Russian aviation. Russian Aviation What IL 2 looks like

The Soviet state, they showed the titanic capabilities of the domestic industry, which was able to quickly launch the world's most massive production of military aircraft. During the war, more than 36 thousand “humpbacked” Ilovs were built. History has never seen such a “circulation” before. This record has not been broken to this day.

Two stormtroopers

At the end of the thirties, the general concept of offensive tactical weapons of all countries had an aviation component. The wars in Spain and Khalkhin Gol showed that it is difficult to carry out an attack without aircraft support, and air supremacy ensures success on the ground. During this period, a certain class of aircraft called attack aircraft emerged. Its most famous representatives during the Second World War were two models - the German Yu-87 and our Il-2. 1941 marked the beginning of their practical comparison. For clarity, the main characteristics are shown in the table.

Parameter
Take-off weight, kg
Engine power
Speed
Course weapons	2 machine guns 7.92 mm	2 guns 23 mm, 2 machine guns 7.62 mm
Rear hemisphere protection	1 7.92 mm machine gun	1 7.62 mm machine gun
Missiles
	non-removable	retractable
Booking	local (seats)	armored hull

To be fair, it is worth mentioning that the Il-2 aircraft was designed somewhat later than the German aircraft (five years is a long time for aviation). In addition, the Junkers-87 had an undoubted advantage when delivering precision strikes due to the possibility of an almost vertical dive and a perfect aiming system.

Nevertheless, in most respects the German attack aircraft is inferior to the Soviet Il-2. 1941 marked the start of its mass production. It started in February, even before the war.

Basic concept

In the fall of 1939, the famous pilot V.K. Kokkinaki took into the air a classified “product” under the designation TsKB-55, also known in the narrow circles of the Soviet military-technical elite as BSh-2. This was only a prototype, which, when finalized, resulted in the Il-2 aircraft. The attack aircraft was developed in accordance with a revolutionary concept, according to which fuselage parts such as frames and spars were practically eliminated, and the power load was taken on by an armored hull, which simultaneously protected the crew and vital components, including the engine, oil cooler and fuel tank, from damaging factors. . Previously, airplanes were built differently: skin, sometimes armored, was mounted on a frame of transverse and longitudinal profiles. S.V. Ilyushin treated the issue of survivability with all attention.

Means of combating survivability

The most vulnerable point of an aircraft is its rear hemisphere. “Getting behind” means almost guaranteed aerial victory. The gunner controlling this danger zone is present on all bombers, including the Yu-87. differed from world analogues in that it was produced in two versions: single and double (but more on that later). The fuel tanks had a unique design that minimized fuel losses if they were shot through. A special substance that hardened in the open air “healed” wounds received in battle.

The armored glass of the canopy protected the pilot in the same way as the metal of the cockpit. These and other design techniques turned out to be so effective that Soviet attack aircraft returned to their airfield, even after receiving five hundred holes.

Main options

A total of six modifications were developed, but the main two deserve special description. Initially, Ilyushin planned a two-seat attack aircraft with a gunner-radio operator protecting the rear hemisphere. However, the dominant concept at that time, which assumed absolute air superiority after delivering an instant crushing blow and transferring hostilities to enemy territory, prompted the country's leadership to build simpler machines. The general designer was given instructions to “remove the unnecessary.” The fallacy of this decision (and many others) was revealed by the war that soon began. Il-2, deprived of protection, became easy prey for the Messers. Mechanics at rear airfields began to independently alter the aircraft, cutting holes in the upper skin for the gunner's nest. The Stalinist leadership, however, cannot be blamed for stupid stubbornness. The two-seat scheme was again given the green light, although, unfortunately, the shooter remained poorly protected.

"Little brother" IL-10

Of course, this legendary aircraft was a masterpiece of aircraft design, but the peculiarities of tactical use at low altitudes determined the high level of losses of Il-2 attack aircraft. The years 1941-1945 formed the general statistics, according to which on average the Ilyushin flew approximately 53 sorties before being shot down. At the final stage of the war, an improved version of the front-line attack aircraft was ready, the design of which took into account the shortcomings of the prototype: the aerodynamics were significantly improved (the landing gear was retracted into the wing, and not into special nacelles, the oil cooler was hidden from the “underbelly” into the fuselage), the gunner-radio operator’s cabin was reliably armored and etc.

This modification received the designation Il-10 and even managed to fight in World War II and Korea, but not for long. The era of jet speeds has begun...

Single-seat attack aircraft Il-2 (BSh-2 No. 2).

Developer: OKB Ilyushin
Country: USSR
First flight: 1940

On November 23, 1940, a joint order of the NKAP and the Air Force No. 657/0293 was issued, according to which S.V. Ilyushin was obliged to develop and install two MP-6 guns on the BSh-2 within 2 months.

Due to the fact that the Air Force needed an armored attack aircraft immediately, in December 1940 a decision was made (order by A.I. Shakhurin No. 739 dated December 14, 1940) to put into serial production the single-seat attack aircraft Il-2 (December 9, by order of the NKAP No. 704 all new combat aircraft accepted for mass production were named after the names of their Chief Designers, including the BSh-2 became known as Il-2) at plant No. 18 according to the type that passed state tests, that is, the two-seat BSh-2 No. 2, with with the following changes:
1) make the plane a single-seater instead of a two-seater;
2) install the AM-35A engine instead of the AM-35;
3) install a rear armored wall 12 mm thick;
4) instead of two wing-mounted ShKAS machine guns, install in the wing two air cannons designed by Taubin-Baburin (OKB-16) of 23 mm MP-6 (PTB-23) caliber with a total ammunition load of 162 rounds...
At the same time, the director of the 18th plant, M.B. Shenkman and S.V. Ilyushin, pledged to ensure the start of serial production of the Il-2 with AM-35A from February 15, 1941, with production of 10 vehicles by March 1, and a total of 1941 1200 attack aircraft. In addition, S.V. Ilyushin personally had to complete factory tests of the new vehicle by January 10, 1941. In this regard, S.V. Ilyushin with a group of leading designers from his design bureau arrived in Voronezh on December 20 to assist the factory design bureau.

On December 23, 1940, specialists from the Air Force Research Institute of Spacecraft, in their next report on the progress of work on the BSh-2, reported to the Defense Committee that: "...TsKB-57 AM-38 (BSh-2 No. 1) is undergoing factory tests, after which work will be carried out to install a mobile stabilizer and eliminate defects. ... TsKB-55 AM-35A (BSh-2 No. 2) is being prepared as a serial production standard. Work has begun on installing a wing with a pointed design, moving the engine, installing Taubin guns, and converting the aircraft into a single-seat version. The work is delayed due to the lack of Taubin guns and the AM-35A engine with a reduction of 0.732 at plant No. 39... "

By this time, Plant No. 24 had achieved some success in fine-tuning the AM-38 engine and a decision was made to install it on the single-seat BSh-2 No. 2. Already on December 29, the chief pilot of the Design Bureau, V.K. Kokkinaki, performed the first flight on the new machine.

Despite all the efforts of the design bureau and factory workers, it was still not possible to complete the entire complex of tests of the Il-2 AM-38 (BSh-2 No. 2) by the deadline.

However, by orders of the NKAP dated January 7 and February 14, 1941, the single-seat Il-2 AM-38 was put into serial production simultaneously at four aircraft factories Nos. 18, 35, 380 and 381 in a version with two MP-6 cannons with link feed (150 rounds for each gun), two ShKAS machine guns with a total ammunition capacity of 1,500 rounds and 8 RO-132 rocket guns.

At the same time, in order to ensure the interchangeability of IL-2 units, Voronezh aircraft plant No. 18 was designated as the “lead” in serial construction. That is, aircraft factories No. 35, 380 and 381 were obliged to build the Il-2 according to uniform drawings coming only from factory No. 18, and any changes in the design of the machine and in its production technology were allowed to be made (in full accordance with the order of the NKAP No. 518 dated 10/02/1940) only with the permission of the People's Commissar of the Aviation Industry. Failure to comply with this requirement was qualified as "a crime that harms the state and undermines the country's defense..."

On January 17, 1941, by order of the People's Commissar of the Aviation Industry No. 147, the directors of all serial factories were obliged to produce a single-seat Il-2 with two ShVAK cannons (200 rounds per barrel) and two ShKAS machine guns (1,500 rounds), and on January 20, the Ilyushin Design Bureau received TsAGI report on determining the recoil force of the MP-6 gun and soon - the guns themselves. However, the Chief Designer of the Il-2 was in no hurry to install Taubin guns on his attack aircraft.

Note that S.V. Ilyushin’s references to the excessively high recoil force of the MP-6 gun were unfounded at the beginning of 1941. The fact is that at that time there was no sufficiently accurate method for determining the recoil force of guns on a machine (the first serious work in this direction appeared at the Air Force Research Institute only at the end of 1942), and it was completely impossible to measure it on an airplane. It was very difficult for the OKB to resolve the issue of placing and ensuring reliable operation of the MP-6 magazine gun under the wing of the Il-2 attack aircraft (the presence of the magazine forced the guns to be installed not in the wing consoles, but under them). In addition, S.V. Ilyushin, knowing how difficult the process of fine-tuning the MP-6 in mass production is, apparently already understood that the unreasonably short deadlines adopted by the People's Commissariat of Armaments for introducing a still “raw” gun into production (mainly in relation to the reliability of the automation) In the end, the MP-6 will be “buried”, and the latter will still be taken out of production. As a result, the IL-2 will have to be modified again, and this again is a waste of such precious time. Ilyushin did not dare to talk about this out loud, since the initiator of putting the MP-6 into large-scale production was none other than the People's Commissar of Armaments B.L. Vannikov. It was not S.V. Ilyushin’s plans to quarrel with the latter. Hence Ilyushin’s persistent desire to discuss the “increased recoil force” of the OKB-16 cannon as an argument to fight it off and not make the fate of his attack aircraft dependent on the fate of the Taubin cannon.

An indirect confirmation of this is that in March 1941, the Design Bureau, without any objections, installed on the Il-2 a 23-mm VYa-23 cannon designed by A.A. Volkov and S.Ya. Yartsev (TsKB-14 NKV), which, as shown experimental work carried out at the Research Institute of Air Forces of the Air Force in October-November 1943, the maximum recoil force on a ground machine was no less than 5500 kg, and in real conditions of installation on an aircraft, where the latter had the ability to recoil, from 3000 up to 4000 kg... Meanwhile, the Ilys with VYa-23 cannons honestly served the entire Patriotic War without any serious complaints from the flight personnel of the attack air units of the Red Army.

Be that as it may, after appropriate “clarifications from above,” the MP-6 guns (with a magazine for 81 rounds) were nevertheless installed on the experimental Il-2. In addition, the vehicle's armament was strengthened by installing 8 rocket guns for firing PC-132 rockets (the latter could be replaced by PC-82). The ammunition load of the two wing-mounted ShKAS machine guns remained the same - 750 rounds of ammunition for each machine gun. The bomb load also remained the same - 400 kg (overload 600 kg).

In addition, compared to the BS-2 No. 2 with AM-35, the following changes were made on the cannon Il-2 with AM-38:
-in order to improve forward and downward visibility from the pilot’s cockpit, the AM-38 engine was lowered down by 175 mm, with a corresponding change in the contours of the forward fuselage, and the pilot’s seat and canopy was raised by 50 mm;
- to improve the longitudinal stability and controllability of the aircraft on the Il-2, as well as on the TsKB-57, the engine was moved forward by 50 mm, the sweep along the leading edge of the wing consoles was increased by 5 degrees and the stabilizer area was increased by 3.1%, and redesigned aileron compensation;
-a new armored hull has been installed with reinforced armor, based on the results of ground fire tests - the thickness of the rear armored wall has been increased to 12 mm, the upper side walls of the pilot's cabin are made 8 mm thick instead of 6 mm, and the side walls covering the lower gas tank and the side vertical walls those protecting the oil tank are made 6 mm instead of 5 mm;
- for firing from small arms, cannon and missile weapons, a PBP-16 sight is installed, which also allows for bombing from low level flight;
-the control of bomb hatches has been changed - pneumatic fastening of the hatch lock has been added;
- holders for KAS-4 parachute rockets were installed, a KI-10i compass was installed
-installed a photo-machine gun;
-a more powerful petrol pump BNK-10 was installed;
-Individual engine exhaust pipes were installed;
-the air intake pipe is led into the wing tip;
-in place of the air gunner’s cabin, an additional gas tank for 155 kg of fuel was installed, and therefore the total fuel supply on the aircraft increased to 470 kg.

