Recently, in the town of Luostari, Murmansk region, in the far north of the former World War II front, searchers from the Winged Memory of Victory Foundation raised an early modification of the IL-2 attack aircraft, which is quite rare today.
The rarity is that the first version of the famous attack aircraft IL-2, which is considered one of the best attack aircraft of the Second World War, was designed for only one crew member – the pilot, but during the combat operation of the attack aircraft, due to numerous requests from the front, the attack aircraft was modified and became a two-seater, a side gunner was added to the aircraft crew, who was located at the stern.
At the moment, the majority of copies of the famous IL-2 attack aircraft are two-seat versions.
What was the history of this particular specimen? The most, that there is, combat! Here's an excerpt from the foundation's Facebook page:
This attack aircraft was piloted by the commander of the 3rd squadron of the 46th assault aviation regiment of the Northern Fleet, Captain A.I. Kalichev. On August 22, 1943, during an attack on the enemy airfield Luostari in the Murmansk region, the plane was shot down. Despite the damage, the pilot continued the attack, and then was able to return to his territory and land the plane on the surface of the lake. The attack aircraft sank at a depth of 18 meters.
As you can see, fortunately, the pilot of the plane survived and was not captured, and with his heroism he was able to provide us, future descendants, with an excellent condition of the combat aircraft.
It is reported that the attack aircraft will be sent to Novosibirsk and restored to flying condition, this means that the raised attack aircraft will be given a second life and will fly! Important news, friends!
The attack aircraft is in good condition, despite the age spent under water.
Usually, airplanes are preserved much better in water, because most airplanes that were shot down and fell to the ground are destroyed into small pieces, in which it is difficult to find and restore anything.
Most of the plane crash sites that I examined were a pile of metal over an area of 30-50 m2, these are all the consequences of the plane hitting the ground.
The photo shows that the main thing is the aircraft frame, engine, cabin, all in excellent condition. And this will allow the aircraft to be restored to its full authentic condition.
Even the rubber on the chassis is intact. Try now to find a tire for an early IL-2 attack aircraft.
And finally – pictures with camouflage of the early versions of the IL-2 attack aircraft, which were produced at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
Well done boys! They picked up an excellent specimen, and all the work was not done in vain!
