Ilyushin

The Il-2 Shturmovik was the workhorse of the Soviet Airforce and raised havoc with the German and their allied Axis forces invading the USSR and occupying Eastern Europe. One time during the war it was said that one of the factories in the Soviet Union which produced the famous ground attack aircraft fell behind in its production of IL-2's and Stalin himself issued a final warning to them, ordering them to produce their expected level or numbers of production or face dyre consequences. This aircraft was so versatile and their crews became so experienced they were credited with actually shooting down German and other Axis fighters in dogfights, which in military aviation is a miracle. This ground attack aircraft relentlessly followed the Nazi enemy into their capital Berlin, causing them devastating losses. It was also dubbed "The Flying Tank". This is the history of this Soviet ground attack aircraft. 3pp scale drawings. 20 colour profiles. 130 b/w photos. Dual Czech/English text.