The very first firing in the air from the MP-6 cannons showed the complete unsuitability of the cannon mount developed at the S.V. Ilyushin Design Bureau for the Il-2 - the cartridge clip coming out of the cannon, falling into the air flow during firing, became jammed, and the firing stopped. Only after installing fairings on the wing consoles, protecting the cartridge clips from the air flow, did the latter stop jamming when firing in the air. The large cannon fairings also had significant windage, which greatly worsened the aerodynamics and maneuverability of the vehicle. In addition, the ammunition load of 162 shells for both guns was considered insufficient. An urgent modification of the MP-6 gun for link feeding was required. In the meantime, well-proven, but less powerful 20-mm ShVAK air cannons were installed on the experimental Il-2, and with them, by February 22, 1941, the new attack aircraft successfully flew off the factory test program.

Unfortunately, the guns were installed in place of external machine guns, which cannot be considered correct. The fact is that the installation of guns is only 10 and 43 cm further from the axis of the aircraft’s center of gravity, in the vertical and horizontal planes, respectively, than this could be achieved by installing guns in place of the internal machine guns, approximately 1.5 times, as calculations show, it reduced their combat effectiveness when firing in the air. The decrease in the effectiveness of the guns was mainly due to an increased aiming error (more distant placement of the guns from the aiming line) and an increase in the dispersion of projectiles when firing in the air (wing vibration in this case affects the accuracy of fire more strongly, etc.). Apparently, only a lack of time can explain this, in general, illiterate technical solution adopted by the S.V. Ilyushin Design Bureau when improving the Il-2 - installing guns in place of external machine guns was much simpler and required minimal modifications in the design of the attack aircraft.

During the entire period of factory testing of the Il-2 with the AM-38, the chief pilot of the OKB V.K. Kokkinaki performed 43 flights and it was established that the flight data of the armored Il with ShBAK guns, compared to the TsKB-57, practically did not change and remained at a level acceptable for combat use. Thus, with a take-off weight of 5125 kg (payload weight 1245 kg), in flight near the ground a maximum speed of 422 km/h was achieved, and at an altitude of 2300 m - 446 km/h. At the same time, the maximum flight range near the ground with a normal load was 600 km at an average speed of 357 km/h, and the ascent time to a height of 5000 m was 10 minutes. The take-off length is 250 m, and the run length is 260 m at a landing speed of -140 km/h.

The increase in maximum flight speed at altitude was due to the greater power at this altitude developed by the AM-38 engine installed on the Il-2, compared to the AM-38 installed on the TsKB-57 (1575 hp, instead of 1500 hp), and the decrease in the flight range of an experienced attack aircraft at cruising speed was due to the greater flight weight of the aircraft and the increased specific fuel consumption of the new engine.

The attack aircraft's controllability and maneuverability improved somewhat, but still remained insufficient. There were also serious complaints about the work of the propeller group, mainly related to the lack of development of the AM-38 engine (poor throttle response, poor carburetor adjustment, etc.).

By the way, the AM-38 engine at this very time, that is, in February 1941, was unable to pass 50-hour joint bench tests at plant No. 24.

On February 27, the Il-2 AM-38, after eliminating the defects, was officially transferred to the Air Force Research Institute of Spacecraft for state testing (leading engineer N.S. Kulikov and test pilot A.K. Dolgov). The latter began the very next day and continued until March 20, 1941.

The vehicle was equipped with: the radio station RSI-3 provided by the TGT; two ShVAK cannons with 420 rounds of ammunition; two ShKAS machine guns with 1,500 rounds of ammunition; four guides for PC-132 or PC-82. The bomb load of the vehicle was determined to be 400 kg (at overload - 600 kg).

State tests showed that with a flight weight of 5310 kg with internal bomb suspension (400 kg) without rockets, the maximum ground speed was 419 km/h. With the external suspension of two FAB-250 or four PC-82, the maximum speed of the attack aircraft decreased at the ground by 43 km/h and 36 km/h in both cases, and at an altitude of 2500 m - by 35 km/h and 27 km/h h respectively.

The vehicle's handling and maneuverability have improved significantly. The vertical speed increased to 10.3 m/s. In one combat turn, the attack aircraft gained 300 m of altitude. Takeoff and landing became easier, and with the tail wheel locked, the aircraft behaved steadily during the run.

The pilots noted that changing the engine installation and raising the pilot's seat provided quite acceptable visibility and ease of aiming the aircraft at the target when shooting and bombing from a strafing flight. At the same time, it was indicated that a change in the aircraft's alignment by 2% (29.5%, instead of 31.5%) did not improve the longitudinal stability of the aircraft. With all possible operational alignments, the armored Il, when flying with the stick thrown down, was statically unstable, although the lateral and directional stability were quite satisfactory.

The technical range at the ground, achieved in state tests at a maximum speed of 0.9, was only 508 km, which was 84 km less than that of the BSh-2 (618 km). The decrease in flight range was caused by the increased fuel consumption of the AM-38 engine, compared to the AM-35, and the flight weight (from 4725 kg to 5310 kg), so installing an additional 155 kg gas tank did not solve the problem of increasing the attack aircraft’s flight range.

The State Commission in its final act dated April 16, 1941 on testing the single-seat Il-2 noted that: “...the Il-2 aircraft with AM-38, in comparison with the BSh-2, despite its greater weight, has become faster and more maneuverable, especially at extremely low altitudes... In terms of armament and flight performance data, it fully meets the requirements for a field aircraft battle..."

In conclusion, the State Commission obligated the 39th Aircraft Plant, together with Plant No. 24, to improve the propeller engine group in relation to the oil and gasoline systems, and Plant No. 24 - to speed up work on fine-tuning the AM-38 engine in terms of increasing its service life, improving throttle response and reducing unit costs fuel, after which the engine is submitted for special flight tests at the Air Force Research Institute of Spacecraft.

Simultaneously with the organization of large-scale production of the Il-2, by order of A.I. Shakhurin No. 748 dated December 17, 1940 (in pursuance of the Government Decree of December 15, 1940), five production bases were created for the production of armored hulls for the new attack aircraft: plant named after . Ordzhonikidze (Podolsk), Izhora plant (Leningrad), plant No. 264 (Stalingrad), crushing and grinding equipment plant (Vyksa), Kommunar plant (Zaporozhye) .

By the time the IL-2 was launched into mass production, that is, by February 15, 1941, only the Podolsk plant was able to launch the production of armored hulls for the new attack aircraft, having produced 5 hulls by that day. At the same time, the factory workers expected to reach the milestone of 1 armored hull per day by February 22, and 4 hulls per day by March 22.

Since the deployment of production of the Il-2 aircraft at the NKAP aircraft factories took place simultaneously with state tests, the development process in the series was unsatisfactory. The best results were achieved by the Voronezh 18th aircraft plant named after. K.E.Voroshilova. At the end of February 1941, the assembly of the first serial Il-2 attack aircraft began in the plant's workshops, and on March 1, the lead aircraft arrived at the plant's flight test station. By mid-March, the second production Il was built.

It is interesting to note that in order to debug the technological process of installation on the aircraft in the absence of armored hulls at the plant, local craftsmen made an exact copy of the Il-2 armored hull from boiler iron and then assembled the first mock-up attack aircraft.

On the morning of March 10 (ten days before the end of state tests of the experimental Il-2), the lead production Il, under the control of the head of the plant's LIS, Mr. K.K. Rykov, went on its first test flight - two circles over the airfield with the landing gear extended. A few hours later, K.K. Rykov completed another flight, this time with the landing gear retracted.

The first production Il-2 was armed with two modified 23-mm MP-6 cannons, and the second Il-2 was armed with two VYA-23 cannons. Both types of guns were belt-fed and carried 150 rounds of ammunition for each gun. The third production vehicle was equipped with two ShVAK cannons, the fourth - two 23-mm Salishchev-Galkin SG-23 cannons (TsKB-14 NKV) and starting from the fifth vehicle - only ShVAK cannons (210 rounds per barrel).

In addition, all production Ilahs retained two ShKAS machine guns (1,500 rounds) and increased missile armament - 8 RO-132 (or RO-82). The bomb load in the series remained the same - 400 kg (at overload - 600 kg).

In comparison with the experimental aircraft that passed state and factory tests, the production Il-2s were equipped with a cockpit canopy made of transparent armor of the K-4 type (instead of plexiglass) 64 mm thick, and on the moving part of the canopy - plexiglass and metal sidewalls. At the same time, the side front windows of the moving part moved, which made it possible to open the canopy lock from the outside. Transparent armor was also installed behind the pilot's head, since the canopy of the production Ilovs began to be closed by a short transparent fairing, instead of an opaque one. The total weight of the armored parts was 780 kg.

In this form, practically without any special changes, the single-seat IL-2 was produced until the end of its mass production.

The changes were mainly related to the elimination of some design defects of the attack aircraft, improvement of its individual components and assemblies, improvement of on-board equipment, strengthening of armor and weapons, as well as changes related to the adaptation of the technological process to local production conditions, etc.

From June 5 to June 21, 1941, state control tests of the serial Il-2 (plant No. 182402) with ShVAK cannons built by plant No. 18 (leading engineer N.S. Kulikov, leading test pilot A.K. Dolgov, 23 flights were completed with a total flight time of 16 hours). Compared to the experimental Il, the speed of the production Il-2 at the ground and at an altitude of 2500 m with a flight weight of 5336 kg became slightly higher - 423 km/h and 451 km/h, respectively, and the take-off and run lengths decreased to 410 mi 360 m respectively. The ascent time to a height of 5000 m increased to 10.6 minutes.

For most production vehicles, which were not specially prepared for state control tests, the flight data was somewhat reduced. Take-off weight reached 5750-5873 kg, maximum ground speeds did not exceed 372-382 km/h, and at an estimated altitude of 2500 m - 391-412 km/h. In the best case, ground speed could reach 419 km/h.

In addition, the flight characteristics of the Il-2 largely depended on the option of external suspension of bombs and rockets, but in general they were quite sufficient for combat use of the attack aircraft.

Starting from March 21, 1941, comparative flight tests of the first production Il-2s armed with 23-mm VYa-23 and MP-6 air cannons, which had a belt feed, were carried out in Noginsk at the Research and Production Institute of the Air Force KA.

Due to serious design flaws in both the guns themselves and their gun mounts on the attack aircraft, flight tests were delayed until May 1941. Both guns passed the flight tests satisfactorily, without showing any particular advantages over each other. The basic data of the guns were also almost the same. The State Commission discussed only the increased recoil when firing from the MP-6 cannon. An attempt was even made to determine the recoil forces of both guns, but it was unsuccessful. The flyby pilots had no complaints about the increased recoil force of any of the guns when firing in the air.

Having carefully weighed all the pros and cons, the State Commission recommended the VYa-23 cannon for introduction into service with the Air Force as a more modern and progressive one. The fact is that by this time the reputation of the Taubin cannon was already pretty tarnished. The development of the MP-6 into serial production by NKV factories was difficult; the reliability (for example, in the anti-rebound automatic mechanism) and the quality of serial guns were unsuitable. During the entire period of serial production, not a single MP-6 gun was accepted for military acceptance... On this occasion, at the beginning of May, at a meeting with the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, G.M. Malenkov, the issue of serious modification of all previously released MP guns was sharply discussed -6 regarding their reliability and manufacturability. As a result, the MP-6 was withdrawn from serial production, and by order of A.I. Shakhurin No. 462 dated May 21, 1941, the Head of the 10th Main Directorate of the NKAP B.N. Tarasovich pledged from November 1941 to ensure the production of all Il-2s with two VYa-23 cannons with 150 rounds of ammunition per gun: August - 25, September - 50, October - 100 vehicles and from November - all aircraft.

