Il-2 from a movie

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi,
I've obtained some screenshots from a wartime movie


Some considerations:

It is an Il-2 with metal wings and wooden rear fuselage, probably built in z.18.

There is an external aiming device of the curved type on the engine cowling, and the reflective gunsight in the cockpit.

Reinforcing bands are visible on the rear fuselage; the sliding hood of the canopy has slightly reduced armor on its sides, suggesting an early production plane; on the other hand, the metal wings with VYa-23 mm guns were introduced in late 1941 or early 1942; this suggests that this Shturmovik was modified with pieces of other planes and then repainted.

The camo pattern is unusual for its predominance of green over black and for the low demarcation line with blue undersurfaces; besides the red stars are unusually small and don't have the thin white outline that is a characteristic mark of the planes built in z.18 in that time.

Here is a drawing:



Any comments?
Jason, do you want this drawing for the book?

Regards
Massimo

[learstang]

Absolutely, Massimo - great find.  It's an interesting aeroplane with the external stiffeners and that odd curved aiming device on the cowling.  Since it doesn't have the external filter, it must be from before the middle of 1942.

Regards,

Jason

[KL]

Hi Massimo/Jason,

Black camouflage fields definitelly were not factory painted.
Rear fuselage stiffeners were probably a  field modification.  The person who painted this plane, did understand and applied principles of the ''disruptive camouflage".

It is an Il-2 with metal wings and wooden rear fuselage, probably built in z.18.

How do you know the wings are metal and the plane was built by Zavod No18?

Cheers,
KL

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pB21cVKlsI&feature=related
at about 2:03, one can see that there is a nervure under the wingtip, that corresponds to balances that were on metal-winged planes only. The wing with VYa-23 mm guns is of late 1941 or 1942, and the only factory producing Il-2s with metal wings in that period was z.18.
Regards
Massimo

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi,
I've made some updates to the images thanks to a screenshot from AR that allows to see more of the right wing.
Regards
Massimo