Ilyushin IL2 (Russia)
| Length | 1,160cm / 457in |
| Wingspan | 1,460cm / 575in |
| Crew | 2 |
| Armament | Two 37mm cannons in wing pods Two 7.62 machine guns in wings One 12.7mm machine gun in rear cockpit |
| Ceiling | 6,000m / 19,685ft |
| Range | 800km / 497m |
| Top speed | 400km/h / 250mph |
The Ilyushin IL2, or Shturmovik as it was commonly known (after an early prototype), was the most mass produced fighter of World War II. Russian factories made an astounding total of over 36,000 craft (15,000 more than the Spitfire for example) and they became well known to the German forces in Russia. Early models were a single-seat design, but an additional crew member was added to service a rear-facing machine gun.
The cockpit was heavily armoured to protect the crew during ground attacks, and this is where the Shturmovik excelled. It could be equipped with air-to-ground rockets, which were devastating to the normally safe, German Tiger tanks, which had nowhere to hide on the open Russian Steppe.