All work on installing 23-mm Salishchev-Galkin SG-23 air cannons (TsKB-14 NKV) on the serial Il-2 was also stopped, due to the unsatisfactory results of field tests of the latter on the LaGG-3 aircraft, shown in the NIP AV Air Force during the 23rd 04/26/1941

The very first flights of attack air regiment pilots for combat use revealed a number of serious defects and shortcomings of the new Il-2 attack aircraft, sharply reducing, if not nullifying, its combat value as a battlefield aircraft.

ShVAK guns, when firing in the air, gave continuous delays due to the inadequacy of the pneumatic system for reloading the guns, breaks of the rims and transverse ruptures of the cartridges in the chamber. And until the regimental gunsmiths got to the bottom of the reasons for the failures, the ShVAKs were “fiddling around with dead weight.” When the sliders in the reloading mechanism were filed down and the cartridges were generously lubricated, the operation of the guns returned to normal. Finally, all the defects of the weapons were eliminated much later.

In addition, the Il-2 of the first series did not have armor protection on top of the pilot’s head, engine and rear gas tank, since when creating the aircraft it was assumed that enemy fighters would not be able to effectively attack the attack aircraft from above, due to the protection of the first by their own fighters. However, the war made its own adjustments - due The attack aircraft did not receive fighter cover, as a result of which they suffered losses from Luftwaffe fighters.

The aircraft's fuel supply was considered insufficient and did not provide the required range of action, especially against targets in the enemy's tactical depth - motorized infantry and tank columns and airfields.

The first series of IL-2s were filled with gasoline through one neck, which did not allow using all the capabilities of the BZ-38 gas tanker. Full refueling of the aircraft took about 25 minutes. Such a long refueling time turned out to be completely unacceptable due to the lack of fuel tankers in the air regiments and sharply reduced the combat readiness of the latter, especially during repeated combat sorties.

Intensive operation of the Il-2 from field airfields, which were rather poorly prepared in engineering terms and with uneven ground, revealed the insufficient strength of the folding struts of the attack aircraft's landing gear, which led to frequent aircraft breakdowns and sometimes to disasters.

On the IL-2 of the first series, only one electric release device (ESBR-3p) was installed, which allowed both the release of aerial bombs and the launch of rockets. However, in combat conditions, during an attack on a target, the pilot, as a rule, did not have enough time to switch the electric release from one type of weapon to another. Therefore, combat pilots, using the ESBR-3p, launched the PC, and dropped the bombs in one gulp using an emergency bomb release device, which, naturally, sharply reduced the effectiveness of the bombing. Of course, aerial bombs could also be dropped using the ESBR-3p, but only on the second approach, and this contradicted the tactics of the combat use of the Il-2 during this period.

The poor quality of gluing of the front armored glass and its splashing with oil flowing from the propeller hub and the toe of the engine crankshaft led to the fact that the Il-2 pilots could not shoot and bomb accurately.

A significant drawback that significantly reduced the combat effectiveness of air units armed with Il-2 attack aircraft was the lack of gummatic rubber on the wheels of the aircraft landing gear. The rubber inner tubes of the IL-2 landing gear wheels, as a result of pinching between the pads, withstood only 30-40 landings on field airfields, after which they became unusable. In addition, there were very frequent cases of rubber tires and inner tubes of the Ila chassis being shot through while attack aircraft were performing combat missions. The pilot, not knowing which wheel of the landing gear deflated in the chamber, could not confidently counter the sharp turn of the car on landing. As a result, the car broke down. Sometimes the landing ended in disaster. In addition, the lack of a supply of rubber tires and wheel tubes for the Il-2 landing gear in warehouses and units led to unacceptable downtime in wartime for fully combat-ready aircraft.

The undivided dominance of enemy fighters in the air, the absence of a rear firing point on the Il-2 aircraft, as well as poor organization of cover by their own fighters, combined with insufficient tactical and flight training of the pilots and poor group coordination, led to significant losses of vehicles and flight personnel.

As for the effectiveness of defeating German armored vehicles with cannon weapons, it quickly became clear that attacks by German light (Pz.II AusfF, Pz.38(t)AusfC) and medium (Pz.iv Ausf D, Pz.III Ausf G and StuG III Ausf E - assault gun) of tanks by Il-2 attack aircraft, armed with ShVAK cannons, along the column are completely ineffective due to the fact that the frontal armor of German tanks had a thickness of 25-50 mm and the ShVAK cannon shell did not penetrate.

Field tests of the ShVAK cannon when firing at captured German tanks, carried out in June-July 1942 at the NIP AV Air Force KA in accordance with the order of the commander of the KA Air Force No. 46 dated 05.27.1942 showed that the BZ-20 shell of the ShVAK cannon can penetrate armor made of chromium-molybdenum steel with a high (up to 0.41%) carbon content, thickness up to 15 mm (tanks Pz.II Ausf F, Pz.38(t) Ausf C, armored personnel carrier Sd Kfz 250) at meeting angles close to normal from a distance of no more 250-300 m. If you deviate from these conditions, firing from the ShVAK cannon became ineffective. Thus, when the angle of contact of the projectile with the armor increased above 40°, continuous ricochets were obtained even in areas of armor 6-8 mm thick. For example, out of 19 hits received when firing from this gun at the Sd Kfz 250 (approach height 400 m, glide angle 30 degrees, firing range 400 m), there were 6 through holes in the side (armor thickness 8 mm), 4 in engine hood roof (armor thickness 6 mm), 3 ricochets and 6 hits to the chassis. As a rule, hits to the chassis did not cause significant damage to armored vehicles.

When firing at light tanks (approach height 100 m, gliding angle 5-10°, opening fire distance 400 m), out of 15 hits, 3 hits were on the side (armor thickness 15 mm) with one core stuck, one rebound and one armor penetration , which indicates the maximum capabilities of the BZ-20 projectile, 7 hits in the chassis, and the remaining 5 projectiles hit the roof of the tank turrets (2 projectiles in the turret of the Pz.38(t) Ausf C tank and 3 projectiles in the Pz.II Ausf F, armor thickness 10 mm), gave a ricochet. In addition, it is necessary to take into account that most of the side of these tanks, in its lower part, is covered by rollers, wheels, caterpillars and other parts of the chassis, so the pure side armor (15 mm thick) is a small area.

When firing at the German medium tank Pz.III Ausf G under the same conditions, in all 24 hits, not a single armor penetration was obtained.

The conclusions from the tests indicated that firing from an Il-2 aircraft from ShVAK cannons at German light and medium tanks was completely ineffective: “It is ineffective to use Il-2 aircraft armed with ShVAK cannons against tanks, but it is better to use them 5-10 km in the rear against infantry and the fuel supplying the tanks.”

The appearance at the front in August 1941 of Il-2 attack aircraft with VYa-23 cannons of 23 mm caliber, although it increased the overall combat effectiveness of attack air units, was not as strong as we would have liked - the effectiveness of the modified Ilov against Wehrmacht armored vehicles remained low.

Field tests have shown that when firing from VYa-23 cannons with an armor-piercing incendiary projectile BZ-23 from an Il-2 aircraft at glide angles of up to 30° (approach altitude 100-600 m), it is possible to defeat light German tanks of the Pz.II Ausf F and Pz.38(t) Ausf C when a shell hits the side and rear of the tank from a distance of 300-400 m, since the armor thickness in these places is 15 mm. Hitting the roof of the turrets of these tanks (armor thickness 10 mm) from the same distances is also possible, but at dive angles of more than 40°.

Of the 53 hits on these tanks received during 15 sorties, only in 16 cases was there a through penetration (30% of the number of shells that hit the tanks) of the armor, in 10 cases were dents in the armor and ricochets, the rest of the hits were in chassis. The BZ-23's hits to the chassis of the tank did not cause any damage to it. Moreover, all 16 through holes in the armor of tanks occurred during attacks at a planning angle of 5-10° (approach height 100 m, opening fire distance 300-400 m).

Damage to the armor of the Pz.38(t) Ausf E tank with reinforced armor (front of the hull and turret - up to 50 mm, and the side of the hull above the chassis and the side of the turret - up to 30 mm) under the same attack conditions was only possible by destroying the chassis of the tank , where armor 15 mm thick was installed. However, a hit to the clean armor of this part of the tank was unlikely, since a large area was covered by rollers, wheels and tracks.

The frontal armor of all German light tanks, which has a thickness of 25-50 mm, did not penetrate when fired from a VYa-23 cannon with a BZ-23 projectile during an air attack from an Il-2.

As for the medium German tanks of the Pz.lV Ausf D, Pz.III Ausf G and StuG III Ausf E types with side armor thickness of 30 mm, frontal armor - 50 mm, over-engine armor - 15-18 mm and turret roofs - 10-17 mm, which were in service with the Wehrmacht at that time, their armor was not hit from any direction of attack when fired from an Il-2 aircraft by BZ-23 shells from the VYA-23 cannon.

Of the 62 hits on German medium tanks (Pz.III Ausf G and StuG III Ausf E) received during range firing from the air, there was only one through penetration (in armor 10 mm thick), one core jam, 27 hits in the chassis, did not cause significant damage to the tank, the remaining shell hits caused either dents or ricochets.

Analysis of the results of range firing shows that sustained destruction of medium German tanks could be ensured (the roof of the Pz.III Ausf G turret and the over-engine part of the Pz.IV Ausf D tank with an armor thickness of 10 mm) only from a dive at angles of more than 40° from ranges of 300- 400 m. However, piloting the Il-2 attack aircraft in these modes was very difficult, and the likelihood of hitting vulnerable parts of the tanks, due to their small area, was still small.

In other words, the Il-2 attack aircraft, armed with VYa-23 cannons, could only defeat light German tanks, and even then when attacking the latter from behind or from the side at gliding angles of up to 30°. An attack by an Il-2 aircraft on any German tank from the front, both from gliding and from strafing flight, was completely ineffective, and medium German tanks were also ineffective when attacking from behind.

According to test pilots of the NIP AV VVS KA, the most convenient and effective shooting from an Il-2 aircraft from VYa-23 cannons at German tanks, in terms of orientation, maneuvering, time spent on a combat course, shooting accuracy, etc., was firing from gliding at an angle of 25-30° with a gliding entry height of 500-700 m and an entry speed of 240-220 km/h (exit height - 200-150 m). The gliding speed of the single-seat IL-2 at these angles increased slightly - by only 9-11 m/s, which allowed maneuvering for aiming along the sight and track. The total time to attack the target (eliminating lateral slip when turning towards the target, aiming and firing from cannons) in this case was quite sufficient and ranged from 6 to 9 seconds, which allowed the pilot to make two or three aimed bursts with the expectation that it would take to eliminate the lateral It takes about 1.5-2 seconds for an attack aircraft to slide when turning to target, aiming and correcting aiming between bursts also requires 1.5-2 seconds, and the length of the burst does not exceed 1 second (firing from VYa cannons takes more than 1-2 seconds led to a significant disruption of aiming and a sharp increase in the dispersion of projectiles, that is, a decrease in firing accuracy), the starting range of aiming at the tank was 600-800 m, and the minimum opening fire distance was about 300-400 m.

In accordance with the results of aerial firing from an Il-2 aircraft at German tanks, specialists from the NIP AV VVS KA determined the optimal, in their opinion, methods of attacking tank and mechanized columns. The best results were obtained when attacking a column from behind along or from the side at a gliding angle of 30° from altitudes of 500-700 m, the starting range of aiming was about 800 m, and the firing range was up to 200-300 m, aiming was carried out at a separate tank or vehicle from the column. The attack was to be carried out in several passes. Moreover, in the first approach, the blow was delivered to the head of the column, first by firing from RS-mi (launch distance - 600-700 m), and then by firing from cannons. In subsequent approaches, aerial bombs were dropped and fire was fired from machine guns and cannons.

The NIP AV pilots recommended attacking a long unarmored target with an Il-2 aircraft from a strafing flight, firing at the target first from a PC from a distance of 600-700 m, and then from machine guns and cannons from a distance of 400-600 m. Bombing in this case had to be carried out at subsequent approaches, dropping bombs in a series from heights of 100-200 m, using an instantaneous fuse.

Moreover, when attacking such a target with a group of 4-6 Il-2 aircraft, in order to more effectively hit the target, it was proposed that one part of the aircraft attack the target from a strafing flight, firing at it from PC and small arms and dropping bombs with an AV-1 fuse in series (slowing down the fuses 22 sec), and the other part of the attack aircraft, following the first with a short interval, launches an attack from gliding from altitudes of 500-700 m, firing rockets from cannons and machine guns and carrying out bombing at the exit from gliding (instant fuse).

