Ilnrshinn-28

r
Beagle
LIGHTATTACI( BOMBER

G\

--r;mfu_,F

Yeftm Gordon and Dmitriv Komissarov

Airlife
Copyright@2002YefimGordonandDmitriy Komissarov

First publishedin theUK in 2002

by Airlife PublishingLtd

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 AcTNowLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to expresstheir gratitude to Nigel Eastwayof the RussianAviation Research
Trust (RART), who, asusual,providedassistance with photosfrom his extensivearchive;to Sergey
Komissarovwho also suppliedseveralpreviouslyunpublishedphotos; to Andrey Yurgensonfor
the line drawingsand sergeyYershovfor the excellentcolour sideviews.
 CoNTENTS

Introduction 9
1 Breedingthe Beagle 1l
2 The Il-28 Family 22
3 The Beaglein Service 73
4 BeaglesWorld-wide 92
5 The Il-28 in Detail 118
Appendix I Acronymsand Glossary t26
AppendixII Detail Plans r29
Index t42
 -*---

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T hclittrroltsSovieta irc r alic 1es igner ' Ser gc v Vlac linr ir .o r 'i c h I l v L r s h i r r . t l . r e f b r - r l l c l e r o f . O K B . 2 4 0 a n d t h e c f c a t o f
oLltstandin-q aircralj incltrclingthc Il-2Elactical bon-rber. ' .\r,r!r'rLrtul DntirtitKortti.tsurot lrtltitt,t

T ike the other Allied nations, the Soviet Union
I was very active designing new types of
I-Jweapons and militarv technoloeiesin the
early yearj after the SecondWorld War.-The advent
of the turbojet engine affected first and foremost
fighter design. Jet fighters enjoyed top priority,
while jet bombers were in effect relegatedto second
place,although the turbojet inevitably found its way
to bombersas well. Having examinedGerman war
booty aircraft and the state of Nazi Germany's
aeronauticalresearch,US, British and Soviet air-
craft designersreachedthe sameconclusion: indige-
nousjet designswere needed.Researchin this field
eventually led to masterpiecesof aviation engineer-
ing, such as the North American F-86 Sabre and
Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-l5 (NATO code name
Fagot) fighters, the English Electric Canberra
bomber and, some time later, the Boeing B-52
Stratofortress, Tupolev Tu-16 Badger and Tu-95
Bear heavy bombers.(The latter is admittedly a tur-
boprop aircraft; however, turboprops are gas tur-
bine enginesas well, so the Tu-95 deservesmention,
to o .)
The well-known Soviet Ilyushin Il-28 tactical
bomber can also be regardedas an extraordinary
aircraft. Few jet fighters of the time could keep up
with the Il-28 in terms of production.
According to contemporarySovietmilitary strat-
egy,conventionaland nuclearstrikesagainsttargets
Thell-22 was the Ilyushin OKB's first jet bomber. Though not a successfuldesign,lessonslearnedwith it accounted in a
large degreefor the successof the I l-28. ( Sargc:
tmtlDnil.it Kontissarot
IxrnoDUCTroN
in the enemy'stactical area were to be made by tacti-
cal (i.e. light) bombers. Development work on jet
tactical bombers in the USSR was probably kicked
off in 1945 by the design bureau led by Arkhip
Mikhailovich Lyulka which was then working on
the 1,300kgp (2,865lb st) TR-1 axial-flow turbojet
- the first indigenous jet engine to reach the hard-
ware stage.(Pre-war projects developed by Lyulka
remained paper engines.The only other jets avail-
able to Soviet aircraft designers at the time were
reverse-engineered versionsof the German turbo-
jets the BMW 003 and JunkersJumo 004.)
Jet bombers were under developmentat OKB-
156led by Andrey NikolayevichTupolev,OKB-240
led by SergeyVladimirovich Ilyushin and OKB-51
led by PavelOsipovichSukhoi. Even OKB-1 led by
the German war booty designerBrunolf W. Baade
joined the race.l
Early studiesby Ilyushin in this direction resulted
in the ll-22 (the first aircraft to carry this designa-
tion),r the first Soviet four-jet bomber. It had a cir-
cular-sectionfuselage,shoulder-mountedstraight
wings, a conventional tail unit, a tricycle landing
I OKB = opl,tno-konstrooktorskovcby,uro experimental design
bureau. The number is a code allocated lor security reasons.
2 The desi gnati onw as reusedmuch l ater fbr a purpose-bui l tai r-
borne command post versi onof the Il - I 8D turboprop ai rl i ner
(N A TO code name C oot; the Il -22 w as code-namedC oot-C ).
urthiya
)
 l0 . lrvusHrNL-28 Bt,tr;tt
The experimental 'aircraft 71' (Tu-12) bomber which was a straightforward development of the Second World War-
vintage Tu-2. ( Ycli,t,
Gortknurthitt,)
gear with a twin-wheel nose unit and large single
mainwheels.The TsAGIT l-A-10 aerofoil was uti-
lized on the inner wings and the TsAGI l-V- l0 aero-
foil on the outer wings, with a 12 per cent
thickness-to-chordratio in both cases.The four
TR-l turbojets were carried almost entirely ahead
of the wing leadingedgeon short horizontal pylons;
this was a first in world jet aircraft design.
All the bombs were to be carried internally,and
the largest weapon carried by the ll-22 was a
3,000 kg (6,613 lb) bomb, which was also the air-
craft's maximum ordnance load. The defensive
armament comprised a pair of Berezin B-20E
20 mm (.78 calibre) cannon in an electricallypow-
ered remote-controlleddorsal barbetteand a single
23 mm (.90 calibre) Nudelman/Sooranov NS-23
cannon in an ll-KU-3 tail turret designedin-house.'
Another NS-23 cannon was mounted on the star-
board side of the forward fuselage,firing forward.
The five-man crew consisted of two nilots seated
side by side in an extensivelyglazednose lreminis-
cent of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress),a naviga-
tor/bomb aimer, a gunner/radio operator who
worked the dorsal barbette,and a tail gunner.
According to the project the ll-22 was to have a
range of 1,250 km (776 miles) with a 2,000 kg
(4,409lb) nominal bomb load. The maximum take-
off weight was 24,000kg (52,910lb) and the never-
exceedspeedwas set at 800 kmlh (432 kt), or Mach
0 .1 5 .
Development and prototype construction pro-
ceeded extremely fast; piloted by two brothers,
Vladimir and Konstantin Kokkinaki. the 11-22
made its maiden flight on 24 July 1947. However,
tests quickly showed that its performance was
clearly inadequate mainly because the engines.
which suffered from teething troubles, had to be
deratedto 940 kgp (2,072Ib st). Hence the MTOW
had to be limited to 20,000 ke (44,091lb) for the
manufacturer's flight tests.The range turned out to
be merely 865 km (537 miles) and the top speedat
7,000m (22,965ft) was 718 km/h (388kt) insteadof
the required 800 km/h. Hence the Ilyushin OKB
chosenot to submit the aircraft for State acceptance
trials; all further developmentwork was discontin-
ued and the sole prototype was relegated to the
Bureau of New Hardware (a division of the
Ministry of Aircraft Industry), where it could be
studied by leading industry experts.The Il-22 was
no more than a stepping stone to more efficient
designs.
Meanwhile, Tupolev came up with the Tu-77
experimentalbomber (aka Tu-12), a heavilymodi-
fied Second World War-vintage Tu-2 with two
turbojets and a tricycle landing gear, and later the
Tu-73iTu-78iTu-81/Tu-89family. The last aircraft in
the serieswas eventually to see limited production
and serviceas the Tu-14 (NATO code name Bosun).
The German team led by Baade refined the Junkers
EF l3l project which culminated in the Type 140,
an experimental bomber with forward-swept wings.
Sukhoi built a prototype of the Su-10 four-jet
light bomber, but it was scrappedwithout ever being
flown when OKB-51 was dissolvedin 1949.There
was yet another contendeq Vladimir Mikhailovich
Myasischchevwith his VM-24 (aka RB-17) four-
turbojet bomber project. However, it never materi-
alized becauseMyasischchevwas out of favour with
Soviet leaderJosef Stalin and consequentlyhis proj-
ects receiveda thumbs-down at the time. This was
basically the situation in which the Il-28 was born
the Soviet Union's first operational jet bomber,
which entered service with the YYS (Voyenno-
vozdooshnyyeseely [Soviet] Air Force) in 1949.
3 TsAGI = Tsentrahl'n!y aero- i ghidrodinamicheskiy institoot -
Central Aerodynamics & Hydrodynamics Institute, named
after Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovskiy.
4 KU stands l'<trkournvayu fstrelkovayal oostunovku tail bar-
bette.

f[lh. Il-28 projectwas conceivedin late 1947.
I On 3l Octoberthat year SergeyV. Ilyushin
I wrote to the then Minister of Aircraft
Industry,Nikolay A. Bulganin,proposingatactical
bomber poweredby two Rolls-RoyceNene I cen-
trifugal-flowturbojets,with a first flight datetenta-
tivelysetfor July 1948.This tight schedulewasdue
in no smallpart to the experience accumulated with
the Il-22 which would allow the new bomberto be
developedquickly.The objectivewas to achievea
performance far superiorto that of thell-22and the
projectedtl-24 bomber (againthe first aircraft to
use this designation).r This was made possibleby
reducing the crew and rethinking the defensive
armamentconcept.
The Il-28'sgeneralarrangement wassimilarto its
predecessor's. However, the aircraft was rather
smaller and differed in a number of important
respects.This was becauseof the new bomber's
higherspeedanddifferentserviceconditions:unlike
the ll-22, the Il-28 was designedto operatemainly
from tacticalairfieldswith unpavedstrips.
The crew was reducedto three - pilot, naviga-
tor/bombaimerand tail gunner/radiooperator.The
decisionto eliminatethe co-pilot and forwardgun-
ner was dictatedfirst of all by the limited mission
time of a tactical bomber. At a cruising speedof
650-750km/h (361*416kt) a sortiewould typically
last 2 or 2.5 hours - four hours at the most. An
autopilotwouldbeinstalledto easethepilot'swork-
load duringcruise.
The armamentwould probablybestbe described
now, becausethe Il-28 was,as one Russianwriter
put it, 'designedaroundthe tail'- or, to be precise,
the tail turret.Trialsof thell-22 had shownthat the
remote-controlleddorsal barbette was inefficient
becausethe tail unit createdlarge blind sectors.
Also, the gunner'sstation was locatedwell away
from the barbette;hencesomeareaswherethe can-
non could be brought to bear on the target were
concealedfrom the gunner'sview by the wingsand
fuselage.Various armament arrangementswere
studied.Eventuallytheengineers decidedthat a sin-
gle tail turret offeredadequateprotectionagainst
enemyfighter attacks from the rear hemisphere,
providingthe traversing/elevating angleand speed
of the cannonwereincreased and the bombermade
BngprING THEBa,qcm
appropriatedefensivemanoeuvres. Besides, the use
of only a singletail turretreducedemptyweightand
improvedaerodynamicefficiency.
Yet designinga new tail turret turned out to be
quite a challenge;the engineershad to meet strin-
gentspecifications whilekeepingthe unit'sweightto
a minimum.The Il-22'stail turret turned out to be
too sluggish;a newpowerdriveand remotecontrol
systemhad to be developed.The result was the
highlyeflicientIl-K6 ball turret2- originallymount-
ing the same NS-23 cannon which were later
replacedby Nudelman/RichterNR-23s with 225
rpg. The new weaponshad the samecalibrebut a
muchhigherrateof fire (850roundsperminutever-
sus550rpm for the earliermodel).
The Il-K6 wasthefirst Sovietelectrohydraulically
poweredremote-controlled turret; it had a travers-
ing angleof +70oand an elevatingangleof +60oto
-40o.In normalmodethecannonmovedat a rateof
15-17"per second,the motion increasingto up to
36o per secondin boost (emergency)mode. The
powerdriveenabledtheturretto operateadequately
at airspeedsin excessof 1,000km/h (555 kt). At
340kg (7501b),the turretwasrelativelylightweight.
By comparison,the DK-3 turret usedon the Tu-4
Bull bomber (a reverse-engineered Boeing B-29)
had traversingand elevatinganglesof only +lQ',
whileweighingnearly390kg (8601b).
The power drive of the Il-K6 turret was built
around an unorthodoxswivellinghydraulicpump
unit driven by two 5 kW electricmotors.The out-
put of thepumpsand hencethemotion speedof the
cannondependedon the angleat which the pump
unit wastilted;with thepump unit in a neutralposi-
tion the turret remainedmotionless.This made it
possibleto dispense with slidevalves,reservoirs and
other unreliablecomponents,resultingin a simple
and safehydraulicsystem.The ammunitionboxes
werebuilt into the bodv of the turret. allowinsthe
I A derivative of the Il-22 powered by four 3,300 kgp
(7 ,275lb st) Mikulin AM-TKRD-01 turbojets and equipped
with an Il-KU-4 twin-cannon tail turret. The desisnation was
laler reusedfor the Il-24N long-range ice reconna-issanceair-
craft - another spin-off of the Il-18D.
2 Once again, K stands for kormovaya strelkovaya oostanovka
- tail barbette.
l2 . Ir-vusnrN
Ir-28 Bntcrc.
customary belt feed and tightening mechanismsto
be dispensedwith, which again made for higher reli-
ability.
The turret was electricallycontrolled by means of
a highly reliableand precisepotentiometrictracking
system. Targeting was done by a computing gun-
sight which automatically made adjustmentsfor the
target's motion, shell velocity and trajectory, can-
non traversing angle, flight altitude and airspeed.
The sight receivedfeedback from the turret to mini-
mize miscoordination between the two. Thus, mis-
coordinationin the horizontal planewas threetimes
lessthan the limit setby generaloperationalrequire-
mentsof the time.
The Il-28 also featured two fixed forward-firing
NR-23 cannon with 100rpg installedon both sides
of the nose on quick-releasemounts. These were
fired by the pilot and could be removed by simply
disconnectingan electricalconnectorand turning a
locking lever.
The decisionto useonly a singlepower turret and
reduce the crew to three enabled the designersto
make the Il-28'sfuselagenearly3.5 m ( I l ft 5.79in.)
shorter than that of the ll-22 and reducewing area
by 13.7m1 (147.3sq. ft), which led to a significant
reductionin empty weight. Hencethe secondmajor
difference was the powerplant. The basic projected
size and weight allowed the new bomber to be pow-
ered by two Rolls-Royce Nenes rated at 2,270 kgp
(5 ,0 0 0l b s t ) .
The Nene, which entered licence production in
the USSR rn 1947 as the Klimov RD-45,r had by
then reached a high degree of reliability and
boasted a 25-30 per cent lower specific fuel con-
sumption as compared to the TR-1. On the other
hand, a major drawback of this engine was its large
diameter, caused by the centrifugal compressor.
This, and the necessityto keep the air intakes as far
away from the ground as possible in order to avoid
foreign-objectdamage(FOD) - a must sincethe air-
craft was to operate from dirt airstrips led the
designersto mount the enginesin nacellesadhering
directly to the lower surface of the wings (i.e. with-
out pylons).
For centre-of-gravity reasons the engines were
located well forward in the nacelles.Thus, the large
diameter of the engine'scompressor and the small
jetpipe allowed the main gear units to be relocated
from the fuselage to the engine nacelles,giving a
wide track which was a bonus on semi-prepared
strips. The shock struts were attached to the
nacelles'main frames,and as they retracted forward
3 RD= reuktivnyy dvigutal' jetengine
the single mainwheelsturned through 90' by means
of a simple mechanical link to lie flat in the bottom
of the nacellesbeneaththe jetpipe (behind the com-
bustion chambers). Incidentally, here the Ilyushin
OKB made a virtue out of necessity:the landing
gear struts were noticeably longer than on thell-22,
giving a large ground clearanceunder the fuselage
and easing the bomb-loading procedure. ln con-
trast, the 11-22had a very small ground clearance,
needing to be jacked up when 2,500 kg (5,51I lb)
and 3,000kg (6,613lb) bombs werehooked up.
To meet the high speed requirementthe Il-28's
wings employed a new TsAGI SR-5S high-speed
aerofoil developedunder the guidance of Yakov M.
Serebriyskiy and Maria V. Ryzhova - again with a
12 per cent thickness-to-chord ratio. This enabled
the bomber to reach a maximum speed of Mach
0.82 at 7,000-8,000m (22,965 26,246 ft) without
any adverseeffects on stability and control charac-
teristics caused by shock wave formation. The pro-
vision of simpleslottedflaps assuredthe Il-28 good
field performance.
The high designspeedscalledfor a swepttail unit
which ensuredgood stabilityand handling through-
out the speedrange.The tail unit employed symmet-
rical aerofoil sections with a slightly higher
thickness-to-chordratio than that of the Il-22. The
fin was swept back 4lo at quarter-chord,while the
stabilizerswere sweptback 30"; this delayeddanger-
ous Mach buffeting to a speed well above the air-
craft's never-exceed speed. In addition, the
sweepbackincreasedthe rudder and elevator arm,
which allowed the area and weight of the tail sur-
facesto be reduced.
One of the complaintsvoicedby the ll-22's pilots
during flight testsconcernedthe flight deck glazing
(which was blendedentirely into the nose contour
ii laB-29). The curved glazing panels distorted the
view and generated annoying reflections, and the
heavy framework created numerous blind spots.
Since the Il-28 would be flown by a single pilot, the
engineersprovided him with a fighter-type cockpit
enclosedby a sideways-openingbubble canopy with
a bullet-proof windscreen.The extensivenose glaz-
ing was still there of necessity, but now the
navigator/bomb aimer had the glazed nose all to
himself.
The crew was seatedin two pressurizedcompart-
ments - one for the pilot and navigator/bomb aimer.
the other for the gunner/radio operator. At low alti-
tudes thesewere pressurizedby the slipstream;from
1,700m (5,580ft) upwards the compartments\r'ere
sealedoff and pressurizedby engine bleed air via lll-
ters.The pressurizationsystemwas combined u'ith
the heating and ventilation systems.The cockpit

and navigator's compartment were equipped with
upward-firing ejection seats;ejection was triggered
byjettisoning the canopy or entrance hatch respec-
tively. The gunner baled out via the ventral entrance
hatch; the hatch cover doubled as a shield protect-
ing him from the slipstream.
As had been the case with the Il-22, the ll-28's
wing panels and tail surfaceshad a manufacturing
joint running along the chord line. Each half of the
unit consistedof a number of panels incorporating
stringers and ribs. This allowed different panels to
be manufactured simultaneously at different work-
stations while improving working conditions; noisy
and labour-intensive manual riveting was replaced
with high-quality machine riveting.
The fuselagewas also designedin two halveswith
a manufacturingjoint running the full length of it: it
went together just like a plastic model kit! For the
hrst time in Soviet aircraft production, al1structural
members of the fuselage were readily accessible,
allowing riveting and assembly operations to be
mechanized and various internal equipment to be
fitted quickly and efficiently. The fuselagewas also
divided lengthwiseinto four sections,facilitating the
installationof equipment in bays which would not
be accessibleonce the structure was fully assembled.
Finally, the fuselage had longitudinal recesseson
both sidescovered by removableskin panels.These
facilitated installation of all wiring and pipelines
during manufacturing, as well as checking them and
replacing faulty components in service.This feature
reducedpre-flight check time and enhancedcombat
efficiency.
The slight weight penalty (about 4 per cent)
incurred by the new technology more than paid off.
The surface finish was significantly improved;
labour intensity was cut by 25 30 per cent for pro-
duction airframes and by 30-40 per cent for internal
equipment installation. As a result, the twinjet
bomber was hardly more complicated to build than
a tactical fighter. Also, this allowed Ilyushin to
avoid a problem which affected some early Soviet
jets - the propensity to uncommanded bank at high
airspeeds,called val'ozhka in Russian. (This prob-
lem, which had manifested itself on the
Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-9 Fargo and the MiG-15
Fagot-A, was caused by aerodynamic asymmetry
causedby the wings having slightly different aerofoil
sectionsbecauseof insufficiently high manufactur-
ing accuracy.This structural asymmetry meant that
the wings produced different amounts of lift; this
was not critical at low speeds, but as airspeed
increasedthe differencebecameappreciable.)
The Ilyushin OKB had accumulated a lot of
design and operational experience with hot air
BngpotNctne Bo,lcm.13
de-icing systemsand put it to good use when work-
ing on the Il-28. The turbojet enginespowering the
aircraft supplied lots of bleed air, enabling the
engineers to quickly create the most efficient de-
icing systemof the time. This was the Soviet Union's
first automatic hot air de-icing system;it was light-
weight, reliable and simple to operate and had no
parts disrupting the airflow This feature greatly
improved the bomber's combat efficiency and flight
safety in adverseweather - particularly becausethe
relatively thin aerofoils used in the wings and tail
unit made icing much more dangerous than in the
caseof slower piston-enginedaircraft utilizing thick
aerofoils.
All-weather and night-flying capability was
ensuredby the provision of a comprehensiveavion-
ics and communications suite which enabled the
crew to navigatethe aircraft and detect, identify and
destroy ground targets without maintaining visual
contact with the ground. The avionicssuite included
an OSP-48instrument landing system(lLS) for use
in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).
The ground part of the system included two range
beacons, three marker beacons. communications
radios and an HF or VHF radio direction finder to
facilitate approach and landing in bad weather.The
system'scomponents installed on the aircraft com-
prised an ARK-5 Amur (a river in the Soviet Far
East; pronounced like the French word amour)
automatic direction finder, an RV-2 Kristall
(Crystal) low-altitude radio altimeter and an
MRP-48 Dyatel (Woodpecker) marker beacon
receiver.'The OSP-48 was fairly simple and had few
components,which renderedthe ground part suit-
able for use on ud hoc tactical airfields (in truck-
mounted form). The aircraft was also equippedwith
an AP-5 autopilot and an identification friend-or-
foe (IFF) transponder.
Unlike the Il-22, the Il-28's normal bomb load
was 1,000kg(2,204lb); the maximum bomb load in
overload condition remained the same at 3,000 kg
(6,613lb). The bomb bay locatedin the centrefuse-
lage featured four bomb cassettesand one beam-
type bomb cradle.The former could carry bombs of
50-500 kg (110 1,102 lb) calibre, while the latter
was designed for bombs weighing from 1,000 to
3,000 kg (2,204-6,612 lb).
In visual meteorological conditions (VMC) the
navigator/bomb aimer used an OPB-5S optical
4 OSP = oboroodovaniyeslepoyposahdki-blind landingequip-
ment; ARK = avtomaticheskiy rahdiokompas - ADF; RV =
rahdiovysotomer radio altimeter; MRP = rzarkemy-y rahdio-
preeyomnik. The MRP-48 has also been designated
Khrizantema (Chrysanthemum) in some sources.
14 . Ir-vusurN
lt-28 Br,tcr.r-.
bomb sight (opticheski):pritsel bontburdirovochnyy)
which enabled him to take aim automatically at
stationary and moving targets in level flight.
Interestingly,the navigatorhad to leavehis ejection
seat and sit sidewayson a specialjump seat in the
extremenoseon the starboardside to usethe sight.
The OPB-5S computed the sighting angles and
dropped the bombs automatically at the correct
moment by meansof an electricreleasemechanism.
The sightwas gyrostabilizedto preventthe aircraft's
manoeuvresfrom affecting bombing accuracyand
linked to the autopilot, enabling the navigator to
set the aircraft's course on its bombing run. In
IMC . bom b- aim ingw a s a s s i s te db y th e PS BN -M
search/bomb-aiming radar (pribor slapovrt
bontbomctahniyai nuvigahtsii- blind-bombing and
navigationaldevice)with a 360' field of view. The
radar was located in the aft fuselagejust ahead of
the gunner's station and enclosed by a flush
dielectricfairing.
Taking a risk
General DesignersSergeyV. Ilyushin approvedthe
Il-28 advanceddevelopmentproject on l2 January
1948,giving the go-aheadto completea setof man-
ufacturing drawings and start prototype construc-
tion. By then, however,Tupolev'sOKB-I56 the
SovietUnion's leadingauthority in bomber design
had receivedan assignmentto design and build a
similar jet-poweredtactical bomber. OK8-240 had
no suchassignment.Still, Ilyushin'sbelief in his air-
The Rolls-RoyceNene-poweredfirst prototype of the Il-28 was totally devoid of markings. Note the complex framework
of the cockpit canopy and the flush installation of the navigation/bomb-aiming radar. r Yelim
craft was so strong that he decidedto carry on with
the 11-28and build a prototype at his own risk all
the more so becausethe Soviet Air Force was in des-
perateneed of a tactical bomber meeting the strin-
gent new requirements.(lt is worth noting here that
Ghenrikh Vasilyevich Novozhilov, who succeeded
Ilyushin as the OKB's head in 1970, started his
career at the Ilyushin OKB by taking part in the
preparationof the I1-28prototype'smanufacturing
drawings.)The Il-28 was not officially included in
the Ministry of Aircraft Industry's experimental
aircraft constructionplan until l2 June 1948,when
the Soviet Union's Council of Ministers issued
directive No. 2052-804to this effect one month
beforethe prototype was rolled out.
Bearing no serial or even national insignia, the
prototype (poweredby authenticRolls-RoyceNene
turbojets imported from the UK) commenced
ground tests at Moscow-Khodynka on 29 May
1948. On I July the aircraft was dismantled and
truckedto the Flight ResearchInstitutenamedafter
Mikhail M. Gromov (LII Lyotno-issledovatel'skiy
in.\titoot)in Zhukovskiy, south of Moscow, where
most Soviet aviation OKBs had their flight test
facilities.V. N. Boogaiskiywas assignedengineerin
chargeof the flight tests.
The company chief was as good as his word: the
bomber took to the air for the first time on 8 July
1948w i th Il yushi nOK B chi ef testpi l ot V l adi mi r K .
Kokkinaki at the controls: N. D. Sorokin was the
/light engincer(.sit' obviously the navigator) and
B. A. Yerofevevwas the radio operator.Kokkinaki
Gttrdon
urchit,1

Tupolev's'aircraft 73',the three-enginedforerunner of the Tu-14 bomber; note the air intake
engine.This configuration was to change soon... ( yeJimGordonart.hive
)
waspleasedwith the aircraft'shandling,sayingthat
the Il-28waseasyto fly, both duringtake-offand in
cruise,and climbedwell.
Speakingof serials,until the mid-1950sSoviet
military aircraft had three- or four-dieit serial
numbers. Theseallowedmoreor lesspositiie identi-
fication,sincethey tied in with the aircraft'scon-
structionnumber- usuallythe lastoneor two digits
of the batchnumberplusthe numberof the aircraft
in thebatch.
In 1955,however, the VVS switched(probablvfor
securityreasons) to the currentsystemof two-digit
tqctical codeswhich, as a rule, are simply the air-
craft'snumberin the unit operatingit, makingposi-
tive.identificationimpossible.Three- or foui-digit
tactical codes are rare and are usually *o.n by
development aircraftonly,in whichcasetheystill tiL
in with the c/n or fuselagenumber(manufacturer's
linenumber)..At the sametime thestarinsisniaon
the aft fuselagewere deleted,remaininsin the
wings and vertical tail only. So far, hoieveq no
SovietAir ForceIl-28swith pre-1955 serialsrelated
to the cin havebeenidentified.
5 The official title of Soviet OKB hearls.
6 On military transport aircraft, however, three-digit tactical
codes do not relate to the c/n or l/n; they are the lisr three of
the fiormer civil registration (many Soviet/RussianAir Force
transports were,and still are, quasi-civilian).
7 PSR = porokhovaya startovaya raketa - solid-fuel rocket
booster.
8 The Tu-73 was powered by two RR Nenes in wing-mounted
nacellesand one RR Derwent V in the rear lusetie. On the
otherwise identical Tu-78 these were replaced bv two RD_
45Fs and one RD-500 respectively (rhe RD-500 was the
licence-builtversion of the Derwent).
BnssorNcrup Bt'tctp. 15
andnozzleof the centre
_ The Il-28 had good directional and lateral stability
throughout its operational envelope.When properly
trimmed the aircraft flew stably in level fligtLt
even when the controls were released.Low-speed
handling was quite good, with no tendencyto stall
or spin. Straight and level flight with one dead
engine was no problem either, the yaw being easily
countered without excessiveloads on the rudder
pedals.
The aircraft had good field performance and
could operate from existing airbases and tactical
airfields. At a normal gross weight of 17,220kg
(37,9631b),the take-off run wasjust 560m ( l ,837ftj
if the aircraft was fitted with two pSR-1500-15iet-
assistedtake-off (JATO) rocketsTwith a l3-second
burn time developing 1,600kgp (3,52j lb sr) each.
The Il-28 could easily operate from dirt strips; in
fact, the test pilots expresslyrecommendedoperat-
ing the bomber from dirt strips in order to prolong
the tyres' servicelife.
During manufacturer's flight tests the Nene-
pgwgled first prototype attained a top speed
of 833 kmlh (462 kt) ar 5,000 m 06.404 fr).
and reached Mach 0.79 ar 7.000 8.000 m
(22,966 26,246ft). The test pilors reported that the
aircraft behavednormally at thesespeedsand could
go even faster if appropriate changes were made.
Hence the OKB set about streamlinins the airframe
and installing more powerful engines.
The Tu-73 and Tu-78 trijet bomber prototypess
were undergoing manufacturer's flight tests at the
same.time.One day General Designer Andrey N.
Tupolev saw the Il-28 prototype at the airfiel,Cof
LII. Being, by many accounts, an ill-tempered per-
son and a man w ho di d not careabout competi i i on
16. f r-vusnrN
L-28 Be,tctz

(to say the least), Tupolev was openly scornful at
first. 'Humph! Whose bastard child is this?' he
asked the technicians working on the aircraft.
However, after examining the competitor's product
closelyand studying the specificationshe had a long
talk with his aides,and it was easyto seethat he was
very displeased.The reason for Tupolev's displeas-
ure was obvious: on their jet bombers the Tupolev
engineers had copied the defensive weapons
arrangement of the piston-enginedTu-2, which led
to excessivelylarge overall dimensions, an exces-
sively large crew and henceexcessiveweight, not to
mention the decidedly complex powerplant. The
ultimate Tu-81 (Tu-14) and Tu-89 (Tu-14T) dis-
pensedwith the centre engine and two remote-con-
trolled gun barbettes in favour of a single tail
gunner'sstation- inspiredby the Il-28, no doubt.
On 30 December1948the secondprototype Il-28
powered by production RD-45F engines" entered
flight test,againflown by Vladimir Kokkinaki. New
models of tyres were tested concurrently with the
aircraft itself, as the original ones were totally worn
out after just ten landings on concretestrips.The
best results were attained with tyres made of
perlone, a synthetic rubber, which lasted for more
than l00landings.
Apart from the powerplant, the secondprototype
differed from future production ll-28s in avionics
and equipment fit. The aircraft was equipped with
RSB-5 and RSU-10 radios, an SPUF-3 intercom,
an MRP-46 marker beacon receiver,AFA-BA and
AFA-33/50 or AFA-33/75 aerial cameras, two
GSN-3000 generators,three sets of KP-14 breath-
ing apparatuswith 8-litre(l.76 imp. gal.) liquid oxy-
gen bottles, an RUSP-4SILS, etc."'
After the successful completion of the initial
flight test programme, the second prototype was
turned over to the Soviet Air Force Research
Institute (NII VVS - Naoochno-issledovutel'skiy
institoot voyenno-vozdooshnykh see[) for State
acceptance trials, which lasted from February to
April 1949.The formal act of acceptancewas signed
on 18 May.
The specifications of the RD-45F-powered sec-
ond prototype 11-28attained at the State acceptance
trials are detailedin Table 1.

