat effectiveness was quite low and production of version was limited to about 3,500. Moreover, bomb load decreased from 600 kg to 200 kg. It was replaced by conventional Il-2 attackers armed with cassettes with cumulative bomblets.
Il-2 production 1944 "wing with arrow"
- Referred in West as "Il-2M3" or "Il-2 Type 3". As more duraluminDuraluminDuralumin is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The main alloying constituents are copper, manganese, and magnesium. A commonly used modern equivalent of this alloy type is AA2024, which contains 4.4% copper, 1.5% magnesium, 0.6% manganese and 93.5%...
became available for the Soviet aviation industry, the Il-2 received a set of all-metal wing panels. At the same time, the outer wing planform was swept back, with a straight trailing edge, since the centre of gravity shifted back after the gunner was added. The wing planform change regained controllability of the two-seat Il-2 back to level of the single-seat Il-2.
Il-2U
- Training version, also known as UIl-2.
Il-2T
- Torpedo bomber version for the Soviet Navy with removed 23 mm cannons (for saving weight), able to carry a single 45 cm (18 in) torpedo. Evidently, there was design only or a small number of the regular Il-2M-3 of the 23rd Attack Air Regiment of the AF of the Black Sea Fleet were equipped with the torpedo racks in the field circumstances, but no such a planes ever noted in the battle sortie logs.
Il-2I
- Armoured fighter, prototype only. Concept based on several dogfights between Il-2 and Luftwaffe bombers. Proved infeasible due to its low speed: only older Luftwaffe bombers could be intercepted.
Il-2 with M-82
- A backup project prepared while plants producing AM-35/AM-38 were evacuated. Trials demonstrated that with fighter engine loss of low-altitude performance and controllability was unacceptable.
Survivors
There are several aircraft in Eastern European museums, stored there after decommissioning and preserved in their original condition. A new wave of restorations has arisen after the fall of the Soviet Union largely due to Western collectors, resulting in more aircraft appearing for static display. Such restored aircraft are normally based on the original armour compartment (cowlflaps plus armoured cockpit "tub") and original engines, which can still be found on the battlefield wreck sites in distant regions.1. Original Il-2 is now at Aircraft museum in Belgrade, Serbia. Airframe #308331, built by Plant 30, Moscow
2. Original Il-2 is now at Warsaw Military Museum in Poland
3. Original Il-2 is now at National Aviation Museum in Krumovo, Bulgaria
4. Restored Il-2 is now at Monino aircraft museum, Russia. Airframe #301060, built by Plant 30, Moscow
5. Restored Il-2 is at Grenselandsmuseet in Kirkenes (Norway), close to the Norwegian - Russian border. The plane was recovered from a lake on the Norwegian side in the 1990s and sent to Russia for restoration. After restoration it was returned to Norway. Sadly, the restoration was not done 100% correct as it included the use of parts from other types.
On 27 September 2011, an Il-2M3 flew again at Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
, Russia, after being restored to fly by specialist firm Retro Avia Tech for Paul Allen's
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
Flying Heritage Collection
Flying Heritage Collection
The Flying Heritage Collection is Paul G. Allen's collection of rare military aircraft, which comprises examples from Germany, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States...
. It is powered by an Allison V-1710 engine, rather than the scarce Mikulin AM-38
Mikulin AM-38
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
of the original. The rebuild incorporated the remains of an aircraft recovered from marshes near Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
. It is painted to represent the aircraft of twice-awarded Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
Air Marshal Alexander Yefimov of the 298th Air Division.
Operators
- Bulgarian Air ForceBulgarian Air ForceThe Bulgarian Air Force is a branch of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, to provide aerial support and to assist the Land Forces in case of war. The Bulgarian Air...
- received 120 Il-2 and 10 training Il-2U in 1945. The type was operated between 1945 and 1954.
Mongolia
- Mongolian People's Army AviationMongolian People's ArmyThe Mongolian People's Army or Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army was established on 18 March 1921 as a secondary army under Soviet Red Army command during the 1920s and during World War II.-Creation of the army:One of the first actions of the new Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party...
- received 71 Il-2 in 1945. The type was operated between 1945 and 1954
- Czechoslovakian Air Force - received 33 Il-2 and 2 training Il-2U aircraft. This type was operated between 1944 and 1949.
- Air Force of the Polish ArmyAir Force of the Polish ArmyThe Air Force of the Polish Army , unofficially known as the People's Polish Air Force was the name of the Soviet-controlled Polish Air Force in the USSR between 1943 and 1947 created alongside the Polish People's Army , a subordinate to the Red Army...
- (after 1947 Polish Air ForcePolish Air ForceThe Polish Air Force is the military Air Force wing of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej...
) received about 230 Il-2 aircraft between 1944 and 1946. All were retired in 1949.
- Soviet Air ForceSoviet Air ForceThe Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
- Soviet Naval AviationSoviet Naval AviationSoviet Naval Aviation was a part of the Soviet Navy.- Origins :...
- SFR Yugoslav Air ForceSFR Yugoslav Air ForceThe Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslav Air Force , was the air force of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . Formed in 1945, it was preceded by the Yugoslav Royal Air Force which was disbanded in 1941, following the German occupation of Yugoslavia...
- received 213 aircraft in Il-2M3 and UIl-2 versions and used them until 1954. Used by:- 421st Assault Aviation Regiment (1944–1948)
- 554th Assault Aviation Regiment (1945–1948)
- 422nd Assault Aviation Regiment (1944–1948)
- 423rd Assault Aviation Regiment (1944–1948)
- 3rd Training Aviation Regiment (1945–1948)
- 81st Assault Aviation Regiment (1948–1953)
- 96th Assault Aviation Regiment (1948–1954)
- 107th Assault Aviation Regiment (1948–1953)
- 111th Assault Aviation Regiment (1948–1952)
- 185th Mixed Aviation Regiment (1949–1952)
Specifications (Il-2M3)
See also
External links
- Original Il-2 Field Manual (in Russian)
- 1942 Flight Manual - Il-2 Airplane with AM-38 Engine (in English)
- How to fly Il-2. Training Film by the Red Army Air Force Research Institute, 1943. English subtitles
- The Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik
- Photo gallery of Ilyushin Il-2m3
- 25 shots of Il-2 memorial (Novorossyisk, Russia)
- Interview with Il-2 pilot Yuri Khukhrikov
- Shturmovik photo gallery
- http://tihlde.org/~ktsorens/flyvrak/sennagress.html