An attack by Il-2 aircraft on infantry and vehicle concentrations is best carried out from a strafing flight and from gliding at an angle of 5-10° from altitudes of 100-200 m, followed by a bombing approach upon recovery from a dive.

On a short target, both armored and unarmored, as well as on point targets (individual tank, vehicle, etc.), an attack with Il-2 aircraft had to be carried out only from a dive at angles of 25-30° from altitudes of 500-700 m .

Calculations based on the results of field tests and analysis of battles show that a pilot with good flight and shooting training, carrying out a salvo launch of 4 PC-82s on an Il-2 from a range of 300 m at a planning angle of 30°, could well hit a medium a German tank of the Pz.III Ausf J type with a probability of 0.08, and with a salvo of 8 PC-82s - with a probability of about 0.25. Performing single or paired PC-82 launches from a range of 600-700 m, as recommended by NIP AB, could ensure that the probability of hitting a tank in the same conditions was only 6-7 times less.

The use of two types of attack aircraft weapons in one run did not allow the second type of weapon to be used with maximum efficiency, since the aiming accuracy in this case was significantly reduced. Indeed, when firing, for example, with RSami from a dive at an angle of 30° (height 600 m), the aiming point must be moved forward from the target by 10 m, while when firing from ShKAS machine guns - by 35 m, from VYa cannons - by 13 m, and from ShVAK cannons - at 40 m. That is, to use these types of weapons simultaneously, it is necessary to aim at different points at the same time, which is practically impossible.

Introducing corrections to aiming after firing from the first type of weapon was, in principle, possible, but for accurate shooting from the second type of weapon, the pilot’s excellent marksmanship training was required. Estimates based on the results of field tests of the influence of pilots’ level of training on shooting accuracy show that the effectiveness of shooting from the second type of weapon decreased by approximately 20-70% (depending on the type of weapon).

An analysis of the combat capabilities of the Il-2 onboard weapons shows that it would be more correct to attack a short target (armored or unarmored) in at least three approaches, gliding at angles of 25-30° from altitudes of 500-700 m, using only one type in each approach weapons. For example, in the first approach, a PC is launched in a salvo of 4 shells from a distance of 300-400 m, then, in the second approach, aerial bombs are dropped at the exit from planning, and starting from the third approach, the target is fired upon with cannon and machine-gun fire from distances no more 300-400 m. An attack on a long target could well be carried out from a strafing flight, as recommended by NIP AB specialists, but necessarily with the separate use of each type of Il-2 weapon at a range of PC salvo launch and the start of machine gun and cannon fire of no more than 400 m .

Thus, the main means of destroying enemy armored vehicles during this period were aerial bombs. At the same time, the best results were achieved using high-explosive bombs of the FAB-100 type.

Indeed, when a FAB-100 exploded at a distance of 1-5 m from the tank, the fragments pierced the armor of medium German tanks such as Pz.IVAusfD, Pz.III Ausf G and StuG III Ausf E up to 30 mm thick and, in addition, the rivets were destroyed from the blast wave and tank welds. Fragmentation bombs of the A0-25c and A0-25m types, as well as high-explosive bombs of the FAB-50, FAB-50m type, ensured the destruction of only light German tanks of the Pz.38(t) Ausf C and Pz.II Ausf F types, penetrating the thick side armor with fragments 15-20 mm with a rupture in close proximity (0.5-1 m) or with a direct hit.

However, the advantage of 100-kg high-explosive bombs was realized only if they were dropped from heights of at least 300-500 m with instantaneous fuses of the APUV type, which contradicted the tactics of the combat use of the Il-2 during this period. The use of the FAB-100 from a strafing flight was possible only with the use of a delayed-action fuse, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of hitting moving targets (motorized infantry, tanks, vehicles, etc.), since during the time the fuse was slowed down (22 sec) the latter managed to drive away at a considerable distance from the place where the bomb fell. In addition, when they hit the ground, the bombs ricocheted and exploded far from the target.

The very first days of combat use of the Il-2 also revealed a serious miscalculation in equipping the aircraft with a bombing sight. It turned out that in relation to the existing tactics of the IL-2, it was impossible to use the PBP-1b sight mounted on the attack aircraft for bombing in horizontal flight (or when gliding up to 5 degrees) at altitudes of more than 25 m (due to the limitation of the field of view by the engine hood), and at lower altitudes, its use was made difficult by the conditions of piloting the aircraft (in this case, all the pilot’s attention was focused mainly on observing the ground). Therefore, the pilots of the attack air regiments were forced to release air bombs according to the time delay, which was tantamount to almost aimless bombing. In addition, the PBP-1b, installed in the pilot's cockpit in front of the armored visor, greatly interfered with the view of the front hemisphere, and the pilot himself often hit his head on the sight when moving, which often led to serious injuries, and during forced landings - even to death. The pilots came up with a decoding of the name of this sight: PBP-1b - a device that hits the pilot painfully once.

For these reasons, on most Il-2 aircraft in combat units, at the insistence of the flight personnel, the PBP-1b sight was removed, and small arms and cannon weapons were fired along machine-gun or cannon tracks (first the machine-gun track was given and only then gun fire was opened).

In order to increase the effectiveness of Il-2 bomb strikes from horizontal flight, in July 1941, the research and development center of the Air Force KA carried out calculations of aiming angles and made special markings on the armored visor and hood of the Il-2 aircraft, increasing the aiming accuracy when bombing from horizontal flight from altitudes of 50, 100, 200 and 300m.

Already on August 6, 1941, all tests were completed and on August 24, the Head of the Air Force Main Directorate approved instructions for bombing from horizontal flight using such marks.

However, these aiming marks could not fully satisfy the requirements of the combat situation, since, on the one hand, they were still not convenient enough to use, and on the other hand, they did not provide the required bombing accuracy.

The results of bombing from an Il-2 in range conditions from horizontal flight using marks on the pilot’s armored visor and engine hood with a single drop of aerial bombs and a series of 4 bombs of the FAB-50 type at a flight speed of 330-360 km/h showed that the probability of a hit one aerial bomb in a strip of 20x100 m from a height of 50 m was on average 0.035 and 0.08 for single and serial bombing, respectively. When the bombing altitude increased to 200 m, the probability of one bomb hitting the same strip decreased to 0.023 and 0.043, respectively.

In real combat conditions, the accuracy of bombing using this method was much worse, since targets on the battlefield (tanks, firing points, etc.) were dispersed over a large area, were, as a rule, well camouflaged and, as a result, difficult to detect from the air .

Based on a study of the combat experience of the first period of the war, the Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Air Force KA in the approximate calculations of the combat capabilities of the Il-2 attack aircraft when operating against tanks in battle formations on the battlefield indicated that to defeat one light tank of the Pz.II or Pz.38 type ( t) it is necessary to send a squad of 4-5 Il-2 aircraft, and to destroy one medium tank of the Pz.IV, Pz.III or StuG III type, 12-15 Ilyushins were already required...

Since August 1941, in order to increase the effectiveness of Il-2 bomb assault strikes, attack air units began to practice the withdrawal of a strike group of attack aircraft by a leader (usually a Su-2, Pe-2 or fighter), flying ahead significantly higher than the group he was directing. Having discovered a target, the leader marked it with a dive or dropped bombs (sometimes AZh-2 ampoules with the “KS” fire mixture), by the explosions of which the attack aircraft were guided. At the signal from the leader, the IL-2 made a “slide” and, having gained altitude, dropped aerial bombs and fired at the target from the PC, and then opened fire from small arms and cannon weapons. In addition to directing a group of attack aircraft to the target, the leaders also distracted the enemy’s attention from the strike group, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the latter’s actions.

Modification: IL-2
Wingspan, m: 14.60
Length, m: 11.60
Height, m: 4.17
Wing area, m2: 38.50
Weight, kg
- empty plane: 3990
-normal takeoff: 5310
Engine type: 1 x PD Mikulin AM-38
-power, hp: 1 x 1575
Maximum speed, km/h
-near the ground: 433
-at altitude: 450
Practical range, km: 638
Rate of climb, m/min: 625
Practical ceiling, m: 7800
Crew: 1
Armament: 2 x 23 mm VYA-23 cannons or 2 x 20 mm ShVAK cannons; 2 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns; 8 RS-132 (or RS-82)
Bomb load: 400 kg (overload - 600 kg).

Il-2 attack aircraft being tested at the Air Force Research Institute.

Pre-production IL-2. Front view.

Il-2 attack aircraft with 23 mm VYa-23 and RS cannons.

Il-2 attack aircraft of the first series.

Il-2 attack aircraft of the first series.

Il-2 attack aircraft of the first series in the parking lot.

IL-2 taxis to the start. Winter 1941

Sturmovik Il-2 in flight.

Winter version of the Il-2 attack aircraft with ShVAK and RS-82 cannons.

Winter version of the Il-2 attack aircraft with ShVAK and RS-82 cannons.

Damaged Il-2 872 ShAP (pilot unknown). August 1941

IL-2 of the first series after a combat flight.

Preparing the Il-2 AM-38 of the first series produced at plant No. 18 for a combat mission.

Refueling the Il-2 attack aircraft with oil.

Refueling the Il-2 attack aircraft with fuel.

Starting the engine on an IL-2 using an autostarter.

The Il-2 attack aircraft is a legendary Soviet armored attack aircraft, the most popular in the world (36 thousand copies, 30% of all USSR combat aircraft in 1941-1945).

“...our Red Army now needs Il-2 planes like air and like bread...” Fragment of Stalin's telegram to the Ilov manufacturing plant

Nicknames:

• working title: BSh-2 (armored attack aircraft);
• NATO index: “Bark” (“Bark”);
• designers: “flying tank”;
• Soviet pilots: “humpbacked” (due to the cockpit being raised for better visibility), “soldier plane”, “Ilyusha”;
• German pilots: “concrete plane” (Betonflugzeug), “Iron Gustav” (Eiserner Gustav);
• German soldiers: “plague”, “black death” (Schwarzer Tod).

Participated:

• in the Great Patriotic War (along the entire front territory);
• in the Soviet-Japanese War.

It has not been used for more than 50 years (last - in 1954 by Bulgaria and Yugoslavia).

Developer: “KB Ilyushin” (aka OKB-240 - Experimental Design Bureau No. 240, Moscow, at that time was named after the party leader Vyacheslav Rudolfovich Menzhinsky), chief designer of the IL-2 Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin.

Aircraft manufacturing plants:

• No. 1 and No. 18 in Kuibyshev (the latter was evacuated from Voronezh);
• No. 30 in Moscow;
• No. 381 in Leningrad and Nizhny Tagil.

History of the Il-2 attack aircraft

The history of the Il-2 aircraft was written during the difficult years of the Great Patriotic War.

Photo	date	Event
	1938	S.V. Ilyushin’s proposal to the government for the production of an already designed two-seat armored attack aircraft
	1939	Experimental aircraft TsKB-55 in a two-seat version. Crew: pilot and gunner-radio operator at the rear (radio communications and machine gun mount for shooting “tails”). For forward shooting - a different machine gun armament.
Bomb armament of the Il-2 attack aircraft - 6 FAB (overload version, the so-called “Stalin outfit”)	October 2, 1939	First flight of the TsKB-55 prototype (aka BSh-2). Test pilot V. K. Kokkinaki
	1940	The IL-2 passed state tests and was put into production in a single-seat version and with reinforced weapons. Reason: speed, climb rate and range are small. Without a second cabin, better aerodynamics and higher speed and altitude. In fact: defenseless against fighters, heavy losses
In 40°C, for 12 hours at a time, women and children (there were only 8% of male workers) produced the Il-2 at the Voronezh Aviation Plant. Quantity at that time was more important than quality.	February 1941	Serial production (Voronezh, plant No. 18). Order of A.I. Shakhurin No. 739 from 12/14/1940
	November 1941	Serial production in Kuibyshev (now Samara). Voronezh plant No. 18 was evacuated to Kuibyshev
	Beginning 1942	Return to the two-seat IL-2. S.V. Ilyushin - 3 days to think, then a drawing: to restore the gunner’s cockpit and the machine gun in the rear hemisphere. The variant was approved and signed for serial production before in-flight testing.
	March 1	The first modified model of the Il-2 attack aircraft
	10th of March	Second modified sample. Next - always doubles
	1942-1945	Serially produced at aircraft factories No. 1 and No. 18 in Kuibyshev (26,888 units), No. 30 in Moscow, No. 381 in Leningrad and Nizhny Tagil (until 1943)
	1942	Drawings of the armored hull covering the gunner's side. The wings are swept back, the center section is moved back, and as a result, only a later modification of the aircraft received an armored hull that protects both crew members
	1944	Release of IL-10 - modification of IL-2, where both cockpits are covered with an armored hull
	1945	Production has ended. Total 36,183 copies

During the liberation of the territory of the USSR from the Nazi invaders, attack aircraft inflicted devastating damage on the enemy. The history of the IL-2 testifies to hundreds of legendary victories on the fronts.

