Great video 👍. It briefly touched on the fact that the Soviets moved their armaments production east of the Urals from where it had been in western Russia, Moscow and some other locations. Over 1500 major factories were moved, including more than a few huge ones. Authors Glantz and House in the book “When Titans Clash” write extensively about this. It was a monumental feat unsurpassed in modern history. Also, the Soviets produced only a few types of aircraft, but those they did were made in huge numbers and proved to be highly effective.
Yeah the yak was the smallest fighter of the war but you'll get arguments that it was in the high top 5 fighters of WW2. Looking at the stats for it you'll get no argument from me. And yes moving those huge plants was a huge undertaking but needs must when the devil drives, but alot of what they accomplished in the war was nothing short of gargantuan efforts. They don't teach this in our schools(for obvious reasons) but I'm gonna give credit where it's due. And don't forget the T72. I just wonder how they got such competitive war machines?.? We're talking 1930s and early 40s Russia. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut etc!!?? etc.??!!
@@GregoryP-jw8qjStalin accurately predicted a major European war coming and pushed the USSR into industrializing and weaponizing as rapidly as possible. With the huge resources of the USSR, you can do a lot if you control the economy and society. Also, they had combat experience in the Spanish civil war and the campaigns against Japan in 1938 and 1939. So they were able to see that a lot of their equipment was not up to par, even though Zhukov was quite successful against Japan. Finally, the Winter War against Finland showed the Soviets that they needed to seriously step up their game if they were going to survive the coming war against Germany, which probably everyone knew was coming at some point.
Without a doubt one of my favorite aircraft in all of aviation history, and my favorite attack aircraft by far. Such a beautiful plane, and very effective.
Decent plane but it coudn't even touch a P-38 or a P-47 in either armaments or speed; being about a 100 mph slower than both those USAAF multi-purpose/ground attack fighters.!
@@jacuswoczega9180 efficiency against tanks was achieved when PTABs were created - cumulative anti-tank bombs. They required direct hit, yes, but were dispersed in dozens and hundreds by those Il-2s over known tanks positions. One Il-2 could carry up to 280 those small bombs in four containers --(68,72|72,68)--. During 1943 over six million of those bombs were produced. First usage was during battle for Kursk.
@@EarlT357 different tasks, different planes. Apples and oranges. Compare your multi-purpose/ground attack fighters with multi-purpose/ground attack fighters. Il-2s were bringing destruction and havoc everywhere they were directed to. Guns, machine guns, frag bombs, incendiary bombs, unguided rockets, cumulative bombs, you name it. And their targets were ready for battle and not suppressed beforehand so all that could shoot shot at them. That's why so many were lost.
@@EarlT357 не смеши,это просто феноменальный самолет и специалистами историками многих стран этот факт признан.Только у пропагандистов ботов свое особо оплаченное мнение
"STURM-o-vik", properly. The first two-seaters were field modifications, adding the cramped rear gunner position. It proved a good idea, and was entered into production.
Не совсем. Изначально Ильюшин предлагал место бортстрелка, но руководство страны настояло, чтобы самолёт был одноместным. После военных действий было выяснено, что стрелок необходим, поэтому в скором темпе начали делать и переделывать ил-2 с местом для бортстрелка.
Correct and a stress is on "vik". Also, by Russian habit of pronouncing the short abbreviations and names, IL-2 is pronounced like the word "ill", but short, just what the letters IL (ИЛ) form.
As a long-time IL2 player, I can indeed testify that the Sturmovik is in fact a flying tank. Really needs 3x 20mm or a 30mm to reliably bring it down on one pass.
@@johnhall4895 так исторически сложилось с этим калибром. Сейчас у нас вообще нет на вооружении 20 мм калибра. Но есть 23 мм калибр который активно используется. Это ЗУ- 23/2 и ЗУ-23/4, Шилка.
@@johnhall4895 Like always, more punch to 23×152mmB vs. the 20mm×72RB. The former hit with over 65,000 ft-lbs while the latter delivered closer to 48,000. The 20mm could not challenge even the 30mm Panzer III armor in D-G models and up. The 23x152mm was best delivered at the flanks of tanks to mess with their tracks. My understanding is high-explosive anti-tank bomb known as the PTAB was the best armor destroying IL-2 weapon. The NS-37mm cannon AP round could penetrate up to 48mm of armor, but cannot locate any force figures. My guess is up to 100k ft-lbs.
@@jefferyroy2566 Thanks for the info sir. It sure does make a big difference for a 3mm increase in caliber. Sounds like it has a lot more casing length than the 20mm's as well. Weren't some WW2 planes even fitted with a 75mm cannon? Now that would be hard for me to wrap my mind around, lol.
Thanks for the information about the Sturmovik. There’s so little I know about this classic aircraft. Your documentary was both informative and insightful. Thanks again.
"Decimate" means to kill or eliminate 10% of something. The correct word for devastate is, well, "devastate". The plane destroyed airfields, not killed 10% of airfields. So "devastate" is the correct word.
That's true, unfortunately, the dictionary definition reflects 'usage'. That's why non-words like 'irregardless' have found their way into the dictionary. So is decimate correct or not? Technically, it's up to the user, but it hurts my ears every time I hear it used this way.
@@benjaminbarrera214 It's true that words being used incorrectly make it into common usage. But, we shouldn't encourage bad behavior. lol Irregardless, I literally could care less if people don't talk good. For all intensive purposes, so long as we all get the jest it's a mute point.