Table l. RD-45F-poweredsecondprototype;specificationsattained in State acceptancetrials

Length overall 17.45m (57ft 3 in.)

Height on ground 6.0m ( l 9 ft 8.22i n.)
Wing span 21.45m (70lt 4.48in.)
Wing area 60.8mr (653.76 sq.ft)
Wing loading 288kg/m' ( 1,400lb/ftr)
Power loading at sealevel 3.38kg/kgp(lb/lbst)
Normal all-up weight 17,500kg (38,s80lb)
Maximum all-up weight 20.000kg (44,091 lb)
Fuel load 6,300kg (13,888 l b)
Top speed: at sealevel 750km/h(405.4kt)*
a t 5 ,750 6, 000m ( 18, 864 19, 685f t ) 843km/h(455.67 kt)
at 10,000m (32,808ft) 820km/h (443.24kt)
Landing speed 178km/h(96.2kt)
Rate of climb: at sealevel 10.9m/sec(2,145ftlmin)
at 5,000m (16,404ft) 8.3m/sec(1,633ftlmin)
at 10,000m (32,808ft) 3.6m/sec(708ft/min)
Time to height: 5,000m 8.6mi n
10,000m 22.6min
Range: 1,8l 5km(l ,127mi l es)
kt)
at 20 ,0 0 0 k g T OW5,,0 0 0 ma n d 5 4 2 k m /h(293
at 20,000kg TOW, 10,000m and 546km/h (295kt) 2,370km (1,472miles)
Enduranceat 10,000m cruisingaltitudeand 546km/h cruisingspeed 4 hr 13min
Take-offrun 1,150m (3,713lt)1650 m (2,132ft)**
Take-offdistance 2,540m (8,333ft)/990m (3,248ft)**
Landingdistance 1,730m (5,678f0***
Notes:
* Speedlimitedat altitudesup to 1,750m (5,741ft) owingto 2,'700kglm'(13,122lb/ft')dynamicstrengthlimit.
{<* Without boosters/with two PSR-1500-15 JATO bottles.
*'<*'With a 13,500
kg(29,7621b) landingweight.
 BnpporNcrl:p Bo,qcrc. 17

Table2. Performancecomparisonbetweenthe Il-28 andTu-14

Tu-14 It-28
Empty weight,kg (lb) 14,940(32,936) 12,795(28,207)
All-up weight, kg (1b):
normal 2r,000(46,296) 18,400(40,564)
in overload configuration 25,350(55,886) 21,069(46,448)
maxlmum 25,350(55,886) 23,069(50,87s)
Top speedat take-off power/normalAUW, km/h (kt):
at 5,000m (16,404ft) 84s(4s6.7s) 8e3(482.7)
at 10,000m (32,808ft) 8l l (438.37) 850(459.45)
Top speedat take-off power/maximumAUW, km/h (kt):
at S/L 774(4r8.37) 800(432.43)
at 5,000m (16,404ft) 823(444.86) 8s7(463.24)
at 10,000m (32,808ft) 773(4r7.83) 823(444.86)
Serviceceilingat normal AUW, m (ft) n,200(36,745) (40,3s4)
12,300
Maximum rangeat 10,000m/normal AUW, km (miles) 2,870(1,782) 2,415(1,500)
Take-off run, m (ft) (3,937)
1,200 e65(3,166)
Landing run, m (ft) I,100(3,609) 960(3,14e)
Bombload,kg (lb):
normal (2,204)
1,000 r,000(2,204)
maximum (6,613)
3,000 3,000(6,613)

Table2givesa performance comparisonof the Il-28 Finally, on 14 May 1949a specialcommission

and Tu-14.Note that the figuresstatedfor the Il-28
differ from thosein Table 1; however,in both cases
they originate from official documents.A possible
explanationis that different examplesof the Beagle
wereinvolved- or that whoeverpreparedthe com-
parativetable was not very honest,doctoring the
figuresto benefitthe Il-28.
The T[-14 wasbeingtestedconcurrently;the Powers
That Be wereto choosebetweenthe two, so that in
effectIlyushinand Tupolevhad a flyoff, eventhough
the term was unknown in the SovietUnion at the
time.Hencethe WS top brasswasin a turmoil; some
of the generalsand marshalslobbiedfor the Tu-14,
which had somewhatlongerrange,while otherssup-
portedthe Il-28, which wasmucheasierto build and
operate.The discussionragedon at ministeriallevel;
the chief of NII WS denouncedthe Il-28 and
strongly urged the Minister of Aircraft Industry
Nikolay A. Bulganin, to give the go-aheadfor the
Tu-14.Still, evenBulganinfailedto resolvethe issue.
9 F = forseerovannyy - tprated.
l0 AFA = aerofotoapparaht - aircraft camera; KP = kislorodnyy
preebor - oxygen equipment.
chairedby Stalin himself analysedthe test results
and compared the performanceof the two types.
Accordingto llyushin, after examiningthe reports
carefully and listening to his military advisers,
Stalin picked the Il-28. Howeveq Ilyushin was
requestedto increasethe speedof productionair-
craft immediatelyto 900km/h (486kt) by re-engin-
ing the Il-28 with more powerfuland fuel-efficient
Klimov VK-1 turbojets;Councilof Ministersdirec-
tive No. 1890-700to this effect appearedon the
sameday.(It makesyou wonderif the pro-Ilyushin
lobby had preparedthe directivein advance,fore-
seeingthis victory!)The VK-1 wasa versionof the
RD-45F upratedto 2,700kgp (5,950lb st). As a
consolationprize,Tupolevwasrequested to develop
a versionof the Tu-14(likewisepoweredby VK-ls)
for the Naval air arm.
Definingandrefining
Building on the resultsof numerouswind tunnel
tests at TsAGI, the Ilyushin OKB developednew
enginenacellesfor the productionVK-l-powered
form of the Il-28. Unlike the prototypes'nacelles,
which werebulgedaround the middle,the new ones
weredistinctly area-ruled,the waistbeingnarrowest
l8 . f lyusHrN L-28 Brrctr.

In designingthe 'aircraft 8l', a derivativeof the '73'and '78'trijets which enteredproduction as the Tu-14, the Tupolev
OKB clearly borrowed Ilyushin's defensivearmament concept employed on the Il-28. ( yalitrt Gorthtnurchiv1

where the wing sectionwas at its thickest.This sig-
nificantly reduced harmful interference between
wing and nacelle, especiallyat transonic speeds,
resulting in a major improvement in the ll-28's
performance.(As a point of interest,in the USA
the area rule was formulated in parallel by
R. Whitcomb, but did not find practical use until
1954, when Convair brought out the F-102 Delta
Daggerinterceptor.)
Other changeswere made after the initial flight
tests and State acceptancetrials. The PSBN-M
radar was relocated from the aft fuselageto a posi-
tion immediately after the nosewheelwell in order
to improveits operatingconditionsand enclosedby
a teardrop-shapedradome. The rudder's horn bal-
ance was enlarged to reduce rudder forces. Some
minor changeswere made to the hydraulic system
and the nosewheel steering actuator/shimmy
damper. The fuselagefuel cellswere equipped with a
nitrogen pressurizationsystemto reduce the danger
of explosionif hit by enemyfire, enhancingsurvlv-
ability. The angular cockpit windscreenof the pro-
totypes gave way to a more streamlined one
featuringan ellipticalTriplex windshieldand curved
sidelights,and the frame of the hinged canopy por-
tion was simplified by introducing a two-piece
blown transparency. The navigator's glazing was
also modified.
The pre-production Il-28 powered by VK-ls
commenced flight tests on 8 August 1949;the crew
was the same as on the day of the type's maiden
flight a year earlier. At a normal gross weight of

An uncoded pre-production Il-28 powered by Klimov VK- I enginesin area-ruled nacelles.This view illustrates well the
sleeklines of Ilyushin'sjet bomber. / yt'Jint
Gonton
urchilc
1
 BnEEotNc;
tus Bt.tt;t.r,.19

.,r;r{}

T hree-qu arte rsre arview oft hes am eair c r af t , s howingt heIl - K 6 b a l l t u r r c t . t t t l i u r c i o r t h n u r t h i t t , )

18,400kg (40,564lb), the aircraft had a top speedof
9 0 6 km / h ( 503k t ) at 4, 0 0 0m ( 1 3 ,1 2 3ft). T h e p i l o ts
noted the aircraft was stableat any speed;control
forcescould be trimmed down easily.At the maxi-
rnum allowedspeedof Mach 0.78the back pressure
on the control column gradually increased;then, if
clevator trim remained unchanged, the load
reversed"the control column would move forward
and the aircraft would tend to go into a dive. If ele-
vator trim was selectedup, the aircraft could reach
Ma ch 0. 81or 0. 82.but th i s c a u s e ds e v e reMa c h b u f-
l-et,warning the pilot to slow down. The produc-
tion-standardIl-28'stop speedat variousaltitudesis
indicatedin Table 3.
W i th a 1.000kg (2,204l b)normal bomb l oad and a
21,000kg(46,296Ib)MTOW the Il -28 had a maxr-
mum range of 2,455 km (1,525 mi l es) and w as
generally superior in performance to the piston-
enginedTu-2 which was the mainstayof the VVS's
tacticalbomber forceat the timc.
On 24 A ugust 1949 thc producti on-standard
VK-l-powered aircraft was handed over fbr State
acceptance trials and passed thcm with l1ying
col ours. On l 6 S eptemberthe S tate C ommi ssi on
recommendedthat production be startedforthwith,
and so it was.Starting in September1949,it entered
production at three major aircrafi l'actories:No. 30
Znamya truda (Banner of Labour. pronounced

Table 3. Production-standardll-28's top speedsat variousaltitudes

Indicatedairspeed Mach number

at cruisepower at lull at cruise power at tirll

military power military powcr

sealevel 786km/h 800km/h 0.642 0.655

(424.86kt) (4 3 2 .4k3t)
4 .5 0 0 m ( 14, 763it ) 846km/h 900km/h 0.73 0.776
(457.29kt) (4 8 6 .4k8t)
5.250m (17.224
fI) 848km/h 897km/h 0.738 0.782
(4 s 8 .3 k7t) (4 8 4 .8k6t)
8.000m (26.246fI) 837km/h 876km/h 0.759 0.19
(452.43 kt) (4 7 3 .5k1t)
I 2,000m (39.370
ft) 7 1 0k m /h 805km/h 0.67 0.75'.7
(3 8 3 .7k8t) (4 3 5r.5 k t)
20 . Irvussrx lL-28 BEAGLE

Individualfactory constructionnumbersystems
System1: 4 Red,c/n 50301106: 50 yearof manufacture(1950);
30 = MoscowMachineryPlant(MMZ) No. 30;
II batchnumber;
06 numberof aircraftin the batch(up to 100?).

The c/n is stencilledon the fuselage

noseand sometimes
underthehorizontaltail aswell.

System8: unknown, cln43051230l:. 4 in-houseversiondesignator:izdelie (product)4 = Il-28R;

30 = M M ZN o.30;
5I yearof manufacture( 195I );
23 batchnumber;
0l numberof aircraft in the batch.

System3: I 2 Red,c/n 53005I I 2: 5 in-houseversiondesignator:izdeliye(product) 5 = Il-28, izdeliye6 = ll-

28U;
3 yearof manufacture(1953);
Q = MMZ No. 30 (thefirst digit is omittedfor securityreasonsto confuse
would-bespies);
051 batchnumber;
12 numberof aircraftin the batch(up to 100?).

The c/n is sometimes

stencilledon the fuselage
noseand underthehorizontaltail.

System4:l84Black,c|n5901207: 5 yearofmanufacture(1955);
9 - Irkutsk aircraftfactoryNo. 39 (thefirst digit is omittedfor security
reasons):
012 batchnumber;
07 numberof aircraft in the batch.

System5: codeunknown,c/n 6450301: 64 factorynumber(Voronezhaircraftfactory);

50 yearof manufacture(1950);
3 batchnumber;
0l numberof aircraftin the batch.

System6: 0l Red,c1n2402101: 2 yearof manufacture(1952);

y', = Voronezhaircraft factory No. 64 (the first digit is omitted for security
reasons):
021 batchnumber;
0l numberof aircraftin the batch.

The c/n is sometimes

stencilledon thefin or underthehorizontaltail.

System7: unknown,c/n 0416601: 04 batchnumber;

166 factory number(Omsk aircraft factory);
0l numberof aircraftin the batch.

System8: 33 Red,c|n56605702: 5 yearof manufacture (1955);

66 = Omsk aircraft factory No. 166(the first digit is omitted for security
reasons):
057 batchnumber;
02 numberof aircraft in the batch.

The c/n is sometimes

stencilled
underthe horizontaltail.
 BnEEorNcrse.Bntctt .21

gt
1
t

=:i---fr ;#* u

i.l4&**

-' '--!
a;; -'
.- -
- ' - Y3- -
;iif

T h e l l -2 8 r v as built by s ev e ra l S o v i e ta i rc ra ftfa c to ri e s .Thesetw o

B eagl es,26B l ueand2TB l ue,w eremanufacturedbyth
MoscowMachineryFactoryNo. 30;the formeraircraftcarriesthecln 55006424 on the nose./ yt,lirtt
c,rttrnurthi,t,)

znahmyatroodah)at Khodynka airfield right in the StandardsCo-ordinatingCommittee(ASCC) ini-

centreof Moscow,No. 64 in Voronezhand No. 166
in Omsk- startedgearingup to build the Il-28.A
fourth factory,No. 39 in lrkutsk,alsobeganIl-28
productionshortlyafterwards(seenext chapter).rl
Each factory had its own constructionnumber
system(s),explainedon page20:
After the type'sfirst publicappearance
at the 1950
May Day parade in Moscow, NATO's Air
tially allocatedthe codenameButcherto the Il-28.
However,this was promptly changedto Beagleto
avoidconfusionwith the TupolevTu-16medium
bomber,whichwascode-named Badser.
ll S ome sourcesstate the Il -28 w as al so bui l t by pl ants N o. I,
N o. l 8 (both i n K ui byshev,now S amara)and N o.23 i n Fi l i ,
then a suburb of Moscoq but this appearshighly unlikely.
2.
Tup Ir-28 FaurY
ll-28 Beagle bomber
l-flh. basic bomber version was built in
I Moscow, Voronezhand Omsk; the first pro-
I duc t ion air c ra ft l e ft th e Mo s c o w p ro d u c ti o n
line in March 1950.The aircraft was built in huge
numbers(no fewer than 6,316copiesof all versions
were built in the USSR alone in 1950 5!), becoming
one of the most prolific types in servicewith the
VVS. MMZ No. 30 in Moscoq which was the main
manufacturerof the type,turned out more than 100
aircraft per month at peak periods.
Various improvements were introduced in the
courseof production.Among other things,the Il-28
receivedmore effectiveformation lights for station-
keeping during flights of bomber formations at
night. The cockpit windshield receivedan electric
de-icingsystem,and hot air de-icingwas introduced
on the engineair intake leadingedges.Optically flat
windshield sidelightswere tested (probably on an
uncoded examplewith the cln 52005714)in an effort
to reducedistortionsand improvecockpit visibility,
but this feature was apparently not fitted to stan-
dard production aircraft.
The Il-28 incorporatedvariouschangesmade in the courseof production; among other things,the transparencyimme-
diately aft of the cockpit where the DF aerial was locatedwas replacedby an opaque dielectric fairing. ( yelimGonton
Four shut-off valves were introduced in the fuel
system to seal off a punctured tank in the event of
battle damage, preventing loss of fuel (eventually
the Beaglegot self-sealingfuel tanks, which theoret-
ically took careof the problem).Fuel cell No. 3 was
divided into cells Nos. 3,A and 3B; the capacity of
these cells was carefully calculated in order to pre-
serve the CG position as the fuel was burned off,
obviating the need for fuel transfer.
(Note: Some sourcesclaimed that the CG shift
problem associatedwith fuel burn-off was still there
and was,in fact, the Il-28'sonly major shortcoming
which was never eliminated,becauseof the lack of
an automatic fuel transfer systemmaintaining CG
position. Sincethe forward fuel cellsaccommodated
more fuel than the rear fuel cells. the ll-28's CG
gradually shifted forward. This was especially
unwelcomeduring landing;the pilot had to keepan
eye on the fuel meters and activate the fuel transfer
pump at the right moment. The pump worked
slowly,and as the pilot had to concentrateon flying
the aircraft during the landing approach he often
ltl_
urchie)
 . 23
Trrr,Ir.-28F.qrrrn'

"t

( i .rl .trrtrrl ti r<

A t rio o l ' r c c l - c o t l c c l B c u { lc clr .r iscsin V lir lr tr ir tio n . t YL ,tirrt

\ng:-- -**ua*

-51 llluc.

J'€
:
t

T his vieli illustratcstlie c lc an linc s ol- t hc Bc z r glcas

. u' ell u s t h c l u r g c c l i a n r c t c r - o l 't h c n c i n c n u c e l l c s .
Kot t t i.s:urtty rtn It i v t
24 . Ir-yusHrNL-28 Btaau.

ThisIl-28,30Red,is unusual in havingthreenon-stan- l0 Red,anotherIl-28 bristlingwith non-standardaerials.

dardrod aerialsundertheaft fuselage.( yefim
Goruton
urchiw
) ( Sergey and Dmitriy Komissarov arthive )

forgot to turn it off in time. As a result,the CG the OSP-48ILS was replacedby a more advanced
would now be too far aft and the aircraft assumed SP-50Materik (Continent)ILS.
an excessivelynose-highattitude,with high angles Table 4 details the changesintroducedat the
of attack which weredifficult to counterby elevator productionlines.
input. To make up for the missingsystem,11-28 For the development of the Il-28 bomber,Sergey
pilots would ask the navigatorsto remind them to V. Ilyushin, M. F. Astakhov, Valeriy A. Borog,
switchoff thepump in time.) V. N. Boogaiskiy,N. F. Zotov, A. Ya. Levin,
New ejectionseatswerefitted, replacingthe ear- G. M. Litvinovich,M. I. Nikitin, B. V. Pavlovskiy,
lier model;thesefeaturedleg restraints,a facepro- K. V. Rogov,Ye.I. Sankovand V. A. Fyodorovwere
tectionvisor and a seatbelt tighteningmechanism. awardedthe prestigiousStalinPize (2nd Class)on
Finally,a brakeparachutewasprovidedto shorten 12 March 1951 for outstandinginventionsand
the landingrun; this featurewastestedon Il-28 c/n improvements in the field of machinerydesign.
2007'pursuantto a Ministry of Aircraft Industry The basicbomber soon evolvedinto a rangeof
(MAP) order of ll January1951.Howeve! every- specializedversions which expandedthe Beagle's
thing comesat a price,and thesemodificationswere combatpotentialperceptibly.
expectedto increaseempty weight by 240 kg (529
lb). Hence Ilyushin engineerstook measuresto
achievean identicalweightreduction,lighteningthe
rear fuselagestructure,tail unit and Il-K6 turret, I Only the batch number and number of aircraft in the batch
removingthe anti-flutter weightsfrom the wings, were stated in MAP documents; however, considering the
etc.Additionally, air bleedvalveswereincorporated time when the order was issued, the aircraft was probably
in the enginenacellesto preventenginesurge,and Moscow-built and the full c/n may be 50302007.

Table4. Manufacturingchangesintroducedat productionlines

Modification Incorporated (starting with aircraft c/n ...)

PlantNo. 30 Plant No. 64 PlantNo. 166

Round ventilationwindow movedfrom hingedcanopy 50301408 all aircraft all aircraft
sectionto port windshieldsidelightto improvevisibility (from c/n (from c/n
and canopystrength;ventilationwindow reducedin 6450001 0016601
diameterand glazingthicknessreducedfor better onwards) onwards)
transparency
Anti-flutterweightsbetweenwing ribs28 and32 deleted 5300s00s 3402701 36603509
Anti-sursebleedvalvesinstalled 5030I 801 6450301 0416601
 THBIl-28 Farlrry . 25

A night-time shot of a typical production Beagle.( yclirnGortton

urcttiv)

ax
*-*,'
Wl"
.l--.f*.*r,;,t,"

'{ht
'l
The unserialledprototype of the Il-28U trainer undergoing
evaluationwith the SovietAir Force in early 1950. yji,tt
Gor&n urchiyt
)

*.*!.- e;.t

Another unserialledexample,this time a production Masc,ot.( yefint

Gortton
u.t,hrtt,)

Il-28U Mascot trainer

Specializedversions began appearing before long.
such an aircraft; development work began in
Predictably, the first of theie *a, 1 conversion
S_eptember1949, and on 14 October Seigey V
trainer easing the transition from Second World
Ilyushin approved the advanced developmeni proj_
War-vintagepiston-enginedtypesto thejet bomber.
ect of the Il-28U trainer (oochehnyy-triining, used
Th e OK B was im m ed i a te l yi a s k e d w i th c re a rrn s
attributively)poweredby VK-l engines.
 26. Ilvusttrr'rlt-28 Br..tr;r.t

- g;,.- (l|I....,:lb

S ov ic tA i r l i r r c c l l - l l l L J E 5Rcd co n tcsin to la n d . r tttir tt( iortl ottrrrrtti rr

Thc I l- 28U er r o n c o L rs lcya l l c d U II-2 8 i n s o n rc i n thc stancl al dcockpi t.A ccordi ngto sol tl eW estcrn
so L l rc c s dillc r ed l} o m th e b a s i cb o rtrb e ro ri rra f i l v ruuthors. w hat l l yLrshi ndi cl w as thc bcst w ay to rl l l l t
i rr h i r v ingu nc \ \ r ' l ()\cg l a l ' tc d trrr i n p l l rc ' ctrl ' tl rr' thc sl cck l i nes of- thc l l -2u; thc resul t certai nl y
cxtens iv c lyglaz c dna v i g a to r' s ta ti o n(u p to l ' u s c l a gc l ookcribi zarrc.bLrtboth tl retrai neeand the i nstruc-
l l 'a n - rNo.
c 6) . I t inc o rp o ra tc cth l c i n s tru c to r' sc o c k- tol cnjoycclan unrcstrictcdf icld ol- view.
p i t wit h a s t c ppc dw i n d s c rs e nra . th c r l i k e th c l l i g h t Thc trai ncc' scockpi t w as vi rtual l y i denti cal tct
cl e ckol- ar rair linerc tt ttri tri u tu rL : tra i r.repei l o t s a t
tl'tc lhat ol' tlrc standarclbclntbcrcxccDtfbr u cr"rt-outin

' {f# .*.-!.,-

- .,..-WkF

This vicl" ol'87 Red showsclearlvthat thc illustol lackcd armantent ancl radar. i lt,lint (ior&rnurchitLt

the instrument panel permitting visual contact with
the instructor, which required some of the flight
instruments to be relocated. The front cockpit fea-
tured a complete set of flight controls and instru-
ments; the instructor had complete control over the
trainee'sactions and could take over if necessaryby
flipping some switches,barring the trainee from fly-
ing the aircraft.
All armament and bomb-aiming equipment,
including the radar, were deleted. Still, the Il-28U
could be used for training gunners/radio operators,
for which the former gunner's station was suitably
equipped. The capacity of the fuel system was
reducedto 6,600 lit. (1,452 imp. gal.) and the fuel
load to 5,500kg (l2,l25lb). To maintain CG posi-
tion the Il-K6 tail turret was substitutedby 250 kg
(551 lb) of ballast on the prototype. According to
OKB calculations,production aircraft were to have
200 kg (440 lb) of ballast,but it was found possible
to reducethis to 130kg (286 lb).
Other changes included removal of the RV-10
radio altimeter and the fuel tank inert gas pressur-
ization system.The Il-28U was equipped with an
RSIU-3B radio (instead of the bomber's RSU-5),
an AP-5 autopilot, a Bariy-M (Barium-M) IFF
transponder,an SPU-5 intercom, an RV-2 radio
altimeter and a Materik-B ILS with SD-l distance-
measuringequipment.
On 21 February 1950 a standard Beugle was
delivered to Ilyushin's experimental shop at
Khodynka (llllz No.240), straight off the MMZ
Table5. Il-28U prototypespecifications
obtainedat manufacturer's
Length overall
Height on ground
Span
Wing area
Wing loading
Power loading at sea level
Operatingempty weight
Normal all-up weight
Payload
Fuel load
Top speed: at 3,000m (9,842ft)
at 5,000m (16,404ft)
Rate of climb at sealevelwith a 17,020kg(37,522Ib) TOW
Climb time to 5,000m with a 17,020kg TOW
Maximum range with a 17,020kg TOW
Take-off run
Landing run
Notes:
* With 250kg (551lb) of ballast.
{<t' IlyushinOKB data.
Tue Il-28 F,qvnv . 27
No. 30 production line, for conversion into the
Il-28U prototype. Piloted by Vladimir K.
Kokkinaki, the trainer took to the air on l8 March,
with B. A. Goloobev as flight engineer and
B. A. Yerofeyevas radio operator; A. P.Vinogradov
was the engineerin charge of the flight tests.
It was soon discovered that performance and
handling were virtually identical to that of the stan-
dard bomber, exceptfor the marginally better climb
rate. The ll-28u was stable throughout its flight
envelope,remainingwell balancedat Mach 0.78. It
performed all manoeuvres the bomber version was
to make; turns with 70-80' bank could be made
without any trouble and the aircraft gained 2,000 m
(6,560ft) during a yo-yo manoeuvre.Flying the air-
craft from the instructor's seat was just as simple
and enjoyable as from the rear cockpit. Like the
other versions, the trainer could be fitted with
PSR-I 500-15 JATO boosters.
The specifications of the Il-28U prototype
obtained at the manufacturer'sflisht testsare indi-
cated in Table 5.
The manufacturer'sflight test programme was com-
pleted on 30 March 1950. By then a bomber regi-
ment commandedby Lt-Col A. A. Anpilov, Hero of
the SovietUnion, was taking deliveryof production
Il-28 bombers. Therefore it was decided to hand
over the Il-28U prototypeto that unit for evaluation
in order to speed up conversion training. This
enabledAnpilov's unit to achieveinitial operational
flight tests
17.65m (57ft 10.88 i n.)
6.0m ( l 9 ft 8.22i n.)
21.45m (70ft 4.48in.)
60.8m' (653.76 sq.ft)
288kg/m'(1.400lb/ft')
3.25kg/kgp(lb/lbst)
11,760 kg (25,92s1b)*
I 7,560kg (38,7l 2 l b)
5,800kg ( 12.786 l b)
5,500kg (12,125 l b)
843km/h(455.67 kt)
820km/h (443.24kt)
17.0m/sec(3,345ft/min)
5.5mi n
2,400km ( 1,490miles)
800m (2,624lt)**
I,170m (3,838 ft)' r' *
28 . IrvusnrlrrIr-28 BetcLe
An Il-28U makesa flypastduringa military parade,flankedby two MiG-19PFarmer-Ball-weatherinterceptors.
Vtluvcnko)
!
*
An Il-28U about to become airborne. The picture does not show how close the bird on the risht is to the aircraft.
( Ydint Gordon urthiv )
capabilityin time to participatein the 1950May
Day paradein Moscow(whichof coursewaslargely
a matter of prestige);the trainer prototype took
part in this parade, together with production
Beagles.Then the I1-28Uwas turned over to NII
WS for Stateacceptance trialswhichtook placeon
13 27 May; the act of acceptance was signedby
SovietAir ForceC-in-C Air MarshalP.F. Zhigarev
on 8 June.
The typeenteredlarge-scale productionatMMZ
No. 30 pursuantto an MAP orderof 2l July 1950
(all Il-2SUswerebuilt in Moscow),and remained
the principaltrainerfor Sovietand WarPactactical
bomber pilots well into the 1970s.Soviettrainers
lBoni
were assignedNATO code names in the miscella-
neous aircraft category at the time - a practice later
discontinued; accordingly the Il-28U was code-
named Mascot. On production Il-28Us the empty
operatingweight rose to I1,900 kg (26,234Ib) and
the all-up weight to 17,700kg (39,021lb), reduction
in ballast notwithstanding.
The transition from the Il-28U to the bomber ver-
sion did not require additional training. The report
of the State commission said that a pilot with
350-400 hrs' total time on anything from the
Polikarpov Po-2 ab initio trainer to the Tu-2 bomber
could fly the Il-28 solo after only two to four flights
on the trainer version. The Naval Air Arm (AVMF

