Ilyushin Il-2

The Ilyushin Il-2, Shturmovik, was a Soviet ground-attack aircraft extensively used during World War II. Heavily-armed and armored, it was an effective weapon, with a tremendous destructive capacity. The Shturmovik was massively used as it became a legend to the Russian people, who saw it as an instrument of salvation fighting against German armored vehicles. A total of 36,184 Il-2 ground-attack aircraft were made between 1939 and 1945. It was also used by the communist forces in the Korean War.

The prototype of the Ilyushin Il-2, the CKB-57, performed its maiden flight on October 2, 1939. It was flown by test pilot Vladimir Kokkinaki. It was powered by one AM-35 V-shaped piston engine, which generated 1,370 horsepower. Since this engine was not strong enough to lift into the air the four tons of airframe and armor, the aircraft would be upgraded with the new 1,680-HP, Mikulin AM-38 engine. Competing with the Sukhoi Su-6, it was finally accepted by the Soviet government, entering service on May 19, 1941, one month before the start of Operation Barbarossa.

The Shturmovik´s main versions were the Il-2M, which was fitted with a machine gun in the rear cockpit, and the Il-2M3, which had modified wings (its leading edge had increased sweep). Although it looked unsophisticated, it would prove to be a devastating ground-attack aircraft. It was armed with either two 20-mm or two 37-mm cannons set up in wing and one manually-operated 12.7-mm machine gun in rear. To attack massive concentration of troops and vehicles, it carried 600-kg (1,320-lb) of bombs, or eight RS-82 rockets. The aircraft was large, rugged, and cheap to produce, earning the unwavering trust of its pilots. It was known as the ¨Flying Tank¨ by the Russians, and the ¨Schwarz Tod¨ (Black Death) by the Germans.

Technical Characteristics

The Ilyushin Il-2 was a two-seat, single-engine, low-wing monoplane. The fore section of fuselage was all-metal, with cockpit and engine being protected by 12-mm-thick armor plates, while the aft portion was wooden monocoque. However, the tail assembly and wing outer panels were all-metal. Due to its large wing area, it had good low-level performance. Landing gear was retractable.

Specifications (Il-2M3)

Length: 11.65 m (38 feet)

Wing Span: 14,60 m (48 feet)

Wing Area: 38.50 m2 (414 square feet)

Height: 3.40 m (11 feet)

Power Plant: one 1,720-HP, Mikulin AM-38F, piston engine.

Maximum Speed: 430 km/h (267 mph)

Range: 600 km (375 miles)

Service Ceiling: 9,700 m (31,825 feet)

Armament: two 37-mm cannons in wings; one 12.7-mm machine gun; six 100-kg bombs; rockets.

Crew: two

Below, a colorized photo of the Ilyushin Il-2 in 1942.

The first production Shturmovik parked in front of factory right before mass production began in 1941.

Below, the Il-2M3 model in flight in late 1943.

The Shturmovik on a military base in the winter of 1944.

Below, the Il-2M3 in 1952, during the Korean War.

Gloster Gauntlet

The Gloster Gauntlet was a British fighter aircraft in service with the RAF in the 1930s. Along with its successor, the Gladiator, it was the last combat biplane used by the RAF, forming the backbone of Great Britain´s home air defense until a couple of years before the Battle of France in 1940. Both biplanes would be gradually replaced by the Hawker Hurricane from 1937 onward. By 1936, a total of 250 Gauntlets had been produced.

The first prototype of the Gloster Gauntlet, the S.S.18, was first flown in 1928. The pilot was Howard Saint, achieving a 183 mph speed at 10,000 feet of altitude. It was powered by a Bristol Mercury IIA piston engine. It had a lot of shortcomings as its performance was not satisfactory. Thus, a second prototype was built, the S.S.19, which would take to the air for the first time in 1931. This model would be upgraded into the S.S.19B, which first flew in the spring of 1933. This prototype was powered by one Bristol Mercury VIS radial engine, which had a power output of 575 HP. It entered service as the Gauntlet Mk I.

Technical Characteristics

The Gloster Gauntlet was a single-seat, single-engine biplane. Its airframe was made of metal longerons and stringers, while its fuselage consisted of plywood and hardened canvas. The upper plane of wing had a 6-degree dihedral bend, with ailerons being fitted to both planes, which were joined by struts and braced with steel wire. The tail plane and fin were elliptical. Like all biplanes, it had a fixed landing gear.

Specifications

Type: biplane fighter

Length: 8 m (26 feet, 5 inches)

Wing Span: 9.9 m (32 feet, 9 inches)

Wing Area: 29.3 m2 (315 square feet)

Height: 3.12 m (10 feet, 3 inches)

Power Plant: one 640-HP, Bristol Mercury VIS2, 9-cylinder, radial piston engine.