Well done. You had me with the shredded Sturmovik thumbnail, the remaining right aileron full up to keep it level. Flying the plane in “IL 2 Great Battles” I had a similar experience. Returning from a mission I was caught by an AI Bf-109 who had fortunately run out of cannon. (As noted in the video, German 20 mm takes no prisoners.) Yuri, my AI gunner, quickly ran out of ammunition and contented himself with sipping vodka from his flask and watching the show. Could not even be bothered to call out the fighter making its runs. Anyway, left wing was so shredded by MG that I had to hold the stick full left to even keep the plane level. Getting the plane landed was kind of tricky. The game is not a simulator, but flight and damage models are fairly accurate. Fairly tough against ground fire, at least MG and flak, it is vulnerable from behind and above, a typical fighter attack pass. Often the first burst takes out the rudder and elevator cables and your flight is over. Good call to mention the defensive tactics in the video, essentially a modified Lufbery Circle.
The "entire fuselage" was not "made from pure steel armor". Yes, the airplane was well armored in the important areas of the fuselage containing vital bits such as pilot and engine, but the hyperbole is stupid and misleading.
Armor protected only central part of plane but it helped a lot against infantry weapons. MG-34 and 42 were formidable weapons against unarmed low flying planes.
@@carlosipec2270 lol yea the russians will soon have to pull il-2 out of museums to fight they are losing to ukraine lol 2nd best army in the world lol
Спасибо за видео. Другим комментаторам, заявляющим о бесполезности Ил-2 - штурмовики работали на низких высотах, более уязвимые к ПВО противника и авиации, чем другие классы, оттого и относительно высокие потери. Но даже если и в таких условиях пилоты Ил-2 смогли добиться высокой эффективности - это чего-то да стоит.
@Hugga Wugga 87й пикирующий бомбер в первую очередь. И применяли его соответствующим образом. Ил-2 всегда ходил по головам, это его назначение изначально. Все-таки разные классы/типы ЛА, чтобы сравнивать эффективность.
В этом распиаренном дерме стоял до ужаса отвратительный прицел. Поэтому и приходилось пилотам этого де.ма буквально тыкаться носом в цели. Отвратительные прицелы - это общая проблема КА(РККА)
@@MWPadazhetski Надо полагать вы летали или изобрели д%рмо получше, есть с чем сравнить, раз так смело выражаетесь? Про Т-34 такого тоже можно насобирать, и что немцы эргономичней и продуманней были и тд. Ну так не просто так так было.
@@A-Roz Я руководствуюсь техническими знаниями, а не идеологией "Мосфильма". И люди, сведомые в технической стороне этого вопроса утверждают, что прицел на ИЛе был редкостным дер.ом. Что вынуждало летчиков снижаться до опасно низких высот и производить прицеливание по..... рисункам на капотах.Отсюда и большие потери самолетов..Более того! Прицел был ещё и травмоопасным для летчика.А стрелок!Поначалу его вообще не было.Оглоблю вставляли вместо пулемета. Чтобы немцев расмешить.А когда начали ставить пулемет, то редко какой самолет возвращался на аэродром с живым стрелком.Так же и про Т-34. Дермо редкостное. Но самый массовый.И распиаренный. А для тренировки твоего ума дам тебе задачку:- Каким образом стрелок ИЛа защищал нижнюю полусферу ?
@@MWPadazhetski Встречный вопрос - каким образом стрелок на Ю87 защищал нижнюю полусферу? Не тыкай незнакомым людям, я с тобой не пил, знакомым ты мне не являешься. Не подумал ли ты, что условиях военного времени, когда на заводах в основном женщины и дети, что производство потребует упрощения его этапов и связанных с этим проблем и издержек, из-за чего качество и гуляло? Это не Германия с производством Европы с относительно спокойной обстановкой. Линии на капоте предназначены для сброса бомб. Это не пикировщик и не бомбер, самолёт частично бронированный и тяжёлый и без доп. прицельных приспособлений, которые ещё надо разместить. Ил - штурмовик, ходил "по головам" в первую очередь, потому что это его назначение. Пушками -пулеметами для справки дальше 400-600 метров по технике стрелять мало смысла, по живой силе - большой разброс. На скоростях сближения с землёй эти сотни метров пролетаются за секунды.
I can understand the initial single seaters being called hunchbacks due to the shape of the cockpits. The cockpits in the 2 seater variant looked different. I normally like the Dark Skies videos, but I think that the description of the early Stormoviks could do with some revision as it wasn't till the 3rd variants that the Stormovik received an official 2 seater variant. The field modified 1 and 2 variants had the rear gunner sitting in a hole that had been cut into the fuselage behind the cockpit to which a pair of guns had also been attached. The gunner had no protection from the weather or armour protection. When they updated to the 3rd variants and extended the cockpit, they could only accomodate a single rear facing machine gun.
Since when you, my dear Englishmen that don't understand Cyrillic(not Russian but Cyrillic as they say) understand German? Since when initial S is being read as Sh digraph?
IL-2 was originally designed with the tail gunner, but due to some bright minds in the higher VVS the gunner was deemed as excessive and discarded, only after bearing heavy losses in the first year of the war the 2 seater variant was introduced
The rear gunner had Up to 10 times the casualty rate of the Pilot and never less than 5 times. An modification was never introduced until after the war because psychopath idiot in chief Stalin was to stupid to let engineers and production planners come up with a way it could be done.
The armored gunner position was in the initial design but when AM-35 was swapped with AM-38 (low alt more powerful engine) requirements in range of 1000 km wasn't achieved due to more thirsty AM-38 and that's why gunner position was removed for an additional fuel tank. When field modifications with added gunner position proved to be necessary for the plane survival, production aircraft was changed to initial design with armored gunner position.