Designer of the Il-2 attack aircraft

The biography of the creator of a new school of aircraft construction is non-trivial. The youngest of eleven peasant children (the village of Dilyalevo, Vologda), Seryozha Ilyushin learned to read at the age of 6, practicing from the Bible (more precisely, from the New Testament) and the literary and political magazine Vestnik Evropy.

After the 3rd grade, he started working: as a laborer, a digger, a milk carrier, a ditch cleaner, a railroad oiler... He mastered flying in the army, then entered the Institute of Red Air Fleet Engineers.

After college, he became chairman of the aircraft section of the Air Force Scientific and Technical Committee, and constructively studied all the best aircraft of that time. From 1935 - chief designer, from 1956 to 1970 - general designer. He created his own school in aircraft manufacturing.

34 awards:

• 3 times - Hero of Socialist Labor;
• 9 times - laureate of awards for the creation and improvement of aircraft (7 Stalin, Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR);
• 8 Orders of Lenin;
• other orders (Suvorov, Red Banner, etc.);
• 14 medals (including 1 gold aviation medal and 8 anniversary medals).

The next episode demonstrates its value. When the experienced (20 years of experience!) pilot Ilyushin almost crashed in his service UT-2, the chief designers were generally forbidden to fly airplanes.

There are 8 serial aircraft in the collection of aircraft produced by Ilyushin:

• attack aircraft Il-2, Il-10;
• bombers Il-4, Il-28;
• anti-submarine IL-38;
• passenger Il-12 (a trendsetter with a nose wheel), Il-14 (whose pilots kissed its wings - it was so good), Il-18 (the first Soviet airliner purchased by other countries), Il-62 (the first intercontinental jet airliner of the USSR);
• many experienced, modified (like Il-20 and Il-20M) and experimental.

Presidential Il-96-300PU (PU = control point, not what you thought)

Performance characteristics of the Il-2 (performance characteristics)

Despite the abundance of modifications to the attack aircraft, the dimensions of the aircraft remained unchanged:

Other technical characteristics of the Il-2 varied depending on the number of cabins, engine and purpose (against what targets):

Parameter	Meaning
Crew	1-2
Engines	AM-38, AM-38F (liquid-cooled V-shaped 12-cylinder), M-82 (air-cooled)
Power	1665-1760 l. With.
Maximum speed	370-433 km/h
Range	638-765 km
Height	5.5-7.8 km
Runway length	335-450 m
Weight	3990-4360 kg
Maximum weight	5310-6160 kg
Armor weight	About 1 t
Bomb weapons	100-600 kg
Missile weapons	0, 4 or 8

Stormtrooper design

History of armoring prototypes and experimental models of the Il-2 (the armor itself is in red)

Armor as part of the structure

The main find of S.V. Ilyushin is armor (4-12 mm in different places) as the power structure of the airframe. The attack aircraft could withstand a hit from a 20 mm cannon shell. The most important parts were armored:

• frame (riveted);
• bow trim;
• middle part of the fuselage;
• pilot's cabin (in later versions - and gunner's cabin);
• engine;
• radiators;
• fuel tanks.

The technological discovery was the streamlined armored hull itself, made of sheets of variable thickness (and in places, for example at the engine, double curvature)

The numbers with arrows indicate the thickness of the outer partitions highlighted in black.

Other parts were also strengthened:

• cabin canopy- made of 6 mm armored glass;
• transparent cabin canopy- 64 mm thick (withstood a point-blank shot of a 7.62 mm armor-piercing bullet);
• chassis- increased strength.

The modified IL-2 canopy protected the pilot from shrapnel, but sometimes jammed, making it impossible for the pilot to get out of the cockpit in a timely manner (it was also impossible to knock out the armored glass)

Thanks for the co-pilot cockpit

The wings remained wooden for a long time, and the rear fuselage was made of duralumin or even (to save money) made of multi-layer plywood, so the shooter survived seven times less often than the pilot. The arrow was protected only by:

• 6 mm armor plate on the tail side;
• 6 mm armored back;
• and a cast-iron frying pan or sheet of iron cleverly placed under the seat.

For 10 sorties on the Il-2 they were awarded a Hero of the Soviet Union.

There was no seat as such in the first models - only a hanging canvas strap. And yet, the two-seat Il-2 was more survivable, since it could fire back at fighters. In single-seat models, the mechanics themselves cut out a hole in the fuselage for the shooter - and they themselves sat down at the somehow installed machine gun.

Only in 1944 did the two-seat Il-2 achieve the required level of alignment, ceased to lag behind single-seat models in speed, and acquired an armored cabin for the gunner.

The wooden “death cabin” of the gunner left him 7 times less likely to survive than the pilot clad in iron armor

Protected air cooled engine

Cooling the engine and protecting the vulnerable radiator found an elegant solution - an air tunnel in an armored hull:

• air intake - from above;
• air outlet - below, under the bottom;
• radiator - across the tunnel.

The two-seater IL-2, although it lost its extra. fuel tank, but began to return to the ground intact much more often

Armament

Maximum load capacity of IL-2 - 800 kg

The armament changed every year - new models were created, old ones were modified, targets changed (tanks, fortifications, manpower, etc.). The basic set usually consisted of the following weapons.

Two wing cannons:

Il-2 wing cannons, bottom view
Il-2 wing cannons produced a little more than 4 kg of lead per second

Wing cannon options and their characteristics:

	SHVAK(Shpitalnogo-Vladimirov Aviation Large-caliber)	VYa(Volkov-Yartsev)	NS-37(Nudelman-Suranov)
On what planes was it installed?	In prototypes	In production aircraft	In anti-tank version
Description	A machine gun with a replaced barrel, the most popular aircraft cannon weapon of the Great Patriotic War	Especially for IL-2	to replace Sh-37 (Shpitalny)
Purpose	Light and medium armored targets, machine gun emplacements, enemy manpower	Protected ground targets, infantry and light vehicles	Ground (armored or not) and air targets (especially bombers).
Caliber	20 mm (20×99 R)	23 mm	37 mm (37x198)
Shells	Armor-piercing incendiary, fragmentation incendiary, 150 pieces per strip	Armor-piercing incendiary, fragmentation-incendiary, fragmentation-incendiary-tracer, 150 pieces per tape	High-explosive fragmentation, armor-piercing tracer, 32 pieces in a tape
Armor penetration	up to 25 mm	Up to 40 mm	up to 45 mm
Weight	40 kg	66 kg	140 kg
Rate of fire	800 per minute	600 per minute	250 per minute
Length	1.7-2.1 m	2.15 m	2.3 m
Quantity	101 thousand	about 65 thousand	About 9 thousand

Firing - electromechanical trigger mechanism.

Two wing belt machine guns ShKAS (Shpitalny-Komaritsky aviation rapid-fire)

Shooting - electric trigger mechanism.

UBT machine gun(universal Berezina turret) for pilot defense

The UBT machine gun served continuously on the IL-2 until the end of the war.

Sometimes, to defend the rear hemisphere, they used air grenades on parachutes, which flew right into the nose of the German pursuing fighters.

Suspended weapons (up to 800 kg).

PTAB (in pilot slang - “cabbage”) was hung on the plane for almost 30 minutes

Options for suspended weapons on the IL-2:

• AOB- aviation fragmentation bombs;
• OFAB- high-explosive fragmentation;
• FAB- high explosive;
• PTAB- anti-tank armor-piercing (since 1943 - 2.5 kg mass 1.5 kg shaped charge);
• phosphorus(drop from 25 m, higher it will evaporate, lower it will splash and damage the aircraft; suspended under the wings);
• incendiary(A3 with kerosene mixture (KS), 1 cassette contains 30 round bombs, also extremely dangerous for the crew and the aircraft).

Bombs of four calibers: 2.5, 50, 100, 250 kg. Most often - 100 kg

Bomb Drop:

• electromechanical bomb releaser (ESBR-3P),
• emergency (ACC),
• in series,
• one by one.

Low efficiency: for 780 sorties - 30 tanks, 16 guns and 60 vehicles

Three types of missiles:

• PC(missile);
• FORS(high explosive fragmentation PC);
• RBS(armor-piercing rocket projectile).

Photos of Il-2 aircraft storming enemy positions

	RS-82, RBS-82	RS-132, RBS-132	M-8	M-13
Airplane capacity	4 or 8
Caliber	82 mm	132 mm	82 mm	132 mm
Weight	7-15 kg	23 kg	8 kg	42 kg
Range	6 km	7 km	5.5 km	8.5 km
Damage radius	6-7 m	9-10 m	3-4 m	8-10 m
Armor penetration	50 mm	75 mm
	Unguided, for air and ground purposes, smokeless powder jet engine

Rockets are an inaccurate weapon (there were no necessary sights), and until 1944 (before armor-piercing ones) they did not help against enemy tanks - they did not penetrate.

The huge PBP-1b (Dive Bomber Sight) sight obscured the view, injured pilots, was expensive and difficult to manufacture. The new BB-1 sight (Vasiliev's sight) won the competition in 1942 and was immediately put into service.

Modifications of IL-2

Picture	Modification	Fundamental differences
	IL-2 (single)	One cabin - only the pilot, sometimes with a dummy rear cannon to scare away the Germans. The wing and tail are wooden, the gas tank is metal. Engine - AM-38 (1685 hp)
	Il-2 (double)	Additional gunner's cabin, canopy, half-turret installation with ShKAS or UBT machine guns
	Il-2 AM-38F two-seat, from July 31, 1942	Uprated AM-38f engine (since 1943 on all Il-2s): increased take-off power: 1760 hp. With.. Low octane gasoline (cheaper). Damping springs and counterbalancer in the steering system
The IL-2 KSS received a new wing with 15° sweep, which improved the balance and restored the alignment to 28%.	IL-2 KSS (wing with "arrow")	Power: 1720 l. With. Fiber gas tanks with a protector compound that thickened in the open air and closed small holes on its own. The metal wing has a lancet design - the alignment is the same as that of the single-seat Il-2 (28%). The sweep angle is 15°. Serial production - from the end of 1943
Spare Il-2 M-82 with new water-cooled engine	Il-2 M-82 (for some time it bore the name IL-4). Il-2 M-82IR (single seat). Experienced, in case of shortage of AM-38F engines. Not useful	Unarmored air-cooled engine M-82; Power: 1675 l. With.. Gas tank: 724 l; armored gunner's cabin with UBT machine gun. New propeller with conical spinner. Armored lantern; speed: 365 km/h
	Il-2 ShFK-37, 9 prototypes for the battles of Stalingrad	AM-38 engine, two 37-mm ShFK-37 air cannons (Shpitalny fuselage-wing)
	Il-2 NS-37 (anti-tank version)	Double, AM-38F engine, two 37-mm 11P-37 cannons, 50 rounds each, no rockets.
	IL-2 NS-45, Experienced - low efficiency and high recoil of guns	Two wing cannons NS-45 (45 mm)
	Il-2T (1944)	Il-2 without VYA-23 cannons. Only 3 machine guns: 2 wing and 1 rear gunner + small torpedo 45-36ANyu
	Il-2I (bomber fighter). Experienced, single-seat, on special order, for air defense suppression	Engine AM-38F; the weight is 760 kg lower due to the removed weapons (machine guns, aerial bombs and shells); the wing is reinforced; speed: 415 km/h
	IL-2KR (firing spotter for artillery). In small series on special order + converted independently from IL-2	The external difference is the radio antenna on the canopy; in the cockpit behind the armored back there is a walkie-talkie. There is a camera in the tail, the fuselage gas tank is reduced
	IL-1 (single seat), Special order, experienced	Very maneuverable, for low and medium altitudes; engine: AM-42. All-metal wing with smaller area; The chassis is completely hidden in the center section. Speed: 580 km/h
IL-8 is a serious four-propeller modification of the IL-2.	IL-8, 2 prototypes	1 ton of bombs + 8 rockets. Engine AM-42. Power: 2000 hp Fully armored cabin for 2 people. Speed: 470 km/h
	IL-8-2, 1 prototype	Engine: AM-43 (uprated AM-42). New four-blade propeller. New armored hull, engine cooling system, turret. UB machine gun, NS-23 cannon. 1 t of bombs in bomb bays + 1 t on the suspension.
	IL-10,	Double all-metal, gunner's cabin armored. The thickness of the engine hood armor on the bottom and sides has been increased to 8 mm instead of 4 mm on the Il-2. The caliber of defensive weapons has also been increased - from 12.7 mm to 20 mm. Wing area: 30 m2 Engine: AM-42. Speed: 507 km/h.

