IL-2 STORMOVIK

■ Fully engraved panel lines

■ Highly detailed cockpit & landing gear

■ A canopy can be positioned open & closed

■ Various Authentic markings included

During WWII, the worst nightmare of Soviet ground troops
were Ju-87 “Stuka” series
dive bombers; for Germans, that was Il-2 Stormovik. TsKB-55/57, designed
by Sergey
Ilyushin and his team of Central Design Bureau, was a strong, all-metal
aircraft, and
propelled by AM-38 engine(1,680HP).
It was operated by a pilot and a rear gunner, and they’re protected by ‘armored
bathtub’
along with fuel tank. But when it came to mass production stage and deployment
as
Il-2 in 1941, lack of material forced it to become a single-seat aircraft,
with wooden
parts used for wings and the rear parts of fuselage.

Being called as “Ilyusah”, “Flying Tank” and “Stormovik: Storm Bird”
by Russians,
the Il-2s served with Soviet air force brilliantly and gave their enemy
a great fear and
massive damage, which was enough to earn the name of “The Black Death”
by Germans,
in spite of massive damage of Il-2 themselves.
Il-2s were so important that Stalin stated it as “Necessary like air,
like bread”. Il-2s still
had problems to solve, so the developments continued; rear gunner revived,
more powerful
engines were used, more armor and re-designed wings were made to be an
enhanced
version, Il-2M. Outnumbering the Bf109s(around 35,000 samples produced),
Stormoviks
were produced over 36,000 and it’s still the best record of most-produced
combat aircraft.