IL-2 Modelling Guide

[Venganza]

Editor's Note: In the ensuing year and a half since I first posted this, further research has revealed that the medium brown color was never used on the Shturmovik - it should be black.

IL-2 Single-Seater

General Information

The Ilyushin IL-2 Shturmovik, designed by the Soviet engineer Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin, was a single-engined, armored ground attack airplane that was produced in greater numbers than any other warplane in history – 36,163 according to Soviet sources, and was instrumental in helping defeat the German forces on the Eastern Front. The single-seater was the first IL-2 or Shturmovik to go into production, in 1941 (Shturmovik was a general term for Soviet ground-attack planes, like the term “Stuka”, it became associated with a single plane, in this case the IL-2). One thing to remember about the IL-2’s in general – there never were any official designations other than “IL-2”. Designations such as “IL-2M” or “IL-2m3” are Western constructs, although they have gained wide currency in the West and are even seen in Eastern publications and model descriptions. The single-seat IL-2 was unofficially known as the “Gorbak”, which means “humpback” in Russian, because of the raised cockpit position. There were three main variants of the single-seat IL-2, which differed not in shape or planform, but in construction. One of the variants was all-metal, with an all-metal surface covering (except the control surfaces, which were metal structure with fabric covering). This version, although represented in the Toko and Academy kits, was not very common. Much more common were the versions with the wooden rear fuselage, either in combination with the metal-covered outer wings (as represented by the nice Smer kits), or with wooden-covered outer wings (as represented by the very hard-to-get DakoPlast kits). Both of the wooden rear fuselage versions were commonly used, and can be told apart in photographs by the small balances near the wingtips of the metal-covered wing versions, which were never present on the wooden-covered wing versions. Below are drawings of the three main production variants of the Gorbak:

All-metal:



Wooden-fuselage, metal wing (note the anti-flutter balances near the wingtip):



Wooden-fuselage, wooden-wing:



In the winter of 1941-42, some IL-2’s were fitted with retractable skis. Although the installation worked surprisingly well, with only a 7mph speed penalty, it was soon found that wheeled IL-2’s could land perfectly well on packed snow, so no further ski-equipped conversions were made and the ski-equipped versions were presumably re-equipped with wheels. Below are a drawing and photograph:





In an attempt to provide some rear protection for IL-2’s, which were suffering severe losses to the Luftwaffe, there were field modifications to provide a rudimentary rear gunner position. These modifications consisted of nothing more than a hole cut immediately aft of the canopy, and a gun mount salvaged from some other plane, such as an R-5 reconnaissance plane or SB bomber. This gun position could mount one or two SHKAS machine guns (7.62mm - .30 caliber) or less commonly a single Berezin machine gun (12.7 mm - .50 caliber). Over a thousand such modifications were made in the field and HR, a Czech manufacturer, has a nice conversion set available in 1/72nd scale (unless otherwise noted, when I mention kits or decals, I’m referring to 1/72nd scale). Below is a drawing of the field-modified version with a single SHKAS:



All of the above drawings and photograph come from the Russian magazine Voena V Vozdukhe.

Painting

The standard early WWII (or GPW in Soviet parlance) camouflage was black and green over sky blue. The topsides were painted with alternating bands of black and green, although there doesn’t seem to be any standard application of these bands.

Pictures are from the Modelling the Aircraft of the VVS site – http//:vvv.hobbyvista.com, an excellent resource for anyone attempting GPW aircraft.

Here is a depiction of the common green and black over blue camouflage, also from the Modelling the Aircraft of the VVS site:





Like many GPW planes, during the winter a temporary white finish, sometimes called distemper paint – evidently some kind of whitewash, was applied over the normal camouflage. Here is where things get even more complicated. There seems to have been no real standards as to how the white was applied. Although it is common to see the white applied to the entire topsides, this was by no means always done, and if done, was done with different results. Sometimes the white was applied relatively evenly and can be represented with a white overcoat in a model, with perhaps some of the underlying green and black, or green and brown showing through in spots. Other times the white was applied very roughly, with the normal camouflage showing through in many places. As with any paint schemes you attempt on the IL-2, consult photographs where available. There are a lot of beautifully done color profiles and three-views of the IL-2, many of them wrong, or just guesses. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is on many of the IL-2 versions, you’re going to have to do some guessing on how exactly the paint was applied. Below are examples of the IL-2 in color profile, including some in winter camouflage:





These profiles are from the airwar.ru site, who evidently obtained them from some unknown Czech source.

Insignia

The standard Soviet insignia was of course the red star. The star was always applied to the undersides of the wing, but not the topsides (except pre-GPW), and could appear on the fuselage or the tail, or both. The star appeared in several different versions. The pre-war and some early GPW IL-2’s had a star with a thin black outline. These were not that common. Much more common were the stars with the white outline, sometimes referred to as “Victory Stars” if they also had a red outline around the white outline. Some stars apparently had a thin yellow outline, instead of white, although it’s very hard to tell from the black and white photographs (I’ve seen hundreds of photos of IL-2’s, but I’ve never seen a wartime photo in color). A fancier version, based on the stars appearing over the Kremlin, were not surprisingly called “Kremlin Stars”. Below are versions of the different types of stars:



This is a scan of the Eagle Strike Productions decal set.

In addition to the stars, most Soviet planes had a tactical number (called a “bort” in Russian) either on the fuselage or on the tailplane, or both. These could be in black, white, yellow, red, or even in silver (I don’t believe the silver numbers were very common).

Individual Markings

As might be expected with an airplane that was produced in over 36,000 examples, the number of individual markings is tremendous. There doesn’t seem to have been any specific prohibition against personal markings, and they were very common. As with the paint scheme and insignia, the best bet is to try and find a photo of the aircraft you want to do. Common markings were patriotic slogans such as Za Rodinu! (For the Motherland!) and Za Stalina (For Stalin!). Below are a few examples of some of the more interestingly marked (and camouflaged) Gorbaks:



These drawings are from AML’s excellent decal set for the single-seater.



I will continue to update this posting as additional information comes to light, including any corrections and additions readers of this post may come up with. Comments are certainly welcome and I hope this little guide will be of some use to you as you enter the interesting and sometimes frustrating world of modelling the Shturmovik.

Text All Rights Reserved Copyright JNM 2009

[Wurger]

Very good beginning.

[Airframes]

Nice work V. Given me a good insight into Russian aircraft of the period, thank you.

[timshatz]

Not a modler but still an interesting read.

[Catch22]

Very nice!

[Venganza]

Thank you, everybody! Catch22's helping me with the images, so once I get them loaded it will be a proper posting. I think you'll like the pictures.

Venganza

[Wurger]

Ok. Waiting.

[Venganza]

Ok. Waiting.

There you go, Wurger. All done (for now).

Venganza

[Catch22]

I see you got the pictures in, very nice work!

[Venganza]

I see you got the pictures in, very nice work!

Thank you, Catch! Thanks for the help.

Venganza

[Catch22]

No problem!

[Lucky13]

Bl**dy nice work! looking forward to the next installment. Please do include, if you can, bits and bobs for 1/48....

[Wayne Little]

Nice work V!

[rochie]

great job Venganza

[Wurger]