Among other things, there were several prototypes with different weapons (blister machine gun, shielded turret, etc.), an ASh-82 engine, as well as a simplified training model of the Il-2 U.

Il-2 with an air-cooled engine ASh-82 (the first in the series with fuel injection)

Combat use

Method of attack	Additional details	Efficiency
Alternate attacks on the front lines		Ineffective, since the forward detachments are always ready for an attack: they successfully hid from the first approach, and even fought back on the second
Night		They quickly refused: the flames of the explosions blinded the pilots + the landing was extremely difficult
Dropping bombs in a shallow dive	400-1000 m, 10 o	Effective - against columns on the march or at crossings, artillery and congestion of vehicles. It is difficult to both aim at tanks and assess the damage (usually it was overestimated)
Dropping bombs from strafing flight	15-50 m
Air battle	After dropping ammunition, the IL-2 became very maneuverable	High; the speed was enough even against Ju-52 transport vehicles, and the armor protected against onboard machine guns
“Put on bast shoes”	Lower the landing gear and, taking advantage of the external similarity, join the group of “sneakers” - Ju 87 bombers.	Popular and quite working method
Topmast jumping bombing	Air Forces of the Northern, Baltic and Black Sea Fleets; bombs are dropped from 20-40 m 0.6-1 km from the target and “pancake” jump across the water surface to the ship	An almost win-win way of sinking ships, in which the plane remains intact, since at such a distance they could not shoot it from a ship
"All at once"	Fashion 1944 – unexpected appearance and release of all bombs and PCs at once + fire from cannons and machine guns	Very high efficiency

As a transport vehicle, the IL-2 could carry 4 more people - in chassis gondolas! Instead of bombs, containers with supplies, medicine, and ammunition were sometimes hung - humanitarian cargo for the front line. And although they were dropped from a low altitude, they often crashed.

“...Il-2 was resistant to damage, but the iron. You can’t make a hill on it, it takes ten minutes to climb a thousand meters with bombs...” From the review of veteran N.I. Purgin

Comparison of damage efficiency of wing cannons:

Losses during the war:

• 23 thousand aircraft;
• 7.8 thousand pilots from 356 air regiments.

Combat damage: every second flight (they even returned with 500+ holes in the wing and fuselage). Survival rate: 1 irreparable loss per 53 missions.

The survivability of attack aircraft is lower than other aircraft:

• were used at low altitudes and collected fire from all enemy guns;
• incorrect tactics of use (picking one at a time, along the front line of defense, always ready to attack) - effectiveness is 1% instead of the expected 5%.

Reconstructed view of the real Il-2 by V. I. Mykhlik (1944, Leningrad Front)

Advantages and disadvantages

IL-2 proved to be a reliable comrade in battle:

• tenacious- repaired in the field;
• The armor protected from bullets fighters, even armor-piercing ones (there is nothing to say about machine guns);
• The armor saved the crew(although badly beaten, but alive) during an emergency landing;
• Armor- not additional weight, but a structural element;
• Powerful engine(even the first AM-38 produced 1665 horsepower (the Yak-1 at the same time flew at only 1100 hp), and subsequent ones produced 2000 hp);
• Good speed for its class (heavily armored attack aircraft) - 450 km/h (analogs had only 300 km/h). Most often, he managed to destroy ground vehicles before they returned fire or had time to make enough holes;
• An abundance of different weapons up to phosphorus cumulative shells made it possible to fight various targets - air, sea, ground, armored and unarmored.

IL-2 was returning home without a piece of its wing...

...and even without a piece of its tail, the Il-2 carried the pilots to the airfield.

There were also disadvantages:

• the armor could hardly withstand anti-aircraft shells;
• could not escape from enemy fighters for long;
• was clumsy and unstable when fully loaded;
• the wooden tail and wings were easily shot off;
• unarmored gunner's position;
• poor workmanship in the first years - mechanics had to make modifications on site;
• very low qualifications of pilots - they did not have time to train them;
• poorly developed tactics in the first years - they did not have time to accumulate experience;
• low effectiveness of aerial bombs - good sights did not appear immediately; it was difficult to drop them accurately during a dive, as well as to assess the damage.

With all its shortcomings, it was the best - and for those times the most innovative - air weapon that really saved the country and brought Victory closer.

IL-2 has not been forgotten to this day - it appears in many war games (“IL-2: Winged Predators”, “IL-2: Battle of Stalingrad” (BZS), “WarThunder”, etc.), and monuments to it are located in 5 cities of Russia. The restored version took part in the MAKS-2017 motor show (the other is in the possession of a foreign buyer).

Video about IL 2

A half-hour training film from 1943 for pilots about the operation of the Il-2

Documentary film about the Il-2 attack aircraft from the series “Secret Test Site”

Documentary film about the Il-2 attack aircraft from the “Legendary Aircraft” series

Documentary film about the Il-2 attack aircraft from the “Weapons of Victory” series

Combat use of IL-2

Flights of the IL-2 that came back to life

Dear aviators!

Today we will talk about the legendary USSR aircraft - attack aircraft IL-2.

Il-2 - Soviet attack aircraft ("Humpbacked"). An aircraft from the Great Patriotic War, created at OKB-240 under the leadership of Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin. IL-2 is the most massive combat aircraft in history. More than 36,057 units were produced by the Soviet Union.

IL-2 took part in battles in all theaters of military operations of the Great Patriotic War, as well as in the Soviet-Japanese War. In February 1941, serial production of “Humpback” aircraft began. The first production IL-2s were manufactured in Voronezh at plant No. 18, which was subsequently evacuated to Kuibyshev in 1941. Il-2 was mass-produced at Aviation Plant No. 1, also in the city of Kuibyshev, and at Aviation Plant No. 30 in Moscow. For some time during 1941-42, the aircraft was produced by plant No. 381 in Leningrad and Nizhny Tagil.

Armored hull IL-2

Faced with heavy losses of the Il-2, which did not have defensive weapons, the Air Force demanded that Ilyushin again make the aircraft a two-seater, which was implemented by the end of 1942. However, it was no longer possible to change the armored hull, so the gunner was located outside the armored hull and was protected only by a 6-mm armor plate on the tail side. At the same time, the pilot’s protection from the rear hemisphere was carried out by transverse armor of the “HD” brand, 12 mm thick (+6 mm armored back), which was part of the armored hull design. Only the later modification of the aircraft, the Il-10, whose production began in 1944, received an armored hull protecting both crew members.

IL-2 engine

AM-38 - piston, 12-cylinder with 60° V-shaped camber of liquid cooling cylinders, power in various versions from 1620 to 1720 hp. pp., developed at the Mikulin Design Bureau.

Armament of the IL-2 attack aircraft

• 2 guns in the wing consoles (initially - 20 mm ShVAK, in the main series - 23 mm VYa, in the anti-tank version - 37 mm), a sample with 45 mm guns was tested.
• 2 ShKAS machine guns (wing-mounted)
• Air bombs, PTAB containers
• RS-82 or RS-132 rockets
• UBT machine gun with a caliber of 12.7 mm. (Only on the two-seat version of the IL-2 attack aircraft).

• IL-2 (single)
• Il-2 (double)
• Il-2 AM-38F
• IL-2 KSS (wing with "arrow")
• Il-2 M-82
• Il-2 ShFK-37
• IL-2 NS-37
• IL-2 NS-45
• Il-2M/Il-4
• IL-2T

Loss of IL-2 aircraft in World War II

In total, during the years 1941-1945, the USSR lost 23.6 thousand attack aircraft, of which 12.4 thousand were combat losses. The overall survival rate of the Il-2 during the war was about 53 sorties per one irretrievable loss. Throughout the war, the survival rate in attack aircraft was lower than in bomber and fighter aircraft, despite the fact that the Il-2 was superior in protection to all Soviet aircraft. The reason for this is the tactics of use. Most of the time, the Ilas hung above the front line at low altitudes, attracting the fire of all enemy anti-aircraft artillery. According to an analysis of the combat work of the assault units of the 3rd Air Army in the Vitebsk, Polotsk, Dvina, Bauska and Siauliai operations, the overall level of combat losses of the Il-2, characterized by irretrievable losses, amounted to 2.8 percent of the total number of sorties. At the same time, combat damage was recorded in 50 percent of sorties. There have been cases when an aircraft independently returned from a combat mission, having more than 500 holes in the wing and fuselage. After refurbishment carried out by army field workshops, the aircraft returned to service.

Il-2 also took an active part in the fight against the enemy as part of the air forces of the Baltic, Black Sea and Northern fleets. Along with traditional “work” against ground targets and targets (enemy airfields, troop and anti-aircraft artillery positions, ports and coastal fortifications, etc.), attack aircraft also effectively attacked surface targets using top-mast bombing. For example, during the fighting in the Arctic, the 46th ShAP of the Northern Fleet Air Force had more than 100 sunk enemy ships.

Technical characteristics of IL-2

• Crew: 2 people
• Length: 11.6 m
• Wingspan: 14.6 m
• Height: 4.2 m
• Wing area: 38.5 m²
• Empty weight: 4,360 kg
• Curb weight: 6,160 kg
• Maximum take-off weight: 6,380 kg
• Armor weight: 990 kg
• Engines:: 1× liquid-cooled V-shaped 12-cylinder AM-38F
• Thrust: 1× 1720 hp (1285 kW)

Flight characteristics of IL-2

• Top speed: 414 km/h
• at an altitude of 1220 m: 404 km/h
• at the ground: 386 km/h
• Flight range: 720 km
• Take-off length: 335 m (with 400 kg bombs)
• Rate of climb: 10.4 m/s
• Service ceiling: 5500 m
• Thrust-to-weight ratio: 0.21 kW/kg

Technical description of IL-2 type 3 and IL-2

The IL-2 type 3 was a single-engine, two-seat monoplane with a low wing and retractable landing gear. Early production aircraft had a mixed construction of metal and wood, while later aircraft were all-metal. The aircraft was primarily intended for use as an armored attack aircraft, but there were versions of an artillery spotter and front-line reconnaissance aircraft, as well as a trainer UIl-2 with dual controls.

The oval-section fuselage consisted of two parts. The nose part was an armored hull, consisting of steel plates 4-6 mm thick, connected to each other with rivets and bolts, which protected the vital parts of the aircraft: the engine, cabin, gas and oil systems and cooling system.

The front cockpit housed a height-adjustable pilot's seat made of duralumin. The parachute was placed in the seat cup, the pilot was fastened with seat belts. Behind the front cabin there was a rear gas tank, protected by armor plates 6 and 12 mm thick. The shooter, with his back to the pilot, sat on a canvas strip and was protected on the tail side by only 6 mm armor plate. The canopy of the pilot's cabin consisted of two sections: a fixed visor, the front panel of which was made of 64 mm K-4 armored glass, and a sliding part, also made of armored glass and armor. In addition, 8 mm armored glass protected the pilot from behind. The gunner's cockpit canopy, which folded to the starboard side, had no armor protection.

On the UIl-2 training units, an instructor’s cabin with a second set of controls was equipped in the gunner’s position. These aircraft usually had armored glazing, although there were also aircraft with a partially armored canopy.

