"Restoration of the Sturmovik ‘Flying Tank’ Plane ..." Topic
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Tango01 | 05 Mar 2017 9:48 p.m. PST |
…happening in Arizona "On the 27th January 1944, the Red Army broke through the blockade around Leningrad and opened a passage to the besieged city. Supporting the ground forces were hundreds of aircraft that attacked the German troops to ensure that they secured the airspace around the city. One of the planes used in this battle was the Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik, and one of these sturdy attack aircraft crashed into a lake just south of Leningrad. The crew was saved but the plane sank, and now 70 years later it is being restored in Arizona. The Sturmovik was one of the most plentiful planes built during WWII with around 36,000 being built by the Soviets with the first ones rolling off the production line in 1939. It was affectionately nicknamed the ‘flying tank' as its frontal armor was just as thick as that of a tank. This slow, low flying plane was one of the most important planes of WWII, and Josef Stalin is reputed to have told the factory building the planes that the red Army needed them as much as air to breathe and bread to eat! The construction of the Sturmovik was unique, and even though the example at the museum has spent almost 70 years at the bottom of a lake, it is still remarkably well preserved. Around the cockpit and engine was a thick steel plate giving the front of the plant a boiler-like look rather than the svelte aluminum lines of other attack planes of the era. This armor was imperative to protect the pilot as the plane was designed to fly low, around 70 meters from the ground, and very slow as it flew over the German lines dropping bombs. This method of attack exposed the pilots to being shot at by anything and everything from infantrymen to anti-aircraft guns to tanks…" Main page link Amicalement Armand |
wrgmr1 | 06 Mar 2017 10:52 a.m. PST |
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Tango01 | 06 Mar 2017 10:23 p.m. PST |
A votre service mon cher ami!. (smile) Amicalement Armand
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Matsuru Sami Kaze | 08 Mar 2017 7:00 a.m. PST |
Nice article. Sov's after a while, because of losses downgraded the monicker to "flying armored personnel carrier" rather than "flying tank." |
Tango01 | 08 Mar 2017 11:14 a.m. PST |
Glad you enjoyed it my friend!. Amicalement Armand
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Old Contemptibles | 09 Mar 2017 7:31 p.m. PST |
More information from the Pima website. link This is a great museum. I have visited several times. Well worth the trip. |
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