Ilyushin Il-2

       It's time to look at the most produced aircraft of World War II: the Ilyushin Il-2. The story of the Il-2 begins in Soviet Russia in 1938, when Sergei Ilyushin proposed the idea of a "flying tank" to Joseph Stalin. Two prototypes were ordered and saw their first flights in October of 1939. The aircraft was adopted quickly after testing, but only 70 aircraft were wholly in service with the Soviet Air Forces by the time Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union produced 36,183 examples of Il-2, a record only topped by the Cessna 172. With so many aircraft produced, it was only inevitable it would receive some nicknames. German pilots called the Il-2 the "Betonflugzeug" (concrete plane) or "Betonvogel" (concrete bird) because of how difficult it was to shoot down. German infantrymen instead called it "der Schwarze Tod" (Black Death) due to its efficiency in the air to ground role. Soviet pilots called the Il-2 "Ilyusha," both an affectionate shortening of the Ilyushin design bureau's name and a reference to a child from the Brothers Karamazov novel. Soviet troops on the ground referred to the Il-2 as the "Flying Infantryman," owing to how often it performed strike missions. The Il-2 was heavily praised by Stalin, who in one instance claimed the Il-2 was as valuable to the Red Army as bread and air.

    The first concept of the Il-2 was a two-seater single-engine aircraft with heavy armor placed around the engine and pilot. This version of the craft had four forward facing 7.62x54mmR ShKAS machine guns and one manually aimed rear-facing ShKAS, as well as compatibility with various rockets and bombs. The early craft was powered by the Mikulin AM-35, a 1,300 horsepower liquid-cooled V-12 piston engine previously used by high-altitude aerial interceptors. The production version of the plane saw several changes compared to the prototypes. Ilyushin quickly replaced the AM-35 with the AM-38, a powerplant with 1,700 horsepower better tuned for low-altitude performance. The gunner's seat was removed along with the rear-facing gun, and two of the forward-facing ShKAS guns were replaced by a pair of 20mm ShVAK cannons. At this stage, the aircraft was made mostly of wood with metal reinforcement, and an armored forward fuselage.

    The Il-2 was battle-tested against invading German forces with middling initial success. It was incredibly efficient in strike missions where it could leverage its durability and armor against ground targets. Even in cases where Il-2s were shot down, they could be retrieved, repaired, or salvaged in order to keep other aircraft operational. The Soviets claimed that 90% of damaged Il-2s that were recovered were eventually repaired and returned to air service. On the other hand, single-seat Il-2s struggled when intercepted by enemy fighters due to their lack of rear gun. This problem was remedied in 1942 with the Il-2M. The Il-2M returned the aircraft to the initial two-seater plan, first with a 12.7x108mm heavy machine gun, and eventually with a rear-facing 20mm cannon. The added gun and gunner shifted the center of gravity towards the rear of the plane. In 1943 the Il-2M Type 3 swept the leading edge of the wings 15 degrees to the rear to adjust to the new center of gravity. The Il-2M also granted pilots heavier cannon armament in order to deal with increasingly armored German ground vehicles. The 20mm ShVAK guns were replaced by either two 23mm VYa-23 cannons, or a pair of 37mm NS-37 guns.

    A notable Ilyushin Il-2 pilot is Anna A. Yegorova, Senior Lieutenant and recipient of the Hero of the Soviet Union title. She flew 277 sorties during her career before being shot down and captured as a prisoner of war. Below is a picture of a restored Il-2, along with a video of one from the Flying Heritage Collection taking off and doing a flyby! 

Ilyushin Il-2 in flight