Stillsfroma motionpictureshowingan Il-28Uin action.( Stt'gt.t und Dni
- Aviahtsiya voyenno-morskovo flotu) also operated
the Mascot: the first naval aviation unit to receive
the Il-28U in October 1951was the 943rd MTAP
(minno-torpednyy aviupolft - minelaying and tor-
pedo-bomberregiment).
Il-28U ejectiontrainerversion
On 10 December 1953 the Minister of Aircraft
Industry issued an order concerning the develop-
ment of a version of the Il-28U speciallymodified
for training Beuglc crews in ejection techniques.
This aircraft's raison d'?tre was that the crews were
apprehensiveabout the bomber's first-generation
ejectionseat,fearing seriousinjuries in the eventof
an ejectionat low altitude or on landing,when most
accidentshappen.It was necessaryto overcomethis
p sych o logic al
obs t ac l ea n d b u i l d u p th e p i l o ts ' c o n -
fidence in the aircraft.
The prototype of the Il-28R photo reconnaissanceaircraft. ( yt'firnGorrton
urchite
. 29
Tun Il-28 Faurrr-v
I r'i t' Ko nt i ssu rot, u x l ti t't' )
The Ilyushin OKB delivereda set of manufactur-
ing documentsfor the ejectiontrainer to MMZ No.
30 on 5 March 1954.Unfortunately it is not known
how many Mu,yc'ots,if any, were built in this config-
uration.
Il-28R tactical reconnaissance
aircraft
On 5 March1950 another
Moscow-builtIl-28pow-
ered by VK-l engineswas deliveredto MMZ No.
240 for conversioninto the prototype of the Il-28R
(fsanolyot-] ra:vedchik) reconnaissance aircraft.
The unserialled aircraft entered flight test on
l 9 A pri l 1950, one month and one day after
the first flight of the Il-28U, flown by pilot
Vladimir K. Kokkinaki, flight engineerI. B. Ktiss
and radio operator B. A. Yerofeyev.Once again
A. P.Vinogradovwas in chargeof the flight tests.
The Il-28R was intended for tactical photo
I
 3 0 . In us r r r .lrr - 28B t . cGtr
iJ",n., view of the Il-28R prototype.Note the twin rod aerialson the upper f uselage.( y,/intGontonur<hit,L,)
reconnaissance (PHOTINT) to meet the obiectives
o l fro nt s ( in a war s c e n a ri o ).fl e e tsa n d a i r a rm i e s .
For day reconnaissance the aircraft could carry a
PHOTINT suite comprising two AFA-33/100 or
AFA-33/75 cameras on AKAFU mounts in the
forward and centre parts of the (former) bomb
bay for high/medium-altitude photography, one
AFA-33/20 or AFA-42120 (AFA-RB/20) down-
ward-looking camera in the rear part of the bomb
bay and one AFA-33/50 or AFA-33/75 camera
mounted obliquely on the port side in a special
camera bay in the aft fuselage.Alternatively, some
aircraft were fitted with two AFA-421100 or
AFA-42175camerason the forward mount.
For night reconnaissancethe Il-28R carried
either two NAFA-3S/50 cameras or one
NAFA-MK-75 (or NAFA-MK-50) camera in the
forward part of the bomb bay. The rest of the bay
was occupiedby twelve 50 kg (110 lb) FotAB-50-35
flare bombs;' this number was reduced to six if a
long-range fuel tank was fitted. The bombs were
dropped using an NKPB-7 bomb sight which could
be usedat up to I 1,500m (37,729ft). (It should be
noted that one Russian sourcegives rather different
data: three AFA-33 cameras with varying focal
lengths (100, 75 and 20 cm) and one AFA-RB
camera for day sorties and two NAFA-3S cameras
for night sorties, assisted by FotAB-100-60,
FotAB-50-35. SAB-100-55 or SAB-100-35 flare
bombs.) The cameraswere installed in snecial con-
tainers heated by air from the cockpit heating and
pressurizationsystem to prevent the lubricant from
freezingat high altitude; the night cameras,how-
ever,did not havesuch containers.
To extend range the capacity of the fuel system
w as i ncreasedto 9,550 l i t./8,000 kg (2,10t i mp.
gal.llT,6361b).This was done by installinga 750lit.
( 165imp. gal.) long-rangetank in the aft portion of
the bomb bay,which requiredthe standardfuelcell
No. 3 to be removed,and two 950 lit. (209 imp. gal.)
drop tanks at the wingtips.As comparedto the stan-
dard bomber, this amounted to 1,650lit. (363 imp.
gal.) of additional fuel.rThe increasedmissiontime
(up to five hours) necessitatedthe provisionof addi-
tional oxygen for the crew.
Depending on the equipment fit the reconnais-
sance version's MTOW was 22,685-22,720 kg
(50,01I 50,088lb). Thereforethe main landing gear
units were reinforced and fitted with bigger wheels
measuri ng1,260x390mm (49.6x 15.35i n.) i nstead
of the usual 1,150x 355 mm (45.27x 13.97i n.);
besides,the landing gear was actuated hydraulically,
not pneumatically, and retracted in just eight
2 NAFA = nothno! aerofotoappuraht - aircraft camera lbr
night operations; AKAFU = uytomaticheskuyakacha)'usch-
t'hayas,vaaerofotoustanovka automatic tilting mount for
aircraft cameras; FotAB = .fbtograJicheskav-uaviahomba .
photo bomb (i.e. flare bomb lor aerial photography); SAB =
svetyascltchuyuaviabomba flarebomb.
3 Some sourcesquoted a figure of 2,660 lit. (585.2imp. gal.) of
additional fuel. Also. some documents state that the addi-
tional fuselagerank held 760I]|'. (167.2imp. gal.), making for
a total i nternal fuel vol ume of 9,560 l i t. (2,103.2i mp. gal .),
and the drop tanks eachhel d 900 l i t. (198 i mp. gal .).
32 . IrvussrNIt-28 Bntcrc

seconds- much faster than on the standard bomber.
The higher gross weight of the Il-28R also led the
designersto introduce a unique feature minimizing
wear and tear on the tyres: the mainwheels were
spun up automatically by hydraulic motors when
the gear was extended. According to the crews,
this resulted in an exceptionally smooth touch-
down.
Owing to the installationof cameracontrols the
starboard fixed NR-23 cannon had to be deleted as
a weight-saving measure.The PSBN-M radar was
sometimes removed as well; in that case I l0 kg
(242.5 |b) of ballast was carried in the navigator's
compartment for CG reasons.Some changes were
made to the avionics fit: the reconnaissanceversion
featured a Magniy-M (Magnesium-M) IFF inter-
rogatol an RSB-5 communications radio with a
US-P receiver,an RSIU-3 command radio, an
SPU-5 intercom, RV-2 and RV-10 radio altimeters,
an SP-50 Materik ILS, etc. For overwater flights
the I1-28R could carry an LAS-3 inflatable rescue
dinghy (lodka avareeyno-spasahtel'naya)in the
bomb bay; this could be dropped by either the
pilot or the gunner and inflated automaticallyby a
rip cord.
The performance of the Il-28R was broadly
similar to that of the basic bomber,exceptthat
rangein high-altitude cruiseincreased to 3,150km
(1,702nm); the combatradius740km (400nm) at
5,000m (16,404ft) and 1,140km (616 nm) at
10,000 m (32,808ft). Indicatedairspeed waslimited
to 750 km/h (416kt) at up to 4,000m (13,123ft),
and Mach 0.78 above that altitude. Kokkinaki
reported that handling and cockpit visibility
remainedunchanged.High-speedaerialphotogra-
phy at variousaltitudesdid not affectpiloting tech-
niques.The autopilot, as well as the heatedand
pressurized cockpits,reducedcrewfatigue,which is
especially importantfor a reconnaissance aircraft.
Initial flight testingwas completedon 29 June
1950.After passingthe Stateacceptance trialson 23
November,the Il-28R wasorderedinto production
on 8 Decemberl95l andjoinedthe VVS inventory.
Initially the reconnaissance version was built in
Moscow,but from 1953onwardsIl-28Rproduction
waspassedon to aircraftfactoryNo. 39 in lrkutsk,
whichhadpreviously built theTu-14T.
The performanceof the production Il-28 and
Il-28Ris comparedin Table6.
The field performanceof the bomber and recon-
naissance versionsis comoaredin Table7.

Table 6. Performancecomparison:productionIl-28 and Il-28R

Emptyweight,kg (lb) 12,120(28,042) t3,250(29,2r0\

All-upweight,kg (lb):
normal 18,400(40,564) (44,13s)
20,020
in overloadconfiguratton 22,000(48,500) (49,581)
22,490
Fuel capacity,lit. (imp. gal.) (1,760)
8,000 9,550(2,101)
Top speed,km/h (kt) e02(487) 816(413)
at altitude,m (ft) 4,s00( 14,763) 5,000(16,404)*
Serviceceiling, m (ft) 12,400(40,682) (40,354)
12,300
Time to serviceceiling, mrn 42
Range,km (miles):
at 5,000m (16,404 ft) 1,790(1,111) 2,020(r,242)
cruisingat, km/h (kt) 556(300) s47 (295)
at 10,000m (32,808ft) (1,s21)
2.450 2,780(1,126)
cruisingat, km/h (kt) 698(377) 610(362)
at 10,000 m (32,808 ft) (1,602)
2,s80 3,040(1,888)
cruisingat, km/h (kt) 6e0(373) 670(362)
Note:
* The Il-28R's indicated airspeedbelow 4,000 m ( 13,123 ft) was limited to 750 km/h (405 kt); the Mach limit above
4.000m was 0.78.
 THp Ir--28Fevrry.33

Table 7. Comparison of field performance: bomber and reconnaissanceversions

rofl kg(lb) Unstickspeed, Take-off run, Landing speed, Landing run,

km/h (kt) m (ft) km/h (kt) m (ft)
a) paved runway
[-28 20,100(44,312) 240(r29) l,400(4,593) 200-20s (4,921)
1,s00
(108-l10)
r-28R r9,800t22,200 259t274 |,610t2,rs0 220-225 (5,315)
1,620
(43,650t48,941) (1 4 0 /1 4 8 ) (5,28217,0s3) (1te-t2t)
runway(dirt strip)
b) unpaved
r-28 (44,312)
20,100 240(t2e) (5,s77)
1,700 200-205 t,200(3,937)
(r08-r
10)
Il-28R r9,800t22,200 259t274 1,720t2,300 220-22s (4,265)
1,300
(43,650t48,941) (140/148) (s,643t7,546) (l 19-l 2l )

II-28RTR ELINT aircraft II-28REB (?)ECM aircraft

Apart from the Il-28R PHOTINT aircraft,
the Beagle also had an electronic intelligence
(ELINT) versiondesignatedII-28RTR ([samolyot]
rahdiotel&nicheskoyrazvedki) reconnaissanceair-
craft poweredby VK-l engines.Outwardlyit could
be identifiedby a secondteardrop-shaped dielectric
fairing installedin lieu of the faired-overbomb bay
doors.The II-28RTRwassuppliedto both the WS
and the air forcesof someof the SovietUnion's
allies,includingCzechoslovakia and Hungary.
Another specialized versionwas intendedfor elec-
tronic countermeasures(ECM). Some sources
claim the aircraft was designated II-28REB
(rahdioelektronnayabor'bah - ECM). The main
identification feature of this version was the
cylindrical wingtip pods reminiscent of the
Il-28R's drop tanks, but featuringdielectricfront
and rear portions concealingemitter antennas.
The ECM version was also supplied to
Czechoslovakia.

A HungarianAir ForceII-28RTRELINT aircraft,showingclearlythe dielectricteardropfairing over ELINT equip-

ment aft of the standard radome. ( yefimGordonarchive,
34 . It-vusHINL-28 Bt.tot.n
;.. hF '
A CzechAir Forceexampleol'the ECM version sometimesreferred to as I l-28R EB . ( Yt'finGottknun )
Il-28 radiation reconnaissance aircraft
The Soviet Air Force's 647th Special Composite
Support Air Regimentoperatingin support of the
7l st Nuclear WeaponsProvingGround in Totskoye, condensersand began the run-in to the target as
OrenburgRegion,operatedtwo ll-28sfitted with air
sampling pods for radiation reconnaissance. automatically triggered the drop mechanism.One
Compressed-airbottles were installedin the bomb
bays to pressurize the cockpits, ensuring that
radioactiveproducts would not enter. As an addi-
tional protective measure the cockpit walls were
lined with lead, and radiometerswere provided for
the crew. Together with similarly modified aircraft
and helicopters of various types, these Beaglesflew
through radioactiveclouds in the wake of nuclear
tests,measuring radiation levels.
Il-28 torpedo-bomberconversion
The AVMF also operated the Beagle after August
1951; this aircraft suitedthe SovietNavy betterthan
the Tu-14, being lighter and more agile.lnitially the
naval Il-28s were operated in standard bomber con-
figuration; however, as early as I June 1950 the
Council of Ministers orderedthe developmentof a
torpedo-bomberversion.The bomb bay was modi-
fied to carry one RAT-52 rocket-propelled torpedo
internally. Developed by NII-2,a this weapon was
conceived as a homing torpedo, but the guidance
system was considered too complicated and was
version' The torpedo
deleted in the production
:l:
L,' .:t....,i-:.,:.rlil.l3:,
ltit'c
w ei ghed627 kg(1,382Ib) and had a243kg (5351b)
warhead.
Beforedropping the torpedo the navigatorset its
travel depth (2 8 m|6.5-26 ft), chargedthe torpedo's
usual. At the appropriate moment the bomb sight
second later the small propeller-shapeddrag para-
chute deployed and the torpedo descendedverti-
cally, dropping quickly like a bomb' The main
parachute deployed at 500 m (1,640 ft), reducing
descentspeed.It separatedafter the torpedo entered
the water, then the foreplanes were brought into
play to turn the torpedo horizontally and werejetti-
ioned immediately afterwards. Then the solid-fuel
rocket motor fired and the torpedo acceleratedto
58 68 kt (107 130 km/h); by comparison,conven-
tional torpedoes with steam turbines could not
travel faster than 40-45 kt. Time from drop to
impact was only about 35 seconds,which left the
target no time for evasiveaction.
The chief shortcoming of the RAT-52 was the
rocket motor's short burn time, resulting in a range
of only 550 600 m ( I ,804-1,968ft), which took the
bomber uncomfortably close to the target (within
range of the ship's air defences).On the other hand,
4 Later became the State Research Institute of Aircrafi
Gosootlahrslvennlynuoochno-issle-
Systerns(GosNII AS
d ovut el'.sk i1,inst ito ot ar i (1t seeonnyk h sist em).
 . 35
THUlr-28 F.c\,rrrr'

'::;*s,*

ll:f

$
An Il-28 convcrtcclitrlo a torpcdo-bomtrcris about to bc loaclcclwith u RAT--52lorpcclo.Notc 1hc lirrcpluncson

'p;
wcrtporr's
rrttscb|inging thc lorpcclointo lcvcl uttiluclcalicr splashclowl.r. (;t)tttt)il
, )i,/r)ii !rtttitt)

}e
,}."

l0 Rcd. another Bca.qlccotrvcrtedlbr torpedo-bomberduties.is pleparcd lor a mission (notc lircl hoses).r ttlirtt(i.nt.rt
36 . Ir-vusrrrx
lt-28 Bt-,.tr;r,t
->
,}
Thc sccondprototypc ol' thc pulposc-built Il-28T tolpcclo-bonrbcr.Thc non-stanclardnoscglaziug is clcarly visible.as
arc thc irngulurcockpitwinclshiclcl
anclunclcrnoscblislcr lirr thc PTN--52optical si-uht.r )i,/nri
th e t or pedo c oul d b e d ro p p c d a t a n y a l ti tu de
b e t ween1. 500m ( 4 ,9 2 0fi ) a n d th e a i rc ra l i ' ss c r\i cc
ce ilingat a s peedo f L rpto 8 0 0 k m /h (4 4 4k t). w h i ch
was of par t ic ula r i mp o rta n c e fb r j c t to rp c d o-
bombcrs.Live drops at the Sovict Navy's tcst range
sh owc d a k ill pr o b a b i l i ty o l ' l 7 3 8 p c r c c n t i n a
si nglc - t or pedo at t a c k .
Dur ing t r ials h e l d o u th c Bl a c k S c a i n
Se pt em berNov c mb c r 1 9 5 2 "T u -l 4 T a n d rro d i fied
Il-28 torpedo-bombers sr-rccessfully dropped 54
RA T - 52 t or pedoe s ,b o th i n e rt a n d l i v e ; ta rg c t i ng
was done us ingan O P B-6 S Rs i g h to n b o th a i rc ra fi .
Thc RAT-52 was officially included in thc AVMF
i n v c nt or yon 4 F eb ru a ry1 9 5 3 .It c o u l d b c c a rri c dby
TLr-l4T torpedo-bombers and convcrtcd Il-28s
(deliveriesof the latter began the sameyear). With
one torpedo thc rnodified Il-28T had an 18,400kg
(40.564 lb) TOW and a top speed ol' 906 km/h
(503 kt); serviceceiling and range were 12,500n-r
(4 1. 010f t ) and 2. 4 0 0k m ( 1 .4 9 0m i l e s )re s p e c ti v el y.
However. the converted Il-28 had some senous
deficiencies.lt carried only about one third of its
designpayioad and could not carry other modelsof
torpedoesinternally,as they weretoo long to fit into
the standard bornb bay. Also, the Soviet NavzilAir
Arm had largestocksof pre-war45-36MAN torpe-
(i,uhtrttrcltirl
does (i .c. 450 mrn/l l .l i t" t.cal i brc. 1954 rnodel ,
MAN = ltorpedul urotlcrttizecrt)vtnnu.t'u, utiuLsiott-
rttt.ttr,
niikot'.t'sottluyu updatedaircraft torpcdo for
l ow -ul ti tudeattacks)w hi ch i t w i shedto useon thc
Il -28.H ow ever.i t turned out that the bombcr' shi gh
speed rendered these torpedoes unsuitablc. Thc
weapon had to undergo a lengthy upgradc pro-
gramme.emergi ngi n 1956as the 45-56N T torpedo
(NT = nizlto)'atorpefuttuetahnivclow-altitudetor-
pcdo attack)w hi ch coul d be droppedat 120 230 nr
(393 t 54 fi) and 550 600 kmlh (291 324 kt).
(first useof
Il-28T torpedo-bomber
designation)
Apparently the cnginecrswcre aware of the short-
comings of thc quick-fir torpedo-bomberconver-
sion all along, becausedevelopmentof a dedicated
torpedo-bornber,designatedIl-28T (torpadonoset.s).
also began in 1950.The mock-up rcview commls-
sion signedthe act of acceptanceon 7 July that year.
The aircraft was intended for high- and low-alti-
tude torpedo attacks and minelaying. It differed
fiom standard Il-28s and those convertedinto tor-
pedo-bombersprimarily in having a weaponsbay
l engthenedfrom 4.18 m (13 l t 8.56 i n.) to 6.66 m

il I
":'r
The same aircraft. pictured most probably at Moscow-Khodynka, with an Il-12 airliner in the background.The c/n
50301104is visibleon the nose.( yalim
Gonton
urdritt,)
(21 ft 10.2in.) and havingthe wings moved back 100
mm (3.93in.), with appropriatechangesto the fuse-
lagestructure.The modificationof the weaponsbav
and the provision of an LAS-3 .escu. dinghy
requiredchangesto fuel cellsNos. 2,3 4 and 5. This
reduced internal fuel capacity from 8,000 lit.
(1 ,7 6 0i m p. gal. )t o 4, 77 0 ti t. (1 ,2 6 9 .4i m p . g a l .)a n d
the fuel load from 6,600 kg (14,550lb) to 5,080kg
(l l ,l 9 9 lb) . T o c om pen s a tefo r th i s th e Il -2 8 T h a d
provisionsfor 950 lit. (209 imp. gal.) tip tanks,each
h o l d i n g7 50 k g ( I , 653lb ) o f fu e l , a s o n rh e Il -2 8 R .
The starboardfixed NR-23 cannon and its round
counter were deleted, as was the AFA-33175 (or
NAFA-MK) camera. Instead. rwo AFA-BA/400
vertical camerasand an AKS-l hand-driven crne-
camera were installed to record the strike results.
Other new equipmentitems includeda Magniy IFF
interrogator, a PTN-45 low-altitude sighl (pritset
torpednyy nizkovysotnyy sight optimized for low-
leveltorpedo drops) and a separatepp-l high-alti-
tude sight also used for dropping anti-shipping
mines;a Model 1010electricheaterwas providedto
defrost the sighting window of the PTN-45. Some
of the existing equipment items were relocated,and
additional armour protection was provided for the
pilot and navigator.
Tsn Ir--28Fnurry. 37
The normal ordnance load was 1,000 kg
(2,204lb), which permitted carriage of one torpedo
of various models (45-36AVA.TAS. TAV. RAT-52
or A-2), or two AMD-500 anti-shippingmines,or
oneA MD -1000, A MD -M orType A mi ne.If neces-
sarythe Il -28T coul d carry up to 3,000kg (6,613l b)
of weaponsat the expenseof a reducedfuel load
and hence shorter range. In that case possible
weaponsconfigurationsweretwo 45-46AMV torpe-
does total l i ng 1,940kg (4,2761b),or one 1,500kg
(3,306lb) TOZ torpedo, or one I ,100 kg (2,425lb)
A MD -1000 mi ne, or four A MD -500 mi nes (2,000
k914,409lb), or two Serpeymines (2,500 kg/5,511
lb), or two Lira (Lyre) mines (1,940kgl4,276lb), or
two Desnamines(1,500kg).s
Despite the relocatedwings, the externaldimen-
sions were identical to those of the I1-28R. The
Il-28T could be refitted and usedas a conventional
bomber with a bomb load equal to that of the stan-
dard Beuglt,.
Prototypeconversionwascompletedin 1950.The
first prototype Il-28T (c/n 50301106) first flew on
5 The meaning ol the name Scryey is not known but it sounds
suspiciouslylike an anagram of Pcrsey(Perseus).
38 . IrvusurNlt -28BBrcLn

Table8. Il-28T specifications

Manufacturer's Manufacturer's State acceptance
estimates flight tests trials

Wing loading,kg/m:(lbhq. ft) 308(1,4e7) 308(1,497) 308(1,4e7)

Powerloading at S/L, kg/kgp (lb/lb st) 3.4 3.48 3.48
Emptyweight,kg (lb) 13,085 (28,847) 13,370 (29,41s) 13,370(29,475)
Normal AUW, kg (1b) 18,400(40,564) 18,760 (41,358)* t8,763(4r,364)*
MaximumAUW, kg (lb) 21,330(47,023) 21,620(47,663)* 21,630(47,685)*
Landingweight,kg (lb) 1 3 ,8 40(30,51l) n.a. n.a.
Internalfuel load,kg (1b) 3,600(7,936) 3,800(8,377) 3,800(8,377)
Fuelload with tip tanks,kg (lb) 6,580(14,506) 6,475(14,274) 6,48s(14,296)
Payload,kg (lb): normal 5 ,3 1 5(t 1,717) 5,390(l l,882) 5,390(l 1,882)
maxlmum 8,245(t8,t76) 8,250(18,187) 8,260(18,209)
Top speed(with tip tanks),km/h (kt):
at 1,000m (3,280ft) n.a. 802(433.5) 785/800**
(424.3t432.4)
at 5,000m (16,404ft) n.a. 874(472.4) 8271877**
(447.01474.0)
at 10,000m (32,808ft) n.a. 836(451.8) 802/840**
(433.s14s4.0)
Landingspeed,km/h (kt) n.a. n.a. 178(e6.2)
Rateof climb,m/sec(ftlmin):
at S/L n.a. 13.4(2,637) 14.7(2,8e3)
at 5,000m n.a. 7.8(1,53s) e.05(1.781)
at 10.000m n.a. 2.3(4s2) 3.3(64e)
Climb time.min: to 5.000m n.a. 8.0 7.1
m
to 10,000 n.a. 26.4 2t.4
Serviceceiling,m (ft) n.a, 1,s00 (37,729) l l,950(39,206)
Maximumrangewith tip tanksand one 2 ,2 0 0(1,366)* * * 1,64412,221# 2,t49(t,334)##
45-36AMVtorpedo,km (miles) (r,02vr,379)
Endurancewith tip tanksand one n.a. 3 hr 03mini 3hr 29minl
45-36AMVtorpedo,km (miles) 3hr33min# 3hr41.5minff{
Take-offrun, unassisted,m (ft) n.a. 875/1,4s0 t 950/1,395
tt
(2,87014,7s7) (3,n614,s76)
Take-off run with JATO bottles,m (ft) n .a. 770(2,s26) I l,020(3,346)I
Take-offdistance, m (ft)
unassisted, n .a. 1,570t2,460 | 2,00012,630lI
(5,l sl/8,070) (6,s6u8,628)
Take-off distancewith JATO bottles,m (ft) n.a. l,3oo(4,265) I 2,410(7,906)I
Landingrun, m (ft)n.a. n.a. e40(3,084) II
Landing distance,m (ft) n.a. n.a. 2,t2s(6,97r)
II
Notes:
* With one45-36AMVtorpedo.
*'k At N (enginespeed)= 11,200rpm/11,560rpm respectively.
**{' With a 1,000kg(2,2041b)weaponsload at 10,000-12,700 m (32,808-41,666f0.
At 5,000m(16,404fty543kn/h (293k0 and 10,000m (32,808ft)l645kmlh(348kt) respectively.
At | 0,000m (32,808ft) and 652km/h (352kt) with a 21,632kg97,689Ib) AUW.
I With an 18,768kg (41,3751b) normalAUW anda2l,620kg(47,663Ib) maximumAUW.
ll With an 18,760kg ( 4l ,357lb) normalAUW and a 21,620kg (47,663lb) maximumAUW.
+
with a 22,100ks(48,721Ib)TOVI
** With a 15,000kg (33,068lb) landingweight.
i++ At 10,000m (32,808ft) and 6521569 km/h (3521307 with a 21,632kg(47,689lb)AUVI
kt) respectively
 Tur Il-28 Favty .39

