Ilyushin Il-28
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| Ilyushin Il-28 | ||
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| Missing image Ilyushin28.jpg Image:Ilyushin28.jpg | ||
| Description | ||
| Role | Bomber | |
| Crew | Three - pilot, bombardier, gunner | |
| First Flight | July 8 1948 | |
| Entered Service | 1950 | |
| Manufacturers | Ilyushin, Hong | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 17.60 m | 57 ft 11 in |
| Wingspan | 21.50 m | 70 ft 5 in |
| Height | 6.70 m | 22 ft |
| Wing area | 60.80 m² | 654 ft² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 11,890 kg | 26,158 lb |
| Loaded | 17,700 kg | 38,940 lb |
| Maximum takeoff | 21,200 kg | 46,640 lb |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | 2x Klimov VK-1 | |
| Thrust | 53.8 kN | 12,056 lbf |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | 900 km/h | 562 mph |
| Combat Radius | ||
| Ferry Range | 2,180 km | 1,362 miles |
| Service ceiling | 12,300 m | 40,344 ft |
| Rate of climb | 900 m/min | 2,952 ft/min |
| Wing loading | 291 kg/m² | 59 lb/ft² |
| Thrust/Weight | 1:3.2 | |
| Avionics | ||
| Avionics | ||
| Armament | ||
| Guns | 2x Nudelman NR-23 cannons in nose 2x NR-23 cannon in tail barbette | |
| Bombs | 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) of bombs in internal bay | |
The Ilyushin Il-28 is a jet bomber aircraft that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Force and was the USSR's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was also licence-built in China as the Hong H-5. The NATO reporting name for the type is Beagle for the bomber and Il-28R reconnaissance versions, and Mascot for the Il-28U trainer version. Estimates for total production in the two countries ranges from 2,000 to as high as 6,000. In the 1990s, hundreds remained in service with various air forces, over 40 years after the Il-28 first appeared.
The aircraft is conventional in layout, with high, unswept wings carrying large engine nacelles beneath them. The bombardier is accommodated in the glazed nose, and the other end of the fuselage carries a turret for two machine guns. These features make it resemble the World War II medium bombers that preceded it, but the swept tail surfaces and the pilot's bubble canopy and ejector seat were more similar to other aircraft of its own era, making it a blend of old and new features.
The Il-28 was widely exported, serving in the air arms of some 20 nations ranging from the Warsaw Pact to various Middle-Eastern and African air forces. Egypt was an early customer, and targeting Egyptian Il-28s on the ground was a priority for the Israeli Air Force during the Suez Crisis, Six Day War, and Yom Kippur War. The Soviet Union was in the process of providing the type for local assembly in Cuba when this was halted by the Cuban Missile Crisis, after which Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove them. The type also saw limited use in Vietnam and with the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Four ex-Egyptian and two ex-Soviet Il-28s (all with Egyptian crews) were operated by the Nigerian Air Force in the Biafra Wars. Yemen Il-28s took part in the civil war in that country. Finland also had four examples of this type delivered between 1961 and 1966. They remained in service until 1980s.
The Soviet Union withdrew the type in the 1980s, while the last Soviet-built examples were still flying in Egypt into the 1990s. Chinese-built Il-28s designated H-5 and built by HAMC were also flying in the 1990s, with several hundred in China itself, and a smaller number in North Korea and Romania.
| Related content | |
|---|---|
| Related Development | Ilyushin Il-46 - Hong H-5 |
| Similar Aircraft | Tupolev Tu-14 - English Electric Canberra - Sud-Ouest Vautour |
| Designation Series | Il-20 - Il-22 - Il-24 - Il-28 - Il-30 - Il-32 - Il-34 |
| Related Lists | List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS - List of bomber aircraft |
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