The Ilyushin il-28 'Beagle' was a light tactical bomber employed by the Soviet Air Force during the Cold War. It was designed and developed by the State-run company Ilyushin as a replacement for the Tupolev Tu-2, which had been used in World War II. It performed its first flight as a prototype in 1948, entering service in 1950.
With over 6,500 il-28s built, it was withdrawn from service in 1988. All the Eastern European countries, China and the Arab nations also included this tactical bomber in their arsenals. Even Cuba acquired ten il-28 aircraft. There was an advanced trainer variant, which was used by some communist countries. The il-28T was the naval torpedo bomber version and it was armed with torpedoes and rockets was well.
Technical Characteristics
The il-28 was a jet bomber aircraft. It was fitted with shoulder-mounted straight wings and swept-back tail. The design of its all-metal fuselage was straightforward simple and somehow reminded those used in World War II. The power plant consisted of two Klimov VK-I turbojet engines, which could develop 26.5 kN thrust each.
Armament
It was fitted with four 23mm Nudelman Rihkter NR-23 guns (autocannons), with two mounted in nose and the other two in the tail section. It carried up to 3,000 kg of bombs in internal bay, plus 2,000 kg on external hard points.
Specifications
Length: 17.65 m (57 ft 11 in)
Height: 6.7 m (22 ft)
Wingspan: 21.45 m (70 ft 4 in)
Wing Area: 60 m² (650 sq ft)
Weight: 12.9 tons
Maximum Speed: 905 km/h
Range: 2,180 km
Crew: 3
Below, a photo of the Ilyushin il-28 bomber taken at the end of the 1950s.
Below, the images of the il-28 taken from its design blue-print.
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