New Il-2

[Lusche]

37MM option!  w00t!  FINALLY!

Anyone know the ballistics/joules of energy for the AP / High velocity Soviet 37mm on the IL2?  I know the Yak had the HE version, but the IL2 should be fun vs. GV's with that 37mm with AP ammo!

Look here for WW2 tankbusting aircraft cannon comparison: http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/tankbusters.htm

[titanic3]

I say the Stuka is next. Bring it on Ju-87G!

[Warspawn]

Yeah, STUKA!

12 rds per gun?  Did the G-2 drop the 20mm to mount the 37mm, or did it keep them on the D-5 frame for the G variant?

[Krusty]

With these NS37s you really don't need the Stuka's BK guns. Oh sure the BK guns are much more powerful, but with these you could land 20 rounds on target in the same period of time it would take you to mis with 4 rounds on the BK. Belt fed, high rate of fire (relatively speaking) and did noticably more damage than the 23mm guns our current Il2 has.

That's a very promising guns package!

That means, however, we've got the late-war IL2 model and it really won't be suitable to use in earlier scenario/SEA setups because of these guns.

[Anaxogoras]

He-111?

[Denholm]

Amen!

[BaDkaRmA158Th]

It is my hope that when most planes get done, they have a "big gun" option.

Time for the Tse-tse!


Just so everyone has that "owchies" option.

[*PAPA*]

Now to wish for the upgraded rockets for the 190F-8 so it has a role 

True True...It's currently not much of a ground attack plane.

[Anaxogoras]

Now to wish for the upgraded rockets for the 190F-8 so it has a role 

I kill GV's routinely with the 190F-8 rockets.

[Furball]

Am i seeing 3 x tailguns?

[Denholm]

Looks that way to me.

[sethipus]

True True...It's currently not much of a ground attack plane.

It's hard to hit GVs with the rockets, but that's true to life.  When you do hit vehicles, kills are common.  I've killed tanks and other GVs with the 190 F8's rockets this way.

And this plane is a de-acking monster.  With 12 rockets, plus an 1100 lb bomb, and two 20mm cannons for followup, you can de-ack an entire small airfield single-handedly if you choose your attack passes carefully so you don't get shot down by the ack before you can bring all your weapons to bear.  This is the best de-acking plane I know.

[mg1942]

Could this be the new Il-2 Type 3M?

Type 3M has NS-37 cannons.

[mg1942]

With these NS37s you really don't need the Stuka's BK guns. Oh sure the BK guns are much more powerful, but with these you could land 20 rounds on target in the same period of time it would take you to mis with 4 rounds on the BK. Belt fed, high rate of fire (relatively speaking) and did noticably more damage than the 23mm guns our current Il2 has.

That's a very promising guns package!

That means, however, we've got the late-war IL2 model and it really won't be suitable to use in earlier scenario/SEA setups because of these guns.

I think our new IL-2 Type 3M variant is not a too-late-war variant.  A late war variant Shturmovik would be the IL-10.
Our IL-2 Type 3M would fall somewhere around  mid-1943-1944.  Now we need an IL-2 variant that was used in 1942 to early 1943 (IL-2M, with ShVAK-20s).

[mg1942]

We also need PTABs

"...Another powerful weapon of the Il-2 was PTAB-2,5-1,5 HEAT bomblets (ProtivoTankovaya AviaBomba, Anti-Tank Aviation Bomb - the number means that it was the size of a 2.5 kg bomb, but weighed only 1.5 kg due to the empty space in the shaped charge). Up to 192 were carried in four external dispensers or up to 220 in the internal weapon bays. The HEAT charge easily penetrated the relatively thin upper armor of heavy German tanks. PTABs were first used in large scale in the Battle of Kursk.