|
IL-2M3 Sturmovik:
The IL-2 Sturmovik is a ground attack aircraft in World War II manufactured by Ilyushin and was considered as one of the most widely produced military aircraft in history.
The IL-2 first saw action with the 4th ShAP (Ground Attack Regiment) over the Berezina River, days after the invasion began. The II-2 was widely deployed on the Eastern Front. The aircraft is capable of flying in low light conditions and it carried weaponry which is capable of defeating the thick armor of the Panther and Tiger I tanks and it also proved to be capable of defending itself against enemy aircraft. The IL-2 proved to be a deadly air-to-ground weapon though, it was vulnerable to fighter attack.
The IL-2M3 has swept outer wings. It has a crew of two, a pilot and rear gunner. It has a maximum speed of 414 km/h and a range of 720 km.
The primary user of the IL-2 is the Soviet Air Force. After World War II, II-2 could be found in service with several Eastern European countries, with the majority of the aircraft were eventually scrapped with the advent of military jets. Currently, there are only few IL-2s which survived , including museum rebuilds of crashed airframes. In the recent years, there were several II-2 wrecks located and recovered from Lake Balaton which is located near the historic site of a large World War II tank battle.
This model has measurements of: Span: 18" Len: 14 3/8" and Scale: 1/32
|