Effectiveness as attack aircraft Ilyushin Il-2

soviet il-2 planes attacking german column during battle of kursk

the true capabilities of il-2 difficult determine existing documentary evidence. w. liss in aircraft profile 88: ilyushin il-2 mentions engagement during battle of kursk on 7 july 1943, in 70 tanks german 9th panzer division claimed destroyed ilyushin il-2s in 20 minutes. in report of action on same day, soviet staff publication states that:

ground forces highly valued work of aviation on battlefield. in number of instances enemy attacks thwarted our air operations. on 7 july enemy tank attacks disrupted in kashara region (13th army). here our assault aircraft delivered 3 powerful attacks in groups of 20–30, resulted in destruction , disabling of 34 tanks. enemy forced halt further attacks , withdraw remnants of force north of kashara.

in battle of kursk (operation citadel), general v. ryazanov became master in use of attack aircraft en masse, developing , improving tactics of il-2 operations in co-ordination infantry, artillery , armored troops. il-2s @ kursk used circle of death tactic: 8 sturmoviks formed defensive circle, each plane protecting 1 ahead forward machine guns, while individual il-2s took turns leaving circle, attacking target, , rejoining circle. ryazanov later awarded gold star of hero of soviet union twice, , 1st assault aviation corps under command became first unit awarded honorific title of guards. in 1943, 1 loss corresponded 26 sturmovik sorties. half of lost shot down fighters, rest falling anti-aircraft fire.

other studies of fighting @ kursk suggest few of german armour losses caused il-2 or other soviet aircraft. in fact, total german tank losses in operation citadel amounted 323 totally destroyed, vast majority anti-tank guns , armored fighting vehicles. in addition difficult find first-hand accounts german panzer crews on eastern front describing more occasional loss direct air attack. vast majority, around 95%–98%, of tank losses due enemy anti-tank guns, tanks, mines, artillery, , infantry assault, or abandoned operational losses happened during last eleven months of war.

during battle of kursk, vvs il-2s claimed destruction of no less 270 tanks (and 2,000 men) in period of 2 hours against 3rd panzer division. on 1 july, however, 3rd panzer division s 6th panzer regiment had 90 tanks, 180 less claimed destroyed. on 11 july (well after battle), 3rd panzer division still had 41 operational tanks. 3rd panzer division continued fighting throughout july, 48th panzer corps. did not record extraordinary losses air attack throughout period. other panzer divisions @ kursk, large majority of 3rd panzer division’s tank losses due dug-in soviet anti-tank guns , tanks.

perhaps extraordinary claim vvs’s il-2s that, on period of 4 hours, destroyed 240 tanks , in process virtually wiped out 17th panzer division. on 1 july, 17th panzer division had 1 tank battalion (the ii./pz rgt 39), 67 tanks, 173 less claimed destroyed vvs. 17th panzer division not in main attack sector, further south 1st panzer army s 24th panzer corps. 17th panzer did not register abnormal losses due aircraft in summer of 1943, , retreated westwards army group south later in year, still intact.

the main problem il-2 inaccuracy of attacks. towards end of war, soviets able concentrate large numbers of sturmoviks support main offensives. effect, however, more psychological actual physical destruction of targets, particularly against dug-in , armored targets. in 9 june offensive in karelian isthmus in finland, finnish anti-aircraft forces far few in number counter armadas of pe-2 , il-2, found il-2 attacks missed marks widely, particularly bombs. while attacks against large unprotected targets such horse , truck convoys , railyards had devastating results, attacks against dug-in point targets ineffective. frequent duels between dug-in 20 , 40 mm aa guns , il-2 attackers never resulted in complete destruction of gun, while many il-2s brought down in these attacks.

the heavy armor of il-2 meant typically carry comparatively light bomb-loads, poor accuracy of attacks made far less deadly attack aircraft contemporary allied fighter-bombers such republic p-47 thunderbolt , hawker typhoon. rocket projectiles not effective, larger rs-132 (of 4 carried) having warhead 0.9 kg (2.0 lb) of explosives, compared poorly p-47 s typical load of ten 5 inch (13 cm) hvars, each having 21 kg (46 lb) warhead, or 8 12 60 lb (27 kg) warheads of hawker typhoon s rp-3 rockets. likewise, shturmovik s bombs 50 kg (rarely 100 kg), small compensate typically wide variation target point. compensate poor accuracy of il-2 s bombsight, in 1943, soviet command decided use shaped-charge armor-piercing projectiles against enemy armored vehicles, , ptab-2.5-1.5 scap aircraft bomb put production. these small-calibre bombs loaded directly bomb bays , dropped onto enemy vehicles altitudes 100 meters (328 ft). each il-2 carry 192 bombs, fire carpet 70 meters (229 ft.) long , 15 meters (49 ft) wide cover enemy tanks, giving high kill probability.

pilots of 291st shap first use ptab-2.5-1.5 bombs. during 1 sortie on 5 june 1943, 6 attack aircraft led lt. col. a. vitrook destroyed 15 enemy tanks in 1 attack, , during 5 days of enemy advance, 291st division claimed have destroyed or damaged 422 enemy tanks.