Table 9. Torpedo attack configuration

Ordnancetype 45-364M TAS A-2 45-364MV

Quantity I I I 2
Ordnanceweight,kg (lb) 1,043(2,29e) (3,379)
1 ,5 3 3 61s(1,3s5) 2,128(4,691)
Fuelload,kg (1b) 6,48s(r4,296) 6,485(14,296) 6,485(t4,296) s,550( I 2,235)
Take-offweight,kg (1b) 21,600(47,6t9) 22,090(48,699) 2r,063(46,435) 2t,63s(47,696)

Table 10. Minelaying configuration

Ordnancetype AMD-500 AMD- Lira Seroev Desna IGDM

I 000 (on BD-4 rack)
Qu a n ti ty 24l12t 2 I
Ord n a nc e 1, 018 2 ,0 1 8 1 ,0 1 8 988 1,958 1,268 2,518 768 1.518 1,268
weight,kg (lb) (2,244) (4,448) (2.244) (2,t78) (4,316) (2,795) (5,s5t) ( 1,6e3) (3,346) (2,794)
Fuelload, 6,485 5,550 6,485 6,485 5,700 6,485 4.800 6,485 6,I 50 6,485
!s(lbl (14,296) (t2,23s) (14,296)(14,296) (12,566) (14,296) (10,582)(14,296)(13,558)(14,296)
TOW'kg ( lb) 2t , 57s 2 t ,6 4 0 2 1,s 75 2 l ,s 4 5 Zl ,616 21,825 21,0s4 2t,325 21,626 2t.825
(47,s64) (47,707)(47,s64)(47.497) (47,6s4) (48,us) (46,503)(47,0t2) (47,676)(4 8r,r5 )

8 January l95l with Vladimir K. Kokkinaki at the
controls; N. D. Sorokin was the flight engineerand
A. P. Vinogradov was the engineerin charge of the
flight tests.The second prototype (c/n 50301104)
joined the programme on l2 March 1951,making
its maiden flight from Khodynka again at the
hands of Vladimir K. Kokkinaki. Outwardly the
Il-28T prototypes differed from standard Beaglesin
having a small Perspex blister under the nose
accommodating the lower part of the PTN-45 sight,
a non-standard navigator's glazing framework and
a non-standardangular cockpit windshield with a
rectangular windscreenand optically flat sidelights.
The manufacturer's tests were completed on l7
April 1951 (the test report was endorsedsix days
later). Then the Il-28T was submitted to the Soviet
Navy's ResearchInstitute No. 15 for State acceDt-
ance trials, which proceededfrom 7 June to 25 July
l95l and also went successfully.In August 1951the
complete set of manufacturing documents was
transferred to one of the production factories; the
type enteredlimited production and servicewith the
AVMF.. For this achievementa group of OKB-240
employeeswas again nominated for the Stalin Prize.
The specifications of the Il-28T are given in
Table 8.
Tables9 and l0 detail the Il-2ST's weaponsoptions.
Il-28T torpedo-bomberconversion(second
useof designation)
In 1954theimproved
45-54VT
torpedo(i.e.450mm
calibre, 1954 model, YT - vysotnoyetorpedometah-
niye -high-altitude torpedo attack) was included in
the AVMF arsenal,followed by the 45-56NT tor-
pedo two years later. Both types were powered by
steam enginesand were carried by the Tu- | 4T along
with the RAT-52. In order to standardizethe arma-
ment carried by Soviet torpedo-bombers and
increasetheir punch, it was decidedto upgradethe
Il-28sthen in service.
To this end a standardIl-28 toroedo bomber was
retrofitted with two external BD-4T torpedo racks
(hahlochnyy derzhahtel' beam-type [weapons]
rack). The increasedpayload meant that the centre
fuselage frames had to be reinforced. The aircraft
was also fitted with the new PTN-55 low-altitude
sight, albeit incomplete, which was concurrently
being testedon a modified Tu-14T.This allowedthe
navigator to programme the torpedo to move in a
zigzag (this feature was believed to increasekill
probability but demandeda substantialincreasein
the torpedo's range) and feed target data into the
torpedo's control module up to the moment of
release.
The modified aircraft - which, rather confusingly,
was again designatedIl-28T could carry three
RAT-52 torpedoes (two externally and one inter-
nally) or two 45-54VT or 45-36NT torpedoesexter-
nally; alternatively,two AMD-500 anti-shipping
mines could be carried externally. The weapons
were dropped at altitudes of 40,400 m (l3l f ,312
ft) and speedsof 360-800km/h (200 444krJ.
However, the Navy was displeased,claiming the
6 Some sources,though. claim the Il-28T did not enter produo-
tion becauseof the protracted development ol the 45-56NT
torpedo and the inability to carry two RAT-52 torpedoes
internally.
40 . IrvusurnIt-28 Br,totr
required modifications were too extensive.Besides,
the high-drag external stores impaired the aircraft's
performance and causedsome restrictions on pilot-
ing techniques. Rotation at take-off became very
difficult; the aircraft experiencedseverevibration at
high speed, almost certainly caused by the turbu-
lence generated by the external torpedo racks.
Tailplane buffet was commonly encountered in a
shallow dive when two torpedoeswere carried exter-
nally; if one torpedo was carried it generated so
much drag as to render turns in the opposite direc-
tion impossible.
The aircraft completed its trials programme in
1955. All its shortcomings notwithstanding, the
Navy expected to modify some of its I1-28sto this
standard. However, this conversion programme
never materialized because the 11-28was getting
long in the tooth and the Soviet bomber and tor-
pedo-bomber force was re-equipping with the more
modern Tu-I6. Still, the PTN-55 sieht did find its
way into service.
Il-28N (Il-28A)nuclear-capable
bomber
The Soviet military doctrine of the early 1950s
demanded that tactical aviation was to possess
nuclear capability. Several types of small tactical
nuclear weapons, including the RDS-4 Tat'yana
bomb, were under development at the time, and the
Soviet government issueda directive demanding the
development of new tactical bombers capable of
delivering them. However, this would clearly be a
time-consumingprocess,so it was decidedto mod-
ify existing aircraft in servicewith the WS, includ-
ing the Il-28, for the nuclearrole.
First, two Il-28s were specially modified by
OKB-30 (the design bureau of MMZ No. 30) for
testing the RDS-4 according to the specifications
passedby OKB-l l, which had developedthe bomb.
Among other things, the modification involved heat
insulation and heating of the bomb bay, installation
of special equipment to monitor the weapon's sys-
tems status,as well as test equipment to measurethe
parameters of the explosion, including cine-cam-
eras capturing the development of the famous
mushroomcloud.
The first drop of an RDS-4 from the Il-28 took
place on 23 August 1953. On that occasion the
bomb was in the so-calledcheck configuration with
data link sensors and a conventional warhead.
The aircraft was flown by pilot V. I. Shapovalov,
navigator/bomb aimer A. V. Koz'minykh and gun-
ner/radio operator B. S. Soodakov.The weapon was
droppedat I 1,000m (36,089ft), detonatingsuccess-
fullv at the oresetaltitude. Four RDS-4 bombs were
This Beagle,with a non-standard deepradomeand drop
tanks, is probably an Il-28N (ll-28A) nuclear-capable
bomber. ( YclimGonlonurchivc1
dropped, with a day's interval in each case,between
29 Septemberand 5 October 1954.Allin allthe test
programme involved more than fifty flights, fifteen
of which were weapon drops; the safety of landing
with an unused bomb was checked, among other
things.
After the successfulcompletion of the trials the
RDS-4 enteredproduction;so did the nuclear-capa-
ble version of the Beagle, which was designated
If-28N (nositel' lspetsboyepripahsul- carrier of
special, i.e. nuclear, munitions). Apart from the
changesto the bomb bay, the aircraft differed from
the standard bomber in having an updated avionics
suite. The PSBN-M ground-mapping radar was
replaced by an RBP-3 unit (rahdiolokutseeonnyy
bombardiyovochnyy pritsel - radar bomb sight) in a
much deeper radome.' It indicated headings,dis-
tance to ground waypoints, altitude abovesuch way-
points, ground speed and aircraft position. The
bomb bay was provided with a heating system to
keep the nuclear bomb's systemsfrom freezing up,
and the cockpits featured shutters protecting the
crew from the flash of the nuclear explosion. An
RSIU-5V UHF communications radio, a US-8
receiver,and RV-18 and RV-2 radio altimeters were
fitted. The electricalsystemwas modified to include
PO-3000 (main) and PO-3000A (reserve) single-
phaseAC transformers.
The I1-28N's empty weight was 13,040 kg
(28,141lb) 150kg (330 lb) more than the standard
bomber's;TOW was 18,550kg (40,895lb). The CG
had shifted slightly aft, but this had virtually no
effect on the aircraft's handling and performance.
Forty-two Il-2SNs were briefly deployed to Cuba
in1962 during the Cuban missilecrisis.This version
is sometimes referred to as Il-28A (ahtomnyy -
atomic, i.e. nuclear-capable).

It-28S tactical bomberproject
In 1949 50 OKB-240 sought ways of further
improving the design of the basic il-Zg. The marn
objective was to increase the bomber's speed and
ra n g e .T his was t o be a c h i e v e db y ma ti n g th e e x i s t_
ing fuselage and tail surfaces with all-iew winss
swept back 35oat quarter-chord and installine
powerful and fuel-efllcientKlimov VK_5 c.-ntrifu_
gal-flow turbojets. The VK-5 was a derivativeof the
production
YK-1A uprated to 3,100 kgp (6,g34 lb
st) for take-off and2,760kgp (6,0g4Ib sljfor cruise,
differing mainly in having a more efficient comores_
sor; the engine'sdry weight and external dimeniions
remained unchanged.This undoubted achievement
was made possible by the use of new heat_resistant
ullglt, a higher turbine temperature and more
efficient cooling. Specific fuel consumption (SFC)
was 6 per cent lower than that of the production
VK-IA.
_ However, preliminary design studies showed that
the swept-wing Il-28S (strelovidnoye krylo _ swepr
wings) offered no significant advantagesover the
production Beagle. Moreover, the incoiporation of
new wings would incur major technologicalprob_
lems. Hence developmentof the Il-2gS-wasaban_
doned - a decision later proved correct by the chief
competitor's negativeexperience.The Tupolev OKB
had achieved scant successwith the experimental
7 Some sourcesclaim the Il-28N was outwardly identical
standard bomber.
to the
-:s
The Il-28RM prototype; note the angular cockpit windshield. ( yefittt
Tse ll-28 Favty.4l
'aircraft 82' (Tu-82) swept-wingtactical bomber
(which,incidentally,closelyresembled
thewould_be
il-28S).
II-28RM experimental tactical
reconnaissance aircraft
-oi. Meanwhile,the Ilyushin OKB attemptedto intro_
d.ucethe new VK-5 powerplanton productionver_
sionsof the straight-wingIl-2g. Severalgovernment
directivesand MAP orderswereissuedlenvisagrng
the installation of VK-5s on all three princioa-i
versionsof the Bcagla conventional 'bombeq
torpedo-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft.
The last version receivedthe highest priority,
sincethe WS wasdesperate to extendthe ieachof
its tacticalreconnaissance aircraft.The pHOTINT
aircraft then under developmentat the Mikoyan
(OKB-I55) and yakovlev (OKB-115) dejign
bureauxwerea priori handicappedby inadequate
range, being derived from tactical fishters; con_
versely,the Il-28R and .aircrafrZa'ltu_Zb, tne
PHOTINT versionof the Tu-14)were basedon
bo^mbers designedto havemuch longerrange.The
3,000.km (1,863mile)rangerargetwasto behet by
installingmorefuel-efficient eneines.
On 3 August1951theCouncilof Ministersissued
directiveNo. 2817-1388ss, orderingthe develop_
ment of the Il-28RM {,samolyoT-lra:vedchik,
modifitse,erovannyy - reconnaissanceaircraft,
modified)poweredby VK-5 engines.
The deadline
for submission for Stateacceptance trialswassetat
-l
Gorcrtnt
urchive
)
4 2 . 1r -rr-s r r r rI r - 28B i ro l

15

fllgF

-la!;-
t'l'i ''
;'i' illi:i'
*.' .i+^a
"
,." ,.\rgH '.'l:
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- r-n.lS8l"i

*F"ti, .*..4{ffi#1lT*l*,{; :;?;$ffi

*..*t';t$r,Jt:,s-.*.i.{"-*!
T hc sa nrca ircn rli with t hc dr op t ank s lc r . r . r ov crccl,v c alin gt h c v c r t i c a l l yc u 1 - o l l 'w i n e l i p sw i t h d r o l 'rt a n k l i t t i n g s i n s l c a col i
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thc usr,ral

Head - o r r v i e w o f t h e ll- 2 8 RM . i Itlittt ( jo n lo rut n h ir t,)

 TsE L--28 Favry .43

Table11. I|-28RM specifications

Manufactureros State acceptance

flight tests trials
Length overall 17.65
m (57ft 10.88 i n.)
Heighton ground 6.0m (19ft 8.22in.)
Span 21.45m (70ft 4.48in.)
Wing area 60.8m':(653.76 sq.ft)
Wing loading,kg/m,(lb/ft,) 321(1,560) n.a.
Powerloadingat sealevel,kgikgp (lb/lb sQ 3.12 n.a.
Operatingemptyweight,kg (lb) 13,485(29,728) 13,467(29,689)
Normal all-upweight,kg (lb) 19,500(42,989) 20,200(44,532)
MaximumAUW (with drop tanks),kg (lb) 22,950(s0,s9s) 22,930 (50,551)
Fuelload,kg (lb):
internal 5,030(l 1,089) 5,030(l t,089)
with drop tanks 8,250(18,187) 8,200(t 8,077)
Payload,kg (lb):
normal 6,015(13,260) 6,0r5(13,260)
_ in overloadconfiguration(with drop tanks) 9,467(20,870) n.a.
Top speed,km/h (kt):
at4,250m (13,943 ft) 926/n.a. n.a.
(500.54ln.a.)*
at 5,000m (16,404
ft) 877t851 n.a.
(474.01460.0)*'k 89I /863
at 6,600m (21,653
ft) n.a, (481.62t466.48)**
n.a.1863
at 7,000m (22,965ft') n.a. (n.a.1466.48)**
at 10,000m (32,808ft) 862t827 n.a./841
(465.94t447
.0)** (n.a.1454.59)**
Rateof climb,m/sec(ftlmin):
at sealevel 24.5| 17.0 (4,821 *
I 3,34s)* n.a.
at 5,000m (16,404ft) | 5.4t10.3(3,030t2,027)** n.a.
at 10,000 m (32,808ft) 6.613.4(1,299t669)** n.a.
Climb time,min:
to 5,000m(16,404ft) 4.216.15** 6.21n.a.* *
to 10,000 m (32,808ft) 12.419.3** 18.0/n.a.* *
Serviceceiling,m (ft) 13,050n2,175 12,500/11,500
(42,814t39,944)** (41,010t37,729)**
Rangewithout drop tank separation,
km (miles) 3,007(1,867)# 2,090(1.298)##
Rangewith drop tank separation,
km (miles) 3,042t3,254 3,250(2,018)I
(r,88e/2,021)
t
Endurancewithout drop tank separation 4hr40mi n# n.a.
Endurancewith drop tank separation 4hr 39.5minl n.a.
4 hr 49.5min t
Take-off run, m (ft) 963t1,233 995il,295
(3,1s9t4,04s)
lt (3,264t4,248)
It
m (ft)
Take-offdistance, |,807
t2,477 2,030t2,400
(5,e28l8,126)
tt (6,660t7,874)
tt
Notes:
=
It('* At take-offpower(N 11,560rpm); otherdatafor N = I1,200rpm.
With normal/maximumAUw - 19,700122,570kg(43,430149,2sy'tU) respectivelyduringmanufacturer,s flight tests
and20,200122,930 kg(4a,532150,551lb) respectively
duringStateacceptance trials.
L Igy ?1'900kg (50,705lb), cruisealtitudeio,ooom (32,s0;8
ft) and cr'uisingspeed670km/h (362.l6kt).
t# Igy 22,930k9(50,1f1 lb), cruisealtitudes,0oom1io,4o4ft) and cruising*speed 560km/h tjoi] r.tl.
i lgy rg000 kg (50'70slb), cruisealtitude10,000/10,500 12,:50om1ri,aoal:+,44841,0r0ft) andcruisingspeed
695 kmlh (368.64137
9'!21 5.67kt) respectively.
-
ff With normalimaximum TOW respectivelv.
I At optimumcruisealritudeand cruisingspeed665km/h (359.45kt).
44 . IrvussrNlr-28 BntcLt

prototypespecifications
Table12. Il-28 VK-S-powered
Manufacturer'sfl ight tests State acceptancetrials
c/n 52003701 c/n 52ffi3719 c/n 52003701 c/n 52003719
Lengthoverall 17.65m (57ft 10.88in.)
Span 21.45m (70ft 4.48in.)
Wing area 60.8m'?(653.76 sq.ft)
Wing loading,kg/m' (lb/ft') 308(1,4e6) 3l l (l ,5l l ) 322(r,s6s)
326(r,s84)
Powerloadingat sealevel,kdkgp (lb/lb st) 3.2 3.l 6
Operatingemptyweight,kg (lb) t3,3s0(29,43r) 13,560
(29,894)13,113(28,908)13,365(29,464)
Normal all-upweight,kg (lb) 18,7t0(41,247) 18,920
(41,710)19,600(43,209)19,850(43,761)
MaximumAUW (with drop tanks),kg (lb) 24,090(53,108)24,300(s3,s7r) 24,0s0
(53,020)24,220(s3,39s)
Fuelload,kg (lb):
internal 3,800(8,377) 3,800(8,377) 3,800(8,377) 3,800(8,377)
with drop tanks (17,636) 8,000
8,000 (17,636) 8,150
(t7,967) 8,050(17,746)
Payload,kg (lb):
normal 5,360(l 1,816) 4,360(9,6t2) 6,487(14,301) 6,485(14,296)
maximum r0,740(23,677) r0,740
(23,677)10,837(23,891)10,855(23,930)
Top speedat 19,300kg(42,548Ib)AUW
andN = I1,560rpm,km/h(kt):
at S/L 800(432.43)* 800(432.43)* 800(432.43)* 800(432.43)*
at 2,850m (21,653 ft) 9r7(495.61) n.a. n.a. n.a.
at 3,000m (22,965ft) n.a. 9r8 (496.21) 9tr (492.43) 900(486.48)
at 4,000m (13,943 ft) n .a. 921(497.83) n.a. n.a.
at 5,000m (16,404ft) 900(486.48) 918(496.21\ n.a. n.a.
at 10,000m (32,808ft) 828(447.s6) n.a. 844(456.2r) 844(4s6.2r)
Landingspeed,km/h (kt) r8 9(102) 186(100.5) n.a. n.a.
Rateof climb at 19,300kg (42,548Ib)AUW
and N = I1,250rpm, m/sec(ftlmin):
at sealevel 2t.s(4,23r) le.5(3,837) n.a. n.a.
at 5,000m t3.9(2,73s) t3.r(2,s78) n.a. n.a.
at 10,000m 6.s(r,279) 6.7s(r,328) n.a. n,a.
Climb time at 19,300kg AUW and
N = 11,250 rpm,min:
to 5,000m 4 .85 5.25 n.a. n,a.
to 10,000m 13.3 13.8 14.0 14.0
Effectiverangewith drop tanksand 2,000kg 3 ,0 0 0(1,863) (1,863) 2,710
3,000 (1,683) 2,670(t,6s8)
(4,409Ib)of bombs,km (miles)
Technicalrangewith drop tanksand 2,000kg (1,870)** 2,820t3,020
3 ,1 0 0(1,925)* 3,012 # 2,79012,980 ##
of bombs,km (miles) (r,7sur,870)(l ,733l r,850)
Technicalrangewithout drop tanksandwith 1,298(806)*** 1,309 (1,870)
I n.a. n.a.
I ,000kg (2,204lb)of bombs,km (miles)
Endurancewith drop tanksand 2,000kg of 4 hr 51min* 4 hr 33min** n.a. n.a.
bombs
Endurancewithout drop tanksand with 2 hr 07 min 'r"'* 2 hr 02minf n.a. n.a.
1,000kg of bombs
Take-off run, m (ft):
with normalTOW e20(3,018) 94s(3,100) 1,000(3,280) r,0s0(3,444)
withmaximumTOW 1,4r0(4,626)I t,430(4,69r)fi r,370(4,494) r,360(4,462)
Take-offdistance,m (ft):
with normalTOW (6,561) r,760(s,774)
(6,151) 2,000
1 ,8 7 5 r,9s4(6,4r0)
with maximumTOW 2,s2s(8,284)| 2,708(8,884)
tt 2,4ts(7,e23) 2,34s(7,6e3)
Landingrun, m (ft):
no airbrakes 9r3(2,99s) n.a. 660(2,165) 800(2,624)
airbrakesdeployed 607(r,991) s24(r,7r9) 550(1,804) 660(2,r6s)
Landing distance,m (ft):
no airbrakes 1,692(s,551) n.a. n.a. n.a.
airbrakesand brakeparachutedeployed r,2ss(4,117) (3,618) n.a. n.a.
 THe Ir--28Fevny.45

March 1952 a tight schedulewhichprovedimpos- enginedbombervariantwasinitiatedby Councilof

sibleto maintain.The unserialledII-28RM proto- Ministers(CofM) directiveNo. 5329-2088ss of 29
type (c/n 52003714) first flew on 17 February1952, December 1952 and MAP order No.lss of I
but the manufacturer'sflight testswere not com- January1953.
pleteduntil 12 April (the test report was signedon The two prototypeswere convertedfrom stan-
29 Aprll); thus the Stateacceptance trials did not dard Moscow-built Il-28s (c/ns 52003701and
commenceuntil l0 July.The trials wereduly com- 52003719).Pursuantto the above-mentioned CofM
pletedon l5 January1953. directivethe first prototypewasto be transferredto
The I1-28RM featuredthe latest version of the LII for testing,while the other aircraft was to be
intendedpowerplant- the VK-5E (ekonomichnyy , deliveredto NII VVS in April 1953for Stateaccept-
fuel-effrcient),incorporating additional measures ancetrials.
aimed at reducingthe SFC. This enginepassedits Apart from the engines,the bombershad a few
Stateacceptance trials concurrentlywith the aircraft other changes.Both aircraft had wingstakenfrom
itself.The new enginesnecessitated a redesignof the the Il-28R, with wingtip drop tanksto extendtheir
enginebearers andenginenacellestructure, theengine range. The second prototype featured enlarged
controlsystemhad to bemodifiedand thelowerskins 1,260x 390mm (49.6x 15.35in.) mainwheels bor-
of theouterwingsstiffened.No changesweremadeto rowed from the Il-28R and an automaticwheel-
thearmamentandequipment. brake system,while the first prototype retained
Nevertheless, the good performanceof the air- standard1,150x 355mm (45.27x 13.97in.)main-
craft and its powerplantdid not help.Because of the wheels.The 12-4-30DC batterieswerereplacedby
scrappingof the Il-28SandTu-93projectsfor which new I2SAM-25batteriesand movedforwardto the
the new enginewas primarily intended(the Tu-93 radarbayto shift the CG forward.
was a VK-5 poweredversion of the Tu-14), the The defensivearmamentwasidenticalto that of
VK-5 did not enterproduction- and henceneither the standardIl-28,comprisingtwo nose-mounted
did the II-28RM.Besides, it wasclearby thenthat NR-23swith 100rpg and two NR-23swith225 rpg
axial-flow turbojets were superior to centrifugal- in the tail turret.The normal bomb load and the
flow engines. maximumbomb load were1,000kg(2,204Ib)and
The specifications of the Il-28RM aredetailedin 2,000kg (4,409lb) respectively.
TableI 1. Both aircraft were completedwithin a short
timescaleand duly tested;the manufacturer's flight
testsreportwasendorsed on 28 April 1953,and the
Il-28 experimental tactical bomber with Stateacceptance trials report exactlythreemonths
later. The specificationsof the VK-5-powered
VK-5 engines bomberprototypesaregivenin Table12.
The next version of the Beagle to be powered by
VK-5s was the regular bomber. Logically this air- On 10 September 1953NII VVS concludedthat it
craft should have been designated Il-28M, but no would be advisableto launch seriesproductionof
separatedesignationwas allocated for some reason, the VK-S-poweredIl-28. However,the upgraded
and the designation Il-28M was eventually used for bomberdid not enteroroductionfor the reasons
another version (seebelow). Development of the re- statedabove.

Notesto Table12:
* TOW 24,170kg(53,284lb), cruisingspeed650km/h(351.3kt) andcruisealtitude10,500-l3,200 m
(34,44843307 rt).
** TOW 24,330kg(53,637lb),cruisingspeed680km/h(367.5kt) andcruisealtitude10,50013,100 m
(34,44842,979ft).
x't.FTOW 18,710 kg (41,247lb), cruisingspeed650km/h(351.3kt) andcruisealtitude10,000 m (32,808
ft).
I TOW 18,920kg (41,710lb), cruisingspeed700km/h(378.3kt) andcruisealtitude10,000 m (32,808
ft).
# TOW 24,050k9(53,020 lb),cruisingspeed668km/h(361.0kt) andcruisealtitude10,000 m/l0,000 12,000
m
(32,808/32,808-39,370 ft).
# # T O W 24, 220k g (5 3 ,3 9 5 1 b ),c ru i s i n g s p e e d 668km/h
(361.0kt)andcrui seal ti tudel 0,000m/10,000
12,000m
(32,808/32,80839,37 0 ft).
t Tow 23,800kg (52,469lb).
tt k g (s 2 ,e l 0 1 b ).
T oW 24, 000
46. Ir-vusurN
L-28 Brtcu.
4 Red, the Il-28TM torpedo-bomber prototype, photographed during trials in 1953.( Yalint
:) t
-
Another view of the II-28TM; the c/n 50301106 reveals the aircraft was converted from the first prototype ll-28T.
I Yelim Gonlon urthiye )
II-28TM experimental
torpedo-bomber
The Il-28TM torpedo-bomber (torpedonosets
modiJitseerovannyy)was the last of the three Beagle
variants modified to take the VK-5 engine. It was
developed in accordance with CofM directive No.
72l8rs of 22 May 1953 and Ministry of Defence
Industry (MOP - Ministerstvo oboronnoypromysh-
lennosti) order No. 295ssof 27 May. The schedule
stipulated by the government was extremely tight:
the prototype was to be handed over to the Navy's
ResearchInstitute No. 15 in just one month.
In those days it was customary in the Soviet
Union to strictly comply with government orders
and directives concernine the defence industrv.
Gonton
urthitcI
whatever the cost. OKB-240 managed to complete
the prototype within the stated timescale by con-
verting one of the Il-28T prototypes (c/n
50301106).8 The installation of VK-5 engineswith
new extension jetpipes led to several associated
changes.The front parts (detachableengine cowl-
ings) and rear parts of the nacelleswere modified,
the electric wiring inside the nacelleswas rerouted
and the engine cooling ducts were modified.
Changes were also made to the engine controls, a
8 The c/n shows that the aircraft was built in 1950. so this was
probably a development aircraft retained by the Ilyushin
OKB.
 TUEIr--28Favnv.47

Table 12a. I|-28TM weaponconfiguration

Normal weaponsload Total weight, Maximum weaponsload Total weight,

kg (lb) kg (lb)

2 x FAB-500M-46bombs r,000(2,204) l2 x OFAB-100bombs 1,200(2,645)

x 45-36AMVtorpedo 1,013(2,365) 8 x FAB-250M-46bombs 2,000(4,409)
x 45-36AMNtorpedo 1,030(2,210) 4 x FAB-500M-46 bombs 2,000(4,409)
x RDT torpedo 61s(l,3ss) I x FAB-1500M-46 bomb l ,s00(3,306)
2 x AMD-500mines r,018(2,244) I x FAB-3000M-46 bomb 3,000(6,613)
x AMD-1000mine 1"018(2,244) 1 x TAS torpedo 1,s20(3,3s0)
x Lira mine 988(2,178) I x TAV torpedo 1.283(2,828)
x Desnamine 768(1,693) 4 x AMD-500mines 2,0t8 (4,448)
I x AMD-M mine 1,188 (2,619)
1 x Serpeymine 1,268(2,795)
2 x 45-36AMVtorpedoes 2,128(4.69t)
2 x Lira mines 1,958(4,316)
2 x Serpeymines ? 5tR /5 55t\
2 x Desnamines (3,346)
1,518

new fire-extinguishing system was installed and the
engines' foreign object damage (FOD) protection
screens,made of wire mesh, were provided with a
de-icingsystem.
In addition, a seventh fuel cell (No. 38) was fit-
ted, drop tanks were installed at the wingtips and
the liquid oxygen bottles were relocated.The higher
gross weight required the standard mainwheels to
be replacedwith 1,260x 390 mm (49.6 x 15.35in.)
mainwheels,as on the Il-28R. Finally,a secondnose
cannon with 100 rounds was installed on the
starboard side (as already mentioned, the produc-
tion Il-28T had only the portside forward-firing
ca n n on) .
Table l2a showsthe Il-28TM's weaponsconfigu-
rations.
Serialled 4 Red. the aircraft completed its manu-
facturer's flight tests by late June 1953 (the test
report was signed on 30 June) and passed State
acceptancetrials in July (the Soviet Navy's Research
Institute No. 15 issuedits act of acceptanceon I
August). Still, the I1-28TM fared no better that its
comrades-in-engines, i.e. the other versionssharing
the VK-5 powerplant. The specificationsof the
II-2STM prototype are given in Table 13.
Il-28-131guidedbombcarrier
Back in the early 1950sthe SovietUnion started
experimentingwith precisionguided munitions
(PGMs). An experimentalbatch of UB-2000F
radio-controlled guided bombs (UB =
oopravlyayemaya homba guidedbomb) was built

An Il-28- 131 with a UB-2F Chaika guided bomb suspendedunder the fuselage.( Ye.lirn
Gordon
archiva
)
48 . Ir-vusnrN
lr-28 Bn.scLp

Table13. I|-28TM prototypespecifications

Manufacturer's State acceptance
flight tests trials

Length overall 17.65m (57ft 10.88in.)

