Ilyushin Il-2 M Russian ground-attack aircraft
Eastern Express 72215

The Ilyushin Il-2 was a ground-attack aircraft in the Second World War, produced by the Soviet Union in very large numbers. In combination with its successor, the Ilyushin Il-10, a total of 42,330 were built, making it the single most produced military aircraft design in all of aviation history. The Ilyushin Il-2 is regarded as the best ground-attack aircraft of World War II. It was a prominent aircraft for tank killing with its accuracy in dive bombing and its guns being able to penetrate tanks' thin top armor.

The Ilyushin Il-2 - a single-seat aircraft. The Ilyushin Il-2 M - a two-seat version with a rear gunner. The Ilyushin Il-2 M3: as more duralumin became available for the Soviet aviation industry, the Il-2 received a set of all-metal wing panels. At the same time, the outer wing planform was swept back, with a straight trailing edge, since the centre of gravity shifted back after the gunner was added. The wing planform change regained controllability of the two-seat Il-2 back to the level of the single-seat Il-2.

The Ilyushin Il-2 M3 with NS-37 was based on two seat Il-2, armed with Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 instead of 20/23 mm cannons. This version was an approach to anti-tank aircraft, prepared for the Battle of Kursk. However, combat effectiveness was quite low and production of version was limited to about 3,500. Moreover, bomb load decreased from 600 kg to 200 kg. It was replaced by conventional Il-2 attackers armed with cassettes with cumulative bomblets. [Wikipedia]