@@outerspaceoutlander A lot of sloppy history in the age of the internet and Wikipeida where no one uses dates anymore. Armour to the Sturmovik came very late in the war. I believe 1944.
@@williamzk9083armour to Il-2 came from drawing board, factory produced plane with armored cabin for tail gunner with Berezin UB machinegun was tested on frontline from oct 42 to jan 43, and was produced ever since. Imagine believing yt wehraboos can use any actual sources, maybe even russian sources about soviet plane (BIAS!), nah, never happens.
@@darrellcook8253 About 36,000 IL-2 were built during WW-2, the highest number of any aircraft type produced by any nation during the war. The Messerschmitt Bf-109 was next highest with about 34,000 produced, starting from 4 years before WW2 commenced.
@@darrellcook8253 It was literally in the video at the end, over 15.000 airplanes of that type were destroyed by the Wehrmacht/Luftwaffe during the war, clearly it most be by numbers the most destroyed airplane from a single type.
What wasn't mentioned was the disparity between the pilot and the AG . The pilot was the highly trained commodity who had to be protected while the poor AG was a disposable unit that had zero armour , not even a proper seat just a canvas strap to sit on .
That was on field modifications when gunner position wasn't factory implemented. Initial project had armored gunner position but it was scrapped for additional fuel tank for range. Later on when field modifications proved that gunner was more important than plane range, protected and armored gunner position was implemented (brought back from the initial design). At first often flying as a gunner on field mods was kind of punishment and also a chance to repay with blood for wrongdoings.
Ha ha flew up? How? IL2 isn't bomber man. Rear gunner was just scare crow much and against Messer had no chance. ( Btw why Herr attached kinda Herr Himmler Herr Goebbles ...)
@@dugzamilza5212 Herr is to honor him. His rank was Major in the Luftwaffe ( 3rd Reich )and Oberst (Colonel/Group Captain) in the Bundeswehre Luftwaffe.
Any facts,documents? Any proof that Hartmann was Soooooo good pilot you've heard/listened/read of him? Documents, please! Are there any? Sources, please!
If I am correct, Paul Allen's Museum in Tacoma, Washington State had an IL 2 his small museum has quite trove of interesting and rare birds. I spent much too much time looking at the smallest details. Got to go back there again.
I am so grateful to you for lightening such theme. You have found so much video footage. It is amazing. It is peaty that even now planty of information stays hidden. Here in Russia we have video channel TacticМedia where historic Oleg Rastrenin describes how IL-2 was born.
Достойный документальный фильм! A very interesting documentary. Thanks for the rare footage of World War II. P.S. Ilyushin created another unique aircraft. IL-4. Long range bomber. He was not easy to pilot. But, like the IL-2, it was distinguished by its amazing survivability. My grandfather flew it in the second world. As he said: They made night raids. After one raid on the railway junction, the pilots landed in the morning and saw with horror the almost destroyed wings. They were like colanders from the kitchen. ) † In memory of all the pilots and aircraft makers of the Second World War! †
Russian quality = less precise heavier built = durable like the sks,AK 47, T34, etc. I was at a airshow in the early 90s and the Russian aerobatic team were there a airforce pilot was standing there beside me watching one of the Russian pilots flying by virtually standing the plane on it's tail just short of being in a stall, the pilot said that the only reason they (Russians) could get by with doing that is because they don't built the engines as precise as us they're just crude enough to take the punishment the load puts on them. He said if we do that it would destroy the turbine blade assemblys and most likely the plane we fly sports cars an they fly Buicks.
I admire and respect the IL2 but I’ve read the day to day German/Russian BDA reports on Kursk. IL2’s actually knocking out tanks was extremely rare especially with rockets. A particular day Germans would report zero and Soviets would report well over that. (Sometimes Soviet reports would be higher than actual panzers being used that day). Over reporting kills occurs sometimes due to multiple people taking credit for the same target (like US b17 gunners shooting at the same plane) however It turns out 20mm’s just like 50. Cals are not reliable tank killers. That’s why Hans Rudel used 30mm bord cannons on his Stuka instead. The Germans did report on the flying circle of death tactic and the “cement bomber” was also a thing too. The Most produced military aircraft ever only beat by the civilian sector, Cessna 172.
KG200 the German captured aircraft evaluation unit deemed it so unairworthy that they forbade German pilots to even try it out. It had the aerodynamics of a thrown brick. It was designed to use "ground effect" low level lift which made it a nightmare to land as it wouldn't stop on the landing field......WOAH MULE!!!!!!!!
LOL "Whoa, mule. I said WHOA!" Slams his musket over the camel's head Who says that those old Saturday morning cartoons didn't prepare us for the real world...??? Thx for the smile
Desighned to use ground efect? Ground efect is noticable under 5 meters for most aircraft, plus this is not Caspian sea monster ekranoplan. Never it was inteded to be used in such way. It has certanly beter handling than Stuka dive bombers. Belive nazi propaganda as much as you like. Just look at german losses of ground atack aircraft...
The Su-25 was not an answer to the A-10 the soviets just needed a ground attack aircraft after realizing during a mock conventional war that all of their ground attack was being conducted by fighters mainly Mig-19s so development of a sub-sonic ground attack aircraft began by sukhoi, ilyushin a few others.
The claim that with the beginning of the war, single Il-2s were immediately equipped with a seat for the shooter is false. Unfortunately, due to the technical difficulties associated with the conversion of a single Il-2 into a double, for quite a long time the pilots had to go into battle without an onboard shooter. Given the high risk of using the IL-2, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (the highest military award) was awarded to the surviving pilots for 10 sorties.