Span 21.45m (70ft 4.48in.)
Wing area 60.8m'(653.76sq.ft)
Wing loading,kg/m' (lb/ft') 380(1,846) 366(r,778)
Powerloading at sealevel,kdkgp (lb/lb st) J.J 3.s6
Operatingempty weight,kg (lb) (29,530)
13,395 13,395(29,530)
Normal all-upweight,kg (lb) (41,424)
18,790 18,788(4l,4le)
Maximum AUW (with drop tanks),kg (lb) (48,6ss)
22,070 22,068(48,6s0)
Maximum AUW (with drop tanks and
PSR-1500-15 JATO bottles),kg (lb) (49,7t3)
22,550 n.a.
Fuelload,kg (lb):
internal 3,800(8,377) 3,800(8,377)
with drop tanks (15,167)
6,880 (15,167)
6,880
Payload,kg (lb):
normal 5,397(11,898) (11,867)
s,383
maximum 8,675(t9,124) (19,098)
8,663
Top speedat22,070kg (48,655Ib)TOW and
take-off powerrating, km/h (kt):
at sealevel 800(432.43)', 800(432.43)*
at 5,000m (16,404ft) e0l (487.0) 895(483.78)
at 10,000m (32,808ft) 836(451.89) 837(4s2.43)
Landing speed,km/h (kt) r88.5 (10r.9) 178(96.2)**
Rateof climb at22,070kg TOW and cruisepower
rating,m/sec(ftlmin):
at sealevel 15.4(3,030) 16.3(3,207)
at 5,000m (16,404ft) n.22 (2,208) 9.3(1,830)
10,000 m (32,808f0 6.8s(1,348) 4.0(787)
Climb time at22,070kg TOW andcruisepower
rating,min:
to 5,000m (16,404ft) 6.36 6.6
to 10,000m (32,808ft) 6.85 19.5
Effectiverangeat 10,000m with drop tanks and (r,349)
2,172 (r,345)
2,166
45-36AMVtorpedo,km (miles)
Technicalrangeat 10,000m/600kmlh(324 kt) with 2,326(r,444) 2,3rs(1,437)
drop tanksand 45-36AMVtorpedo,km (miles)
Technicalrangeat 10,400-12,550 m(34,12041,174ft)l
585-900km/h (31G486kt) with drop tanksand (r,ssz)
2,499 n.a.
45-36AMVtorpedo,km (miles)
Enduranceat 10,000m with drop tanksand 3 hr 48min 3 hr 4l min
45-36AMVtorpedo
Enduranceat 10,400-12,550 m/585-900km/h with drop 4 hr 20min n.a.
tanksand 45-36AMVtorpedo
Take-off run at maximumTOW, m (ft) 1,090(3,576) r,260(4,133)
Take-off distanceat maximumTOW m (ft) 2,055(6,742) 2,025(6,643)
Landing run, m (ft) 890(2,920) 940(3,084)***
Landing distance,m (ft) 1,510(4,9s4) 2,125(6,971)***
Notes:
* Speedlimited becauseof dynamicstrengthlimit.
** Data for VK-l-poweredIl-28T.
'r'<*'*Data for VK-l-poweredIl-28T with a 15,000kg (33,068lb) landingweight.
 l
€- - 1
:,*,,.,.,9 ,t

-.-.-%''
- l'!EF*s

I l ,o rt

*#x--*;,
 l lorr:ll- 2804 Rc d ( c h 53005771)is on di s p l a ya t t h e R u s s i a nA i r F b r c c M u s c u r . ni n M o n i n r r . t . t i t n( , , , t J , i l t
A hovL'trruBa
 llr, , rr'. l l - 2 l l 0 l R c c l ( c h l6 6 0 lll0 7 ) is p a lt o l' th c o p cn - u ir di spl ay at Moscow -K hodynka ai rl i cl d. rtL,ti ,t(i rtrthtut

!,'j

This Beugle.prcscrvedat the Civil Aviation Museum in Ulyanovsk (ch 56605702),is supposedlyan ll-20. with
..,1br.,r'r,.
an appropriate(now fadcd) Sovict flag and winged Aeroflot logo. Howcver. there ure reasonsto believethat it was
paintecl like this rrlicl comin-uto thc muscLrrrand is rcally Sovict Ail Forcc 38 Rcd! Note tl.rc Il-28 nosc tillcs.
i IL'lint (ionLtn,
Above: This stripped-out hulk of a Beagle sat for many years on the far side of the airfield at Kubinka AB. ( yefimGordon)

Left: The rear fuselage and tail unit

of East German AF Il-28 208 Red,
showing the tail turret; the cannon
have been removed, probably to be
displayed separately. ( YefimGordon)
 l i ,,,r, ,ttr,l l j ,l ,,tt Ir jllr ' j l.l\1 ( r !ll.ll \r l,r ttt ll' r 'ttS l i .,l t. tt i .O ( ) ( '- 11\r r L l 3r u1./\'r ) \l Lr \!ur r r ll
Ir !\!r ,.,1
\\.t\ l l r.,)rrl \ I ( \l /i,,r ,i, t,) \\!.lr .l r ilr l( jLr ll.r r ' . lr r r . l r ) ,,
'
 .t+ r r ..- , ..*' :n..4,t"1-I, p

.,fiti{*

7 f:?

lht l l tt L 'ttu t It)l tl i ( i \\' tt I l\ltt) iltiltlil\i ltr r ltst: lttt ll lSl \cr'ri rl l crl S .l Il crl te /n
 '::'.I
Ii .:r,,.]3;

Above:PolishAir Force Il-28 65 Red (c/n2212) is preservedon the premisesof the Officers'Higher Flying School in
Dpblin. ( Yt,linGordon
)

I
 rr,;t,i'f ,,1

d \'r ;'"i '

n ** t.

Iilur r L. ui tl r .\r i l r ll ( r l i n l hc b;1g1.1,11i 11111iA, r /'r l /i r \/i ,/l

-ll
 -l-"-2-

Ahove; Work underway on B-5 308 Red, with a hardenedaircraft shelter(HAS) not meant to, tt . t,ornt.r behind
it. Note the excellentfinish on this aircraft. rR;Rrr

'wM\
Yrt-
ffw rt
-t'>

-t

iFq
'-f
.t.t,";..i.*

lboyc. Romanian Air Force BT-5 407 Red is non-airworthv and stored at Bac-auAB. tn..tnrr
 ,{sl,\

Ahovc: Looking somewhatweather-beaten,

B-5s703 Red and 706 Red sit on the grassat Baciu in non-flying condition.
( R AR T )

-"S Jfi'

lDoyr,.'Romanian Air Force B-5s parked at Borcea-FetestiAB. rR.lRrr

 Bulgarian Il-28 43 Rcd sits at thc 13ulgarianAir Force MuscLtt.t"t

,4bolr,.NH-2 in full splendourat its home base.Utti. /11..1Rr

 I>-

I ' Ol Lr r r t.,,llgintr l !U l \r '\\i l l t l | eer r l ) i l Itl e( l an.!l nf ( ( ) \\l i n!\

t: i .:l - .d r ,-
I" ,,.ii
ii.,,ut&{;,"r,Sri
.G
"tb!&+s'
frffi' '1.''lt',,ui'i-'
,' ;,
".Siii;.

?L',ro&,,," "r' *dxe!

'.1sMe. qnw.
nwffi;

rqpw,* ,rr-].ff

i'"ffiL
i
,qI {n\,.
#
4if
Y:: /e*..*!C
s

fi-ff;.W
}-3#e$r
p q

1 r,-r"

${
.,i!i;r
'l**"
*"'*q*..qs*

y :.."

.illllete(lt)!ilte.lr'lt.ilt!lilrt. ( ,, 1., t i,
, . lhart , : T h i s i i I l o l l v | l l ( ) t l S H- .5 isir r th co p cn - a ir clisp la 1 ,a tth cPI,A A FMl tsct-ttrl i nD atangshl rI
rt Nat rc h a n - u ( ' . 1 - - 5( l i c c n cc- b L r ilt Yr r k- llJ llr sic tlr L in cr'. I t tt h,tttrt,trttt
' 1 .' /r r .r .)

;r
It
n

, , '1llrlr'.H a r b i r r H - 5 b o r n bcr s in th c lln a l a sse r ltr lv sh o p . , cl ti rru.:.tti rtri rtrt

Irnl usrt
.
 \^
\*'
\*

L-*

.4bolr' . H - 5 s c r u i s i r - t go v c r th c T icr t- Sh a r t. | ( l1 in d..1 iftt( tlt)

This Il-28. which escapedto Tair.vanon ll Novcmber 1966,exemplifiesthe green camouflageworn by some
.4bo,r'r,.
PLAAF Beuglt's.It is now on displayat the ROCAF museum at Taoyuan AB. rn.rRrt
 f\-

eF
il
b

itrr
Il|r

ff C!3
tu

r u.
*,

1 /rort,.l)LAAI

This H-5 (,14690Rccl)plescrvcdin thc Peoplc'sLibclution Arml'Ail l-orcc Muscr.rnrut l)atunsshln All has rr
.'1hr.,rr'.
rrorr-starldrtrd
ttoscglazirt-u
ti'i1ha secondopticallr'llat pancl in ti'ont. , HL,tutLrr
uirlrtttr
Above: The FNAF Beagleswore crudely applied green and black camouflage. (RARr)

Above:A NigerianIl-28 sharingthe ramp at Enuguwith MiG-17F NAF-615.fn,cnr;

 Tup Ir-28 Fevlrv . 49

as early as 1953and testedon speciallymodified

by the AVMF (the same system was fitted to the
Il-28 and Tu-4 bombers.Designed'bya ieam under
Kamov Ka-25PL Hormone-A shipboard ASW heli_
A. D. Nadiradze, the UB-2-000F6o.. u certain
copter). The bomb bay was big enough ro carry
resemblance to the GermanFritz X glidingbombof sonobuoys (rahdiogiidroak\osticheskiy
World War II vintage,with a sqiashei_X wine IGB.-N,
booy) and depth chargeswithout requiring modifi_
arrangement to provideadequategroundclearancel cations.
However._ the wings were oi delta planform with The SPARU-55 was a superheterodynereceiver
rnsetrudders,and the casinghad a constantdiame_
working in the 49.2 to 53.4 MHz waveband. This
ter (in contrast,the Germanbomb had trapezoidal range was split into eighteen preset frequencies
wingsand a bulgedwarhead). through which the receiver cycled automatically.
Testsshowedthat two or threesmartbombswere If
a signal from a sonobuoy was detectedon one ofthe
en^ollgh.todestroy a targetmeasuring30 x 70 m (9g frequencies,the receiverlocked onto it, enabline the
x229 ft) whichwould haverequirediire expenditure
operator to determine_1f
of 168FAB-1500dumb bombs.Hencein 1955the lhe sonobuoy had rEally
detected a submarine. If that was the case,he acti_
YB:2.99^0.entered productionand was includedin vated the SPARU-55's direction_finder mode, and
rne.vv-5rnv€nroryas the UB_2FChaika(Seagull)
the aircraft homed in on the operating buoy to
or 4A-22.About thirty Il_2gsspecially equippelto attack the submarine. A major drawbaik ol the
carrythesePGMs werebuilt in 1956.-This weaDon SPARU-55 was its long cycling time (in automatic
was carried externally under the fuselage.
mode it neededI l0 secondsto switch from one buoy
Outwardlythe ll-28-l3l could be identifiedby-a
to the next!). An outward identification feature
small angular fairing under the nose, probably of
the.tl-28PL may have been severaladditional blade
1o_us11g the guidanceantennafor the UomU.fn-e aerials on the aft fuselage underside; these were
UB-2Fwasalsocarriedby specially modifiedTu_16 probably associatedwith the SpARU-55 receiver.
Badger-Abomberswhich carriediwo suchbombs
ln 1962rhe AT-l ASW torpedo was included in
on underwingpylons.
the AVMF inventory;it could also be carried inter_
nal l y by the l l -28pl ,
!9i 1g :.e m (12 ft9.54 i n.) tong
I|-28PL anti-submarine warfareaircraft and w ei ghi ng530kg (l ,168 l b).
Officially the reason for the ll_2gpl's existence
The late 1950sand early1960ssawanotherescala_
was the. necessityto quickly receive ASW support
tion of the Cold War which nearlyturnedinto a
once.it had been requestedby whoeverspotted the
full-blownhot war duringthe Cubanmissilecnsis.
unrnendl ysubmari ne.si ncethe l l _29w asmore than
Thedeployment of Sovieiballisticmissiles
to Cuba twice as fast as the obsoletepiston_engined
worried the USA and its NATO alliesimmensely, Beriyev
Be-6 Madge_flyingboat operited by thE Soviet Navy
causingthemto stepup their submarineactivities.
at the time. Besides,the flying boati were difficult to
I nrs.ln turn, led the SovietUnion to bolsterits
operatein winter when their basesfroze up. But per_
Navy,.includingthe Naval Air Arm. Not having
haps the real reason was the naval command s wish
enoughASW aircraft to monitor the activitieso]
to stop the Beaglekennelsfrom being disbanded,
Westernnaviesalong the SovietUnion.smanne as
they inevitably would be, and keep th-epilots flying.
borders-and destroy,the AVMF decidedto convert l n 1966 rhe H e of the B al ti c Fl eet.sai i ai m
someof thebombersit hadon its strensth.
approached the Soviet Navy's GHe, requestingthe
The aircraft convertedfor the ASfr role were formation
of two regiments .quipp.A *itt tt.
mostly{u-16 Badgersand ll-2gs.For instance,the
Il-28PL, but the requestwas turned down.
Baltic Fleet's759th OMTAP, (otclel'nyyminno_tor_
pednyyaviapolk- independentminelilng and tor_
pedo.-bomber regiment) converted tin Il_2g Il-28Shattackaircraft
Dombers andtorpedo_bombers (Il_2gT), whichwere In the late 1950s the Ilyushin OKB considered
redesignated Il-28pL Qtrotivolodochnyy _ anti_sub_ adapting the Beaglefor the strike role. This involved
marrne).Theseaircraftwerefitted with the SpARU_
installation of a battery of twenty unguided rockets
55 sonobuoy receiver(,samolyotnoye preeyomnoye in the bomb bay. This would giu. ia.quute fire_
avt omaticheskoye rahdioustroy,,
t vo _ aiiboine auto_ pgyef without spoiling the aircraft's aerodynamics
matic radio receiverdevice,i955 model; constitut_
with high-drag external stores. The launch tubes
ing part of the Baku sonarsystemrecentlyadopted
were to be mounted almost vertically, firing down
and aft; a salvo of rockets equipped with s"haped_
9 Some sourcesstate the unit as the 769th OMTAP
chargewarheadswas expected-to-bian effectiveway
of destroying armoured vehicles. The crew was
50 . lr-vusnrN
lr-28 Brtcrc
reduced to two, the navigator/bomb aimer being
superfluous. But it was quickly establishedthat the
efflux of twenty rockets impinging on the airframe
would make the aircraft uncontrollable and the idea
was dropped.
However, the limited warload of the fighter-
bombers of the period forced the military and the
engineersto dust off the idea of an 11-28attack air-
craft. The specification for such an aircraft was
drawn up in the spring of 1967 before the famous
Six-Day War, in fact. The aircraft was to have a
combat radius identical to that of the Sukhoi
Su-7BM Fitter-A fighter-bomber but an ordnance
load two or three times greater.The result was the
Il-28Sh (shtoormovik - attack aircraft). It featured
twelve underwing pylons for unguided rockets five
outboard and one inboard of eachengine.This was
considereda more acceptableapproach, even at the
expense of the extra drag created by the external
stores.
Possibleweaponsconfigurationsincluded twelve
U B- 16-57 rocket pods with sixteen57 mm (2.24 in.)
S-5 folding-fin aircraft rockets (FFARs) each,"'or
six 250 mm (9.84 in.) S-24 rockets,or various gun
pods, submunitions containers and free-fall bombs.
Depending on the mission, the pilot could selecta
salvo launch or just two pylons, four pylons, etc.
Flight tests which began 1n 1967 showed that even
when all 192S-5 rocketsor all six S-24rocketswere
fired at once, the engines showed no inclination to
surge or flame out.
The Il-28Sh commencedStateacceptancetrials in
October 1967.The test pilots reported that the air-
craft was suitable for low-level and ultra-low-level
strike missions.It was establishedthat flying at -
and delivering accurate rocket/bomb strikes from
altitudesright down to 60 m (196 ft) could be mas-
tered by service pilots without any trouble; flying
still loweq though, demandeda lot of concentration
and extra training. The aircraft could be prepared
for a sortie within four hours.
Below 200 m (656ft) the Il-28Shhad a speedlimit
of 660 km/h (356 kt). Fuel consumptionat low alti-
tude increasedby 30-50 per cent as comparedto the
basic bomber becauseof the external storesand the
aircraft's combat radius with a full load of FFAR
pods was 295 km (183 miles).
l0 UB = ooniJitseerovannyy blok standardized [FFAR] pod;
the UV- I 6-57 designationsometimesfound in Westernlitera-
ture is incorrect. S = snar!,ad in this case,unguided rocket.
I I BM = booksirooyemaya mishen' - towed target; py11= plah-
ner-mishen' gliding target. Some sources stated a towing
cable length of 20 2,500 m (65-8,202 ft).
--*:;* :,l.:::.' -
'
This poor but interestingshot shows the prototype
Il-28Shattackaircraftduringtrials.The manyunderwing
pylons are clearly visible. ( YcfintGortlon
arthivc)
Yet, despite all its merits as a strike aircraft, the
Il-28Sh had inadequatearmour protection and the
ejection seats were not yet of the zero-zero type,
which meant the crew had no chancesof survival if
shot down at low altitude.Hencethe Ilyushin OKB
discontinued development of the Il-28Sh, and
though originally 300 Il-28 bombers were slated for
conversion for the ground-attack role, only a few
were eventually converted at the Soviet Air Force's
aircraft overhaul plants and delivered to first-line
units.
Il-282 A weather reconnaissanceaircraft
On 23February1959theStateCommittee
onAircraft
(GKAT - Gosoodahrstvennyy komitet po avialseeonnoy
tekhnike) issuedan order concerning the development
of the 11-28Z4(zondirovschchikatmosfery lit. atmos-
pheresampler)weatherreconnaissanceaircraft for civil
aviation needs.A few Beagleswere converted to this
configuration.Unfortunatelyalmostnothing is known
about this version.
Target-towingversions
a) Sovietversions(Il-288M)
Two versions (the basic bomber and the Il-28R)
were widely used as target tugs - both for testing
new AA guns and for training fighter pilots. The
special equipment for this mission included a
BLM-1000 (BLM-1000M) or BLT-5 winch installed
in the bomb bay and a77BM-2 (77BM-2M) or PM-
3Zh winged target towed on a cable anywhere
between 5 and 2,500 m (16-8,202 ft) long." For
take-off and landing the target was connectedto the
aircraft by a rigid link permitting operation from
both paved and unpaved strips.The bomber version
used short linkage rods, whereasthe Il-28R was fit-
ted with long ones.The installation of target-towing
equipment did not seriouslyaffect the aircraft's CG
position, which stayed well within the prescribed
 { rnrrl .51
T H r -l L - 2 1F

Anlf -28B M t a r g c t t L l g b a s c t l o r ta stitn cl;t,.cl b o r n b c.with u g lidi ngsunncrytar-ucti nrow .rl i ./l i l /
(;t)rrt),trttti t\

r\'t

w
rl ----€
't .$r

-4.*Arf
-*'-ao Qlxx"'

' 1 2B luc' a. Il-28 R con ve rtedt o ll- 288M c onf igur at io' ( not e
t i p t a n k s ) .t u k e so f I 'r . r , i t rar t a r g e tc o n n e c t e d
bar' Thc aft position of thc tacticar .oa. ir bi,. rigid tou,-
noti*o,'thy. , li,l;;,,oon,tturr.rrirt )
52 . IryusurNIr.-28Brlctt
Tabfe14. Comparisonof performancecharacteristics
of ll-28 + 77Bl/.2ln combinationandIl-28R + PM-3Zh
combination
Climbtime,min: to 1,000m (3,280ft)
to 4 ,0 0 0m (1 3 ,1 2ft)
3 9.75 t0.2s
to 8,000m(26,246ft)
to l 0,l 00 m (33,136 it)
to 10,900 m (35,761 ft)
Rangeat 10,000m (32,808 ft)/620km/h (335kt), km (miles)
Rangeat 8,000m/540kmlh (292kt), km (miles)
Maximumrange,km (miles)
Enduranceat 8,000m/540km/h
Maximumendurance
Powerloadingat sealevel,kg/kgp(lb/lb st)
limits. The target-towing versions are sometimes
referred to as Il-28BM (booksirovschchikmisheney-
target tug).
The field performance of Il-28 bombers with a
20,100kg(44,312Ib) grossweight and Il-28Rs with
a 19,822 kg (43,699 lb) grossweight enabledthem to
operate with targets from concrete airstrips at least
I,800 m (5,905ft) long. At a grossweight of 22,207
kg (48,957lb), the 11-28Rcould operatewith targets
from concrete airstrips at least 2,300 m (1,545 ft)
long. Endurancewith a towed targetwas 2.5 hours.
Table 14 above gives some performance char-
acteristics of an ll-281778}l-2tr.t4 combination
(TOW 20,050 kg144,202 lb, fuel capacity 7,990
lit.ll,757.8 imp. gal.) and an Il-28R/PM-3Zh combi-
nation (TOW 22,20'7 kg148,957 lb, fuel capacity
9 ,550lit . / 2, 101imp . g a l .).
When towed targets were supplemented by rocket-
poweredtarget drones the Il-28 target tugs were con-
verted into combined tugs/drone launchers. The
drones were carried on underwing pylons between
the nacellesand fuselagein much the sameway as the
upgraded Il-28T carried torpedoes. They were
launched and flew on towards the shooting range
when the aircraft reached an appropriate altitude.
Apart from towed targets,the II-28BM basedon the
standard bomber version could carry PM-6R and
PM-6G target drones (PM = pikeeruyuschchaya
mishen' diving target). These looked rather like
bombs with overgrown fins and were equipped with
smoke tracers and recovery parachutes. The I1-28R
and I1-28Tcould not be modified to carry thesedrones
becauseof the reconnaissanceand torpedo-bomber
versions'increasedTOW (which would be excessiveif
the drones were carried) and some structural details
which renderedthe conversion impossible.
The PM-6 drones were carried on special under-
wing pylons attached on two pairs of sweptV-struts.
II-28+ 77BM-2M lf-28R+ Pl4.-3Zh
3.54.0 4.0
10.7
5
23.7524.0 27.2s
n.a. 55.0
57.0 n.a.
845(524) n.a.
n.a. 1 , 1 4 0( 7 0 8 )
1,475(916) r,555 (96s)
n.a. 2 hr 07min
2hr 44 min 3hrllmin
J.J 3.56
The deliverysystemspun up the drones'stabilizing
gyros, using power from the carrier aircraft, and
dropped the drones singly or simultaneously at a
preset altitude between 2,300 and 8,000 m
(7,545-26,246ft). The drones were aimed using the
optical sight or radar; in an emergencythey could
be dropped by either the pilot or the navigator.With
two drones the aircraft's serviceceiling was limited
to 9,600 m (31.496 ft). and the take-off run
increasedby 300 m (984 ft).
b) East German version
The East German I1-28sconverted into target tugs
differed slightly from their Soviet counterparts, as
no rigid targets were used. A drum with a 2,000 m
(6,560 ft) steelcable was carried in the bomb bay on
the standard bomb cradles. To this a fabric 'sock'
8 m (26 ft) long and I m (3 ft) in diameter was
attached; it was neatly rolled up and suspended
from the bomb cradles before flight. A small roller
was attached to the lower fuselageto stop the cable
from scuffing the fuselageskin as it paid out. Some
types of anti-aircraft guns (including the 5-60) were
radar-directed, so aluminium cones had to be
inserted into the sock to provide aradar signature.
Prior to entering the shooting range the pilot low-
ered the flaps 20" and slowed the aircraft to
280 kmih (155.5k0 to prevent the target from being
ripped apart or torn off by the slipstream as it
unfolded. The navigator then dropped the target,
which unwound the cable as it deployed; the drum
was fitted with a centrifugal brake to make sure the
cableunwound smoothly. Two or three minutes later
the target was fully deployed, the observer in the
gunner's cabin monitoring it. (All armament was
usually removed.)
When the sortie was completed the cable and tar-
get were jettisoned, usually by means of a pneu-

matic releasemechanism,but the cablecould also be
cut by a pyrotechnical guillotine in caseof malfunc-
tion. After landing the cablewas rewound and ready
for another mission; the target could also be reused,
unlessit had been shot to shreds.
c) Romanian version
At least one Romanian Air Force Harbin H-5
(Chinese-builtll-28, see below), serialled307 Red
was convertedfor target-towing duties, using equip-
ment developedby the Air Target SwedenAB com-
pany. An MBVTS Mk 3 target-towing winch was
installed in the bomb bay, with a faired cable outlet
amidships;the cable was 4,500 m (14,765ft) long.
The winch worked with a KR-45-430 sleeve-type
target equipped with an AS-l3lSC acoustic miss
distancesensor;the targetwas hooked up under the
fuselagebefore flight.
Il-28M target drone
Besidestowing targets, many Beaglesended up as
targetsthemselves!In the late 1950smany obsolete
Il-28 bombers were converted into remote-con-
trolled high-speedtarget drones designatedI1-28M
(for mishen'(target))and usedfor testingnew anti-
aircraft missile systems.To be precise,development
of this version was brought about by Semyon A.
Lavochkin'sOKB-301. which started desisn work
on the Model 400 surface-to-airmissile in 1955.
This missile was intended for point defence of
important targets,such as major industrial cities,
Il-28BMs were also supplied to foreign customers; this is Finnish Air Force NH-3. another converted Il-28R
( Yclitrr Gordon arthitc )
THEIr--28Fevu-y . 53
and designedto destroy aircraft with a radar cross-
section (RCS) similar to that of the 11-28.
The radio control system enabled the Il-28M to
take off, climb to cruise altitude, make manoeuvres
and land if the drone was lucky enough to stay in
one piece.At first this was often the case- the first
prototypesof the Model400 SAM did not scorea
single hit on the drones! Another anti-aircraft mis-
sile developed by the Lavochkin OKB, the 2074,
was testedbetweenJune 1953and November 1954;
for instance, three test launches against Il-28Ms
were made in October 1953, two of the missiles
having shaped-chargewarheads and the third a
directional fragmentation warhead. State accept-
ance trials of the 207Abegan in September1953,
using Il-28Ms and Tu-4s as targets. The target
drones flew at 9,500-20,000m (31,168 65,616 ft)
and up to 35 km (21.7 miles) from the launch site.
All the targetswereeitherdestroyedor substantially
damaged,the missiles'accuracy beingwithin 7 58 m
(23 190ft).
Not all Il-2SMs were radio-controlled.however.
Some Beaglesphased out by the VVS were given a
brush-up by the manufacturer to make sure
mechanical failure would not prevent the aircraft
from fulfilling its final mission. Then a pilot would
take the doomed bomber into the air, climb to a pre-
determinedaltitude,engagethe autopilot and eject
when told to do so by ground control. Test pilot
Fyodor D. Bogdanov made 3l such flights in
1952-7,ej ecti ngat 12,500m (41,010ft).
54 . It-yusrrrNIt-28 Btm.r.

..:ii.i

',,',f,,,;,li
"'riiltli1i',f
r,
.
,.;,t:,i:l*1,i:!