Maximum Speed: 230 mph, or 370 km/h

Range: 460 miles, or 740 km

Service Ceiling: 10,200 m (33,500 feet)

Crew: one

Armament: two 7.7-mm (.303) Vickers Mk V machine guns.

Below, three Gloster Gauntlet biplane fighters in flight in 1937.

The first production Gauntlet Mk I, serial No K4081, which flew for the first time during December 1934.

Below, the prototype S.S.19B, J9125, during a flight test.

Gloster Sea Gladiator

 The Gloster Sea Gladiator was a single-seat, carrier-based fighter aircraft in service with the Royal Navy´s Fleet Air Arm from 1939 to 1944. Developed from the Gladiator Mk-II of the British Royal Air Force, it was fitted with arrestor hook for landing on carrier flight deck as the air speed indicator was recalibrated from `mile per hour´ to knots. Also the fuselage was reinforced with a rigid cross member and the anchoring for the `V´-shaped arrestor hook at the junction.

The Gloster Sea Gladiator would remain in service as a fighter until 1942 as it was replaced by faster monoplane aircraft. From that year, it would be relegated to the pilot trainer role. A total of 98 Sea Gladiator aircraft were produced and about half of them were shipped overseas to be used on carriers in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Theater. 18 of them had also been assigned to Kalafrana, Malta, in 1939. These saw combat action in the Mediterranean Theater against the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) Fiat CR.32 and CR.42 Falco biplane fighters.

Technical Description

The Sea Gladiator was a single-seat, single-engine biplane. It was fitted with single-bay wings, with two pair of inter-plane struts. The top wing upper surface was covered by aluminum sheets. Landing gear was fixed.

Specifications

Type: carrier-borne fighter

Length: 8.4 m (27 feet, 5 inches)

Wing Span: 9.8 m (32 feet, 3 inches)

Height: 3.6 m (11 feet, 9 inches)

Power Plant: one 830-HP, Bristol Mercury VIIIA, 9-cylinder, radial piston engine, with three-bladed propeller.

Maximum Speed: 414 km/h (257 mph)

Service Ceiling: 10,000 m (32,805 feet)

Crew: one

Armament: four 7.7-mm (.303) Browning machine guns.

Below, two photographs of the Gloster Sea Gladiator in flight, N5525.

Hawker Typhoon

The Hawker Typhoon was a fast fighter-bomber used by the British RAF during World War II. It was one of the most reliable and finest close-support aircraft of this armed conflict. Although it had originally been designed as an interceptor, it became famous as a high-speed, low-level, strike aircraft. Armed with four 20-mm guns, rockets, and a bomb-load of 1,000-kg (2,100-lb), it was one of the Allies´ most important anti-tank combat aircraft. It was the British equivalent to the American P-47 Thunderbolt.

The prototype of the Hawker Typhoon, P5212, was first flown on February 24th, 1940, by test pilot Philip Lucas. Upon its first flight, the first improvements made on the first prototype were the enlargement of the tail fin and rudder and the reinforcement of its monocoque fuselage. The first and second prototype, P5216, were powered by one 2,000-HP Napier-Sabre piston engine. After more than a year of flight tests, the aircraft would finally enter service with the RAF on September 11, 1941, as the Typhoon Mk-IA. However, the most widely produced version would be the Mk-IB.

Below, the renowned WW2 British fighter-bomber in flight, banking left.

Technical Characteristics

The Hawker Typhoon was a single-seat, single-engine, low-wing monoplane. Its airframe consisted of steel tubes, while the fore portion of fuselage was welded duralumin panels. The rear section was semi-monocoque structure composed of flush-riveted metal panels. The wing of the Typhoon had a slightly inverted-gull wing design. Thus, the wing inner section had a 1-degree anhedral bend, while the outer section had five and a half degrees dihedral angle.

The radiator of the Napier-Sabre engine was large and it was located right underneath the aircraft nose. The pilot of aircraft was protected by a bullet-proof reinforced cockpit canopy as well as by an armor plate set up behind his seat. The landing gear was of the retractable, wide-track type, with the wheels folding up inwardly into root of wing.

Specifications (Mk-IB)

Type: fighter-bomber/interceptor

Length: 9.73 m (31 feet, 11 inches)

Wing Span: 12.67 m (41 feet, 7 inches)

Wing Area: 25.90 m2 (279 square feet)

Height: 4.52 m (14 feet, 10 inches)

Power Plant: one Napier-Sabre IIA, inline, piston engine, delivering 2,180 HP.

