Iljušin Il-2 (single) – the USSR ground attack aircraft

IL-2 (single) was produced from March 1941 to February 1943. This is a serial modification of the attack aircraft, which does not have a cockpit for the rear gunner. At the beginning of the war, IL-2 single-seaters suffered heavy losses, especially due to attacks from enemy fighters from the tail. An attempt was made to solve the defense of the plane against this method of attack by mounting machine guns in the rear of the fuselage and firing backwards. In August 1942, OPTI tested two Il-2s with "ShKAS" and "UBT" machine guns, but they were not put into series production. In the summer of 1942 combat units began to change single-seater airplanes to two-seater ones (about 1,200 airplanes were converted). In October, the two-seater version began mass production (two-seater and single-seater Il-2 were produced in parallel until the beginning of 1943). Production of the Il-2 continued until 1945, when it was replaced by the Il-10 strike aircraft of metal construction.

Pleasant colors, the joining lines of the sheets are precise and carefully executed. the level of detail makes for a very attractive model, that will grace any aviator's collection. We recommend this model for intermediate and advanced modelers.