An ll-28M target drone seenthrough the gunsight of an attacking fighter. ( yt'firtt

Gorttrtn
urcttirL
)
',;,l.;*mlM

Test and developmentaircraft the Lend-Lease programme, a number of B-l7s

I. Avionicstestbeds
a) Il-28LL radar testbed
One Il-28 (identity unknown) was convertedin 1952
for testingthe RP-6 Sokol (Falcon) radar'r and des-
ignated Il-28LL (lctay'uscht:lutyu luborutoriyu - lit.
fl y ing labor at or y ).' T
r h i s ra d a r w i th a 3 0 k m (1 6.2
nm) detection range had been developed by
OKB-339 under G. M. Koonyavskiyfor two inter-
ceptors the YakovlevYak-120,which enteredpro-
duction and serviceas the Yak-2 5 Flashlight-A, and
the Lavochkin La-200B.Initial testswereperformed
on a converted Boeing B-l7G Flying Fortress.
(While this type was not officially supplied under
l2 RP = rahiiopraetsel radio sight; this was the Soviet term fbr
l i r e c o n t r o l l a d a r : a t th e tim c.
l3 T h i s R u s s i a nt e r m is u se d in d iscr im in a te lya n d ca n d enote
a n y k i n d o f t e s t b cd ( a vio n lcs.e n g in e ,e q u ip m e n t, u ca pons.
etc.), an aerodynamicsresearchaircrali or control configured
vehicle (CCV), a weather researchaircrali, a geophysicalsur-
vey aircraft. etc.
which had crash-landedon Soviet-heldbasesafter
raids on Germany were repaired and used by the
SovietAir Force.)When it transpiredthat develop-
ment of the Yakovlevfighter was taking longerthan
predictedand that the La-200 would be the firsr to
receive the new radar, Semyon A. Lavochkin sug-
gestedthat a heavy aircraft but a faster one than the
B-17 be usedto bring the radar up to scratch.The
Il-28 was the obviouschoice.
To accommodate the radar the bomber's nose
glazing was cut away at fuselage frame 2 and
replacedby a cylindrical metal structure (part of the
Yak-120'snoseincorporatingthe avionicsbay). The
huge dish of the RP-6 was enclosedby a largeglass-
fibre radome which had an almost hemispherical
front end instead of the usual pointed or ogival
shape.The conversionwork was done by Lavochkin
OKB specialists under the supervision of the
Ilyushin OKB (which was not directly interestedin
the project but held responsibility for the Il-28
anyway).
The famous test pilot Mark L. Gallai flew the
Il-28LL, with R. A. Razumov as test engineer;the
latter was the worse off. sittins in a dark and
 Tue Ir-28 Fenrly . 55

extremelycrampedbay aft of the radar set all that developed by NII-2 was housed in the Beugle's
remained of the navigator'sstation. A total of 33 bomb bay. It included a high-speedcine-camera
flights was madewithout any problems;the testpro- capturing the radar pulsesreflectedfiom the ship
gramme,which ended in December 1952.included and appearingas lineson the radar display.The two
simulatedinterceptionof real aircraft. Later,testsof testbeds made more than filiv flishts from
the Sokol radar continuedon the La-200B interceo- Kirovskoye airbase on the Crimean Peninsula,
tor prototype which, alter being rejected by the r.rsingBlack SeaFleet cruisers,destroyersand mrne-
VVS. found Lrseas a testbed.By the end of 1953the sweepersas targets.The shipswere either anchored
radar had been perfectedand was fitted to the late- on the roadsteadat Feodosiyaor moved on prede-
production Yak-25M from l954 onwards.replacing termined headings.Measurementswere rnadein 38
the RP-ID Izumrood (Emerald) retdar fitted to fl i ghts at 2.000 5.000 m (6.651 16.404 ft) and
early Yak-25sas a stopgapmeasure. 110 167m/sec(360 547l t/sec)atl 0 50 km(5.4 21
nm) range.
h) missile tugeting systems research aircraft Forty-three measurementswere made with tlre
In 1960the Ministry of Defence'sCentral Research crui sers,64 w i th destroyersand 40 w i th mi ne-
Institute No. 30 (TsNII-30 Tsentrahl'ny.r' runochno- sw eepersat vari ous si ghti ngangl esi n vari ous sea
issleiltvatcl',;kir institoot) ioined lorces with NII-2 state conditions. The results were analysed by a
and the ResearchInstituteof the StateCon-rmittee for computer.w hi ch made i t possi bl eto devel opal go-
Electronics(NIl GKRE rurctochno-isslefutwtal',tkitri thms l br determi ni ngthe cl assof' a shi pi n a group,
in.sI i t oot Go,;otttlahrst t)ct1not)() li ttm i t ct u po rahtIi ttt,Ici - thi s hel pedto devel opgui dancesystemsfbr stand-
tronikc)to developactiveradar homing systemslor ol 1'anti -shi ppi ngmi ssi l es.
anti-shippingmissiles. To this end it was nccessary to
analysethe characteristics of the radar pulsereflected c)
liorn surlhceships.ThLrsan Il-28 and a Lisunov Li-2 A n II-28U codecll 8 B l uc w as apparcutl yconvcrted
Cab transport(tr licence-builtDouglas DC-3 deriva- into an avionicstestbeclof some sot'1,sporting sev-
tive) were cclnvertedinto avionicstestbedsequipped cral non-standardaeri al s undcr the l brw ard and
with two expcrimentalradars and specialrecording rearl usel age. U ntbrtunatcl yno detai l sarc know rrof-
e q L l l p m ent . thi s ai rcrafl ;i t may havebcen a navai dscal i brati on
Th e nt eas ur em enat n d re c o rd i n gs y s te m(M R S ) { fl i ght ehcckcr)l i l crl l i .

This Il-28U. cocledl8 Blue.appearstclhavebeenconverted to an avionicstestbcclof sonrckipdl lotc the lany non-sran-
dard aerials unclcr the ftrselage.i St,r.qt,.r
ttnl Dntittit Kt)tni.\\trn)t.rtt(.lti\(,
t
 56 . IryusHrN lt-28 Bs,tc;rc

II. II-28LL ejectionseat testbed

The Il-28 was extensivelyusedfor researchand devel_
opment work. In the early 1960sseveralaircraft were
converted into testbeds for various systemsof the
,Vostok(East)manned spacecraftunder development
by SergeyP. Korolyov's team. One of these was l0
Blue(c/n 53005710),an ejectionseattestbedusedto
test, among other things,the ejectionseatof the
Vostok'sre-entryvehicle.lntereitingly,this aircraft
haslikewisebeenreferredto asIl-2giL.
The bulky Vostok ejectionseatwas installedin

l0 Blue'the Il-28LLejectionseat
testbed' firingtheseat.for
thevostokspacecralt'sre-entryvehicle. Notethephotocali-
brationmarkingson the fuselage
and tail an<Jihe dualcine-camera
iairiits on eachwingtip.( ycfirn
Gorrrotr
urtttitL,)

close-up of the vostok ejection seatas it clears the superstructure

above the modified bomb bay. ( yeJint
Gorrron
urt:hive
)
 . 57
Trrr,Ir.-2EF.,rr.rrn

f
tt

Arrothcl vicu' ol' thc Vostok e'jcctionscul ir s it s c 1- r lllt c slhr n r t h c I l - 2 E "s p o u t i n ut c r r i l i c l l i r n r c s .N o t c t l r c S M - 5 0 c h r s u

plrtncin tfrc b rtckgr-o uttr l.
. \ Lt . qr
Lr' rr tl\l t t ir it
t hr trtti :ur rrtr trrt lt irr' t

t*

p
'd{*#"

T hc s alrlc a i l . c r a 1 i a s i t l l | c s a | lo th cf
 58 . IlyusurNh .-28Bt.. u; r . t
A t lcx1-lct.iIllcn ta|sc lr t is c 1jc c t c c ll. r r lnr t hc c lll
canopy,shittle rinsth c glir z int r ' ihic lris paint c din s t r ipc sl 'o f b c t t c r v i s u l l i z a t i o n .N o t c t h c s t a b i l i z i n gb o o n r st i p p e c lw i t h
clrtlgucp ala ch ttlcscrtc t t t lit t - uull lir nr t hc lt c lc llc s t :t h i s n r a l , b e a n c l r 'l l , r c l s i o n o l 't h c l i r n t o u sZ v c z c l aK - 3 6 s e a t .
t |L'liut (itrhtrt tn hirL t
the f airccl-ovel' bontb bay intmcdintelyahcaclol' thc
wir.rgtorsior.rbox atrcl protfuclcclabovc the r.rpper
lirselage;hcncc a lalgc tcardrop lairing lvith l'lat-
tcn ecsl ideshad t o be i n s ta l l e da fi o l ' th e p i l o t' sc o c k-
p i t to pr ot c c t t he t e s t p i l o t s i tti n g i n th e s c a t l i o n .r
th e slips t r ear n. A ddi ti o n a l l y .th e l a i l g u n n e r' sc o m-
p a rtn r c ntwas r c pla c e db y a l a rg es l a b -s i c l eldi ri ri n g
extending n-rucl.rlirrther ali. fl'ont whicl'r ar.rotl.rcr'
e'jectionscatcollld bc flreclboth upwardsancldown-
wards.Cir.rc-camerits wcrelnoulttcclin teardroothir-
i n g s a bov c and belo w th e w i n g ti p s to c a p tu i e th e
ejectionseqLlcnce.
The Vostok ejection seat wils tcsted succcsslirlly
by future cosmonautGhcrrnan Titov. The Mikol,an
SM-50 light er ( ak a M i G-l 9 SU . a n c x p e ri me n ral
ve rsi onol' t he M iG -l 9 SF l -u rn tc r-Cw i th a r,' e n tr al
U - l 9 liquid- pr opc l l a n t ro c k c t b o o s te r) a c te d a s
chaseplane and car.nera ship.
I ;.i,id!!a&!i
III. In-flight ref'uelling system testbeds
a ) .fightcr I F R s1,s1s111 integrution
A V ol onczl " r-bl riIll t-28 (01 R ect.c/n 2402101)w as
convertcdi nto u n.rakeshi fl tanker trai ner used l or
testi ngthc l rose-and-dl oguc l l i ght refucl l i ngsystem
dcvcl opedby OK B -918 l ed by Gi ry Il yi ch S cveri n.'
Thc ailcrafi workeclwith the tl.rctenth nroduction
Gor' ki y-bui l t Mi G- l 9 Fi l nrt,r-,4eocl cd l 0 R ecl
(c/n -592101 l 0), convertedat LII i n l atc 1957.Thi s
lighter l.radno fewcr thar.rtbur ciur.nrnyrefuelling
probes (onc ahead ol- the windshield and three or.r
1.1N ou thc Zvczda (S taf) .l oi nt-S tock('ontpanv.The company
l atcr ci evel opcd the LtIA Z-l A S akhal i n podi l ecl H D LJ
( LJPAZ = ott t tif i t sccn l't rttrt t .t p otl t t.trtoy'tr.grt'guht : ttpruht l; i
stundal di zeclsuspcrrded. i .c. crtel nal l cl i rcl l i ng uni t) uscclon
the Il -7U /tl -7i l M ,I./i r1a,rtarrker.but i s besl knou'n fi rr i ts K -36
L'l ectl onseal .
 . 59
Tup h--28Farrarry

Though of poor quality, theseshots are extremely interesting.showing an Il-28 refuelling tanker trailing a hose from the
bomb bay, and another Beagle equipped with a nose-mounted refuelling probe taking on fuel from this aircraft. (t:,'li,'t
Gordon qrdtiY,)

the port wing) becausethe best location had to be
determined experimentally.
An experimentalwinch emulating a hose drum
unit (HDU) was installed in the Il-28's bomb bay,
paying out a 5 mm (0.19 in.) steel cable with a
d ro g ueof 640 m m ( 2 ft l .l 9 i n .) d i a m e te rto a p o i n t
42 m (137 ft) beyond the bomber's tail. Initially a
36keQ9lb) unstabilizeddroguewas used.After the
first four flights, however, it was replaced with a
drogue incorporating a stabilizingdevice 100 mm
(3 .9 3i n. ) wide m oun te d 6 0 mm (2 .3 6i n .) fro m th e
base. Both models had a lock for engaging the
probe.
The MiG- 19 would make contact with the tanker
at 7,000 m (22,965 ft) and 450470 km/h
(250 261 kt) IAS, approaching from a stand-by
position 10 20 m (32 65 ft) behind the drogue.
Contact was usuallymade in a climb, with or with-
out side slip. Approach speed varied from 0.3 to
12 m/sec(1-39 ftlsec) or l-30 km/h (0.54-16.2kt)
IAS. After making contact the MiG-19 stayed
locked into the drogue for 3 5 seconds,then slowed
down and broke away.For safety'ssake the drogue
lock was set at an unlocking force of 60 80 kg
(132-1761b).Usually the fighter carried drop tanks
to increasemissiontime.
Testpilot NikolaiO. Goryaynov (who hasthe dis-
tinction of beingthe first Sovietpilot to successfully
refuel a heavybomber in flight) was assignedproject
test pilot for the tanker trainer. On 28 August 1957
he made a flight to check the operation of the
winch. The drogue was deployed at 7,000 m
(22,965ft) and 400, 450, 500 and 550 km/h (216,
243, 270 and 297 kt) IAS. After that, test pilots
S. F. Mashkovskiy,Pyotr I. Kaz'min and SergeyN.
Anokhin made ten refuellingflights, as detailed in
the table below.
The tenth flight had to be cut short when the drogue
entered the fighter's air intake and collapsed,the
debris damaging one of the engines.The trials
showedthat the chancesof making contactwith the
tanker dependedmainly on the drogue'sstability,
which left much to be desired,as the droguetwisted
violently in the slipstream.

Table15. In-flightrefuellingtestresults
Date MiG-19pilot Successful
attempts
N o. I 18September Mashkovskiy 2 of 4 (noseprobe)
N o.2 20 September Mashkovskiy 2 of 7 (noseprobe)
N o.3 24 September Mashkovskiy 2 of 5 (noseprobe)
N o.4 27 September Mashkovskiy No contact
N o.5 3 October Mashkovskiy I of33
N o.6 l6 October Anokhin 2ol 41
N o.7 30 October Mashkovskiy I of 12
N o.8 I November Mashkovskiy 2of34
N o.9 7 December Kaz'min 9of30
N o. 10 27 December Kaz'min No contact
 60 . Iryusunr h.-28 Br:.t<;t,t.

Thc Il-28LSh tcstbcdwas clcvelopccl to invcstigatcthc p o s s i b i l i t yo l 'u s i n g s k i s o n t a c t i c a la i r c r a l t . T h i s v i c w s h o w st h e

cxperirrcn talskicl.a nc lt hc bullas tc or . r t uinctro whic h it is attachcd.in thc lirlly raiscclpositiorl.i ti,lint(iouto11 11sa.t11y,,1

&*

;!

T he ll-2 8L Sh (12 c/r-r 5300-5

ll2) with thc skid firlly lowcred. Note thc non-retractabletwin mainwheels
I li'lint Grrdon ttrcltitt t

b) bomber IFR system tests
In due course the Soviet military put forward more
stringent requirements, which the Il-28 could no
longer meet. One of the greatestdeficiencieswas the
Beagle'sinadequate range. However, at that stageit
was deemedinadvisableto retire the many l1-28sin
VVS service,so someone suggestedretrofitting the
bombers with the probe-and-drogue refuelling sys-
tem. To this end two more ll-28s were converted for
real-life IFR systemtests.One of them was a tanker
with a real HDU in the bomb bay, while the other
Beagle featured a fixed refuelling probe offset to
port above the navigator's station. The two aircraft
made successfulcontacts but the systemwas not fit-
ted to Soviet Air Force Il-28s becauseAleksandr S.
Yakovlev'sOKB-115 brought out the more promis-
ingYak-129 supersonictactical bomber which even-
tually enteredproduction and serviceas the Yak-28
Brewer.
IV. Landing gear testbeds
a) Il-28LSh
In 1958a Moscow-built Il-28coded12 Red(c/n
530051 l2) wasconverted
intotheI1-28LShtestbed
(LSh = lyzhnoyeshassee - ski landinggear)for test-
ing the efficiencyand durability of aircraft skis
designed for dirt strips.Theaircraftwasfittedwith a
semi-retractable sprungskid under the centrefuse-
lage.The skid was equippedwith pressuresensors
and mountedon a hollowbox whichcouldbe filled
The Il-28 LSh runs along a dirt strip. ( YclimGordon
un:hiye
)
TsEl--28 Faurv . 6l
with ballast to test it for various loads; the whole
assemblycould be raised and lowered by hydraulic
rams. The nose gear unit was fitted with larger
wheels and the the main units had widely spaced
twin wheels rather than the usual single ones.
This modified undercarriagecould not be retracted,
so the mainwheel well doors were deleted to
avoid making contact with the wheels.The skid was
tested on airstrips with various soil densities; the
aircraft made high-speedruns but did not become
airborne.
h) tracked landing gear testbed
To enhance the Beagle'sability to operate from tac-
tical airfields a special tracked landing gear was
designed,built and tested on anIl-28 pursuant to a
Council of Ministers directiveof 11 January 1951.
It allowed the bomber to operate from soft, wet,
soggy or snow-covered airfields which rendered
take-off with a conventional wheeled landing gear
very diflicult or utterly impossible. The tests were
consideredsuccessful,but owing to the extra weight
and complexity of the experimentallanding gear,it
was not retrofitted to production aircraft.
V. Enginetestbeds
a) Soviet testbed
OneIl-28R(identityunknown)wasmodifiedto test
a liquid-propellantrocket motor developedby
powerplantwas
L. S. Dooshkin.The experimental
#si
62 . Ir-yusHrr.r
lt-28 Brx;tt

T hisll-28 Rscrvcda s alc s t bc dlbr aliquid- pr opellan t r o c k c t m o t o l d e v c l o p e d b y L . s . D o o s h k i n . l t t , l i t r t G o r t t . r t u r c t t i r t')

i n s t alledin a s ho rt fa i ri n g s h a p c d l i k e a c ro pped
co ne s upplant in gth e g u n n c r' s s ta l i o n . T h c tests
to ok plac ein 195 3 7 .
h) Eust German e,tgine testheds
Few remember nowadaysthat E,astGermany had
an aircraft industry of its own. Besidesbuilding
th e I l- l4P air line r u n d e r l i c e n c ei n D re s d e n .the
Germans designedtheir own aircraft as well. In
the early 1950sBrunolf Baadestarted work on the
152 a J2-seatmedium-har.rlairliner powered by
four indigenous Pirna 014 turbojets rated at
3 . I 50 k gp t 6. 944l b s tt.
Designwork on the enginebeganin 1955,and the
prototype was bench-runa year later.As the flight
teststageapproached,VEB EntwicklungsbauPirna
(Pirna Development & Manufacturing) at Pirna-
Sonnensteinbought an 11-28R(c/n 1418)and con-
verted it into an enginetestbed.The reconnaissance
versionwas chosenbecauseof the strongerlanding
gear a useful feature, since the engine alone, not
including the test instrumentation,weighed 1,060
kg (2,336 lb). The aircraft was delivered stm:;radar
and armament and registeredDM-ZZI. Curiously,
it carried the West German flag on the fin for
some obscure reason the elaboratecoat of arms
placed in the centreof the otherwiseidentical East
German flag had beenomitted.
The experimentalengine was housed in a large
nacelle under the centre fuselage (called Trop/bn,
drop [of water],in local slang);the bomb bay doors
were laired over. To prevent FOD on take-off/
landing and windmilling during cruise, the air
intake was closed by a hydraulically actuated
shutter which the test engineercould open or close
by meansof a hand-drivenpump at up to 350 km/h
(194 kt). The lower lip of the intake was flattened,
resulting in a shapenot unlike that of the Boeing
731-30014001500; this was probably owing to the
shape of the shutter rather than to inlet
aerodynamics.The lower aft fuselage was covered
I 5 In Westernpublicationsthe aircrafi is often calledBB 152or VEB-
152;however.(former) East German sourcesinvariablyrelbr to the
aircraft simply as the 152.In lact. the prototypesshould havebeen
designatedEF 152 (for Ennrfu'klungsflug:eug der,elopmentair-
craft), in keepingwith the traditions of JunkersAG where Baade
had onceworked, but this designationwas not taken uo
 THe Ir--28Fevrrv . 63

Avia 8-228 6915(c/n 56915)was usedto test two jet engines.Here it is shown with a Walter M-701 turbojet installedin
placeof thetail turret; notetheventral airintake. (Yt'/imGontonurtttir.a)

The same aircraft in its latter days. The recontoured tail lairing once housed an Ivchenko AI-25TL turbofan but the
engineis removed here and the ventral intake andjetpipe laired over. In this guise 569,l5 was used for testing rescuepara-
chutes by dropping dummies. I YelitnGordon unhive
)
 64 . IlvusHrt.r1,-28 Br.x;t,r-,
by some kind of heat-resistantgunk to protect it
from thejet blast.
The bomb bay housed test instrumentation- a
priming tank, a data recorder,an instrument Danel
and an AK 8 or AK 16 remote-controlledcine-
camera(or a still camera)with appropriatelighting
to fihn the instrument readings.The navigatorwas
cxiled to the gunner'scabin from which he kept an eye
on the test enginevia forward-view mirrors under the
tailplanes,watchingout for a possiblefire,fuel leaks,
etc.The regularnavigator'scompartmenthousedthe
test engineer,the Pirna 014's controls and more
instruments.One of the fuel cellshad to be removed,
but the wingtip luel tanks made up for this.
The first flight-cleared engine (the pirna 014
v-9)rnwas fltted to DM-ZZI in lg5g. For ground
runs. the aircraft was wheeledonto specialeLvated
suppor t s t o m in i m i z e F O D ri s k . F i n a l l v . o n l l
Septemberthe aircraft made its first test flicht from
Dresden-Klotzsche airport (which was also-theseat
of VEB FlugzeugbauDresdenand a major air force
b a s e) .
The test programme included performancetest-
i n g at alt it udesup ro 1 2 ,5 0 0m (4 1 ,0 1 0ft) i n 5 00 m
%.
Acrof1ot personnelcarry sacksof mail lrom an Il-20 mailplane (c/n 54005777). rtlinrGortton
(1,640ft) incrementsand speedsup to Mach 0.7g.
Flight idling rpm and windmilling rpm at various
speedsand altitudesweredetermined,relight posst-
bi l i ti esat up ro 12,000m (39,370fr)and the i ncl i na-
tion to surge in different flight conditions were
checked,icing testsand ground noiselevelmeasure-
ments were made. For safety reasonsthe develop-
ment enginewas alwaysstartedat altitudesin excess
of 600m ( 1,968ft).
Flights weretypically made in a racetrackpattern
betw eenthe tow ns of P ul sni tzand S tol pen i n the
north-east (near the outer marker beacon of
Dresden-Klotzsche)and the towns of Floha and
Zschopauto the south-west(near Karl-Marx-Stadt
now Chemnitz). Performanceand handling dif-
feredlittle lrom that of a standardIl-28, exceptthat
w i th the tesl engi nerunni ng at l ul l pow er ti re ai r-
craft's rate of climb increased to 35 m/sec
(6,888ftlmin). In levelflighr at 10,000m (32,808fr)
the testbedreachedspeedsof nearly 900 km/h (486
kt), so the mai n engi neshad to be throttl edback so
as not to exceedthe l l -28' sdesi gnl i mi t of Mach 0.7.
D M-ZZI madea total of 109test fl i ehts:the l ast
flight took place on 22 February igOt *itt.r o
't;t!-
rr
urt.hire
I )

production-standard Pirna 014,{-l built at
Ludwigsfelde.However,the test programmewas
taking rather longer than anticipated,so another
Il-28R (cln 5901207) wasconvertedinto an identical
testbed,registeredDM-ZZK, to speedup the tests.
This aircraftmade 102flightsbetween26 February
1960and l2 June1961(thelastflightwaswith pirna
014V-28).Otherexamples of theengineinstalledon
the two aircraft includedPirna 014 V-20 (the first
Pirna0l4,{-1)andPirna0l4V-22.
Technicallythetestswentwell- in fact,theengine
performedrather better than expected.However,
therewereincidentsof a differentnature.On one
occasion(28 March 1960)DM-ZZK, crewedby
pilot GerhardPuhlmann,navigator/radiooperator
Helmut Krattz and test engineerKlaus-Hermann
Mewes,was interceptedby three SovietAir Force
(296thAPIB)r7MiG-l7Fs. An aircrafthad left the
internationalair route near Magdeburg;hencethe
airspacehad beenclosed,and DresdenATC had
neglected to call the 11-28
backpromptly.The MiGs
had scrambled from the nearby airbase at
Grossenhain, expectingto find a Westernspyplane
and the WestGermanflag on the tail certainlydid
not help!One of the fighterslined up in front, with
the otherson the flanks, and unambiguouslysig-
nalled the crew to follow them to Grossenhain.
Luckily the situationwasquicklyclarifiedwhenthe
justifiablyalarmedpilot calledDresdenATC, which
promptlycontactedthe Sovietairbaseand straight-
enedthingsout. Evenso,it wasa nastyexperience
for the crew!
That was not the end of it. After landing at
Dresdenthe cine-camera wasreloaded,freshchart
paperwasloadedinto the testequipmentrecorders
and theaircrafttook off againto completethe day's
test programmewhich had been so rudely inter-
rupted.As it did so, a lreak gust of wind caughtit
from behind,causingthe aircraft to bouncetwice
beforeleavingtheground-just missingthelocalizer
at the far endof the runway!Fearingthat the main-
wheel tyres were damagedand might explodeat
high altitude, the crew chose to terminate the
assignmentand land. It wasjust as well that they
did: the tyres were indeed ruined and needed
replacement. The day'sprogrammehad gonedown
thedrain.
Meanwhile,the 152V-l (DM-ZYA) was rolled
out in Dresdenon 30 April 1958.On 4 December
theaircraftmadeits first flight, poweredby Mikulin
RD-9B turbojetssinceno flight-clearedpirna 014
engineswereavailableyet. Threemonthslater,on 4
March 1959,the prototypecrashedowingto a fuel
systemdefect,killing the crew.The much-modified
secondprototype(152V-4,DM-ZYB), poweredby
Tur L-28 Feurry. 65
Pirna 0144-l engines,flew on 26 August 1960;the
defectwas soon discoveredduring defuellingtests
and could be easilyrectified.The third prototype
(DM-ZYC) was completedin due courseand the
first 28 productionaircraftwerein variousstagesof
completion.
Then the East Germangovernmentloweredthe
boom. It had long consideredthe local aircraft
industryunprofitable,and in lateNovember1960it
wasdecidedto eliminatetheindustryaltogether. Big
Brother would supply East Germanywith all the
aircraft sheneededanyway.And by mid-1961the
BB 152(andhencethe Pirna014)wasabandoned.
DM-ZZI andDM-ZZK werereconverted to Il-28R
standardand deliveredto the East German Air
Forceas 180Blackand 184Black respectivelv on I
Novemberl96l for useas targettugt.th. nauiga-
tor's stationwasreinstated,but the armamentand
radarwerestill missing.
(As a point of interest,the Germanswerevindi-
catedbeforelong.The SovietYakovlevYak-30/Yak-
32 advancedtrainers and Beriyev Be-30/Be-32
feederliner weresimilarlyvictimizedby the COME-
CON strategists in themid-1960s, eventhoughthey
wereat leastas good as the Aero L-29 Delfin and
Let L-410Turboletpressed into Sovietservice.)
c) CTechenginelparachutetestbed
A CzechAir ForceIl-28 (Avia B-228)serialled6915
(c/n 56915)wasconvertedinto an enginetestbedby
Walter (currentlynamed Motorlet) in June 1960.
Originally it servedto test the indigenous890 kgp
(1,960lb st) WalterM-701 turbojetdeveloped for
the Aero L-29 Delfin advancedtrainer. The cen-
trifugal-flow turbojet was rather too portly to fit
underthe Beagle's fuselage, so a ratherunorthodox
installationwaschosen- theenginewasmountedin
an ogivalfairinginsteadof the tail turret,breathing
through a ventral 'elephant's-ear' air intake. The
bomb baywasoccupiedby testinstrumentation.
Later the same machinewas used to test the
1,500kgp(3,306Ibst)AI-25TL rurbofanin a recon-
toured and more elongatedfairing. This Soviet
engine,designedby OKB-478 under Aleksey G.
Ivchenko, powered the Aero L-39 Albatros
advancedtrainer (the licence-builtversion was
sometimesreferredto as the Walter Titan). The
engineand associated equipmentweresubsequently
removedbut for someobscurereasonthe lons fair-
ing wasretained.thoughthe air intakeand iozzle
16 Y = Versuchsmuster- Iest article or development aircraft.
17 APIB = aviapolk istrebiteley-hombardiroviththikuv fighter-
bomber regiment (= fighter-bomber wing).
66 . lrvusurN It-28 Bt.t<;tt
were f-airedover. In this configuration the aircraft
was usedto test new modelsof parachutesby drop-
ping dummiesfilled with sand.
d) il-28H
The type did some developmentwork in Poland as
well. O ne I l- 28. se ri a l l e dl l 9 B l u c . w a s tra n s ferred
to the 1n.rl.1:lut Lotnit'tvu (lnstitute of Aviation) in
Warsawand convertedinto an enginetestbeddesig-
nated Il-28H (huntowniu test rig or, in this case,
testbed). It was r-rsedto test the indigenous
1 , 000k gp ( 2. 20 4 l .bs t) PZ l -R z e s z o w SO-l turbo-
jet'' developed fbr the PZL TS-l l Iskra (Spark)
advancedtrainer.
The engincwas installedon a specialmount and
was semi-recessed in the open bomb bay when on
the ground. It was loweredclear of the fuselageby
hydraulic rams before startup; for ground runs the
aircraft was parkedover a specialtrench.The exper-
i ment alengine' sc o n tro l sw e rei n s ta l l e di n th c n avr-
gator's comparrtmentwhere the test engineer sat.
The test programmc was successfullycompletedin
thc s pr ing of 19 6 4 .L a te r th e l l -2 8 H w a s u s e das a
.l' I
l
v,t
t
Anotherll-20.SSSR-L...538(thefirstdigitis illegible;
c/n54006104). Unlikecln 54005717, thisexample hasa civil-style
colourschemewith a redcheatlineand bluepinstripe,not just Aeroflottitlesand logo.1Y"1im
carrier/launcher for the indigenous Mak-30
remotelypiloted vehicle(RPV).
VI. Parachutetestbed
Two Polish Air Force ll-28s, 001 Red and 2 Red,
were used by the Polish Air Force's Technical
Institute (ITWL Inst),tut Te(hnit':n.v Wl.jsk
to testthe PB-28brake parachutewith a
Lotnic:1,1'fi)
7 m(23 ft)di ameter.
Il-20 (ll-28P) mailplane
The Bcuglehad a paw in the developmentof civiljet
aviation in the Soviet Union as well. In order to
familiarizepilots and ground personnelof Aeroflot
(the sole Sovietairline) with jets and help Aeroflot
to gain practical experienceoperating them, a few
demilitarizedIl-28 bomberswere transferredto the
airline. Tl.reseaircraft were designated Il-20"' or
ll-28P (pochtovvl'f,sumolyotl mailplane). The type
was chosencarefully.as the ll-28 was easyto fly and
serviceand posed no problems for Aeroflot crews
Gortlon
urtlutc
1

