Scale aviation modeller international

Fly Models 1/72 Ilyushin Il-10 by Roman Schilhart

Photographs by Wolfgang Rabel

THE SUBJECT

I

n autumn 1943, the Ilyushin

design bureau developed a

replacement for the Ilyushin

Il-2 ground attack aircraft. The

new type, called the Il-10, was

a much cleaner design with

better flight characteristics and

less aerodynamic drag, making

its first flight in April 1944.

Offensive armament remained

the same as on the Il-2, with two

wing cannons and a defensive

gun position in the back of the

cockpit. The aircraft had two

bomb bays located just inboard

of the landing gear bay, and

could also carry two externally

mounted bombs on wing racks.

While its predecessor, the

Il-2, was often seen with rockets

under the wings, these were not

used on the Il-10. The first Il-10s in

European skies were those assigned

to the 108th Guards Assault Aviation

Regiment in early 1945. The new

aircraft saw only limited service

in Europe before the war ended,

but it was used in far greater

numbers on the Manchurian front

against the Japanese, and later

during the Korean War, carrying

on with the Soviet Air Force and

its allies until the mid-1950s.

Between 1944 and 1954 a total

of 4,966 aircraft were built.

IL-10

Ilyushin

QUICKBUILD

26 • APRIL 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

BY SACCO DE VRIES

ILYUSHIN IL-10

BY ROMAN SCHILHART

1/72

026-29-QB-IL10-0418.indd 26 09/03/2018 16:06