@@russman3787 The US didn't like it because of it's tendency to flat spin. The soviets didn't mind this problem as much, as their I-16 had a similar issue and experienced pilots would be able handle the situation and could then get out of it.
The combatant countries that developed fighter aircraft that protected the pilot had better outcome. A country can make more planes, but it’s harder to give pilots a fighting chance to become a greater and better pilot. By the end of WWII, Japan was running out of quality pilots, e.g the Zero was basically a flying gas can that would light up with a few incendiary rounds. The German Luftwaffe didn’t have a enough gas to fully train new pilots to replace loses and of course their aircraft manufacturers were being bombed into submission. The Pilot is the valuable resource
IL2 Sturmovik is one of the best combat flight sims ever made
I played the shit out of that game on my ps3 back in the day, dead fun.
Bought it for PC when it came out... And never played it.
IL2 and IL2 1946 were amazing.
War Thunder is based on that game. And it's an excellent free sim, with a lot of IL2 variants that you can play :D
@@dominicrichardson5546 no you didnt it was never on ps3
Criminally underrated plane that doesn't get much love outside a niche plane sim community
Not quite true. You would see a lot of them at the giant-scale remote control events.
The first plane made out of pure stalinium
😹
Well as the word Stalin means Steel that would be accurate.
@@PxThucydides His real name was Joseph Dzhugashvili. Only an idiot calls himself steel.
😂😂😂😂😂
2% better than Americanium 😂
Great video 👍. It briefly touched on the fact that the Soviets moved their armaments production east of the Urals from where it had been in western Russia, Moscow and some other locations. Over 1500 major factories were moved, including more than a few huge ones. Authors Glantz and House in the book “When Titans Clash” write extensively about this. It was a monumental feat unsurpassed in modern history.
Also, the Soviets produced only a few types of aircraft, but those they did were made in huge numbers and proved to be highly effective.
Then they also moved many German factories into the USSR too.
@@khoroshyypetro5154 очень правильно сделали,победителю принадлежит все.
Yeah the yak was the smallest fighter of the war but you'll get arguments that it was in the high top 5 fighters of WW2. Looking at the stats for it you'll get no argument from me. And yes moving those huge plants was a huge undertaking but needs must when the devil drives, but alot of what they accomplished in the war was nothing short of gargantuan efforts. They don't teach this in our schools(for obvious reasons) but I'm gonna give credit where it's due. And don't forget the T72. I just wonder how they got such competitive war machines?.? We're talking 1930s and early 40s Russia. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut etc!!?? etc.??!!
@@GregoryP-jw8qjStalin accurately predicted a major European war coming and pushed the USSR into industrializing and weaponizing as rapidly as possible. With the huge resources of the USSR, you can do a lot if you control the economy and society.
Also, they had combat experience in the Spanish civil war and the campaigns against Japan in 1938 and 1939. So they were able to see that a lot of their equipment was not up to par, even though Zhukov was quite successful against Japan. Finally, the Winter War against Finland showed the Soviets that they needed to seriously step up their game if they were going to survive the coming war against Germany, which probably everyone knew was coming at some point.
I do so enjoy your videos!
Thank you for keeping this era in our hearts and minds....
Amazing dedication!!!!!
Without a doubt one of my favorite aircraft in all of aviation history, and my favorite attack aircraft by far. Such a beautiful plane, and very effective.
Efficiency very low agaist tanks, this is only propadanda
Decent plane but it coudn't even touch a P-38 or a P-47 in either armaments or speed; being about a 100 mph slower than both those USAAF multi-purpose/ground attack fighters.!
@@jacuswoczega9180 efficiency against tanks was achieved when PTABs were created - cumulative anti-tank bombs. They required direct hit, yes, but were dispersed in dozens and hundreds by those Il-2s over known tanks positions. One Il-2 could carry up to 280 those small bombs in four containers --(68,72|72,68)--. During 1943 over six million of those bombs were produced. First usage was during battle for Kursk.
@@EarlT357 different tasks, different planes. Apples and oranges. Compare your multi-purpose/ground attack fighters with multi-purpose/ground attack fighters.
Il-2s were bringing destruction and havoc everywhere they were directed to. Guns, machine guns, frag bombs, incendiary bombs, unguided rockets, cumulative bombs, you name it. And their targets were ready for battle and not suppressed beforehand so all that could shoot shot at them. That's why so many were lost.
@@EarlT357 не смеши,это просто феноменальный самолет и специалистами историками многих стран этот факт признан.Только у пропагандистов ботов свое особо оплаченное мнение
"STURM-o-vik", properly.
The first two-seaters were field modifications, adding the cramped rear gunner position. It proved a good idea, and was entered into production.
Buncha n3rds up in here...
@Yulis. Штур-мо-вик будет правильно))) xD
Не совсем. Изначально Ильюшин предлагал место бортстрелка, но руководство страны настояло, чтобы самолёт был одноместным. После военных действий было выяснено, что стрелок необходим, поэтому в скором темпе начали делать и переделывать ил-2 с местом для бортстрелка.
Correct and a stress is on "vik". Also, by Russian habit of pronouncing the short abbreviations and names, IL-2 is pronounced like the word "ill", but short, just what the letters IL (ИЛ) form.
Šturmovik, pitiful fan of "the best alphabet".
As a long-time IL2 player, I can indeed testify that the Sturmovik is in fact a flying tank. Really needs 3x 20mm or a 30mm to reliably bring it down on one pass.
6:58 only a very few airframes were fitted with the 37mm cannons. The majority of 2 seater Il-2s carried double 23mm auto cannons.
