Planes

USSR

IL-4

The IL-4 long-range bomber was one of the most famous Soviet bombers of WWII. With thousands of IL-4s built, the aircraft took part in all the important battles of the Eastern Front, including long-range bombing raids of Axis industrial targets. A large number of books, including both memoirs and technical publications, focus on the IL-4.

It was a twin-engine long-range bomber, a further development of the Ilyushin DB-3 bomber, with a redesigned cockpit, redesigned wings, pneumatic landing gear and a new fuselage designed for faster mass production, based on DC-3 / Li-2 production methods. The aircraft was designated IL-4 in March 1942. Combined with the DB-3, over 6,800 bombers of the DB-3/IL-4 family were built, 5,256 of them the IL-4. One of the most celebrated accomplishments for the type was a long-range bombing raid on Berlin in 1941.