Ilyushin IL-4

Torpedo Bomber / Bomber Aircraft [ 1937 ]

The Ilyushin IL-4 appeared in over 5,000 examples and became an equally important aircraft to the Soviet Air Force than its more popular sister, the IL-2.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/02/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Advertisements

In many ways the Ilyushin-brand IL-4 was a "forgotten" bomber of the Second World War - at least in the West - though it formed the majority of Soviet bomber wings and was produced in excess of 5,000 examples. The system performed admirably well and was of a sound design though a poor defensive armament array ultimately led to high and unacceptable losses to the extent that production was completed by 1944 (though the aircraft continued to serve till the end of the war). In any case, the system was a large part of Soviet Air Force and naval operations and was the first bomber of Soviet origins to attack from within Berlin airspace.

The IL-4 had the appearance of a very capable design, fitted with a low wing monoplane assembly. Each wing sported an engine, with the cockpit situated in-between. A glazed nose section offered up good visibility and the streamlined fuselage design continued to a stout point. An identifiable turret was positioned at mid-rear with a single vertical tail surface dominating the empennage. Crew accommodations amounted to just four personnel. Defensive armament consisted of machine guns - though only in single instances - and mounted in the nose, the dorsal turret position and a ventral gun position. It should be noted that early models sported a rather smallish caliber of these guns in the 7.62mm range though later variants would sport a more impressive 12.7mm caliber. Despite this, the guns were still fielded in single mounts and the defensive armament was never improved beyond that. Though where the defensive side of the IL-4 failed, the offensive nature of the system was on par with the aircrafts intended role - up to three 1,102lb torpedoes could be carried aboard in place of a standard limit of 2,205 pounds of drop bombs.

The initial IL-4 design appeared in flying form by 1935 and was designated as the TsKB-26. Though the aircraft would enter production with the designation of DB-3B (the "DB" denoting "long-range bomber" in Russian), the system was re-designated as the IL-4 in 1940. Initial combat successes were hard to come by for the aircraft (particularly in the war with Finland) and her crews and were mostly based on inadequate protection against even the more common of fighters. Despite the drawback, the aircraft pressed on in service and eventually took part in the aforementioned attack on Berlin - a strategic note that would long be a part of Soviet strategy in the air war throughout the course of the conflict. A few variants eventually existed but all were very similar to the original production design - with the notable exception of the improvement in defensive machine gun caliber.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

1937

Origin

Soviet Union

Crew

4

Production

5,000
UNITS

Ilyushin - Soviet Union

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Soviet Union

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

Length

48.6 ft
(14.80 m)

Width/Span

70.3 ft
(21.44 m)

Height

13.5 ft
(4.10 m)

Empty Wgt

13,228 lb
(6,000 kg)

MTOW

22,046 lb
(10,000 kg)

Wgt Diff

+8,818 lb
(+4,000 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Ilyushin IL-4 production variant)

Installed: 2 x Tumanskii M-88B radial piston engines developing 1,100 horsepower each.

Max Speed

255 mph
(410 kph | 221 kts)

Ceiling

32,808 ft
(10,000 m | 6 mi)

Range

1,616 mi
(2,600 km | 4,815 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

886 ft/min
(270 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Ilyushin IL-4 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

STANDARD:
1 x 12.7mm UBT machine gun in nose position
1 x 12.7mm UBT machine gun in dorsal turret
1 x 12.7mm UBT machine gun in ventral gun position

OPTIONAL:
Maximum bomb load of up to 2,205lbs OR 3 x 1,102lb torpedoes in place of bombs.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft heavy machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition

Graphical image of an aircraft aerial torpedo

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 0

TsKB-26 - Prototype Model Designation

TsKB-30 - Developmental Model

DB-3 - Base Military Designation

DB-3B - Production Model Designation; appeared in 1937; early models featured M-85 765 horsepower engines with later models fitted with M-86 960 horsepower engines; armament consisted of just three guns of 7.62mm caliber.

DB-3F - Appearing in 1940; featured a elongated nose assembly and improved armor protection; system re-designated to more familiar naming of "IL-4".

IL-4 - Re-designation of DB-3F system by 1940; armament caliber increased to all 12.7mm types (UBT); some metal construction replaced with less-costly wood.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery

1 / 1