Academy 1/72 12417 Il-2 Stormovik

During WWII, the worst nightmare of Soviet ground troops were Ju-87 "Stuka" series
dive bombers; for Germans, that was Il-2 Stormovik. TsKB-55/57, designed by Sergey
Ilyushin and his team of Central Design Bureau, was a strong, all-metal aircraft, and
propelled by AM-38 engine(1,680HP).

It was operated by a pilot and a rear gunner, and they're protected by 'armored bathtub'
along with fuel tank. But when it came to mass production stage and deployment as
Il-2 in 1941, lack of material forced it to become a single-seat aircraft, with wooden
parts used for wings and the rear parts of fuselage.

Being called as "Ilyusah", "Flying Tank" and "Stormovik: Storm Bird" by Russians,
the Il-2s served with Soviet air force brilliantly and gave their enemy a great fear and
massive damage, which was enough to earn the name of "The Black Death" by Germans,
in spite of massive damage of Il-2 themselves.

Il-2s were so important that Stalin stated it as "Necessary like air, like bread". Il-2s still
had problems to solve, so the developments continued; rear gunner revived, more powerful
engines were used, more armor and re-designed wings were made to be an enhanced
version, Il-2M. Outnumbering the Bf109s(around 35,000 samples produced), Stormoviks
were produced over 36,000 and it's still the best record of most-produced combat aircraft.

• Fully engraved panel lines
• Highly detailed cockpit landing gear
• A canopy can be positioned open closed
• Various Authentic markings included