Russia’s IL-2 Sturmovik – The Flying Tank Part 1

Russia’s IL-2 Sturmovik – The Flying Tank Part 1

If you had to choose one plane that defined Soviet airpower in World War II, there can be little doubt it was the Il-2 Sturmovik “Flying Tank,” an armored ground-attack plane that hammered Nazi Germany’s tanks and troops from the opening days of Operation Barbarossa to the fall of Berlin. Despite sustaining horrifying losses to opposing fighters and flak guns, Soviet industry fed tens of thousands of the sturdy warplanes into the struggle, making it the most extensively produced military aircraft type ever.