Il-2 Shturmovik

In 1938, as the clouds of war gathered over Europe, a design request for an anti-tank aircraft was issued by the Soviet Government. A team under Sergei V. Ilyushin at the Soviet Central Design Bureau set about designing a two-seat aircraft designated the “TsKB-55”.

Two prototypes were produced and the first flew in October 1939. The prototypes proved the usefulness of Ilyushin’s design, and factories began to set up for production in early 1941.

The first production model was a single-seater, unlike the two-seater prototypes, in an attempt to save weight. It was a heavily armoured aircraft, the front fuselage around the engine and cockpit was built with 5 to 12mm thick armour plate to protect the Shturmovik from ground fire. The engine’s radiators were behind the engine in the armoured body and the air intakes were placed on top of the nose. Armour glass was used for the cockpit, ranging from 55 to 65mm thick. The first model Il-2 was armed with two ShKAS 7.62mm machine-guns and two ShVAK 20mm cannons.