Ilyushin II-2 'Shturmovik'

The II-2 'Shturmovik', was an armoured ground attack warplane and a uniquely Russian concept during World War II. It entered service in 1941, only months before the German invasion of the Soviet Union. IIyushin began designing the aircraft by fitting armour around a pilot and engine, and then thinking about the aerodynamics. The II-2 (also called IL-2) and the developed IL-10 were used on a vast scale and proved to be devastating ground-attack weapons. The Il-2 was never given an official name and 'Shturmovik' is the generic Russian word meaning ground attack aircraft. The II-2 was also called a 'Flying Tank', because it was heavily armoured and had great firepower from its cannon and rockets.

The origins of the II-2 can be traced back to the early 1930's where the Soviets were developing the TSh-1 and TSh-2 armored biplanes. Because the engines lacked the necessary horsepower, so in 1938 Sergey Ilyushin and his team at the Central Design Bureau designed the II-2. The Il-2's armor was designed as a load-bearing part of the Ilyushin's monocoque structure, thus saving considerable weight. The prototype TsKB-55, which first flew on 2 October 1939 and received VVS designation BSh-2 after winning against the Sukhoi Su-6. However, the BSh-2 was overweight and underpowered with the original Mikulin AM-35 1,022 kW (1,370 hp) engine and so a more powerful 1,254 kW (1,680 hp) Mikulin AM-38 engine, a development of the AM-35 optimised for low level operation was installed. The TsKB-57 first flew on 12 October 1940 and production aircraft passed State Acceptance Trials in March 1941 and was redesignated Il-2 in April with deliveries to operational units commencing in May 1941. The Il-2 was ordered into production at four factories, and was eventually produced in greater numbers than any other military aircraft in aviation history, but by the time Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, only State Aviation Factory 18 at Voronezh and Factory 381 at Leningrad had commenced production, with 249 having been built by the time of the German attack.
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Into Service

As a low-wing metal craft with wood in the aft fuselage, the II-2 began as a single-seater, but at first production difficulties plagued its builders. Premier Josef Stalin cabled factory workers saying,'The Red Army needs the II-2 as it needs air and bread.' Though handicapped by the war, Soviet industry rose to the occassion. In action however, it was found to be vulnerable to the Lufwaffe fighters attacking it from behind, so in February 1942 a two-seat II-2 was introduced. This had a rear gunner under an extended canopy. Early Il-2s were field modified by cutting a hole in the fuselage behind the cockpit for a gunner sitting on a canvas sling armed with a 12.7 mm UBT machine gun in an improvised mounting. The semi-turret gun mount allowed the machine gun to be fired at angles of up to 35° upwards, 35° to starboard and 15° to port. Tests showed that maximum speed decreased by between 10 and 20 km/h (6.2-12.4 mph) and that the two-seater was more difficult to handle because the center of gravity was shifted backwards. At the beginning of March 1942, a production two-seat Il-2 with the new gunner's cockpit began manufacturer tests. The second cockpit and armament increased all-up weight by 170 kg (374 lb) so the flaps were allowed to be deployed at an angle of 17° to avoid an over-long takeoff run. The new variant had a lengthened fuselage compartment with an extended canopy offering some protection from the elements. Unlike the well-armoured cockpit of the pilot compartment with steel plating up to 12 mm (0.47 in) thick behind, beneath and on both sides as well as up to 65mm thick glass sections, the rear gunner was provided with 6 mm (.23 in) thick armour, only effective against rifle-calibre rounds. Production versions appeared at the Front, while single-seaters were converted in the field. Even after the production models that incorporated a second canopy and protection, the death rate among the air gunners remained exceptionally high and not until late models produced after 1944, was the 13 mm (.5 in) rear plate of the armour shell moved rearwards into the (wooden) rear fuselage to allow a gunner to sit behind the fuel tank. The heavy armor of the Il-2 also meant that it would typically carry only comparatively light bomb-loads, which together with the poor accuracy of its attacks made it a far less deadly attack aircraft than contemporary Allied fighter-bombers such as the Republic P-47 'Thunderbolt' and Hawker Typhoon. The rocket projectiles especially were not effective, even the larger RS-132 (of which four were carried) having a warhead with only 0.9 kg (2.0 lb) of explosives, which compared poorly with the P-47's typical load of ten 5 in (13 cm) HVARs, each having a 21 kg (46 lb) warhead, or the eight to twelve 27 kg (60 lb) warheads of the Hawker Typhoon's RP-3 rockets. Likewise, the Shturmovik's bombs were usually only 50 kg (110 lb), or rarely 100 kg (220 lb), too small to compensate for the typically wide variation from the target point. The II-2 could carry 1,200 kg (2,640 lbs) of bombs over a distance of 400 km (250 mil) and was agile enough to give attacking fighters a good run for their money.

Thanks to the heavy armor protection, the Il-2 could take a great deal of punishment and proved difficult for both ground and aircraft fire to shoot down. One Il-2 in particular was reported to have returned safely to base despite receiving more than 600 direct hits and having all its control surfaces completely shredded as well as numerous holes in its main armor and other structural damage. Some enemy pilots favored aiming down into the cockpit and wing roots in diving attacks on the slow, low-flying Il-2 formations. Several Luftwaffe aces claimed to attack while climbing from behind, out of view of the rear gunner, aiming for the Il-2's non-retractable oil cooler. This has been disputed by some Il-2 pilots in postwar interviews, since Il-2s typically flew very close to the ground (cruise altitudes below 50 m (160 ft) were common) and the radiator protruded a mere 10 cm (4 in) from the aircraft. Owing to a shortage of fighters, in 1941-1942, Il-2s were occasionally used as fighters. While outclassed by dedicated fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190, in dogfights, the Il-2 could take on other Luftwaffe aircraft with some success, like transports and bombers, where the 7.92 mm machine guns had little to no effect on the armoured II-2. The effect of low flying II-2's against ground troops also caused morale to drop as they were exceptionally hard to bring down with light machine guns. Soviet troops often requested additional passes even after the aircraft were out of ammunition to exploit the intimidating effect Il-2s had on German ground troops, who gave it the nickname 'Schlächter' (eng: Slaughterer), with nicknames such as 'The Flying Tank' and 'Der Schwarze Tod' (eng: the 'Black Death') were nicknames used by soldiers. Luftwaffe pilots called it 'Eiserner Gustav' (eng:Iron Gustav) or the 'Zementbomber' (eng:Concrete bomber).

The II-2 Shturmovik became a legend to the Soviet public, who saw it as an instrument of salvation and cheered its successes in battle. In total, 6,166 of all II-10 variants were made, including those built under license.Even more potent was the II-10 'Shturmovik', which arrived just as the war was ending. This aircraft saw extensive action in Korea with the Communist forces. An incredible 36,000 II-2 'Shturmoviks' were manufactured, making this the most numerous military aircraft in history.