Only a small number of Il-2s were deployed to frontline units - notably in the Fourth Aviation Assault Regiment - when the Wehrmacht began its devastating invasion of the Soviet Union on June 1941.
The Sturmovik’s robust landing gear was also designed to handle rough frontline airstrips. Even the canopy averaged six centimeters of armored glass.
However, it was slightly faster, at 250 miles per hour, and more heavily armed, with two 20-millimeter cannons in addition to two machine guns in the wings.Īn armored tub five to 12 millimeters thick shielded the cockpit, fuel tanks, AM38 engine and radiators. German Federal Archives photoĪfter several prototypes, the resulting single-seat Il-2 production aircraft weighed nearly 10,000 pounds, compared to 7,000 for the Stuka, and could carry a similar maximum bomb load of around 1,100 pounds.
