Hi,
I've added many works during last months.
Jason, I'll send to you the high resolution new and updated files when you want.
Here is a revision of a previous one, thanks to inputs from Vitaliy Timoshenko.
Better screenshots
Four screenshots of the takeoff of an Il-2M flown by Vasilin Ivan, the regimental commander of 617th ShAP. The plane is entitled to Suvorov, the great Russian strategist of the 19th century. The plane is clearly a straight-winger with short radio mast and the post-August camouflage and markings. The images are probably of the late summer/fall of 1943.
On the background, we see a later model with the higher radio mast (800 mm instead of 350) introduced into production around September or October 1943.
The fingernail shape of the fairing of the tail wheel is noteworty; after the summer 1943, it became characteristic of the planes built in Zavod 1. The most part of the planes visible in a video of this unit look of Z.1 also because of the very large stars.
The colors of the cap on the tail and of the spinner are reported by veterans:
orange tail cap (and, probably, rear part of the spinner) as standard for 617th ShAP;
1st Squadron - red spinner tip
2nd squadron-
3rd Squadron - yellow spinner tip.
Note the light brown repainting at the base of the stabilizer, common to many planes of the unit; they could be due to the deletion of a previous marking.
Lacking of bort numbers, it is likely that the inscription was painted on both sides to make the commander's plane more recognizable.
Regards
Massimo