23mm is an odd caliber, I wonder why not use 20mm's?
@@johnhall4895 так исторически сложилось с этим калибром. Сейчас у нас вообще нет на вооружении 20 мм калибра. Но есть 23 мм калибр который активно используется. Это ЗУ- 23/2 и ЗУ-23/4, Шилка.
@@johnhall4895 Like always, more punch to 23×152mmB vs. the 20mm×72RB. The former hit with over 65,000 ft-lbs while the latter delivered closer to 48,000. The 20mm could not challenge even the 30mm Panzer III armor in D-G models and up. The 23x152mm was best delivered at the flanks of tanks to mess with their tracks. My understanding is high-explosive anti-tank bomb known as the PTAB was the best armor destroying IL-2 weapon. The NS-37mm cannon AP round could penetrate up to 48mm of armor, but cannot locate any force figures. My guess is up to 100k ft-lbs.
@@jefferyroy2566 Thanks for the info sir. It sure does make a big difference for a 3mm increase in caliber. Sounds like it has a lot more casing length than the 20mm's as well. Weren't some WW2 planes even fitted with a 75mm cannon? Now that would be hard for me to wrap my mind around, lol.
Thanks for the information about the Sturmovik. There’s so little I know about this classic aircraft. Your documentary was both informative and insightful. Thanks again.
my great grandfather flew one of these in the second world war
YOU LIE.
@@aalexjohna nope he flew the flying bathtub for years and years I'm even named after him
@@aalexjohnajealous much?
It is one if not, the most massed produced aircraft in the history of aviation!
2nd massed produced overall (Cessna is the first one) and first warplane most massed produced ever.
"Decimate" means to kill or eliminate 10% of something. The correct word for devastate is, well, "devastate".
The plane destroyed airfields, not killed 10% of airfields. So "devastate" is the correct word.
Ooph!
I'm a bit of a vocabulary / grammar nazi, myself.
But, you're obviously a much harder marker, than I am...
That's true, unfortunately, the dictionary definition reflects 'usage'. That's why non-words like 'irregardless' have found their way into the dictionary. So is decimate correct or not? Technically, it's up to the user, but it hurts my ears every time I hear it used this way.
@@benjaminbarrera214 It's true that words being used incorrectly make it into common usage. But, we shouldn't encourage bad behavior. lol
Irregardless, I literally could care less if people don't talk good. For all intensive purposes, so long as we all get the jest it's a mute point.
Love old mate arc welding and employing the "Safety Squint" method of eye protection at about 1.07m
An absolute gorgeous aircraft.
Well done. You had me with the shredded Sturmovik thumbnail, the remaining right aileron full up to keep it level. Flying the plane in “IL 2 Great Battles” I had a similar experience.
Returning from a mission I was caught by an AI Bf-109 who had fortunately run out of cannon. (As noted in the video, German 20 mm takes no prisoners.) Yuri, my AI gunner, quickly ran out of ammunition and contented himself with sipping vodka from his flask and watching the show. Could not even be bothered to call out the fighter making its runs.
Anyway, left wing was so shredded by MG that I had to hold the stick full left to even keep the plane level. Getting the plane landed was kind of tricky.
The game is not a simulator, but flight and damage models are fairly accurate. Fairly tough against ground fire, at least MG and flak, it is vulnerable from behind and above, a typical fighter attack pass. Often the first burst takes out the rudder and elevator cables and your flight is over. Good call to mention the defensive tactics in the video, essentially a modified Lufbery Circle.
The "entire fuselage" was not "made from pure steel armor". Yes, the airplane was well armored in the important areas of the fuselage containing vital bits such as pilot and engine, but the hyperbole is stupid and misleading.
You can build an aircraft to withstand almost anything but the laws of aerodynamics.
Armor protected only central part of plane but it helped a lot against infantry weapons. MG-34 and 42 were formidable weapons against unarmed low flying planes.
Thank you! Been waiting for a Sturmovik video. Such an awesome plane
While the smug Germans were working on their ridiculous Kinger Tanks, the Russians created a flying g tank
Thank you for this great material!
One of the best aircraft of the war and peerless in its role.
Thanks for this. I never knew the Russians had such a bad ass ground attack aircraft in WWII.
This aircraft was the most massive in the Second World War. It was released more than 36,000 pieces. The German infantry called him the "Black Death"
When a Ju 87 Stuka mates with a T-34
great r 34 gonna go wild with that info
В Тацинской под Сталинградом ездили по твоим штукам87 и юнкерсам наши т-34.Слава Советскому солдату-освободителю!
For the record, the city called Artemiansk in the video is also known by its ukrainian name: Bakhmut.
You got it right.
But should be added it won't be Bakhmut, for much longer!
It will soon go back to it's original name of Artemovsk.
@@carlosipec2270 lol yea the russians will soon have to pull il-2 out of museums to fight they are losing to ukraine lol 2nd best army in the world lol
@@carlosipec2270 This is not going to age well for you.
@@carlosipec2270 cope more Ivan
@@carlosipec2270 All intel agrees....it's not looking good for Ukraine right now.
Спасибо за видео.
Другим комментаторам, заявляющим о бесполезности Ил-2 - штурмовики работали на низких высотах, более уязвимые к ПВО противника и авиации, чем другие классы, оттого и относительно высокие потери. Но даже если и в таких условиях пилоты Ил-2 смогли добиться высокой эффективности - это чего-то да стоит.
@Hugga Wugga 87й пикирующий бомбер в первую очередь. И применяли его соответствующим образом. Ил-2 всегда ходил по головам, это его назначение изначально. Все-таки разные классы/типы ЛА, чтобы сравнивать эффективность.
