Warpaint Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik

[Mike]

Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik
Warpaint by Guideline Publications

The Il-2 Sturmovik was possibly one of the best ground-attack aircraft of WWII, and even if you don't subscribe to that idea, it still put the wind up a LOT of German ground troops and tankers and gained a fearsome reputation. This book is the latest in the Warpaint series, and is numbered 107 with no sign of any end. It is bound in a card jacket "magazine-style", and has the by now familiar blue top to the cover, which is also printed on the inner side. Inside are 52 pages on glossy white stock, with a set of plans in 1:72 in the centre, showing all the major variants, of which there were many in the 36,000 production run, even a radial engined one!

The contemporary photos are in black and white as you'd expect, but there are a fair number of profiles spread over ten pages, including the inner covers. There are also a number of drawings, and quite a selection of the results of the Sturmovik's handiwork, from tanks to aircraft, that while they might not enthuse the aviation purist, they give a very good impression of the punishment that it could dish out. In between the photos and drawings is a pretty concise history of the type from its beginnings in 1937 to its abrupt halt in production at the end of the war when its rough construction and agricultural nature led to its rapid falling out of favour in the cold light of day.

At the rear of the book is a two page walk around of the restored example at the museum in Monino, followed by a two page list of what's currently available in terms of kits, aftermarket and decals from the various manufacturers in the usual scales.

Conclusion
Another worthy addition to the Warpaint series, with plenty to interest both the modeller and aviation enthusiast alike. If you really want to know everything there is to know about the type, you might want a more weighty tome, but for the most part this book should give you a good understanding.

Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[spitfire]

That's great news, reference material on WW2 era soviet aircraft is very thin on the ground so it's good to see this publication.

Cheers

Dennis