PLAY
Aviation
IL-2 (1941)
II
Rank
AB
2.7
RB
2.3
SB
2.3
Battle rating
USSR
Game nation
Strike aircraft
Main role
7,900
RP
Research
10,000
SL
Purchase
General information

As early as the 1930s, the Soviet Army considered the possibility of a ground attack aircraft to be a potential key asset. This plan was put into motion in 1938 after the Ilyushin bureau submitted the design that would later be known as the Ilyushin IL-2. The IL-2 then entered a design contest against Sukhoi’s Su-6, with the former winning the contract in 1939 due to its reliability.

Being designed to carry a heavy 23 mm Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23 autocannon (although not mounted on the earliest production model, as it had not yet entered production) as well as an armoured cockpit, the IL-2 was severely overloaded and underpowered. However, it was noted to be surprisingly agile while being highly survivable. As a result, the IL-2 was widely used during World War II, to the point that the Russian word for its ground-attack role “Sturmovik” became a byword for the aircraft itself. In total, 36,183 IL-2s across all variants were built, making it the single most-produced military aircraft in history as well as the second most-produced aircraft of all time after the Cessna 172 Skyhawk civilian aircraft.

Introduced in Update 1.47 "Big Guns", the IL-2 (1941) is the first of the famous “Sturmovik” aircraft a pilot will get in the Soviet aircraft tree. Players will quickly find that this plane is very durable but somewhat slow and unwieldy, although with some skill this plane can surprise attacking enemies due to its surprisingly good turn rate. Being the earliest production variant, the IL-2 (1941) lacks a defensive gunner and is “only” equipped with two 20 mm ShVAK autocannons, which pale in comparison to the famous 23 mm VYa-23 found in later models, though it does still offer decent firepower against most planes at its BR.


Camouflages:

Flight performance
Max speed
at 2,500 m 425389447404 km/h
Rate of Climb 8.6611.36.1 m/s
Turn time 24.926.724.125.9 s
Max altitude 9,500 m
Takeoff Run 450 m

Combat
flaps
Take-off
flaps
Landing
flaps
Air
brake
General characteristics
Crew 1 person
Gross weight 4.8 t
Engine Mikulin AM-38
Length 11.4 m
Wingspan 14.6 m

Limits:
Max Speed Limit (IAS) 620 km/h
Mach Number Limit 0.61 M
Flap Speed Limit (IAS) 270 km/h
Gear Speed Limit (IAS) 320 km/h
Offensive armament
2 × 20 mm ShVAK cannon
Ammunition 420 rounds
Fire rate 800 shots/min

BeltBelt fillingArmor penetration (mm) at a distance:
10 m100 m500 m1000 m1500 m2000 m
FI-T/AP-I282414742
FI-T/HEF/AP-I/FI-T282414742
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FI-T333333
AP-I/FI-T/AP-I/AP-I282414742
AP-I/HEF/HEF/FI282414742
2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun
Ammunition 1,500 rounds
Fire rate 1,800 shots/min

BeltBelt fillingArmor penetration (mm) at a distance:
10 m100 m500 m1000 m1500 m2000 m
T/Ball/Ball/AP-I/AI13127320
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Suspended armament
Max weight 625 kg

NameWeightSlot
4 × 27.2 kg
4 × 60 kg
4 × 94 kg
4 × 167.6 kg
4 × 206.4 kg
252.2 kg
240 kg
49.8 kg
103.5 kg
6 × 153 kg
2 × 99.5 kg
2 × 207 kg
Economy
Repair cost Basic → Reference
AB 355 → 540 SL
RB 444 → 676 SL
SB 910 → 1,385 SL
Crew training 3,000 SL
Experts 10,000 SL
Aces 125 GE
Research Aces 160,000 RP
Reward multiplier AB / RB / SB
30 / 60 / 120 % SL
112 % RP
Total cost of modifications 6,910 RP
6,750 SL
Talisman cost 530 GE

Research order:
IL-2 (1941)

Flight performance
Weaponry
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Settings
Settings
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Modification:
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