New page on Il-2M3

[KL]

White 12 belongs to the same unit that appears on a movie of a postwar flight over Berlin.

Hi Massimo,
there was a thread about Il-2 No 25 "Mstitel" somewhere on the old forum where we discussed who and when took in-flight photos.  Just wondering how do you know it was a "postwar movie"?
Regards,
KL

[Massimo Tessitori]

You are right, if the flight was on 30 April 1945, the date of the capture of the Reichstag, combats were ended there, but officially the war wasn't still end.
Regards
Massimo

[KL]

You are right, if the flight was on 30 April 1945, the date of the capture of the Reichstag, combats were ended there, but officially the war wasn't still end.

It was a combat flight, planes were armed and carried RS rockets.  Combats on the Soviet-German front ended on May 15th, 1945.
It wasn't a movie; a series of photos more likely.
Regards,
KL

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi,
another one, very similar to 94.

White 93 is another plane of the 943 ShAP, very similar to the one of Parshin, but without the rear part of the canopy and with the usual flexible boot on the tail wheel typical of the planes of Z.30.
The camo pattern conforms to the first template of the directive of 1943.

Please, let me know anything wrong.

Regards
Massimo

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi,
any idea on what is the object under the wings?

It resembles a German auxiliary tank.
According to some informations, the plane is of a reconaissance unit and this could be a camera pod.
Regards
Massimo

[learstang]

I've wondered myself about that one, Massimo.  At first I thought it might be the elusive PLBG-150 fuel tank, but it's too short for that.  I also thought it might be the smoke-dispensing apparatus, but I believe that was hung from the wingroot bomb shackles.  I've never seen anything other than rockets hung under the outer wings, except for this photograph.  If it is a camera pod, it's not attached to an Il-2KR, as this aeroplane doesn't have the forward-mounted antenna.  However, it could just be some kind of field modification.

Regards,

Jason

P.S.  Just as an aside, this photograph may help explain why the AMT-1 on the nose was darker - it was covered by the tarpaulin and didn't fade as much.  However, you still see the darker AMT-1 on that famous in-flight photograph of the Il-2 taken from the front in a three-quarters' shot.  That was a brand-new Il-2 and was being flown by V.K. Kokkinaki, Ilyushin's chief test pilot, so the nose covering is at best only a partial explanation for the darker AMT-1 on the forward fuselage.

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi Jason,
I've compared it with a German auxiliary tank, and it is a modified form of it. Besides I know that this plane was of 10 ORAP, a reconaissance unit.  I think that the German fuel tank was converted into a photographic pod, in facts I see a rectangular hatch on its lower side and at least two triangular windows. Note the absence of the rocket rails on this side, but I think that they had preserved them under the other wing as balance weights.
Regards
Massimo

[Massimo Tessitori]

I wonder if it could have a large camera instead of the rear machine gun. I don't see any barrel protruding from the cover.
Regards
Massimo

[learstang]

I wonder if it could have a large camera instead of the rear machine gun. I don't see any barrel protruding from the cover.
Regards
Massimo

That's certainly possible.  I think if it had the UBT, they'd have a shroud covering just the gun, not the entire rear cockpit.

Regards,

Jason

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi, a new drawing of Il-2.




This downed Il-2 white 57 shows good resemblance with the template of 1945 below, and could be painted according to it. On the other hand, the pattern appears uncompatible with the usual templates of 1943, at least for its light tail side.
Unfortunately the date and place of the photo are unknown; should it have been taken before 1945, this interpretation would become hardly sustainable.
At present time, this is the only photo interpretable in this way in my directory.



Regards
Massimo

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi,
here is another drawing

from this photo

Image via A. Ruchkovsky.
Plane 110 with arrow of 809th ShAP of 264th ShAD in mid 1944. The pilot photographed is Moskovkin, but it isn't clear if this was the plane he flew.
The plane is interesting both because of the arrow and of the unusual number (note that the digits 1 are different). Unfortunately the view is only partial. The plane was hypothetically identified as an 'arrow' built in z.18 because of its long mast and confused camouflage.

Regards
Massimo

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi,
two new drawings of Il-2 of 1944 of 704 ShAP.

This plane is part of a line in Stoyanka airfield.

This is from a photo of pilot A.I. Zenin.
Both photos are from Vitaliy Timoshenko.
Unfortunately I was recommanded not to show them, sorry.
Regards
Massimo

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi all,
there is a beautiful photo of Il-2 on this forum:

http://forums-su.com/viewtopic.php?f=194&t=583322

Looks a Il-2 with wooden arrow wing; the wooden wings and the relatively small stars suggest a plane built in Z.30 in the winter/spring 1944.
The wings are badly damaged.
Do you agree it is an arrow winged plane? The discontinuity in angulation of what remains of the rear edge of the wing seems an indication for this.
The markings on the tail are particularly beautiful. Any idea of the unit bearing them?
Regards
Massimo

[learstang]

Interesting photograph, Massimo. The two small square panels on top of the wing look like the gun/ammo hatches for a metal-winged arrow, yet the wing is broken like it's wooden.

Regards,

Jason

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi Jason,
yes, seems you're right. I don't know if it depends on the factory (maybe Zavod 1, producing wood-winged planes, had a different standard) or if the new panelling replaced the old one before switching to metal wings in spring 1944.
Regards
Massimo