Aeroflot pilots read a fresh newspaperwhich hasjust beendeliveredby an ll-20. This was one ol'the perks of the.iob!
rScrwluntl Dntitrit Kortti.tvnt uxltiv )
fl yi n g I l- 12 and Lis u n o v L i -2 P (o r D o u g l a s C -4 7
Dakota) airliners.The Il-28'shigh speed,long-range
and modern (in its day) avionicsallowed the crews
to quickly masterjet aircraft flying techniques,and
easedthe subsequenttransition to the big jets con-
siderably. The aircraft's good field performance
enabledit to usemost civilian airports of the time.
The first group of Aeroflot flight crews started
conversiontraining for the 11-20in October 1953,
and the type began carrying freight and mail in late
1954.The Il-20 was much usedto delivermatricesof
the Pravda and lzvestiyd central newspapersfrom
Moscow to Irkutsk, where both papers had addi-
tional print shops.If the papers were deliveredall
the way from Moscow they would be one day old by
the time they reachedthe Far Eastern regionsof the
Soviet Union, and who wants yesterday's news?
Together with the so-called Tu-104G (groozovoy
cargo, used attributively), which was really a demili-
tarized Tu-lr6 Budger-l bomber, the Il-20 enabled
Aeroflot to develop a training programme which
speededup the introduction of the first Sovietjet
airliner the Tu-104 Camel.
TUEIl-28 Feurr-v. 67
Foreign production
a) Chinese production
A s i t di d w i th many S ovi ettypes,C hi na bui l t the
Il-28 v'itltout the benellt of a licence.This pirucy
beganafter the rift in Sino-Sovietrelationsover idc-
ological differencesin the mid-1960sput an end tc'r
new aircraft deliveriesfrom the USSR. SinceChina
had no indigenous tactical bomber, there was no
option but to copy a Sovietdesign.
ln 1964 the aircraft factory in Harbin started
manulacturingspareparts for the Soviet-builtIl-28s
operatedby the Chineseair arm. This logically led
to the production of completeaircraft;construction
of the first two airframes - the prototype and a
static test airframe also began in 1964,and the
first locally manufacturedIl-28 took to the air on 25
l 8 S O = si l ni koi r:uturv j et engi ne.
I 9 The designationwas reused,initially being usedlbr the exper-
i mental ground attack ai rcraft of 1948.It w as subsequentl y
re-reusedfbr yet another spi n-off of the Il -l 8D an E LIN T
aircrali (NATO Coor- Bl.
68 . IryusurN lt-28 Be,tc;tp.
_ _'
..:r . l :?-
' '-,1gq"-:
t :t
::: Gr.-^ll
.,-L'l
I ---},f
qip
. A
Largenumbersof H-5s werebuilt both for domesticuseand for export. Outwardly the Chineseversionwas almost iden-
tical to the genuineSoviet-builtll-28. (Chinu
Airuuli)
September 1966, flown by pilot Wang Wenying,
navigator Zhang Huichang and radio operator
Zeng Fannan. Full-scale production at Harbin
commenced the following year. Chinese-built
Beugleswere designatedH-5 (hong:haii bomber)
or B-5 (B = bomber) for export.
To be perfectlyhonest,the Chinesedid not adopt
a simple copycat approach, but altered the Beugle
considerably, changing up to 40 per cent of the
design.In particular,the H-5 had a different (con-
ventional) wing design without the 11-28'strade-
mark feature (the technological break along the
chord line); this saved some I l0 ke (242 lb) of
weight, although the manufacturing process
becamemore diffficult.
Outwardly the Chinesereverse-engineered C/zor'-
r:how'can be distinguished from the genuine Soviet-
bu1lt Beagle mainly by the shape of the rear
extremity of the fuselage.The original ll-K6 ball-
turret is replaced by the DK-7 turret mounting two
Afanas'yev/MakarovAM-23 cannon with 500 rpg.
This turret is borrowed from the Tupolev Tu-16
Badgermedium bomber; it is of basicallycylindrical
shape,not spherical.Also, the cockpit canopy has a
.
1, , , n:.---li:
'i,lJ., - -
Y*-1;
-._.*.--_..
dr
l,
*q.lltr
r
one-pieceblown transparency(without the length-
wise frame member),a taxiing light is built into the
forward door of the nosewheelwell (a feature not
found on most Soviet-built Bcugles)and the star-
board forward-firing cannon is deleted.
A tactical nuclear strike version similar to the
SovietI1-28Awas developedin September1967;the
first test drop of a nuclearbomb from such an air-
craft took place on 25 (some sources say 27)
D ecember1968.
The Il-28U was also manufacturedin Harbin as
the HJ-5 (hong:haji jiuolianji bomber trainer) or
BT-5 (bomber trainer),making its secondfirst flight
on l2 December1970.It was ofllcially phasedin by
the People'sLiberation Army Air Force (PLAAF)
in 1912.and a total of 187werebuilt.
The Chinesealso brought out torpedo bomber
and PHOTINT versions of the H-5; the Chinese
equivalent of the ll-28R was developedin 1970,
bearing the designationHZ-S (hongzlrujizhenchali
bomber/reconnaissanceaircraft) for the home mar-
ket or B-5R for export. The aircraft was equipped
with two cameras for day/night high-altitude pho-
tography.Unlike the Soviet reconnaissanceversion,
 . 69
THe Ir--28F,cN4rr-y

0qp
Wcaring lcathcr hclmcts,a Chincscpilot anclnavigator'/bonrb
ain.rcltakc thcir scatsin H-5 098(rRccl.This vicw clcarlv
s h t t w s t h c l to sc ca l l l to l t. l ( ltiiltt..lit( r .tlt)

*{'

&**$:

\
\_
HJ-5 ( t he Chines cv er s ionof t he t h c P L A A F M u s e u m a t D a t a n c s h a nA B .
70. Ir-vusHrN
lt-28 Buau
the HZ-5 had underwingdrop tanks insteadof tip
tanks;theseextendedthe rangeby 47 per cent,the
combatradius by 50 per cent and enduranceby 1
hour 23 minutes.Developmentof the PHOTINT
versionwas ratherprotracted,and the aircraftwas
not officially includedinto the PLAAF inventory
until 1977.
h) Czechproduction
Czechoslovakia, too, built the 11-28,
but in thiscase
everythingwas legitimate,as a licencehad been
obtained.In the 1950sthe CzechAir Forcehad a
habit of giving indigenousdesignations to foreign
military aircraft operatedor built in Czechoslo-
vakia.For example,the MiG-15 fighterand UTI-
MiG-I5 trainer were manulacturedby the Aero
enterpriseasthe S-I 02 (S = stihacilletounl- fighter)
and CS-102(CS = cvilnj;stlhacifletounl - fighter
trainer) respectively. Thus the Beuglewas built
locallyas the Avia 8-228 (for bombardovac'i lletounl
- bomber).while the licence-built versionof the
Avia B-228s (Czech-built Il-28s) taxi out for a training sortie. Note the stained forward fuselageof AD-31 (probably a
result of firing the nose cannon); the soot has been scrubbed away, but only just enough to make the serial readable.
( RART)
Il-28U trainer was designatedCB-228(for cvitnlt
bombardovaci petoun]- bombertrainer).
By the mid-1950s,the generaloperationalrequire-
mentsof tacticalbombershad becomemuchmore
stringent, renderingthe subsonicIl-28 obsolete.
Therefore,on 3 February1956the USSRCouncilof
Ministersissueda directiveto the effectthat pro-
ductionof the Il-28 be stopped.By then,asalready
mentioned, 6,316aircrafthad rolledoff the assem-
bly linesin the USSR;the Il-28 surpassed all other
Sovietjet bombersin termsof production.
The importanceof the 11-28 in the development
of the SovietAir Forcecan hardly be playeddown.
To the VVS and otherfriendlyair forcesit waswhat
the English Electric Canberra was to the West,
whichgaveriseto thenickname'SovietCanberra'-
albeit much later when the Il-28 was dead and
buried.The Canberra,however,wasclearlyluckier
.s .\
 Tun Il-28 F.r.lrrrr. 7l

Thc Il-z16was a scalccl-L

f"

This viov of thc solc Il-4(rprototypc clcarlv shou,sits Il-28 linca-scThc cnvisagcds\\'ept-winglcrsion \\'itsncvcr built
I li lirtt Gonh'rt unltitc t
72.Ir-yusurNL-28 Bnrcrc
than its Sovietcounterpart,soldieringon well into
the 1980s(mostlyin the reconnaissance and target
tug roles),and the last survivorsremainoperational
at the time of writing.
The Il-28 hada follow-onin the shapeof the Il-46
mediumbomberdevelopedpursuantto a Council
of Ministersdirectiveof 24 March 1951.It looked
like a scaled-up11-28poweredby two Lyulka AL-5
axial-flow turbojets (also called TR-3A) rated at
5,000kgp (11,022lb st). The defensive armament
arrangementwasthe samebut the I1-K8tail turret
wasneq featuringa muchbiggerfield of fire and a
bigger ammunition supply (320 rpg). The main
landing gear designwas also similar,exceptthat
thereweretwo independentshockstrutseachside,
the outboard units retracting forward and the
inboard units aft; this unusualarrangementwas
usedto keepthenacellecross-section toi minimum.
The aircrafthad an overalllengthof 25.325m (83ft
1 in.),a wingspanof 29.0m (95 ft 1.73in.),a wing
areaof 105m: (1,129sq. ft), an emptyoperating
weightof 26,300kg (57,980lb) and a normalTOW
of 41,840kg (92,2401b). The normal bomb load
was 3,000kg (6,613lb) and the maximumbomb
load 6,000kg(13,227lb). If the Il-28wasa Beagle,
then the Il-46 was surely a Borzoi - a Russian
wolfhound.(Or, more likely from a Westernview-
point,a Big BadWolf.)
The ADP design stage was completed on 4
December195I and the prototypewasrolledout on
29 December(!). On 3 March 1952the 11-46 made
its first flight with Vladimir K. Kokkinaki at the
controls.Manufacturer'sflight testsshoweda top
speedof 928 km/h (501k0 at 5,000m (16,404ft)
and a rangeof 4,845km (3,009miles).The State
acceptancetrials were completedon 15 October,
showingthat the bomberfully met the Air Force's
operational requirement.The second prototype
designatedIl-465, representingthe envisagedpro-
ductionversion,wasto havewingssweptback 35o.
However,the swept-wingIl-46 was never com-
pleted, losing out to the more promisingand
modernTu-16.

fFlh. adventof the Il-28 signifiedthe beginning
I of the jet agefor the Soviettacticalbomber
I force.As alreadvmentioned.a bomberunit
of the MoscowDefenceDistrict commandedby Lt-
Col A. A. Anpilov wasthe first to take deliveryof
the new bomber in 1950.The availabilityof the
I1-28Uprototypefacilitatedconversiontraining no
end;27servicepilots transitionedfrom the Tu-2 to
the Il-28 in just ten days,during which I 12 training
flights were made.In contrast,conversionof the
samepilots to the Tu-2 had taken more than two
monthsand a gooddealmoreflying,
The VVS bomber units re-equippedwith the
Beagleby the mid-1950s.Of course,the units and
formationsstationedin thewesterndefencedistricts
of the USSR which were closestto the potential
adversaryenjoyedpriority in this respect.These
included the bomber divisions based at
Chernyakhovsk (Lithuania, Baltic Defence
District), Starokonstantinov and Stryy (the
Ukrainian part of the Carpathian DD),,
Limanskoye(OdessaDD), etc. Each bomberdivi-
sion (= bombergroup,in US terms)includedtwo
or threebomberregiments(= bomberwings)con-
sistingof threesquadrons;eachsquadronhad ten
Beagles(threeflightsof threeplus a reserveaircraft
in caseone went unserviceable) and one or two
Il-28U trainers.For instance,the 63rd BAD of the
57th VA included the 7th FBAP at
Starokonstantinov and the 408th FBAP at Stryv;':
Sporting an unusually large Soviet Air Force star on the tail, an Il-28 taxies out past a sister ship. 1rr1i,"Gonton
.3
Tnp Batcrn rNSpnvrcp
other units operatingthe Il-28 includedthe 230th
FBAP at CherlyanyAB.
The Il-28 introduced radar and gave nuclear
capabilityto the tacticalbomber force- a feature
which was particularly welcomeduring the Cold
War years.Onceit had becomefully operational
i.e. the crewslearnedto fly in poor weathercondi-
tions and at extremealtitudes(breakingthrough
cloud cover during climb and descent),use radar
and synchronisedoptical sightsfor bomb-aiming
and usethe defensive armamenteffectively- Soviet
tactical air power receiveda major boost. Service
introductionwasspeeded up by holdingworkshops
in which the Air ForceC-in-C and other top brass,
as well as ordinary servicepilots, Ilyushin OKB
engineersand representatives from the factories
buildingthe bombertook part.
The Il-28 contributeda lot to the developmentof
Sovietfree-fallnuclearweapons.As alreadymen-
tioned, the Beaglewas used to test the RDS-4
nuclear bomb, which then becamethe standard
weapon of the Il-28N and Yak-28 Brewer. On
I Besidesthe western part of the Ukraine. the Carpathian DD
included Moldavia.
2 BAD = bombardeerovoc,hnayuaviudivee:iyu - bomber divi-
sion; VA = voztlooshnayu armiyu - air army (= air force);
FBAP = /rontovoy bombardeerovot'ltnyy aviupolk tactical
bomber regiment. Some sources claim the 408th FBAP was
basedat Cherlvanv AB.
urthive
)
 7.1. lr-vustrrx
lt-28Br...u;r.r,

A cu rioL rsp ictr-lrc

sh olv ing

3 A ugus t l9- 53a s p c c i u l l ymo d i l l e c iIl -2 8 d ro p pcd A cascis on rccorclwhcr.rthc Bcuglaactuallyopcr-

th c llls t S ov ic thyc l ro -s cbno l l b a t th c Sc n ti p a l a ti nsk
p r ov inggr ound.O n l 2 Au g L rsitn th c s tu l c y c a r t w o
I |-28sopcrati n g l'r'rtnrZl.rana-ScntcyA Ii ntttni torccl
Ihc tcst ol' thc l-ilstSoviet ncutrrtnbonlb nerlbrntccl
L r nc lct rhc guic lan c rl
c l ' l g o l ' ' V. KL rl c h u trrvth. e Sovi ct
t S a tn u c (-o
coLlllt c r parol' l hcn.
atcd i n a nucl cul cnvi ronntent.On l 4 S epternber
l 95zl thrcc rcgi ntcntsol ' l l -28s (the enti rc l 40th
B A D ) took ol l ' and headccll br the Totskoyetrai n-
i ng rangei n gror" rpsol - ni nc ai rcral t to take part i n a
tacti cal nucl ear cxerci se.E ach bornbcr squadron
w as cscorted by tw o fl i ghts of Mi G-17s. The

\rr-*

Flaps f ully extertdcd.Il-28 2l Rcd is caught by the camerasccondsbelbretouchdown. I )i,/irrr

G,nt,ttttrctti
:
 Tp,l B t..t,,tt l r S t ttr trt .75

\*ra***

d;".. ,.

A lir| mutio n

'x'',
....,.,,',,,..,,'i-'

SovictAil ForceIl-28solicn opcrateclin closc lbrnutions. as illuslr'atecl

bv this shol l l tc r:uttttcl ol l r :i .tcl shi f.
Scrqtr tttrl I)tttilrir Kottti.stttrot tttr ltitt i
 76 . lrylrsnrx lt-28 Br..,rc;t,t

A lt hough tll.1-ltltlrc1tr alit y . t lr is pic t Lr r c is t lev er t hc lc s s i n 1 c r c s t i n g . s | t t l r v i r l g a I r l | - ] t j c l r o 1 1 l i l l . u

otl| ygttcsswha 1a ircri r lt s c r v c c llt s t lr ec at r lc r lr s hipbLr t i 1 w l r s c l c | l n i 1 c | y n t l 1 l t I l t l t h c l . R t 't t . q l t '.

cxcrcise wAS coullandcd by Marshal Ghe.olgiy i ntcrnati onaltensi on i gni ted by the K orean W ar.
Ko n st ant ir . r ov icZhhu k o v o l - G rc a t Pa tri o ti c Wa r Thc outbrcakof' the w ar pl l t an end to post-S econd
tirme. Worlcl War arnts reductions.Thc Soviet anti-shin-
The pilots wcrc issuedwith specialgogglesto pro- ping lblce startcdgrowing rapidly owing to both the
tect thcir eyestror.r.r the f'lashol' the nuclear explo- l bmati on of new uni tsand the transferof' compl ete
si o n .W hc n t he bom b w e n t o f-I,c re a ti n gtl rc te l l -ta l c bor.nberrcgiurentsf}om the Air Force to the Navy;
mllshfoom clor-rd.the incoming arntaclastartcclto sc'ronthe AVMF had up to twenty torpedo-bomber
take evasivcaction. but sr-rddenly a ll'eak wind blew r.rn it s.
th e cl o ud s t r aightinto i ts p a th . T h c j e ts w e rc l ' l y i n g Later. as already mentioned, the naval bombers
in closefbrmation and thcre was not ntuch loont fbr werc couvertedto carry one RAT-52 torpedo; this
ma n o euv r esbec auseo f th e d a n g c r o f c o l l i s i o n : versi onw as phasedi n by the A V MF i n earl y 1953.
most aircrafi managedto stccrclear,but sontewent Also" thc Bauslasof' the Red Banner Baltic Fleet's
sma ckint o t he c loud . l t i s n o t k n o w n w l .ra th
t econ- 769th OMTAP were convertedto II-28PL 'quick-
sequences werefor thc pilots ol thcir jets. fl x' A S W ai rcrafi .Tw o rnoreB al ti c Fl eetIl -28 uni ts
The AVMF started receivingthc Bcrrglcin the welc to undertake a sintilar conversion"but these
su rrm er of 1951.init i a l l y i n b a s i cb o m b e r c o n l i g r.r- plans were rendcredvoid by the advent of the more
ration. Thc Black Sea Fleet's943rd MTAP and the capableTLr-16.
Red Bar.rncrBaltic Flcet's l53lst MTAP wcre the Interesti ngl y.the Il -28 w as the dow nfal l of the
first naval units to receivcthe type; the North Fleet Sovict leader's son, Vasiliy l. Stalin, who com-
d i d n o t lbllow s uit r -rn ti l1 9 5 3 .th e 5 7 4 rh M T AP rnanded the air fbrce of the Moscow Def'ence
being thc flrst Il-28 operatorthcre.The introduction D i stri ct. D uri ng the May D ay parade of 1952,
of con-rbat jets coincidedwith a scvereescalationof numerolrsfighters and bombers were to pass over
 . 77
Trtr.B*tctt rN-SERVTcE

Soviet Naval Aviation airmcn wearing leatherjackets and 1950s-stylewhite-topped Navy caps pose besidean Il-28.
( Yclinr Gordtn urthit't')
78 . IlyusurN lt-28 Br,tctt
Red Square in Moscow to emphasizethe might of
the Soviet air arm. However, the weather forecast
said the weather would be beastly,with low clouds
and rain all over the place. Hence the WS C-in-C
cancelled the flypast; still, V. Stalin called him on
the phone, requestingpermission to go ahead if the
weather improved. The C-in-C gave the go-ahead,
warning that Stalin would bear the full responsibil-
ity if anything went wrong. In the end V. Stalin got
tired of waiting and ordered the bombers to take off
and head for Moscow as planned, even though the
visibility was close to nil - an unprecedenteddeci-
sion in peacetime.
The result was deplorable. Some bomber units
missed Red Square altogetheq others passedacross
it at right anglesto the planned heading, still others
were ordered to return to base before reaching
Moscow. Even so, the spectators at Red Square
could not seethe aircraft becauseof the low clouds,
hearing only the jet thunder overhead.But the worst
was yet to come: two ll-28s collided near Migalovo
AB, Kalinin (now Tver'), and crashed,killing the
crews. For this outstanding performance Vasiliy
Stalin was promptly removed from offrce.
On 9 March 1953a group of Il-28s overflew the
Red Squarein Moscow during Josef Stalin'sfuneral
in a farewell salute to the deceasedleader. The
weather that day was bad, with extremeicing condi-
tions, and the Beagle was the only aircraft which
could accomplishthis mission,being,as it were,the
only Soviet aircraft at the time to feature a de-icing
system.
Soon after the 11-28had become operational with
first-line bomber units, the Soviet Air Force'sflying
schools also started taking delivery of the type.
These included the Tambov Higher Military Pilot
School named after the famous record-setting
female pilot Marina Raskova (TWAUL
Tambovskoye vyssheye voyennoye aviatseeonnoye
oochilischchelyotchikov), the Slavgorod branch of
the Omsk Military Pilot School and the Nikolayev
Minelayer and Torpedo-Bomber Flying School.
The Il-28 was very popular with its crews and
technical staff, and with good reason. The aircraft
was easy to fly and operate, adequately armed and
had a good safety and reliability record, once the
learning curve had been overcome. Pilots accus-
tomed to the spartan conditions of the Tu-2 with its
cold and noisy cockpits were amazed by the com-
fortable and well-equipped cockpits of the Beagle.
They were also quick to appreciatethe Il-28's speed,
rate of climb and good manoeuvrability. The tech-
nical staff, too, liked the Il-28 for its easeof accessto
the enginesand all equipment items requiring main-
tenancein day-to-dayservice.
Of course,like any new type, the ll-28 had its
shareof teethingtroubles.Typicaldefectsincluded
asymmetricflap deployment(causedby air locksin
the hydraulic lines feedingthe flap drive jacks),
radar and autopilot failures.Theseweredealt with
astheycame.The radarwasa royalpain in theneck
at first, sinceit usedvacuumtubeswhich are sensi-
tive to vibration and G loads (to say nothing of
Sovietelectronics,which were notoriouslyunreli-
able).Luckily the engineerswho had createdthe
PSBN-M had foreseenthis and designedthe radar
as a modular systemwith line-replaceable units
(LRUs),which eliminatedthe needto keepthe air-
craft grounded for radar repairs and ultimately
wasone of the factorsof the Beagle'shigh combat
readiness.
Airmen love to tell tall tales,and one of them
(concerningthe Il-28) is this. After the Ilyushin
OKB had made some updates,a bomber unit
equippedwith Beaglesreceivedordersthat all the
aircraft be urgentlyupgradedto the new standard.
The work had to be donein a hangar,and the local
hangarwas too small to accommodate all the air-
craft presentat the base.On the otherhand,failure
to comply with the orderswould resultin discipli-
naryaction.
Everybodyrackedtheir brainsin searchof a solu-
tion until, with a sly twinkle in his eye,one crew
chief saidhe knew the answer.He would not tell it
until he was assuredof a rewardin the form of a
bottleof vodka.His methodwassimple:the techni-
ciansdeflatedthe port mainwheelof eachbomber,
causingthe bomber to bank a few degrees- just
enoughto allow the port wing of one aircrafttoJit
under the starboard wing oJ another aircraftl
This allowedall the bombersto fit into the hangar
and the updatesto be madeon schedule.Blessthe
technician,the Man of Infinite Resourceand
Sagacity!
The Beagle'ssturdinessand reliability soon
becamelegendary.On one occasionan Il-28 from
Chernyakhovskditchedin the Baltic Seaafter an
unspecifiedmalfunction; the aircraft remained
afloat for more than two hoursbeforebeingtowed
to the shoreand waseventuallyreturnedto service.
On another occasiona 408th FBAP Il-28U hit a
storm cloud at 6,000m (19,685ft) and emerged
from it at 1,800m (5,905ft) with severalholes
burnedby lightningstrikesandthepaint on all lead-
ing edgessandpaperedaway by hail. The VK-l
engineearnedparticularly high praise.Low-level
missionswerethe order of the day,and quite often
Il-28singestedbirdsor clippedtreetopsduringsuch
missions,eatingbranches;but, the enginesusually
keptrunningasif nothinghad happened!
 :.\S .-9
T:1aB::

In defenceof peaceandsocialism,or Cold i]id not exceed 40 m (131 ft) .and

not
the distance
exceed80 m
U.i*.." flights in a regiment did
War warriors with the
experience
for the A;;"i;:. nitn" vvs 6uilt up
New efficient combat tactics were developed take-offs
Il-28, pilots starteclmaking .foimation
whenthecold
ii-zs wasintroduced aircraft'
;;,;;;;i. to turn hot iio-'aitt tttips in groupsoithree to-lilt
War was at lts peaKand was expected F-* lit". toii-" ttt" unitt flying the Il-28 deployed
crews practised night-flving
;;; ;;;"t. htogt'
i;-*-;i; tur., for training purposes;e'g' the
flving in ilight'' squadronsand "artiirt" as the
;i;i;;-i;;matio"n
in a flight it tn" o:to BAD would fly as far
r"*"t.t"t rne distaniebetweenaircraft

4&*i 'i.1,
x{r.aS'

..i r:i,, . : : ' - ! : , ; i' r "

.,.:;rr. ,..,*,
:'l;r':::..r
G"rl'rtutttitt i
the combat versiont Yt'tint
Air Force'sflying schoolsalong with
The Il_2gUwas deliveredto the Soviet

,i,:

A nAirFo rce instruct or s hows t hell- 28U' s r ear c oc k pi t , l a y o u t t o a c a d e t . ( Y t | i n t G o n l o n a r ( h i | t )

 80 . lryusurN L-28 Bt.,rott
Flight training sornetimesled to spills.This Mu:tt'ot,79Red, made a belly-landingin a field, fortunatelysufferingalmost
rro damage. I Y,litrr Grtrthttrurthiya )
Central Asian DD" deploying to Karshi in south-
eastern Uzbekistan and Maryy (pronounced like
the Frenchname Marie) in Turkmenistan.
During such raids the crews would practise
bombing attacksat unfamiliar targetranges.Bombs
were dropped from altitudes ranging from 100 to
10,000m (328 32,808ft), both by singleaircrafrand
in fbrmations of varying sizeas commandedby the
leader.Specialtargets with a high radar signature
were built at such ranges.Occasionally,however,
bomber crews would lose their way en route, as a
result,grain processingunits and vehicledepots of
nearby collective farms could get bombed, slnce
Combat training in the Soviet Air Force's Il-28 units included operations from unpaved airstrips. l strgcl.undDnitil.
Kont i.ssurot,urt lt iyc)
,!{k';
{-g
their imageon the PSBN-M's radar displaywas very
similar to the practicetargets.Fortunatelythe dam-
age was usuallyminimal becausepracticebomblets
filled mainly with soot werenormally used.But one
night a disasterwas avertedat the last moment. An
Il -28 carryi ng a l i ve 1,000kg (2,204Ib) FA B -1000
high-explosivebomb took off from an airbasenear
Stanislav(now Ivano-Frankovsk),headingfor a tar-
get range at Kamenka-Boogskaya,but strayedoff
courseand overflewthe city of L'vov instead.It was
sheerluck that the bomb aimer happenedto look
away from the radar display a few secondsbefore
the drop and sawthe city lights below.
 wasoperatedlil:tiJ.T,ti. Fleet's567thMTAP (MinelayerandTorpedo-
ThisSovietNavyI1-28Ttorpedo-bomber

SSSR-L2035,
an Aeroflot Il-20 mailplane.

