WarSimBox
Ilyushin Il-10, the in-game model
1944Soviet UnionGround attack

Ilyushin Il-10

The Ilyushin Il-10 was a new attack aircraft designed with the experience of the Il-2. The idea of an armoured shell was kept, but the aircraft was built entirely of metal, with a cleaner airframe and the more powerful AM-42 engine. It was much faster than the Il-2; it reached the front in the last months of the war and was also used in the Korean War.

The lessons of the Il-2

The Il-10 took the Il-2’s idea rather than its structure: the engine, pilot, gunner and fuel were still inside an armoured shell, but the airframe was all metal and much cleaner. The undercarriage retracted backwards into the wing, the wheels turning as they went, instead of into fairings under the wing as on the Il-2. Together with the stronger engine, these changes raised the speed markedly.

Ilyushin Il-10, side view
Ilyushin Il-10: the in-game model from the side.

The end of the war and Korea

The Il-10 entered combat in early 1945 and was used against Germany in the last months of the war and against Japan in August 1945. After the war it flew with the air forces of the Eastern Bloc and China; North Korean Il-10s fought in the Korean War.

In WarSimBox

In the game it is a ground-attack aircraft: much faster than the Il-2, it keeps the heavy armour and carries a 12.7 mm rear gunner. It attacks ground targets with its two 23 mm cannon, bombs and, once researched, rockets.

Unlocked in the aircraft tree after researching Ilyushin Il-2M3 (two-seat). Leads on to: Douglas A-26B Invader.

Top speed
549 km/h · 1,500 m
Climb
10.9 m/s
Sustained turn
28.4 s
Stall speed
177 km/h

These figures come from the game’s flight model (climb, turn and stall at sea level).

Fly it in WarSimBox