Since there's no thread dedicated to one of the most produced aircraft in history, the legendary IL-2, the unbelievable air beast that plagued the Wehrmacht ever since the war began, I feel obliged to start a thread commemorating the plane. I hope this will attract many Eastern Front enthusiasts and aviation buffs, as you can't go about discussing the Soviet Air Force without at least mentioning the IL-2. Nicknamed 'Ilyusha', 'the Hunchback', 'Betonflugzeug', 'Zementbomber', 'Schlächter', 'Fleischwolf', 'Eisemer Gustav', 'Schwarzer Tod' (or the Black Death), it still remains one of the greatest war planes ever to have taken off the ground. True to the Soviet construction principle, simplicity first and everything else later, the IL-2 was a rather bulky and unmanouverable plane, on the one hand. On the other, it was a unique strategical aircraft, as far as I'm concerned, the only ground attack plane in the Soviet Air Force, a great feat of engineering that baffled the Luftwaffe and the Wehrmacht. I'll add some excerpts from veteran interviews a bit later on, to see what they thought about the plane.
Ah, yes, and there's also a great game out - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IL-2_Sturmovik_(video_game) Supposedly very realistic. I haven't played it... yet, but plan to get me hands on it ASAP. One of the best games to come out of my country, maybe even the only good game Anyways, it's worth a shot.
Certainly one of the all-time classic aircraft. You might find this interesting... IL-2 Sturmovik Illustrated Flight Manual
Wow, a translated illustrated manual! Must've been a massive job to carry out. Cheers, that is interesting, very! I'll now go out and nick one from the museum nearby and fly it over the Kremlin, I'm sure that'll freak Mr. Putin out :p Only fooling about, but the experience flying that thing must be awesome. I'd give anything to be able to fly one.
When I saw the title of this thread I thought I was going to see this: But no, it was more like This:
The IL-2 Sturmovic games are good, but showing their age a bit now. Definately worth the £5 you can pick them up for now, though. I have the "forgotten battles" and the "1946" games. It might be interesting to compare the Sturmovic to the Henschel HS-129. I know the 129 came along a lot later, but it might be interesting??? Was the Sturmovic "developed" or did it stay pretty much the same throughout the war? Za, are you going to start a thread on flying tanks then?
The IL-2 Sturmovic games are good, but showing their age a bit now. Definately worth the £5 you can pick them up for now, though. I have the "forgotten battles" and the "1946" games. It might be interesting to compare the Sturmovic to the Henschel HS-129. I know the 129 came along a lot later, but it might be interesting??? Was the Sturmovic "developed" or did it stay pretty much the same throughout the war? Za, are you going to start a thread on flying tanks then? As Slaphead has said they are supposed to be showing their age. I'm told the one to get is "1946" as this has all the games together in one box. Good value I suppose!
As Slaphead has said they are supposed to be showing their age. I'm told the one to get is "1946" as this has all the games together in one box. Good value I suppose! I picked a copy up here in Berlin, but have not played much with it. There are some good points to the navigational maps, but I found the planes flying charactoristics are not easy, compared to other simulators. Regards Tom
I recently read "Red Star Against The Swastika - The Story of a Soviet Pilot over the Eastern Front" by Vasily B. Emelianenko. It's quite a good read and Mr. Emelianenko had a remarkable career. I've read a number of books by Typhoon pilots, probably the closest thing the Western allies had to compare, at least role wise to the IL-2 but it's actually quite difficult to compare the two planes. The Typhoon benefited, from a superior communications net and worked with forward ground co-op officers who worked with HiFi sets and the same maps so the planes could be directed onto targets that were in close proximity to our troops. The Typhoons also had total air supremacy after D-Day. From Emelianenko's book it would seem that the IL-2's didn't have the same luxuries. They were frequently attacking targets quite removed from the front lines and often went un-escorted. Total air supremacy wasn't really achieved until 1945 in the east. German fighters were often a threat. The author actually says that most pilots didn't want the rear gunner as this reduced the performance of the aircraft because of the additional weight and the gunner was of limited value and even if he did manage to scare off an attacking fighter he usually died in the process! The plane may have done the job but it was really the guts of the pilots, aircrew and support personnel that saved the country. I should also mention that the book was published in 2005 and is written in a very realistic and sober style IMO.
From webpage that Gerard linked to in another thread. Panzer Artillery Regiment 78 in Russia, 1941/1942: Photo Collection A Captured IL-2.
'The Flying Tank' was pretty much a fitting name, the plane stood in at about 4,700 kg, and the armoured shell alone was around 15% of the gross weight. No wonder it withstood heavy damage and still managed to fly. Here are some translated veteran accounts, as promised: "The IL-2 withstood heavy damage, but it was an absolute iron to fly. It couldn't dive properly, and it gained a 1000 m. in around 10 minutes with all bombs loaded. An approach at 45 or 60 degrees was doable though." Nikolai Ivanovich Purgin, IL-2 pilot "The machine wasn't very manouverable, but really lively and tenacious. The airplane maintained stability in flight, even having sustained serious injuries. The cockpit overview was excellent, and the cabin rather spacious." Nikolai Ivanovich Shtangeev, IL-2 pilot "We fought on the IL-2. It was a great plane for its time. Simple controls, vicious tenacity. It could carry from 400 to 600 kgs of bombs, five guns, three of them machine, one of which the rear gunner manned, eight rockets (RS-82 rocket - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and 10 aerial distance grenades for the defence of the rear. We'd already flown two-seater fighters before, so we were used to it, and the rear was defended too. However, the location of the fuel tanks - up front, under the seat and in the back - made you feel uncomfortable, like you were sitting on top of a petrol barrel that was about to blow up." Huhrikov Yuri Mikhailovich, IL-2 pilot All found on this site Ил-2 в воÑпоминаниÑÑ… ветеранов « Сквад [PNZ], there's many more to come. Translations, I mean.
I had heard there was a tactic called the "wheel of death" (or something similar) where a few (6?) IL-2's would circle a target . Then one would peel off and attack the target whle the other five tried to draw as much ground fire a possable. Once the attacker had made his pass, another IL-2 would peel off and start his attack. This kept the target guessing as to which aircraft to fire at. Does anyone know if this is a genuine tactic or just wargaming "hot air"?
"The wheel of death"...hmm.. sounds funky And as a tactic it doesn't sound too bad either. Have no idea as to whether that was applied in the war, though.
I had heard there was a tactic called the "wheel of death" (or something similar) where a few (6?) IL-2's would circle a target . Then one would peel off and attack the target whle the other five tried to draw as much ground fire a possable. Once the attacker had made his pass, another IL-2 would peel off and start his attack. This kept the target guessing as to which aircraft to fire at. Does anyone know if this is a genuine tactic or just wargaming "hot air"? I have absolutely no idea but like Tovarisch i am impressed by its plausibility!
Was the Sturmovic "developed" or did it stay pretty much the same throughout the war? 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-6 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. Soviet anti-aircraft artillery frequently mistook it for German aircraft, often with lethal consequences. Cheers, Wikipedia. There's a list of modifications on the bottom of the page (Ilyushin Il-2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) labeled 'Variants'.