В этом распиаренном дерме стоял до ужаса отвратительный прицел. Поэтому и приходилось пилотам этого де.ма буквально тыкаться носом в цели. Отвратительные прицелы - это общая проблема КА(РККА)
@@MWPadazhetski Надо полагать вы летали или изобрели д%рмо получше, есть с чем сравнить, раз так смело выражаетесь? Про Т-34 такого тоже можно насобирать, и что немцы эргономичней и продуманней были и тд. Ну так не просто так так было.
@@A-Roz Я руководствуюсь техническими знаниями, а не идеологией "Мосфильма". И люди, сведомые в технической стороне этого вопроса утверждают, что прицел на ИЛе был редкостным дер.ом. Что вынуждало летчиков снижаться до опасно низких высот и производить прицеливание по..... рисункам на капотах.Отсюда и большие потери самолетов..Более того! Прицел был ещё и травмоопасным для летчика.А стрелок!Поначалу его вообще не было.Оглоблю вставляли вместо пулемета. Чтобы немцев расмешить.А когда начали ставить пулемет, то редко какой самолет возвращался на аэродром с живым стрелком.Так же и про Т-34. Дермо редкостное. Но самый массовый.И распиаренный.
А для тренировки твоего ума дам тебе задачку:- Каким образом стрелок ИЛа защищал нижнюю полусферу ?
@@MWPadazhetski Встречный вопрос - каким образом стрелок на Ю87 защищал нижнюю полусферу? Не тыкай незнакомым людям, я с тобой не пил, знакомым ты мне не являешься. Не подумал ли ты, что условиях военного времени, когда на заводах в основном женщины и дети, что производство потребует упрощения его этапов и связанных с этим проблем и издержек, из-за чего качество и гуляло? Это не Германия с производством Европы с относительно спокойной обстановкой. Линии на капоте предназначены для сброса бомб. Это не пикировщик и не бомбер, самолёт частично бронированный и тяжёлый и без доп. прицельных приспособлений, которые ещё надо разместить. Ил - штурмовик, ходил "по головам" в первую очередь, потому что это его назначение. Пушками -пулеметами для справки дальше 400-600 метров по технике стрелять мало смысла, по живой силе - большой разброс. На скоростях сближения с землёй эти сотни метров пролетаются за секунды.
the p-47 thunderbolt was also known as the flying tank, could absorb incredible punishment and keep flying,
largest single engine fighter
of WWII
Right but it wasn’t armored more than any other aircraft of the time. Not exactly a flying tank. That’s a silly term anyway
It's a great flight sim too.
I can understand the initial single seaters being called hunchbacks due to the shape of the cockpits. The cockpits in the 2 seater variant looked different. I normally like the Dark Skies videos, but I think that the description of the early Stormoviks could do with some revision as it wasn't till the 3rd variants that the Stormovik received an official 2 seater variant.
The field modified 1 and 2 variants had the rear gunner sitting in a hole that had been cut into the fuselage behind the cockpit to which a pair of guns had also been attached. The gunner had no protection from the weather or armour protection. When they updated to the 3rd variants and extended the cockpit, they could only accomodate a single rear facing machine gun.
While the smug Germans were working on their ridiculous Kinger Tanks, the Russians created a flying g tank
The thought of Comrade Stalin had to keep him warm in his draftpit there at the back of the plane while the slipstream battered his body...😢
Since when you, my dear Englishmen that don't understand Cyrillic(not Russian but Cyrillic as they say) understand German? Since when initial S is being read as Sh digraph?
@@worldoftancraft what the (American) fuck are you talking about?
Incredible airplane and the men that flew her.
This aircraft has a beauty of its own..😍👍
Sort of like Stalin.
Out of all the named battles in the war the battle of Kursk fascinates me the most
Which ones, Then or Now ?!
@@keiranp0dbenn559 both I just pray this time the Russians will be hunted down for crimes against humanity
@@keiranp0dbenn559 edge lord
If only school was this interesting.
Well in war thunder when you see a IL2 you know someone gotta have a bad day
Just found this channel this morning and I’m what they say…binge watching! Love these videos Mr Dark Skies!
IL-2 was originally designed with the tail gunner, but due to some bright minds in the higher VVS the gunner was deemed as excessive and discarded, only after bearing heavy losses in the first year of the war the 2 seater variant was introduced
Нет. Долгое время ждали двигатель, способный тянуть версию со стрелком
@@ZPB2882 даже Р-5 в штурмовом варианте уже имел бортстрелка
Спасибо за хороший разбор советского штурмовика и объективное освещение.
Great material. Thanks to you.
Great respect to you aviation enthusiasts!
The gunner position was an afterthought and was outside the armoured area. So gunners didn't last long.
The rear gunner had Up to 10 times the casualty rate of the Pilot and never less than 5 times. An modification was never introduced until after the war because psychopath idiot in chief Stalin was to stupid to let engineers and production planners come up with a way it could be done.
The armored gunner position was in the initial design but when AM-35 was swapped with AM-38 (low alt more powerful engine) requirements in range of 1000 km wasn't achieved due to more thirsty AM-38 and that's why gunner position was removed for an additional fuel tank.
When field modifications with added gunner position proved to be necessary for the plane survival, production aircraft was changed to initial design with armored gunner position.
@@outerspaceoutlander A lot of sloppy history in the age of the internet and Wikipeida where no one uses dates anymore. Armour to the Sturmovik came very late in the war. I believe 1944.
