Flying the Il-2

[Romanator21]

The Il-2 is tough, but the only armored parts are around the cockpit. It can easily be destroyed by hitting the wings, and it's usually at much too low of an altitude for the crew to bail.

There is really not much to say about this plane. It's not a fighter, so it's hardly maneuverable. Your only option is to weave side to side, and maybe throw in a slip or skid to confuse the enemy when he shoots. Other than that, pray.

As for performance tips, there are none. The Il-2 is not meant to be fast, or evasive. It's meant to have good fighter cover, and good team work. However, I cruise at maybe 50% power and prop-pitch, sometimes less. Cruise is usually at tree-top height, so mixture is hardly anything to worry about. The radiator does a good job even while closed and left alone. While attacking I use full power, but I might reduce power to help lower the nose for a dive.

It excels as a ground attack aircraft, but it can be very dangerous. Pilots received a Hero of the Soviet Union medal for surviving just 10 sorties. I don't think I've lasted that long in a campaign without being killed either. Part of the problem, ironically, is its huge ammo load. The Soviet philosphy of ground attack was to make repeated passes on a target until it was totally decimated, or until all ammo was exhausted.

However, after the first pass, the enemy is on alert, and now every gun available is being pointed at you. Fighters can also be called onto your position.

So to survive you have to abandon this approach completely and take a minimum load, and make only one hit-and-run pass. (Think of Mosquitos, Beaufighters, etc.)

If you chose to make repeated passes as was the historical Soviet doctrine, then I hope these tips will prolong your life a little bit:

Never fly directly into a target that is shooting at you. After the attack, egress at very low altitude to avoid being hit. Don't show your wings to the guns on the ground by banking. Attack from a variety of angles to spread out the anti-aircraft fire, but also watch out for your wingmen; you don't want to be over the target when a bomb goes off.

When firing rockets, fire a complete salvo all at once, and then bug out. Too many folks will fire a pair at a time and make multiple passes this way. This is dangerous, but also not historical. As tanks require a direct hit you are guaranteed one by firing a whole salvo. For aiming, it helps to set the rocket convergence at the same distance as for the guns and cannon.

There is a trick to dropping bombs accurately, and it works almost always. Initiate a 30-45 degree dive onto the target. Although it's tempting, don't fly in at a shallower angle. Put your target on the cross hairs. At the point of release, pull up slightly so the target "touches" the nose of the plane. If you release your bombs while the target is still under the cross hairs they will fall short. Afterwords, bug out at low level. The cluster munitions and bomblets are effective, but are released slowly. For me these work best as above, but released sooner and at a higher altitude, and then by leveling out and continuing over the target.