Steel Soviet Union

In medieval Europe, the Black Death was definitely one of the words that frightened and frightened people the most across the continent.

This terrible plague that swept across Europe and claimed a total of 25 million lives caused more casualties than any war in European history. Its far-reaching impact even in the twenty-first century It is still vividly remembered in memorial sites across Europe.

And when the German soldiers during World War II used the name Black Death, which was almost equivalent to being directly linked to the God of Death, to describe a Soviet weapon, at this moment, these Soviet soldiers roared down from the clouds towards the German positions on the ground. The terrifying lethality of the Jun-Il-2 attack aircraft can naturally be imagined.

The German soldiers known for their explosive combat power were horrified to call it the "Schwarzer Tod" in German, which shows the outstanding performance and powerful power of the Soviet Ilyushin-2 attack aircraft.

The Mikulin AM-38 12-cylinder in-line water-cooled engine equipped in the nose engine compartment of the IL-2 attack aircraft has extremely amazing power and can output up to 1,600 horsepower for the entire fighter aircraft at maximum output. The powerful thrust far exceeded the JU87B-2 Stuka dive bomber equipped by the Luftwaffe at the same time.

The powerful engine horsepower and wide wings give the IL-2 attack aircraft extremely powerful weapon mounting capabilities.

At the maximum combat load, the Il-2 attack aircraft performing ground attack missions can carry 8 RBS-132 air-launched ground rockets and 4 110kg aerial bombs at one time.

As early as the Battle of Nomonkan against Japan, the Soviet Army, which had successfully tested new weapons such as air-launched anti-ground rockets on the Japanese army, was at the forefront of the development of rockets. In 1941, the Soviet Army was at the forefront of the development of rockets. Katyusha and air-launched rocket technology are both mature and reliable and can be put into actual combat.

The RBS-132 air-launched ground rocket with a single bomb weight of 51 kilograms can reach a flight speed of 330 meters per second. The 35 kilograms of TNT explosives contained in the warhead warhead make it quite destructive to ground units.

In many cases, Soviet pilots flying IL-2 ground attack aircraft loved to use this kind of air-launched ground-attack rockets to carry out mopping up raids against German ground armored units.

Although the warhead charge of the RBS-132 rocket is only 35 kilograms of TNT equivalent, it is less powerful than the German divisional 105 mm towed howitzer high-explosive bomb.

However, since the IL-2 attack aircraft most of the time adopts an attack angle of 45 degrees or even 60 degrees to dive and attack German tanks, the RBS-132 rockets it launches almost always hit the most vulnerable German tanks. The hull and turret dome armor parts.

The domes of the German tanks were so fragile that they only had a dozen or twenty millimeters of homogeneous steel armor for protection. Neither No. 3 nor No. 4 could withstand such a powerful attack and dived straight down with a launch speed of 330 meters per second. The RBS-132 rocket can even knock off the turret of a German tank like opening a bottle of champagne.

The power of the four 110-kilogram aerial bombs that are also mounted on the wings goes without saying. Their effective killing radius against unarmored and unprotected soft targets can reach up to 100 meters. Just one bomb can destroy a squad or even a squadron. A platoon of unprotected infantry was wiped out instantly.

In addition, the IL-2 attack aircraft also carries two 20mm Schwak cannons and two 62mm Schkath machine guns on its wide wings. Even when all the armament is exhausted, it can still It can still ensure effective killing firepower against ground infantry and lightly armored targets, further increasing its lasting combat capability on the battlefield.

With powerful firepower and surging horsepower output, the "crazy" Soviet aircraft designers were not done yet. The most praised thing about the IL-2 attack aircraft is not its attack firepower and horsepower output, but its armor protection, which is extremely abnormal among fighters as its nickname is the "Flying Tank".

As the core of the entire fighter aircraft, the entire nose engine compartment of the IL-2 attack aircraft is completely wrapped tightly with a 4 mm steel armor plate. If you want to damage the engine of the IL-2 attack aircraft and cause serious damage, you must first penetrate the 4 mm steel armor. This is undoubtedly difficult for most small-caliber anti-aircraft cannon fragments and anti-aircraft machine gun barrages. .

The cockpit, which extends rearward from the nose engine compartment, is also completely protected by a heavier 6 mm steel armor plate in a U-shaped bathtub shape. The protective steel plate located on the flight seat behind the fighter pilot is 12 mm thick. The bulletproof glass in front of the cockpit, which is responsible for providing a good view of flight attacks, also has a physical thickness of 64 mm. It is like "sitting in an armored vehicle and flying an airplane". It can be said that it is no exaggeration to describe the driver of IL2 in a descriptive way.

When the Soviet IL-2 attack aircraft, which had both fire protection and excellent maneuverability among attack aircraft, was officially put into the battlefield, the German army, which had never seen such a terrifying flying monster, was immediately attracted by its powerful opponent. Shocked by the ground attack firepower and extremely abnormal defensive performance, nicknames such as "Iron Gustav", "Flying T34" and "Black Death" immediately came from the mouths of the frightened German soldiers.

The Soviet fighter aviation unit, which suffered extremely heavy losses, finally won this temporary regional air supremacy victory. A fleet of 16 Soviet Il-2 attack aircraft taking off from the rear airport in the second wave had just arrived over the battlefield. , and saw the German aircraft fleet retreating hastily.

After seeing this scene, the pilots of the Soviet Il-2 attack aircraft naturally did not need to say anything. Under the wings were a group of Il-2 attack aircraft loaded with various "dry food" prepared for the German ground troops. They immediately rushed towards the Grossdeutsche Infantry Regiment. Two defensive positions swooped down.

"Oh, what the hell! It's a Russian flying T34! Get out of the way! Don't get together! Get out of the way! Hurry up!"

The RBS-132 rocket flashing coldly under the wing immediately dragged a long tail flame towards the target amid a burst of exclamations from the German position commander.

The effect of rockets designed to deal with ground armored targets and steel-concrete structure fortifications on infantry can be imagined. After the first salvo, it was like a goddess scattering flowers, accurately hitting the German position at a launch distance of 600 meters. The rockets turned into a sea of ​​blazing fire almost at the same time.

The RBS rockets, which were slightly inferior to the Katyusha rocket launchers but were still powerful, caused great damage to the German positions. Under the terrifying roar and roar of the IL-2 attack aircraft, the German troops were terrified and had nowhere to escape. Most of the soldiers were blown into pieces of limbs. A small number of German soldiers who were not killed on the spot were either lingering, struggling to crawl, or were knocked to the ground and fell unconscious.

After completing a wave of ground attacks at an angle of 30 degrees, the Il-2 attack aircraft group immediately roared over the German positions and climbed again. The remaining rockets and aerial bombs that had not yet been launched were chilling against the brilliance of the sun. The light flashes.

For the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, which was struggling to defend its position, the horrific nightmare of struggling with the Black Death had just begun from now on.