Exceptional reference tool for modellers. The Ilyushin IL-2 was a
World War II ground-attack aircraft, produced by the Soviet
Union in very large numbers. In combination with its successor, the
Ilyushin IL-10, over 40,000 were built, making it the single most produced
military aircraft design in all of aviation history, as well as one of the most
produced piloted aircraft in history. Regarded as the best ground attack
aircraft of World War II, it was a prominent aircraft for tank killing with its
accuracy in dive bombing and its 37mm guns penetrating their thin back
armour.
To IL-2 pilots, the aircraft was simply the diminutive "Ilyusha". To
the soldiers on the ground, it was the 'Hunchback', the 'Flying Tank' or the
'Flying Infantryman'.
The IL-2 aircraft played a crucial role on the Eastern Front, and in
Soviet opinion it was the most decisive aircraft in the history of modern land
warfare. Josef Stalin said of them that "They are as essential to the Red Army
as air and bread."