@@williamzk9083armour to Il-2 came from drawing board, factory produced plane with armored cabin for tail gunner with Berezin UB machinegun was tested on frontline from oct 42 to jan 43, and was produced ever since. Imagine believing yt wehraboos can use any actual sources, maybe even russian sources about soviet plane (BIAS!), nah, never happens.
In fact IL-2 called FLYING TANK because it has 13mm armor
same amount as tanks of its era
And an extremely high level of losses, as in Soviet tanks.
@@ВладиславВладислав-и4ю high production= high losses on the most deadly front of a war
The IL-2 also has the distinction of being the most shot down aircraft of WW2.
Where did you hear that? Did they build that many?
@@darrellcook8253 it was the most produced plane in the war
It was an illusion that it would stay in the air
@@darrellcook8253 About 36,000 IL-2 were built during WW-2, the highest number of any aircraft type produced by any nation during the war. The Messerschmitt Bf-109 was next highest with about 34,000 produced, starting from 4 years before WW2 commenced.
@@darrellcook8253 It was literally in the video at the end, over 15.000 airplanes of that type were destroyed by the Wehrmacht/Luftwaffe during the war, clearly it most be by numbers the most destroyed airplane from a single type.
Good Vdeo, but what i still missed at the end was the rememberance of the Il 10, the direct follower of the of the Il 2.
Yes!!! Indeed!! The new and improved Il-2!!😊
Tomato, Toe-Ma-Toe, Sturm-Oh- Vic, and whatever you were saying.
Toe-MAY-Toe, there i fixed it
When you are cruising at the altitude of 43,000 feet and you heard…. “BANZAI”
Read Hartmanns biography. He did not regard the Sturmovik highly and hitting the unprotected oilpan would end the plane.
Like any other plane..lol..And is so easy to hit the oil cooler in 450 mph//lol//Seems as Nazi propaganda is still doing well
Yeah but he lost soooo
It's actually Shturmovik
One of the best ever!!!
_Strewm-o-vic?_ -- My bones ache, a "strorm" must be on its way...
Finally the IL-2 video I was waiting for
Ветераны которые на ИЛ-2 воевали говорили что лучше машины нет такого класса с работой по наземным целям
As a recent subscriber to your channel I'd like to tell you I think your videos are great, with insightful commentary and well produced
A woman fighter pilot ..she is worth her own video..thanks for a great work
Thanks for this 👍
I mean they made a whole flight combat sim off the aircraft so it had to be good.
What wasn't mentioned was the disparity between the pilot and the AG . The pilot was the highly trained commodity who had to be protected while the poor AG was a disposable unit that had zero armour , not even a proper seat just a canvas strap to sit on .
That was on field modifications when gunner position wasn't factory implemented. Initial project had armored gunner position but it was scrapped for additional fuel tank for range. Later on when field modifications proved that gunner was more important than plane range, protected and armored gunner position was implemented (brought back from the initial design).
At first often flying as a gunner on field mods was kind of punishment and also a chance to repay with blood for wrongdoings.
But the plane was designed without the gunner. The reason he had no armor was because it would require a redesign. He was an afterthought.
The IL-2 was not an air superiority fighter, but they were made in great numbers and WW2 was a war of attrition. So it worked.
They weren't intended to be, they were ground attack aircraft...
7:58 Yeah... uhm, that's a Stuka :)
They are slow, can't dog fight, but I love these things. Thanks for posting.
Herr Hartmann flew up from below, avoiding the rear gunner. He shot down many IL-2s.
Ha ha flew up? How? IL2 isn't bomber man. Rear gunner was just scare crow much and against Messer had no chance. ( Btw why Herr attached kinda Herr Himmler Herr Goebbles ...)
Hartman was a lethal shot. He would often take out an IL-2 oil cooler with one shot of his 20mm cannon.
@@dugzamilza5212 Herr is to honor him. His rank was Major in the Luftwaffe ( 3rd Reich )and Oberst (Colonel/Group Captain) in the Bundeswehre Luftwaffe.
@@williamzk9083 хартман был бандитом пришедшим в чужой дом убивать
Any facts,documents? Any proof that Hartmann was Soooooo good pilot you've heard/listened/read of him? Documents, please! Are there any? Sources, please!
I’d imagine getting a letter from Stalin saying he was disappointed in you was absolutely terrifying.
Напьешся получишь
You should make a video on the Pe-2. I've not seen any videos on it even though it was produced in very high numbers.
The Russians built a flying tank in this IL2 Sturmovic. One of the best ground attack aircraft of WWII.
If I am correct, Paul Allen's Museum in Tacoma, Washington State had an IL 2 his small museum has quite trove of interesting and rare birds. I spent much too much time looking at the smallest details. Got to go back there again.
1:20 love to see the stick welding with no helmet
now that level of quality doesn't increase sales
IL2 vs Stuka...different tactics and flight envelope and deployment/engineering method...probably the IL2 had a lot more armor for protection...
There was an il-2 that got destroyed by a Tiger, very interesting and fascinating story.
I am so grateful to you for lightening such theme. You have found so much video footage. It is amazing. It is peaty that even now planty of information stays hidden. Here in Russia we have video channel TacticМedia where historic Oleg Rastrenin describes how IL-2 was born.
The ORIGINAL A-10
I will always wonder how many of the gunners shot out their own tails
Could you please make an episode about "Gnat" aircraft as well.
great stuff
Interesting to hear about the tactics of the 'defensive circle'.
Достойный документальный фильм!
A very interesting documentary. Thanks for the rare footage of World War II.
P.S. Ilyushin created another unique aircraft. IL-4. Long range bomber. He was not easy to pilot. But, like the IL-2, it was distinguished by its amazing survivability. My grandfather flew it in the second world.
