Ilyushin Il-20

History of the Ilyushin Il-20

In addition to the T-34 medium tank, the Ilyushin Il-2 "Schturmovik" ground attack aircraft carried out a powerful attack on the Germans invading along the Soviet line Double Strike on the Eastern Front of WWII (1939 -1945). One of the most produced aircraft ever built, with 36,183 built, the aircraft became a legend, earning nicknames such as "Humpback Whale" and "Flying Tank" during its flight.

Eventually, it served with many Soviet allies and supported countries, including Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Yugoslavia.

Even before this remarkable aircraft wrote its history, Ilyushin engineers were already working on improving its successor to improve the inherent weaknesses of the original design - efforts that led to the Il-10 in 1944 (NATO: " The Beast"), with 6,166 airframes in production. The new version served well in the early stages of the Cold War (1947-1991), including mass production by Czech aircraft manufacturer Avia, increasing the total by 1,200 under the "B-33" designation.

In this context, a successor to the Il-10 was already planned, which led to the "Il-20" in 1948.

Like previous iterations, the Il-20 was designed to explicitly emphasize ground attack in a wartime environment, where the Soviet Union could now face a wave of armored forces from the West. According to early designs, attackers needed to be "resilient, reliable and robust" in low/low altitude flight, with their crews and internal systems exposed to enemy ground fire from all angles.

The development of the aircraft stemmed from an official request from the Soviet authorities in 1947 for such a solution to have higher performance and firepower compared to its predecessor.

Once again, a monoplane with a single-engine arrangement and heavy armor would be suitable for Ilyushin aircraft. All-metal construction was used throughout, and the engine of choice became the M-47 (MF-45Sh/M-45Sh), which promised 3,000 hp in an inline liquid-cooled configuration.

Ilyushin engineer is back with a rather "interesting" airplane shape, albeit awkwardly, designed to fill the role. From top to bottom, the aircraft is more or less conventional, with straight monoplane wing panels with truncated tips and a traditional monoplane tail with a low-mounted level aircraft.

But the side profile quickly exposed the animal's physical weakness:

The pilot is positioned under a framed cockpit at the very forward end of the fuselage, just above the engine nacelle and behind the four-bladed propeller unitan arrangement that maximizes visibility out of sight. cockpit", even with limited downward visibility. Armor protection up to 15mm in some places protects the crew and operating system from potentially lethal ground fire.

Like the Il-2 and Il-10 before it, The Il-20 will take a rear-turning directional gunner pointed rearward in the stepped cockpit. This position will be equipped with twin machine guns or cannons to protect the aircraft's vulnerable "six".

The landing gear remains in a "smearing" configuration and will be in the usual It is fully retractable to the bottom of the fuselage: the main elements are located on the main plane of the wing, while the tail wheel is located under the tail as expected.

The heart of the system will be its armor kit, with several installations maintained. Suggested adjustments include 23mm autocannons on the fuselage and wings - some fixed, some adjustable, and some full turret positions. Another option is to mount a 23mm automatic cannon at an oblique angle to allow the pilot to engage ground targets while maintaining level flight.

Cannon calibers up to 45mm were also considered.

Additionally, the aircraft will carry rockets (132 mm) and conventionally dropped bombs on external hardpoints (up to 2,626 lbs).

The well-equipped Il-20 certainly shows promise - at least on paper.

In November 1948, Ilyushin engineers finally completed their work, an airworthy prototype, which flew for the first time on December 4 of that year. However, the savage-looking aircraft proved to be slow and rather limited compared to the plane it was intended to replace.

In addition, there are inherent dangers to the crew (the nose propeller is one of them), and of course there are problems with the new engine design - all of which make the Il-20 ground attack program moot. In addition to this, the rise of turbojet technology that powers military aircraft and land-based antimissile systems is beginning to dominate, further reducing the need for propeller-driven ground attack aircraft on a changing battlefield.

When completed, the Il-20 prototype had a barrel length of 44.6 feet and a wingspan of 50.6 feet. Its curb weight is 16,535 pounds, while the overall rating is 20,944 pounds. Top recorded speed is 320 mph and service is capped at 25,430 feet.

Specification

Base

Year of Service

1948

Origins

Soviet Union

Status

Cancel

Development ended.

Crew

2

Production

1

Manufacturer

Ilyushin OKB - USSR

Carrier

USSR (removed)

Roles

Ground attack (bombing, strafing)

The ability to conduct air strikes against ground targets using (but not limited to) artillery, bombs, rockets, rockets, etc.

Disable support (CAS)

Designed to operate near active ground elements with a wide range of air-to-surface weapon and ammunition options.

X-Plane (development, prototype, tech demo)

Aircraft designed for prototyping, technology demonstration, or research/data collection.

Notable Features

Armor

Armor assigned to protect the pilot/crew compartment and/or critical operating systems enhances survivability.

Sturdy aircraft frame

The inherent ability of the airframe to take significant damage.

Extended range performance

Ability to travel long distances using on-board fuel supplies.

Rating Process

A manual process to allow the pilot and/or crew to exit in the event of an onboard emergency.

Crew management

In addition to the pilot, the aircraft also employs additional crew members who specialize in specific functions on the aircraft.

Rifle positions

Defensive weapon location for attack/suppression.

rear gun

Defensive rear-facing gun emplacements to neutralize enemy targets coming from behind.

Closed crew room

There are partially or fully enclosed crew work areas.

Scalable

Has retractable/retractable landing gear to maintain aerodynamic efficiency.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

44.6 feet

(13.58m)

Width/span

50.6 feet

(15.43m)

Cured weight

16,535 lbs

(7,500 kg)

MTOW

20,944 lbs

(9,500 kg)

Wgt Difference

+?4,409

(+2,000 kg)

MAINPLANE STRUCTURE

wing/low/straight

Monoplane

Designed to use a single main wing main aircraft; this is the most popular arrangement of main aircraft.

install low

The main aircraft is mounted low on the side of the fuselage.

Straight

Floor plans involve the use of simple, straight main plan elements.

(Structural descriptor refers to the production variant of the base Ilyushin Il-20)

Performance

Installed:

1 x Mikulin M-47 V-12 3,000 hp liquid-cooled in-line piston engine driving a four-bladed propeller unit on the nose.

Maximum speed

320 km/h

(515 km/h | 278 knots)

Maximum

25,427 feet

(7,750 m | 5 km)

Area

1,044 km

(1,680 km | 3,111 nautical miles)

rate of climb

2,050 ft/min

(625 m/min)

Range (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: > 19030

Weapons

Variable: Various 23mm automatic gun designs are proposed. There is also inherent support for missiles and conventionally dropped bombs.