Despite the fact that the Il-2 Type 3M, armed with a bunk of 37-mm NS-37 cannons, was built quite a lot (1,175 aircraft from March 1943 to January 1944, vehicles with both straight wings and "arrow" "), photographs of them are extremely rare. The picture shows an aircraft from a combat unit.

Il-2KR prototype during testing at the Air Force Research Institute, 1943.

Il-2 Type 3M during testing in the winter of 1943/44. Due to poor synchronization and high recoil of the guns, aimed fire in bursts was almost impossible. Nevertheless, these vehicles are responsible for a large number of destroyed enemy equipment.

On the UIl-2 training units, an instructor's cabin was placed instead of the gunner. The armament was reduced to a pair of machine guns, dual controls and a new shaped rear light were installed. The radio antenna mast was moved to the canopy of the cockpit. Each attack aircraft regiment usually had 1-2 such aircraft.

The tail section, of both wooden and all-metal construction, consisted of 16 frames and 12 stringers and was attached to the armored hull with bolts and rivets. The shock absorber of the tail wheel strut was attached to frame number 14. The skin of the wooden tail section consisted of molded sheets of birch plywood 2-5 mm thick. The fuselage ended with a tail fairing. On the left side, behind the wing fairing, there was a small round hatch through which access to the radio station and other auxiliary equipment was provided.

Tail unit. The horizontal tail spars, which consisted of two consoles, were attached to the fuselage frame with four bolts in the area of ​​frames 11 and 14. Each stabilizer console had two spars and ten duralumin ribs with metal sheathing. Fairings were installed at the junction of the fuselage and the horizontal tail. Initially, the keel was made integral with the rear wooden part of the fuselage and had a fabric covering with glue. Since 1945, an all-metal keel (together with the fuselage) was introduced. In the post-war years, the Ikarus plant in Yugoslavia produced all-metal tail sections for the modification of aircraft that had a mixed design. The direction and elevator rudders had a metal frame and fabric covering. The rudders were weight balanced: balancers were installed on the leading edge of the elevators and on the top of the rudder. The control surfaces were equipped with trim tabs, which were controlled from the cockpit.

On the first production IL-2s, the cockpit canopy did not have armor, which was again partially introduced on later production vehicles, also equipped with a pair of guides for launching rockets.

The nose of the aircraft with exhaust pipes and cooling air outlet.

The left side of an attack aircraft undergoing restoration at the Smithsonian Institution in the USA.

The wing of the cantilever structure consisted of a center section and trapezoidal detachable parts; a Clark YH profile was used with a relative thickness of 14% at the root to 8% at the ends. The sweep angle of the detachable wing parts was 15 degrees, the transverse V was 3.55 degrees. The center section, made in the form of a single block, was attached to the fuselage and ended with landing gear fairings. Its design consisted of two spars and ten ribs and included two bomb bays. An armored oil cooler basket made of 6 mm armor was located under the center section. The lower gas tank was located above the oil cooler, and compressed air cylinders were installed behind the bomb bays. The latter were accessed through six removable panels on the upper surface of the center section. The fairings into which the main landing gear were retracted existed in at least two different design options.

Detachable parts of the wing with rounded tips, the power set of which consisted of front and rear spars and 17 ribs, were attached to the center section with four bolts. The joint was covered with metal tape. Detachable parts could be made either of wood (except for the spars) with plywood sheathing 2-4 mm thick, attached with glue or rivets, or had an all-metal structure (aircraft produced from mid-1944) with duralumin sheathing 1-2 mm thick mm. Cannons and machine guns were located between ribs 6 and 8, accessed through hatches in the lower surface of the wing. Ammunition for the guns was loaded through hatches in the upper surface of the wing, and machine guns were loaded from below.

On the trailing edge of the wing there were two-section metal shields (one on the center section and one on the detachable part), mechanically connected to each other. The pilot could control the flap position using a pointer mounted on the left side of the center section, between the 4th and 5th ribs. The Frize-type ailerons on the detachable parts of the wing (from the 11th rib) were two-section, of a metal structure with one spar and ribs and covered with fabric. The ailerons had weight compensation and trim tabs (the latter only on the inner sections).

The starboard side of the aircraft I.F. Pavlova. The skin panels and the airfield power socket directly above the emblem's boom are clearly visible.

View of the bow from below. Three hatches in the armored hull for access to the engine and the carburetor suction pipe on the right wing are visible.

The left side of the central part of the fuselage, both cockpits are open. A round hatch is visible under the fender flap.

Rear view of the plane. The shape of the wing fairing is clearly visible.

The back side of the propeller blade. The sighting line that was part of the BB-I sight is visible.

Production of Il-2 Type 3, Il-2 Type 3M, Il-2KR and UIl-2 aircraft

Modifications	Factory	1943	1944	1945	Factory total
IL-2 Type 3, IL-2KR	No. 1 Kuibyshev	4257	3710	957	8924
IL-2 Type 3. IL-2	No. 18 Kuibyshev	4702	4014	931	9647
IL-2 Type 3. IL-2 Type 3M	No. 30 Moscow	2234	3377	2201	7812
In just a year		11193	11101	4089

In total, in 1943-45, 26,383 two-seat Il-2s with straight wings and wings with an arrow were produced (about 17,000 of the latter type).

An air pressure receiver was installed on the right wing, attached to the 17th rib of the detachable part. A landing light was located at the leading edge of the left wing.

The landing gear consisted of main, pneumatically retractable supports and a non-retractable steerable tail support. The main support consisted of two struts with hydraulic shock absorbers, a folding strut and a cylinder for lifting and releasing the landing gear. When cleaning, the main strut turned back up into the fairing, and its niche was closed with two flaps. In the retracted position, the wheel protruded beyond the contours of the fairing, providing additional safety in case of belly landing. Special locks held the supports in the extended and retracted position. Wheels with pneumatics measuring 800 x 260 mm or 880 x 260 mm were used. The wheel brakes were pneumatic. The retraction or extension of the landing gear was controlled using a lever on the left side of the pilot's cabin. The position of the landing gear could be controlled using warning lights in the cockpit and mechanical indicators (“soldiers”) on the upper surface of the wing, connected to the supports by rods.

The tail support, attached to frame 16 of the fuselage, was non-retractable. It had a shock absorber and was equipped with a pneumatic tire measuring 400 x 150 mm. The tail support was controllable and had a locking mechanism in the neutral position.

The power plant consisted of one 12-cylinder water-cooled engine AM-38F with a cylinder capacity of 46.7 liters and a compression ratio of 6.0. The motor was attached to two profiles and all the main forces from it were transferred by half-frames and brackets to the lower armored plating. Each cylinder block had six exhaust pipes along the sides of the fuselage. The engine was protected from below and from the sides by 4 mm armor, and from above it was covered with a duralumin hood. Access to the power plant was through three hatches at the bottom of the armored hull and two side panels. To start the engine, a pneumatic starter with a PN-1 pump was used, and when starting using airfield equipment, the starter was connected to a ratchet on the propeller fairing. The three-blade variable pitch propeller AB-5L-158 had a diameter of 3600 mm.

The left part of the wing center section is from above. Hatches for access to the bomb bay are visible.

The right part of the center section with the landing gear position indicator. Right: left side of the center section. An indicator of the position of the landing flaps, located between the 4th and 5th ribs, is visible at the trailing edge.

Fairing of the left landing gear, front and rear views. The fairings protected the aircraft from damage when landing “on its belly” and had an asymmetrical shape when viewed from below.

The left part of the center section and the chassis fairing. A metal mite is visible that covered the junction of the center section and the detachable part of the wing.

The left detachable part of the wing (GLW) with a Frize-type aileron. The ring for mooring the aircraft on the ground is visible. Right: the tip of the aileron, which had a metal frame and fabric covering.

Technical characteristics of Il-2 Type 3, Il-2 Type 3M and UIl-2 aircraft

Length	11650 mm
Wingspan	14600 mm
Wing chord, center section	3200 mm
Horizontal tail span	4900 mm
Height	4170 mm
Angles of installation and twist of the wing/horizontal tail, degrees	0/-1 ±1.40
Transverse V wing/horizontal tail, degrees	3.55/0
Aileron deflection angles, degrees	+25 -15
Deflection angles of flaps during takeoff/landing, degrees	-17/-45
Elevator deflection angles, degrees	+28/-16
Rudder deflection angles, degrees	±27
Wing area	38.50 m?
Aileron/flap area	2.84/4.20 m?
Horizontal tail area	7.50 m?
Vertical tail area	2.39 m?
Weight
empty - Type 3 and Type ZM/UIl-2	4625/4300 kg
normal take-off - Type 3/Type 3M/UIl-2	6160/5500/5090 kg
maximum takeoff - Type 3/Type 3M/UIl-2	6355/6160/5355 kg
Maximum speed
at sea level - Type 3/Type 3M/UIl-2	391/375/396 km/h
at an altitude of 1500 m - Type 3/Type 3M/UIl-2	410/390/414 km/h
Cruising speed	275 km/h
Landing speed - Tin 3/Type 3M/UIl-2	145/136/140 km/h
Climb time
1000 m	2.2 - 2.6 min
3000 m	7-8 min
5000 m	15-20 min
Maximum/working ceiling	6000/500-5400 m
Flight duration	2.75 h
Range with normal load - Type Z/Type 3M	685/665 km

Technical characteristics of the Mikulin AM-38F motor

View of the trailing edge of the wing from below, showing the location of the landing flaps. After the introduction of the wing with the “arrow”, a triangular sheet of skin appeared in the area of ​​the trailing edge of the outer flap, since its position remained unchanged, as on the old straight wing.

Landing flaps in open position. Their internal structure and hinges with control rods are clearly visible.

Air was supplied to the carburetor through the suction pipe, located in the nose of the center section on the right side of the fuselage, which was equipped with an anti-dust filter developed by TsAGI. When the aircraft moved along the ground, the filter flaps were closed, and air was sucked in only through the side filter meshes, where it was cleaned. When retracting the chassis, the flaps opened and air entered the carburetor through the front part of the pipe.

The water radiator was located in the air duct behind the engine, and the oil radiator was located in an armored basket under the center section. Each radiator had its own outlet with a controlled damper. The expansion tank of the cooling system was installed in front of the engine, while oil tanks with a capacity of 57 and 24 liters were located on the sides, under the exhaust pipes.

The fuel was placed in three protected tanks with a total capacity of 749 liters - an upper 175-liter gas tank, a lower 269-liter gas tank under the cockpit floor and a rear gas tank with a capacity of 305 liters. If necessary, the tanks could be filled with carbon dioxide from a two-liter cylinder installed on the left side of the rear gas tank. The aircraft could also carry two external fuel tanks with a capacity of 150 liters each.

The pneumatic system was used to start the engine, extend and retract the landing gear, control the brakes and flaps, and also to reload the weapon. Pressure was provided by two compressed air cylinders (50 and 150 atm.). The low pressure cylinder was used only to start the engine, while the high pressure cylinder served all other systems. During the flight, the starting balloon was pumped up from the AK-50 engine-driven compressor. In an emergency, a low pressure cylinder could be used to release the landing gear and flaps.

The 24-volt DC electrical system, made according to a single-wire circuit, was powered by a GS-type generator mounted on the engine or a 12-A-10 battery with a capacity of 10 ampere hours. The system served lighting lamps, a landing light, instrument lighting, weapons, radio equipment and, in the case of the Il-2KR, cameras.

The nose of the aircraft with air intakes for the cooling system and a three-bladed AB-5L-158 propeller. A ratchet for the airfield starter is installed on the spinner. Pay attention to the inscription on the blade.

Starboard side of the bow. The tubular slope, the rear part of the cylinder block and the radiator air duct of the cooling system are visible.

The top hood panel has been removed. Visible are the ignition system wires going to the cylinder blocks, and the tubes of the fuel supply and cooling systems. In front of the engine there was an expansion tank for the cooling system.

Top view of the bow. The air supply channel to the cooling system intake is visible.

Options for suspended weapons

IL-2M type 3

UIl-2

Suspended weapons

The front part of the armored hull (view from the starboard side), formed from armor plates 4-6 mm thick. On each side there was one rectangular hatch, through which access was provided to the oil tanks located on the sides of the engine.