As he said: They made night raids. After one raid on the railway junction, the pilots landed in the morning and saw with horror the almost destroyed wings. They were like colanders from the kitchen. )
† In memory of all the pilots and aircraft makers of the Second World War! †
God bless Russia.
Thats where Hitler was defeated, on the eastern front.
@@rdallas81 хорошо,что еще есть люди адекватно видящие ситуацию вокруг России,спасибо Рой.
Russian quality = less precise heavier built = durable like the sks,AK 47, T34, etc. I was at a airshow in the early 90s and the Russian aerobatic team were there a airforce pilot was standing there beside me watching one of the Russian pilots flying by virtually standing the plane on it's tail just short of being in a stall, the pilot said that the only reason they (Russians) could get by with doing that is because they don't built the engines as precise as us they're just crude enough to take the punishment the load puts on them. He said if we do that it would destroy the turbine blade assemblys and most likely the plane we fly sports cars an they fly Buicks.
6:17
That letter though. Imagine the guy receiving it.
Guess what - it worked!
Sturmovik the flying TANK 😮,🤟🤠
The grandfather of the Warthog.
Not sure
Great video. We don't hear enough about Russian aircraft produced during WW2.
I admire and respect the IL2 but I’ve read the day to day German/Russian BDA reports on Kursk. IL2’s actually knocking out tanks was extremely rare especially with rockets. A particular day Germans would report zero and Soviets would report well over that. (Sometimes Soviet reports would be higher than actual panzers being used that day). Over reporting kills occurs sometimes due to multiple people taking credit for the same target (like US b17 gunners shooting at the same plane) however It turns out 20mm’s just like 50. Cals are not reliable tank killers. That’s why Hans Rudel used 30mm bord cannons on his Stuka instead. The Germans did report on the flying circle of death tactic and the “cement bomber” was also a thing too. The Most produced military aircraft ever only beat by the civilian sector, Cessna 172.
KG200 the German captured aircraft evaluation unit deemed it so unairworthy that they forbade German pilots to even try it out. It had the aerodynamics of a thrown brick. It was designed to use "ground effect" low level lift which made it a nightmare to land as it wouldn't stop on the landing field......WOAH MULE!!!!!!!!
...and still won the battle, war. Germans always thought russians are unworthy opponent until lost the Reichstag.
LOL
"Whoa, mule. I said WHOA!"
Slams his musket over the camel's head
Who says that those old Saturday morning cartoons didn't prepare us for the real world...???
Thx for the smile
Desighned to use ground efect?
Ground efect is noticable under 5 meters for most aircraft, plus this is not Caspian sea monster ekranoplan.
Never it was inteded to be used in such way.
It has certanly beter handling than Stuka dive bombers.
Belive nazi propaganda as much as you like.
Just look at german losses of ground atack aircraft...
The beginning is the opposite side of dark docs. "Impossible shot - the tank that shot down a plane"
Бегельдинов, Талгат Якубекович, дважды герой Советского Союза. Штурмовик который сбивал истребители
Hope to see a video on the SU25 Frogfoot
I wonder just how many of these great pilots were sent in front of the firing squad after their expanded notoriety, because Stalin was afraid of them?
Ты жертва пропаганды,не верь этим глупостям,может тебе хочется в это верить?
That is one of Papa Stalin's best warplane
A-10 of its day.
Скорее А-10 это Ил-2 спустя много лет
💀..I've always liked your content..You've been around for quite a long time ⌛️ now I think, yes ?! More Power to ya, man..!!!
An IL2 variant with 2 engines would be amazing
History repeats itself.
The Su-25 was not an answer to the A-10 the soviets just needed a ground attack aircraft after realizing during a mock conventional war that all of their ground attack was being conducted by fighters mainly Mig-19s so development of a sub-sonic ground attack aircraft began by sukhoi, ilyushin a few others.
Well, you have to give it to Stalin, he knew how to write a motivational letter
Man had the snail with him 💀💀💀
Basically the first A-10
These il-2's eat up my 13.7's in warthunder all day long
The claim that with the beginning of the war, single Il-2s were immediately equipped with a seat for the shooter is false. Unfortunately, due to the technical difficulties associated with the conversion of a single Il-2 into a double, for quite a long time the pilots had to go into battle without an onboard shooter. Given the high risk of using the IL-2, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (the highest military award) was awarded to the surviving pilots for 10 sorties.
the most mast produced plane of WW2. the reds P47
I'm pretty sure most carried only 23mm cannons. The 37mm variant was made in small numbers but found ineffective if I remember correctly.
It's interesting how the 37mm cannon was tried by different air forces in WWII but nobody made it work.
@@recoil53 P-39 says what
@@russman3787 And how well did the P-39 do?
@@recoil53 Pretty well. It wasn't a bad plane, but the US didn't like it much for whatever reason. It saw success as a lend lease plane in the USSR.
@@russman3787 The US didn't like it because of it's tendency to flat spin. The soviets didn't mind this problem as much, as their I-16 had a similar issue and experienced pilots would be able handle the situation and could then get out of it.
The combatant countries that developed fighter aircraft that protected the pilot had better outcome. A country can make more planes, but it’s harder to give pilots a fighting chance to become a greater and better pilot. By the end of WWII, Japan was running out of quality pilots, e.g the Zero was basically a flying gas can that would light up with a few incendiary rounds. The German Luftwaffe didn’t have a enough gas to fully train new pilots to replace loses and of course their aircraft manufacturers were being bombed into submission. The Pilot is the valuable resource
Ил 2 не был истребитель это штурмовик.
Where is the cover pic from?