Maximum Speed: 664 km/h (413 mph)

Range: 1,500 km (932 miles) with drop tanks

Service Ceiling: 10,700 m (35,100 feet)

Crew: one

Armament: four 20-mm Hispano cannons; two 454-kg (1,000-lb) bombs; twelve rockets.

Below, the second prototype of the Typhoon, P5216, parked on the factory yard. Notice the large radiator under the engine.

A photo of the Mk-IB version taken around 1943.

Below, the Typhoon Mk-IA version.

Gloster Gladiator

The Gloster Gladiator was a fighter aircraft in service with the British RAF between 1937 and 1944. Although it was a biplane made of plywood and canvas, it would successfully engage Axis fighters in dogfights in North Africa and in the Mediterranean theater of World War II. A total of 750 Gladiators would be produced by Gloster Aircraft Company Ltd. It was exported to Sweden, Finland, and Belgium between 1937 and 1939. One Swedish squadron fighting for the Finns during the Winter War claimed to have shot down 12 Soviet aircraft for only 3 losses.

The Gloster Gladiator was greatly maneuverable, with excellent handling characteristics. Thus, British ace pilots, such as Lieutenant Pat Pattle and William Vale shot down 19 and 10 Italian aircraft respectively flying this biplane. However, this fighter aircraft would first see combat action in service with the Finnish Air Force fighting against Soviet airplanes in the skies over the Baltic Sea in 1939 and 1940 during the Winter War. However, the RAF squadrons equipped with this biplane would be wiped out of the sky by German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters during the Norwegian Campaign.

The Gloster Gladiator prototype, the S.S.37, made its maiden flight on September 12, 1934. Flown by Flt. Lt. Sayer, it was powered by a 530-HP, Bristol Mercury IV, 9-cylinder, radial engine, which would soon be replaced by a 645-HP Mercury VIS radial engine. Finally, after more than two years of flight tests, it would be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force on February 22, 1937, as the Mk I. This first version was powered by one Bristol Mercury IX, 9-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine, which could deliver 840 horsepower. In 1938, the Mk II version was introduced into service.

Technical Characteristics

The Gloster Gladiator was a single-seat, single-engine biplane. Although its airframe was made of metal, with spars and stringers, the fuselage was essentially plywood and stretched over canvas, which made this aircraft rather flimsy. The upper plane and lower plane of the wing were joined together by 8 struts, with two parallel ones on each outer portion of wing, and four struts, set in ´V´ in two, at the center of wing, going through the airframe in front of cockpit. The wing upper plane was set slightly forward above the lower plane. Landing gear was fixed.

Specifications (Mk I)

Type: biplane fighter aircraft

Length: 8.4 m (27 feet, 5 inches)

Wing Span: 9.8 m (32 feet, 3 inches)

Wing Area: 30 m2 (323 square feet)

Height: 3.6 m (11 feet, 9 inches)

Power Plant: 840-HP, Bristol Mercury IX, 9-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine.

Maximum Speed: 407 km/h (253 mph)

Service Ceiling: 9,997 m (32,800 feet)

Crew: one

Armament: four 7.7-mm (.303) Browning machine guns, with two set up in forward fuselage and two on wing.

Below, the S.S.37 prototype in flight in 1935, with the serial number K5200.

The third production of the Mk I version in flight in the Summer of 1937, with the serial number K6131.

Below, a Gladiator banks left. It was in service with the Finnish Air Force. The insignia it had was similar to the Third Reich´s.

Five Gladiator Mk I fighters of Squadron No 72 flying in formation in 1937.

Below a Mk I warms up its engine prior to a check flight.

Junkers Ju 52

The Junkers Ju 52 was a military transport aircraft used by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. With a total of 4,850 units being produced, this ungainly-looking airplane was one of the most reliable military transports in  that armed conflict. It first saw combat action in 1936, in service with the Condor Legion, during the Spanish Civil War. In May 1941, it was employed by the Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) divisions to capture the Greek island of Crete and secure the southern flank of the Third Reich. After WW2, it would also be used by the French Army during the French-Indochina War.

The Junkers Ju 52 formed the backbone of Germany airlift capability throughout World War II, delivering thousands of troops and tons of military supplies to front line German units both in the European and Mediterranean Theater. However, it had originally been designed as a fifteen-seat, civil aviation, passenger aircraft; as such, the prototype (Ju 52ba) first to took to the air on October 13, 1930, entering service with the Lufthansa on March 7, 1932. It was powered by only one piston engine; a BMW VIIau, 12-cylinder, inline piston engine, which could deliver 755 horsepower. Nevertheless, the aircraft was underpowered. Thus, the Ju 52/3mce version would be powered by three BMW Hornet, 9-cylinder, radial engines, each one of them capable of supplying 600 HP.