View from the left side. Note the additional plate riveted to the hatch, which, when closed, covered the hole around the exhaust pipes.

Open central hatch at the bottom of the forward fuselage. The oil drain valve is visible.

The panel on the left side, on which there was a knockout for air outlet, has been removed. The rear of the cylinder block and exhaust pipes are visible.

Flight view of the left boom bay, divided into two sections.

The front wall and the top of the outer section of the left bomb bay, the power kit is clearly visible.

Internal section of the right bomb bay with the DER-21 holder installed. The photographs were taken before the restoration of the aircraft, when the bomb bays still had their factory paint.

Lower navigation light on the lower wing, mounted directly on the access hatch.

Mechanical landing gear position indicator (soldier) on the left wing.

Another photo clearly shows the braces of the landing gear and the shape of the wings. Pay attention to the tread of tires produced in Yaroslavl.

General view of the chassis, which had a wide track and made it possible to use the aircraft from airfields with poor coverage.

Recess of the landing gear scion, bottom view, the internal power set is clearly visible.

The rear part of the chassis fairing with a cutout for the wheel. A broken strut, a lock and the cylinder that controls it are visible.

The rear wall of the right landing gear niche with the landing gear retraction/release cylinder.

The front part of the left chassis niche with mounting of shock absorber struts and control rods for the doors and a mechanical position indicator.

Instrument panel of IL-2 Type 3. The main flight instruments are grouped in the center, and instruments related to the engine are located on the left. The magneto switches and starter start button are located at the bottom center. On the front left console there is an RNA-10 indicator, and a round handle to the right of it was used to change the propeller pitch.

The cockpit of an attack aircraft located in NASM, USA. An indicator block is installed above the instrument panel. In the right corner of the cabin you can see the fuel pump and the emergency landing gear release lever.

The right side of the cockpit with the ESBR-ZP bomb release control unit (the second unit, intended for launching missiles, has been removed), the oil cooler flap control handle, the gun reloading lever and the tail landing gear clamps. ___

General view of the gunner's cabin, who sat on a canvas belt and was protected only by the rear armored partition.

Two missiles of different calibers under the wing of the Yugoslav Il-2 Type 3. The smaller missile is the RS-82, and the larger one is probably the Yugoslavs’ own post-war development. The launcher is covered with a fairing.

Unguided rocket (missile) RS-82. The maximum flight range of the RS-82 was 6.2 km, and for the RS-132 it reached 7.1 km.

Below: Il-2 armed with ROFS-132 missiles. The effectiveness of the first RSs was low, but it increased after the adoption of armor-piercing rockets RBS-82 and RBS-132. The RO launcher (missile gun) was either a simple pipe or a beam of an inverted T-shaped section, which on late-release attack aircraft was covered with fairings to reduce drag.

The figures show the two types of missiles most widely used on the Il-2 - PC-132 and RS-82. Usually they fired at the target from a distance of 400 - 500 m. Note the differences in the design of the launchers.

Suspension of bombs of 50 and 100 kg caliber and KMB containers into the bomb bay was carried out using a standard BL winch. The photograph clearly shows the AP U V fuse mounted on the bomb.

A pair of DAB-100-80F smoke bombs (left) and two high-explosive bombs - FAB-50sh and FAB-50se.

Small bomb cassette (SMB): 1 – small-caliber fragmentation bombs AO-2.5 sh, 2 – internal holder DER-21, 3 – struts, 4 – cassette body (a shortened version is shown). When using the KMB, the bomb bay doors were removed.

The control system is of a conventional mechanical type with a control handle and pedals connected to the steering surfaces by rods and cables. On the control handle there were triggers for cannons and machine guns, rockets and bombs, as well as a brake lever. The adjustable pedals tilted toward the support on the cabin floor. The movement of the control stick and pedals was transmitted through rods and levers - rods went to the ailerons behind the rear spar, and to the tail unit - along the sides (the elevator was controlled by rods, and the rudder had cable wiring). The elevator control was duplicated, and a counterbalancer was included in the wiring diagram. The trim tab controls were located on the left side of the cockpit.

Weapons and equipment. The built-in armament consisted of two 7.62-mm belt-fed ShKAS machine guns and two 23-mm VYa cannons installed in detachable parts of the wing (the machine guns are closer to the fuselage). The ammunition was located in the compartments between the wing spars, on the outside of the weapon, and amounted to 750-1,000 rounds of ammunition for each machine gun and 150-180 rounds per barrel for cannons. Il-2 type 3 aircraft were armed with a pair of 37-mm NS-37 cannons installed in underwing containers with 50 rounds of ammunition per barrel. This modification retained the wing-mounted ShKAS machine guns used for sighting. The guns from the UIl-2 training units were removed, leaving only machine guns. The weapon was released electrically for machine guns and electro-pneumatically for cannons using triggers on the control handle.

The aircraft could carry a wide range of bombs, located in two bomb bays in the center section (the bomb bays were divided longitudinally into two cells) and on two external hardpoints located on the wing power ribs between the bomb bay cells. Usually, up to 300 kg of bombs were placed in the internal bomb bays, but when the Il-2 type 3 was overloaded, it could carry up to 600 kg of bombs (the bomb load of the Il-2 type 3M and UIl-2 was limited to 200 kg).

FAB-100M high-explosive bombs prepared for suspension on an attack aircraft. DER-21 holders are already installed on them.

Suspension for a high-explosive bomb FAB-100sv.

AO-2.5sl fragmentation bomb

Closed doors of the left bomb bay. Each pair of doors was equipped with a simple lock. A DZ-40 bomb rack could be installed on the power rib between the sections of the bomb bay, secured using racks. After the external bomb load was released, the racks folded, allowing the load to be released from the bomb bay.

Details of the DZ-40 bomb rack and its release mechanism. Bombs of 50, 100 and 250 kg caliber could be suspended on external nodes.

The bomb bay doors are of a different design than in previous photographs.

Bombs weighing from 1 to 25 kg could be placed in cassettes of small KMB bombs in bomb bays or loaded directly onto the closed doors of the bomb bay through hatches in the upper surface of the center section. The number and caliber of bombs varied depending on the type of mission and other conditions and, in the case of the IL-2 type 3, ranged from 192 to 12 pieces (normal load) or from 272 to 24 (overload). Fragmentation (AO-2.5, -8, -10, -15, -20 and -25) or incendiary (ZAB-1, -2.5 or -10) bombs were often used. The most effective weapon of the attack aircraft was the small-sized anti-tank aerial bombs with cumulative action PTAB 2.5 - 1.5. AZh-2 incendiary ampoules with kerosene were also used. The attack aircraft could carry 160-216 PTABs or 200 AZh-2s.

The outer cell of the right bomb bay, rear view in flight. The hardpoint for the internal bomb rack is visible.

External cell of the right bomb bay, forward view of the flight. Through hatches located in front and behind the bomb rack suspension unit, small-caliber bombs (weighing from 1 to 25 kg) could be loaded, which were placed directly on the bomb bay doors fixed in the closed position. Each cell could accommodate up to 150 kg of bombs.

Two types of machine guns were used - one with manual reloading, the second with pneumatic reloading (in the picture). The latter is easily recognized by the presence of an additional cylinder above the barrel.

The outer cell of the left bomb bay, rearward view in flight.

To solve other problems, the vehicle could be armed with bombs of 50, 100 and 250 kg caliber. The first two types of bombs could be placed both in the bomb bay and on an external sling (maximum 6 pieces per aircraft), while 250 kg bombs (2 pieces) could only be placed on an external sling. Various types of ammunition were used: fragmentation - AO, armor-piercing - BRAB, smoke - DAB, high-explosive - FAB, high-explosive fragmentation - OFAB, illumination - FOTAB (only on the Il-2KR) and incendiary bombs ZAB. Practical bombs TsAB-P (concrete) or BAB-P (paper) were used during training, and their weight corresponded to combat ones, that is, 25, 50, 100 and 250 kg. DER-21 holders were used for the internal suspension of bombs, and DZ-40 for the external suspension.

Offensive weapons also included four RS-82 82mm or PC-132 132mm unguided rockets (the UIl-2 could only carry 2 PCs, the IL-2 type 3 none), launched from RO guides (missile guns). Subsequently, armor-piercing missile shells RBS (caliber 82 and 132 mm) and high-explosive fragmentation missile shells ROFS-132 were created. RBS-82 began to enter service in the summer of 1944. The upgraded PC-82 and PC-132 were designated M-8 and M-13, respectively.

The defensive armament of the attack aircraft consisted of a tail rifle mount with a VUB-3 turret, armed with one 12.7-mm UBT machine gun with 150 rounds of ammunition, placed in a box attached to the rear armored partition. The firing angles were: 35 degrees up and down, 35 degrees to the right and 28 to the left. In the summer of 1944, the DAG-10 launcher with AG-2 anti-aircraft delayed-action grenades equipped with parachutes was introduced to protect the aircraft from attacks from below and behind, but it was used on the Il-2 type 3 to a limited extent. The installation was located in the rear fuselage behind the gunner's cabin.

The range and duration of the attack aircraft's flight could be increased by hanging two PLBG-150 jettisonable fuel tanks with a capacity of 150 liters each on external hardpoints.

For aiming when using guns, missiles or bombs, a simple mechanical sight was used, BB-1, which consisted of a ring-shaped front sight located on the hood in front of the pilot and warning ellipses applied directly to the armored glass. A small number of aircraft (including Polish Il-2s) were equipped with the PBP-1 collimator sight in addition to the BB-1. To launch rockets, the ESBR-ZP control unit was used, and the release of bombs was controlled by another similar unit connected to the VMS delay mechanism (Temporary Attack Mechanism). On some attack aircraft, a PAU-22 movie camera was installed in the right or left fairing of the chassis, which recorded the results of the shooting. The tail machine gun was equipped with a K8-T sight.

Tail rifle point, equipped with a VUB-3 turret with a 12.7 mm UBT machine gun, designed by Berezin.

Tail defensive machine gun UBT with manual reloading.

During serial production of the IL-2 Type 3, the design of the rear cockpit canopy was changed several times. The picture shows a late-type canopy with side cutouts to increase the firing sector.

Detailed shot of the VUB-3 turret with a semicircular guide. The sight attached to the left of the machine gun barrel has been removed.

Detailed shot of the breech of a machine gun with handle and trigger.

UBT machine gun with mounted K8-T sight, reload lever and loaded cartridge belt.

Installation of the VYa-23 cannon on Czechoslovakian (below) and Yugoslav attack aircraft. Note the different shape of the fairing above the reloading mechanism. Most aircraft had a "square" radome shape, but there were a series with "triangular" radomes.

On the IL-2 type 3, the RSI-4 or RSI-6M radio station was installed behind the gunner's cabin, and the IL-2KR was equipped with a more powerful RSB-3 bis radio station. Some UIl-2s were equipped with old RSI-3M radios. In all cases, an antenna was used, stretched between the mast on the fuselage and the fin. Some aircraft were also equipped with an RPK-10 radio half-compass, the loop antenna of which was located either inside the fuselage (wooden tail) or on top of it, near the fin (all-metal fuselage). After the war, on some Czechoslovakian Il-2 type 3, instead of the RSI radio station, an LR-16ZY (German FuG 16ZY) was installed with a whip antenna on the leading edge of the left wing console, between the landing gear fairing and the fuselage. The transponder of the friend-or-foe system LR-25 (FuG 25) with an antenna on the lower surface of the left wing was also used. For communication between the pilot and the tail gunner, an SPU-2F intercom and a warning system of three lamps were installed.

Other equipment included a KAS-4 rocket launcher, a first aid kit, and clamps for fixing the steering surfaces in the parking lot. On the Il-2KR, an AFA-1 or AFA-1M camera could be vertically mounted in the rear of the fuselage, and an AFA-3S camera could sometimes be installed instead of the UBT machine gun.

The offensive weapons of the attack aircraft - VYA-23 cannons and ShKAS machine guns - were installed in detachable parts of the wing.

The lower surface of the wing has access hatches to weapons and holes for ejecting cartridge belt links and spent cartridges.

The position of the access hatches and openings was symmetrical on both sides of the wing. The hatches were secured using piano hinges with wire stretched through them.

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