Der Schwarze Tod
November 4, 2018THE SHTURMOVIK OVER BERLIN AGAIN 1945 - 2018
73 years later, a Soviet Il-2 Shturmovik flies again over Germany during ILA (Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung) April 2018 Berlin air show at Schonefeld airport.
One of the outright show stars of this year event was the beautiful Ilyushin Il-2 from the Wings of Victory Foundation based in Russia.
This restoration is from an aircraft recovered in 2011 from the bottom of a frozen lake.
[A squadron of Il-2s from 16th Soviet Air Army flies in close formation over Berlin in May 1945.]
The IL-2 was a ground-attack plane from 1941, designed by Sergei Ilyushin, it was very feared by German troops on the ground, who dubbed her “Der Schwarze Tod” (The black death).
It was an outstanding design thanks to its endurance, fire-power and heavy armor. With 36,183 units produced during the war, it was the single most produced military aircraft design in aviation history.
During the final Battle of Berlin in April 1945, Shturmoviks bombed and strafed the city and their defenders to aid the Soviet troops to conquer the Reich’s capital.
[Several Soviet Shturmoviks parked on the grass between Luftwaffe aircraft wreckage at Tempelhof Flughafen Berlin in May 1945. This airport was captured by the Russians on 26 April 1945.]
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Source:
- Rastrenin, Oleg. Il-2 Shturmovik Guards Units of World War 2. Combat Aircraft 71. Oxford, 2008.