Technical Characteristics

The Junkers Ju 52 was a three-engine, medium-size monoplane. It was of standard all-metal construction, with corrugated, load-sustaining duralumin skin. It was fitted with straight, low-wing, with dihedral angle. The wing leading and trailing edge tapered towards the tip. It had conventional tail plane, with a large fin rudder. Both the wing and the tail planes were built on a multi-spar metal structure. The Ju 52 in service with the Luftwaffe was fitted with 18 paratrooper seats, plus the pilot and copilot seats. Like most military transport of those days, it had fixed landing gear.

Specifications (Ju 52/3mg7e)

Type: 18-seat military transport.

Length: 18.80 m (62 feet)

Wing Span: 29.25 m (95 feet, 11 inches)

Wing Area: 110.45 m2 (1,189 square feet)

Height: 4.50 m (14 feet, 9 inches)

Power Plant: three 619-HP, BMW 132T-2, 9-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engines.

Maximum Speed : 295 km/h (183 mph)

Rate of Climb: 208 m per minute.

Service Ceiling: 5,500 m (18,050 feet)

Armament: three 7.92-mm MG-15 machine guns, with one set up in dorsal position and two inside the aircraft to fire abeam through side windows.

Below,  Junkers Ju 52 in service with the Lufthansa around 1934.

A color photo of a Ju 52/3mce on the Eastern Front in 1943.

Below, the Tante Ju, as it was called by the German pilots, in flight over the Soviet Union.

The transport aircraft on a Luftwaffe airbase in France in the Summer of 1942.

The Ju 52 flying over North Africa in late 1942.

Below, a drawing of the German transport plane. Front view.

Junkers Ju 86

The Junkers Ju 86 was a four-seat, medium bomber which was used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. It was also employed in civil aviation as a ten-passenger commercial aircraft by Deutsche Lufthansa. During the German invasion of Poland and Battle of France, it was massively used, along with the Junkers Ju 87, to provide support to the advancing Wehrmacht forces. During December 1942 and January 1943, it was also utilized as a military transport plane to supply the German 6th Army's troops during the Battle of Stalingrad to complement the Ju 52.

The Junkers Ju 86 was designed in April 1934 as an answer to the German Air Ministry's specifications for a medium-size bomber, competing with Heinkel's model. The prototype, V1, made its maiden flight on November 4, 1934, at Dessau. It was powered by two Siemens SAM 22 radial engines. Since it was deemed to be underpowered, the aircraft would soon be re-engined in 1935, with two Jumo 205C, inline, piston engines. It was finally introduced into service in May 1936 as the Ju 86A-1. In July that year the Ju 86D-1 version was also delivered to the Luftwaffe. The Ju 86E-1 variant would use a different power plant as it was equipped with two BMW 132F radial machines. When World War II broke out, the Ju 86G-1 was already in service.

In 1941, Junkers would develop the Ju 86P-1 and, the following year, the Ju 86R, which were both high-altitude bombers to prevent the Allies interceptors from reaching this German aicraft. 

Technical Characteristics

The Junkers Ju 86 was a four-seat, twin-engine monoplane, with an all-metal fuselage. It featured straight, cantilever, low-wing, with both leading and trailing edge tapering towards the outer portion. The tail assembly had twin fins (vertical stabilizers), which were connected by a wide tail plane. It had retractable landing gear, which folded up into wing root.

Specifications (Ju 86D-1)

Type: medium bomber

Length: 17.87 m (58 feet, 8 inches)

Wing Span: 22.50 m (73 feet, 10 inches)

Wing Area: 82 m2 (883 square feet)

Height: 5 m (16 feet, 7 inches)

Power Plant: two Jumo 205C, 4-cylinder, diesel, inline, piston engines, each one delivering 600 HP.

Maximum Speed: 325 km/h (202 mph)

Range: 1,500 km (932 miles)

Crew: 4

Armament: three 7.92-mm machine guns, set up in the nose, and in dorsal and ventral position; 800-kg (1,764-lb) of bombs.

Below, a parked Ju 86E-1 at a Luftwaffe airbase in the Summer of 1940, at the end of the German invasion of France.

Two Junkers 86D-1 bombers in flight.

The Ju 86E-2, with the machine guns removed.

Below, the Ju 86G-1 in 1941. Notice the modified aircraft nose.

The high-altitude version of the bomber, the Ju 86P-1. Like the 86G-1, it had a conical nose, without the machine gun.