Yes it is! It's a Soviet Ilyushin IL2, "Flying Tank" ground attack aircraft. The reason it was nicknamed "flying tank" is because instead
of a conventional air-frame the front half of it was made up of 2" inch thick armour plates. It was very effective as a tank destroyer.
The Ilyushin IL2 Sturmovik was one of the most important weapons in the defeat of the Nazi forces in WWII. The Soviet pilots dubbed it "the flying tank!" because it had 2" thick armour plate around the engine and the cockpit. Rather than a frame (like an conventional aircraft) the armour formed the forward structure of the plane. It was the most effective ground attack aircraft in the war. Flying in very low several Sturmoviks would circle the battlefield attacking the German tanks. The Germans called the Sturmovik "the angels of death!" Or the "Black Death"
During the battle of Kursk the IL2s annhilated the German tanks!
Kursk was the largest tank battle in history,after the German forces were defeated there they began the retreat that would eventually take them to Berlin! Thousands of IL2s were manufactured beyond the Ural mountains!
December 07, 2011 @ 08:59:30 pm