Albanian Air ForceHarbin H-5 3608.

Aboveand opposite:A three-viewillustration of Il-28 08 Blue operatedby the 57th VA (Air Army)z63rd BAD (Bomber
Division)/409th FBAP (TacticalBomber Regiment),CherlyanyAB, CarpathianDefenceDistrict.
 l47l Red,a Soviet-builtChinesePeople'sLiberationArmv Air ForceIl-28.

A CzechAir Force AvtaB-228in pre-1957markings.This particular aircraft was usedby the skydiversJaroslav
Jehlidka,ZdenEkKaplan and GustavKoubekto seta world recordon 20 March 1957.

Czech Air Force Il-29 1904 with a post-l957 serial and a red identification band applied for a war game.
EastGerman Air Force(ZDS 2l) Il-28R 184Black (clh 5901207).Earlier in its careerthis aircraft had beenregis-
teredDM-ZZK and usedas a testbedfor the Pirna 0l4A turboiet.

Egyptian Air Forcell-28 1733in post-1967camouflage.

FinnishAir ForceIl-28R (Il-288M) targettug NH-3 (c/n l7l3). The zeroon the nosewaslaterremoved
 \i,/' i
v/' /
'r /?/
'ii

HunearianAir ForceII-28RTR l9 Red.

IndonesianNavy Il-28T M844 in early-stylemarkings.

Federal Niserian Air Force Il-28 NAF-158.

 North KoreanAir Force11-28314Red.

SomeNorth KoreanBeagles,like
45 Blue,had a greenand bluecolour scheme.The tail showswhat lookslike the
beginningsof hastilyappliedcamouflage.

PolishAir ForceIl-28 20 Red.

55 Red was one of severalIl-28Us deliveredto the PolishAir Force.

Vietnamese
People'sAir Forcell-28 2210Red.

Penetratingenemy air defenceswas an important
aspect of the Il-28 crews' combat training pro-
gramme. Mock combat with Mikoyan/Gurevich
MiG-15 F(tgotsand MiG-17 Frescosimpersonating
enemy fighters showed that a fighter armed solely
with cannon had no chanceagainstIhe Beugle.In a
head-on attack the bomber'shigh speedcausedthe
fighter to close on the target at an enormous rate,
leavingthe fighter pilot little time to take aim (quite
apart from the fact that the 11-28had a pair of for-
ward-firing cannon with which to discourage such
attacks). In the rear hemispherethe bomber's effec-
tive tail turret and high manoeuvrabilityenabledthe
crew to successfullyrepel the fighters.
The advent of the supersonicMiG-19 Farmer-
AIC did not make things easierfor the adversanes
in fact, it made things harder becausethe closing
speed was now greater, and in a stern attack the
bomber pilots would reduce speed, causing the
fighter to overshoot.It was not until the all-weather
MiG-l9PM Farmer-D armed with RS-2-US
(K-5MS; NATO code name AA-l Alkali) air-to-air
missiles came on the scene that the tables were
turned. In the West,fighter developmentwent along
Maintenance work on an Il-28R at a wintry airfield; the aircraft is jacked up for landing gear operation tesIs.I y(,limGofttoil
T'lE Brtr;tt rN Senvrce. 8l
much the same lines; thus, even when NATO had
sufficientnumbersof North American F-100 Super
Sabres,Republic F-I05 Thunderchiefsand SAAB
J-35 Drakens basedin Europe,the Il-28 stood a fair
chance of getting away from them, especiallywhen
fl yi ng at ul tra-l owl evel .
For the Westernworld (the 'freeworld', in the ter-
minology of the Cold War era) the hundreds of
nuclear-capable bomberswere one of the personifi-
cations of the tell-tale Soviet Threat and with
good reason.The crewsof theseaircraft were care-
fully chosenand receivedespeciallyrigorous train-
ing. Each crew was allocated a main target and
several alternative targets in Western E,urope:
nuclearweaponsdepots,airbases,etc. For instance,
the already mentioned 63rd BAD of the 57th VA
(Carpathian DD) was to attack targets in West
Germany.
In the event of war the tactical scenariofor the
Baagle units was approximately as follows. Each
Il-28 carrying a nuclear bomb would be accompa-
nied by at leasta squadronof sisteraircraft tasked
with the electroniccollntermeasures (ECM) and air
defence distraction role. After takinc off from
a{r
l)
*:li
r dt
w,
 82 . IlyussrN It-28 Brtt;tr.
'".f
\r r
;tr
This i s h o w t h e B a u g l e ' sta il ca r r n o n we r e cle a n e d . I yt,lirtt
Gurtt.nurchi rt,)
Sovietterritory the bomber formation would climb
to 10,000m (32,808ft) in order to savefuel. Then,
setting up an ECM barrier, the bombers would
descendto low altitude over Poland to avoid detec-
tion by the powerful surveillanceradar in West
Berlin NATO's first line of defence:some of the
aircraft would leavethe formation, making decep-
tive manoeuvresto confusethe AD radar onerators.
The same tactic would be used to get past the
numerous HAWK, Nike Herculesand Nike Ajax
anti-aircraft missilesystems.Eventually the bomb-
toting Beagle would be left all alone, pressing on
towards the target at treetop level. Then it would
climb sharply to 1,000 m (3,280 ft), allowing the
navigatorto make surethey were in the right place,
whereuponthe bomb would be droppedand the air-
craft would head back, descendingto ultra-low level
again as it did. The idea was that the ll-28's high
speedwould enableit to outrun the shock waveand
the crew would be protected from the flash by spe-
ci a l b linds .
Even if the bomber managed to get that far and
deliver the bomb, it had virtually no chance of
returning to base because, with all the evasive
manoeuvres,it was sure to run out of fuel on the
way home. To remedy this, auxiliary airfields were
initially built in Poland and East Germany, where
the bombers were to make refuelling stops. Later,
lr4
I
,a,
''\
bomber uni ts operati ng the Il -28 (i ncl udi ng the
nuclear-capable version)were stationedin some of
the WarsawPact nations.which placedthem within
rangeol the southcoastof E ngl i nd.
The Soviet Union's Central Grouo of Forces
(TsGV * Tsentrahl'nu))u j stationed in
gt ooppLtur,1',rk
Czechoslovakiahad a number of Il-28BM target
tugs based at Zvolen AB. In East Germany the
GSVG (Grooppu ,;ovetskikh voysk v Ghermuhnii
Group of Soviet Forcesin Germany)roperatedthe
Il-28 in the basicbombeq reconnaissance and target
tug versions.East German basesusedby SovietAir
Force Beugles were Allstedt (11-28Rs,1968 70),
Berlin-Schonefeld(a target-towingflight equipped
with Il-2SBMs and Il-28Us), Brand (668th FBAP,
35 aircraft sincethe 1950s;re-equippedwith Yak-28
Brev'er tactical bombers in 1965), Brandis (only
occasionally), Finow (207th FBAP, l1-28s srnce
1956; re-equipped with Yak-28s in 1965),
Damgarten (until 1979), Finsterwalde (briefly,
early 1950s),Jiiterbog-AltesLager (11-28Rs,early
1950s), Lrirz (1950s), Neu-Welzow (20 bombers
first seen in 1953), Oranienburg (Il-28s and
Il-2SUs, probably 200th FBAD/22lst FBAP,
3 Renamed ZGY (Zahpudnctyugrooppu vovsk Western Group
of F-orces)
i n 1989.

.olt
*
3
-*
Jb '*
r mD=-
y
r#u**
.K
-*';X
"*r*
,:it:r;;
Maintenancedayat a bomberunit, with a line-upof ll-28sunbuttonedlor servicing.
3402209.
Note theopenavionicsbaycoveron 08 Blue;the 8 is appliedin a heaviertypethan thezero,suggesting the air-
craft has been re-coded . ( yelim Gonlonarthive)
April-December 1951 and August 1954-August
1956).and Werneuchen.
The target-towingflight at Berlin-Schonefeld air-
port moved to Brand AB in 1954.lt was later
upgradedto independenttarget-towingsquadron
status (OBMAE - otdel'naya booksirovochno-
mishennaya aviaeskadril'ya, number unknown),
movingto Oranienburgin the autumnof l97l and
thenceto Damgartenin 1977.Oranienburgalso
servedas the maintenancebase for the GSVG's
Il-28s.
An Il-28 basedat Oranienburg(22lst FBAP?)
crashednear the village of Teschendorf13 km
(8 miles) north of the base in February 1956;
anotheronewaslost in Augustsameyear,just 2 km
(1.24 miles) from the site of the previouscrash.
Shortlyafterwards, on 26 August1956,theregiment
was withdrawn from Oranienburg. Military
observers from the Allied nationsand the localpop-
ulation wereinvitedto seethe bombers'denarture
on 26August1956asa goodwillgesture. andi small
air festwasheld.
While we are on the subjectof Cold War war-
riors, the Beagleactuallyplayedan important part
in Operation Mangoosta(Mongoose)- an event
which nearly started the Third World War.
Forty-twonuclear-capable Il-28Nsweredeployedto
Tna Bntcrc rN Spnvrcs . 83
'i.d*eiii&{A&'A{''-'
The nearestaircraft,l2 Blue,is c/n
Cuba by sea in September1962togetherwith a
number of ballistic missiles.This was one of the
reasonsfor the famous Cuban Missile Crisis of
September-November 1962 when the USA
enforceda nayal blockadeof Cuba, causingthe
SovietUnion in turn to dispatcha navaltask force
to the Caribbean.
However,facedwith the increasingprobabilityof
an all-out armed conflict with the USA which
would be a war of destruction,the Sovietleaders
had the commonsenseto backdown and withdraw
the missilesfrom Cubain an effortto easethe situa-
tion. Addressingthe nation on 20 November,US
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy said that the Soviet
leaderNikita S. Khruschevhad pledgedto with-
draw the nuclear-capableIl-28swithin 30 daysand
agreedto let the Americansmonitor this process;
consequently, JFK had instructedthe Secretaryof
Defenseto removethe navalblockade.
The bombersleft in early Decemberaboardthe
freightersSISKasimov(15aircraft),SISKrasnograd
(15) and SIS Okhotsk(12). In order to make it
patentlyclearto the US governmentthat the Soviet
Union was honouring its commitmentsand the
Beagleswere being withdrawn, the crated aircraft
were placed on the ships' upper decks,suffering
heavycorrosiondamagebecausenext to nothing
84 . lrvusurNlt-28 Bc,tcr,r:

had beendone to protect them from the salty ocean
environment.As a result, many of the 42 aircraft
had to be written off.
After this. the Cuban leader Fidel Castro Ruz
called the Il-28 an obsolete aircraft with limited
speed and inadequate range when speaking at a
public rally. Obsolete they may have been, but
Castro was clearlyannoyedat letting go the rnissiles
and bombers and having nothing to threaten 1o.s
gringoswith!
As alreadymentioned,the Beuglamade its mark
in naval aviation in the early 1950s;however,it was
there that its obsolescence was most noticeable.By
the mid-1950sthe Il-28T did not meet the Soviet
Navy's requirements any longer. Besides, the
w eaponscutsi ni ti atedby K hruschevi n 1960and hi s
generalbias towards missilesdealt a severeblow to
bomber aviation in generaland naval bomber avia-
tion in particular. All AVMF minelaying and tor-
pedo-bornberunits were disbanded,as were many
tactical bomber units in the VVS, and many ll-28s
were scrapped,even though some aircraft had only

Soviet Air Force ll-28s were stationed outside the USSR as well. Here, severalred-coded Beugleswrapped in tarpaulins
are pictured at an East German airbaseon a foggy morning. I f'tfittrGttrdon
urtltivt')

60-100 hours'total time. This barbaricprocesstook
place at an amazing rate, the work proceeding in
three shifts. In the Pacific Fleet alone, about 400 air-
craft were demolished within a verv short neriod.
Many airmen suddenly found themselves iurplus
and unwanted; they were dismissedfrom the Armed
Forceswithout any social security.
Fortunately the VVS command was not enthusi-
astic about this mayhem, and many Il-28s were sim-
ply placed in storage. Numerous Beagles were
transferred to flying schools where they served
alongside the Il-28U Mascot dedicated trainers
until the mid-1980s.Others soldieredon as tarset
tugs, also until the mid-1980s.Nearly all of ihe
Soviet Union's defence districts had independent
target-towing flights or squadronsoperating four to
ten, and sometimesmore. Il-28BMs. These were
based aI Novorossiya AB (Far East DD),
Berdyansk (Red Banner Odessa DD).
Starokonstantinov (Carpathian DD), Tokmak
(Central Asian DD, lOth OBAZ).. Zvolen
(Czechoslovakia), etc.
Moreoveq the Il-28 got a new leaseof life (if only
briefly) in the late 1960sand early 1970swhen the
post-Khruschev Soviet government headed by
Leonid I. Brezhnevdecided to revive the ground
attack arm of the VVS (which was one of the hard-
est-hit by Khruschev's reforms). A number of
Beagles were converted to Il-28Sh ground attack
aircraft. Up to a full regiment of these aircraft was
based at Domna AB (Transbaikalian DD) and
Khoorba AB near Komsomol'sk-on-Amur (Far
E a st DD) .
The Il-28 at war
The Il-28 had its fair shareof 'hot'wars. the flrst of
which was the Korean War of 1950-3.China suo-
ported North Korea activelyduring the war. send-
ing the tell-tale one million volunteers (actually
regularPeople'sLiberation Army troops)to the bat-
tlefields.This angered the USA badly enough to
make it promise strikes against China, including
nuclear strikesif necessary,if Chineseforcescrossed
the 38th parallel at which the frontline had stabi-
lized (this was eventuallyto become the demarca-
tion line betweenNorth and South Korea).
Not to be outdone,China threatenedto hit both
South Korea and US basesin Japan if USAF air-
craft as much as overflew Chinese territory. To add
weight to these words, 70 Il-28s were deployed on
1 OBAZ = otdel'not:ebook.siyovot'hno
y-eaviu:r:eno independcnl
ltarget-] towing {1ight.
Tgp.Bnqctr rN Snnvrcs. 85
People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) air
bases in Manchuria. The aircraft wore PLAAF
insignia but were flown by Soviet crews.
A secondmajor batch of Soviet-builtIl-28s was
delivered in 1953. It is not known if the Beagles
actually saw action in the war, but they did putin an
appearancein North Korea. UN envoysmonitoring
prisoner-of-war exchanges reported Chinese
bombers, including Il-28s, landing illegally on air
bases near Pyongyang in direct violation of the
Iruce agreement.
A short while later, however, the Beugle did see
action during China's last civil war when the
Chinese Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek
claimed independencefor Taiwan. In early January
1956 PLAAF ll-28s bombed the Tachen islands
360 km (200 nm) north of Taiwan which the
Nationalists were forced to abandon in February.
However,the high accidentrate and the danger of
being shot town by Republic of China Air Force
(ROCAF) Republic F-84 Thunderjets and North
American F-86 Sabres forced an end to these
attacks.
In the autumn of 1956 a large group of Soviet
forceswas deployedto Hungary to quash the anti-
communist uprising in that country. More than 120
Baoglesbasedin the CarpathianDD wereplacedon
maximum alert duty, readyto launch strikesagainst
the insurgents.Fortunatelythis neverhappened,but
Soviet Air Force Il-28Rs secondedto the Special
Corps taskedwith quellingthe mutiny did fly recon-
naissancemissionsover Hungary.One of them was
shot down by the rebelsover Csepel Island on the
D anube on 8 N ovember 1956,ki l i i ng rhe crew .On
l8 Decemberthe SupremeSovietof the USSR (the
nation's top governing body) issued a decree
granting the Hero of the Soviet Union title
posthumously to an Il-28 crew consisting of
squadron commander Capt. A. A. Bobrovskiy
(pilot), Capt. D. D. Karmishin (navigator)and the
squadron's chief of communications Lt. (sg)
V. Ye. Yartsev (gunner/radio operator). It seems
very probable that it was the samecrew.
On the other side,it is reported that a handful of
Hungarian pilots who had supported the rebels
made a few sortiesfrom KunmadarasAB, attacking
Soviettroops who had built pontoon bridgesacross
the Tisza River. Soon. however.all Hunsarian air-
baseswere overrun by Soviettroops,and-therebels'
fl yi ng acti vi ti esstopped.
Another area where the 11-28saw action in the
autumn of 1956was the Middle East. Egyptian Air
Force (EAF) Beaglas first saw action during the
SuezCrisis (26 October 7 November 1956).Great
Britain was thoroughly displeasedwith President
86. IrvusHrNlt-28 Brtotr
Gamal Abdel Nasser'sindependentpolitical course;
when Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal on 26 July
1956,this was the last straw. In concert with France
and Egypt's arch-enemy,Israel, Great Britain took
action. According to the plan, lsrael would start an
armed conflict with Egypt, then Great Britain and
France would interfere on the pretext of ensuring
the safety of international traffic in the Suez Canal
and occupy the area. Stage l, Operation Kadesh
('cleansing' in Hebrew), was scheduled for 29
October-l November, and Stage 2, Operation
Musketeer,for I 7 November.
By then the EAF had taken delivery of about fifty
Beaglesbut only one squadron operating twelve air-
craft was fully combat-capable. Two other
squadrons had only just been formed before the
fighting began, and the crews had not yet mastered
the new jet bombers. Consequentlythe Il-28 was
usedin the conflict on a small scale.For instance,on
the night of 3l October one of the Beaglesbombed
an Israeli kibbutz named Gezen An Israeli Defence
Force/Air Force (IDF/AF Heyl Hu'avir) Gloster
Meteor N F.13took off to interceptthe intruder but
could not find the target in the darkness. On the
same day a group of ll-28s raided Lod airbasebut
the bombs missedtheir target, exploding near the
Jewishsettlementof Ramat-Rachel.
The EAF top commanders fully realized that,
with no qualified crews to fly them, the Beugles
would be sitting ducks and a lucrative target for the
Anglo-French strike force. Hence President Nasser
ordered the EAF's assetsto be dispersedto remote
basesor relocatedto Syria and Saudi Arabia. (It
was just as well that he did; on the night of I
November Great Britain and France launched
Operation Musketeer as planned. RAF bombers
detached to Luqa, Malta, and Royal Navy strike
aircraft from the carriers HMS Albion,HMS Eagle
and HMS Bulwark attacked Egyptian airbases in
the Suez Canal area.) Twenty I1-28swere flown to
the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) base at Riyadh
by Soviet and Czech crews; the other 24 or 28
Beaglesmoved to Luxor, Egypt's southernmost air-
base, where they were supposed to be safe. This
assumption turned out to be wrong; on 4 November
RAF English Electric Canberras bombed Luxor,
forcing the evacuationof eight more Il-28sto Saudi
Arabia. On the same day the base was attacked by
French Air Force (Armee de I'Air) Republic F-84F
Thunderjet fighter-bombers; the French claimed
the destruction of every single aircraft at the base
but the EAF acknowledged the loss of only seven
bombers.
Sporadic armed incidents between Egypt and
Israel continued between the Arab-Israeli wars.
Combat aircraft took part in these operations; for
example, United Arab Republic Air Force
(UARAF) Il-28s flew several night reconnaissance
missions over the lsraeli seaport of Eilat in
December1958.
In 1959ChineseIl-28s saw action again when the
government forces ruthlessly stamped out an ethnic
minority uprising in Tibet. Apart from that, the
Beagleswere used in numerous skirmishes with the
TaiwaneseNationalists - mostly over the Strait of
Taiwan. Some sources suggest that Il-28Rs and
HZ-Ss actually overflew the island on reconnais-
sancesorties; severalof these aircraft fell victim to
Nike Ajax missiles.
One Chinese Beagle, however, was lost in a
different way. On I I November 1966pilot Li Hsien-
pin, navigator/bomb aimer Li Tsai-wang and gun-
ner/radio operator Liang Pao-sheng of the 22nd
Bomber Regiment/SthBomber Division defectedto
Taiwan in an Il-28 serialled0195 Yellow.The three
had conspired to defect long before the flight. join-
ing the PLAAF and successfullypassing the com-
plex loyalty check system.
The aircraft took off at noon from Hangchow
coastal airbaseon a routine practicebombing sor-
tie. After following the coastlinefor a while it turned
and headed for Taiwan at full speed.Chinese fight-
ers scrambled and gave chase- too late. The ll-28
was quickly spotted by Taiwanese air defence
radars; ROCAF Lockheed F-104G Starfighters
took off to intercept, escorting the bomber to
Taoyuan air baseafter the pilot had made his inten-
tions clear by rocking the wings. The aircraft over-
ran on landing, collapsing the nose gear and
damaging the nose glazing' all three crew members
were injured, the gunner dying a day later.
The defection was timed to coincide with the cen-
tenary celebration of Sun Yat-sen,the'father of the
Chinese revolution' revered by both Communists
and Nationalists, celebratedon l2 November. Sure
enough, the Taiwanese and Western press created
an almighty uproar. This was compounded by the
pilot, who was the least injured in the crash landing,
speaking at the Centennial Rally the next day and
denouncing Red China and communism in general.
Meanwhile, the unfortunate event was promptly
reported to the PLAAF HQ in Beijing, and retribu-
tion followed swiftly. The Air Force Vice-
Commander Cheng Chung arrived at Hangchow on
the same day and probably gave everyone a thor-
ough dressing-down. All flights from Hangchow
and other basesnearest to Taiwan were suspended
until further notice.
Apart from the nose section,0195 Yellow was vir-
tually intact. The Nationalists repaired and test flew

the aircraft,then reportedlyusedit for reconnais-
sanceflights over mainland China (somesources
say the aircraft was handed over to the USA for
closeexamination).Shortly afterwards,the British
model kit manufacturerAirfix releaseda ll72nd
scalemodel of the Beagle.(Speakingof which,
anotherkit of the Il-28 to the samescalefrom the
ChinesecompanyTrumpeterhas appearedon the
marketrecently.)
In1962Nassersenthiscombataircraft(including
Il-28s) to Yemen,extendingmilitary aid to the
Republicanswho had overthrownthe king. At the
same time the Soviet Union also supportedthe
Republicans,supplying them with a number of
Beagles. The Il-28sattackedthe Royalists'positions
and flew reconnaissance sorties;the Westernpress
reportedthat they wereflown by both Yemeniand
Sovietcrews.(This may well be true.Sovietmilitary
personnelparticipatedin manyregionalconflictsin
which the SovietUnion wasnot formally involved,
and not only in an advisorycapacity,and that was
somethingthe public back at home was definitely
not supposedto know!) Sometimesthe bombers
attackedthe Sauditowns of Dhahran and Najran
locatednext to the Yemeniborder.In June 1966a
solitary Il-28 escortedby UARAF MiG-l7Fs
bombedthe RSAF baseat KhamisMushayt;in the
samemonth UARAF Il-28Rsflew reconnaissance
missionsoverthe Saudiseaportof Qizan.Whenthe
Six-DayWar erupted,however,all Egyptiantroops
hadto leaveYemenbecause thinsswerebad enoush
backat home.
When the Il-28 was phasedout, many of thesebombers sat at Soviet airbases,awaiting disposal. ( yelintGouton
TsB Bntcrc tN SEnvrce. 87
The Il-28 sawaction in Africa as well. In April
1967a coupd'ttat occurredin Nigeria and the cor-
rupt governmentwastoppledby Gen.Irons,C-in-C
of the Nigerian Armed Forces.The next month,
however,Irons was killed in a new couporganized
by Col Ojukwu, governorof the Easternprovince
and one of the leadersof the Ibo tribe. The rebels
declaredtheir intention to secede,forming the so-
called Stateof Biafra, namedafter a bight in the
Gulf of Guinea.This immediatelysparkeda bitter
three-yearcivil war betweenthe separatistsand the
federalgovernment.
The FederalNigerian Air Force(FNAF) origi-
nally usedsix impressedNigeria Airways Douglas
DC-3s (ex-SN-AAN, 5N-AAP, etc.) and twelve
Czech-supplied Aero L-29 Delfin advancedtrainers
against Col Ojukwu's rebels in the light
bomber/paradropand strike roles respectively.
Pretty soon,however,it obtainedreal combat air-
craft from Arab nationssupportingthe Islamicgov-
ernment in Lagos in its struggle against the
Christian Ibo separatists. Egypt was the first to
extendhelp,supplying4l MiG-l7Fs (misidentified
as MiG-l5s by somesources)and, togetherwith
Algeria, six second-handIl-28s in 1969. The
bomberswereflown by Egyptianmercenarycrews.
Operatingfrom Enugu and Kalabar, the Beagles
bore the brunt of the bombingmissionsbut were
reportedlyfound to be ineffective.They certainly
did not venturenearthe Biafrancapital,Uli, which
waswell protectedby flak. Moreover,poor mission
planningand the lack of a clearlydefinedforward
ur.hive
)
88 . IlvussrN lt-28 Bt,rcLe
line of own troops (FLOT) sometimes resulted in
friendly forcesbeing bombed!
Sometimes the ll-28s were used to escort the
DC-3s on bombing/paradrop sorties or for strafing
Biafran positions. In February 1969 a group of
DC-3s escorted by I1-28s and MiG-l5s para-
dropped supplies and ammunition for government
forcessurrounded at Owerri. When this didn't work
and the DC-3s were temporarily unflyable through
flak damage, the federal forces commandeered a
Pan African Airways DC-4 which had landed at
Port Harcourt, loaded it with ammunition and
ordered the captain to fly to Owerri, escortedby an
Il-28. However, the captain contrived an engine
malfunction, forcing a return to Port Harcourt
which probably savedboth aircraft and crew.
The war presented no great danger for FNAF
fighter pilots and bomber crews, since the Biafran
Air Forcehad no aircraft capableof air-to-air com-
bat. All the enemy could put up was Malmo
MFI-9B primary trainersconvertedinto makeshift
attack aircraft. Flown by mercenary pilots led by
the Swedish Count Carl Gustav von Rosen, these
aircraft were known locally as Minicons probably
a corruption of mini-COIN (counter-insurgency
aircraft) and could only attack ground targets,
which they did with a measureof success. Still, the
accident rate was rather high and all the Beugles
were soon grounded after being damaged in acci-
dents.On 20 March 1969one Il-28 struck treesdur-
ing a low-level mission and suffered an engine
failure, making a successfulforced landing at Port
Harcourt. Another Beagle veered off the strip at
Port Harcourt on landing, burning out the brakes
and tyres, but was later repaired. On another occa-
sion an 11-28was slightly damaged at Enugu by
Minicons but was later repaired.
ln 1961 there was trouble in the Middle East
again when the third Arab-Israeli war, commonly
referred to as the Six-Day War (5-10 June 1967),
broke out. The lsraelishad been planning this war
long and carefully right down to building five
mock Egyptian airbasesin the Negev Desert, where
they constantly practised raids against the real
thing. Within a year all IDF/AF combat squadrons
had passeda training course at thesefacilities.
Building on the resultsof this training, the Israeli
high command developeda pre-emptiveattack plan
known as the Moked Plan. The combined air forces
of the Arab nations outnumbered the IDF/AF
almost three times, so it was decidedto destroy them
on the ground rather than tangle with them in the
air. The first wave of strike aircraft was to attack
nineteenairfields deep in Egyptian territory, knock-
ing out the aircraft basedthere,but it was decidedto
spare the runways at the four baseslocated on the
Sinai Peninsula so that Israeli aircraft could use
them, once the peninsula had been occupied. The
first strike was scheduledbetween08.35and 09.10,
when the Egyptian fighters were not expectedto be
out on combat air patrol and the basecommanders
were usually not on site. This would be followed by
three more waves of strike aircraft which were to
destroy the greater part of the Egyptian Air Force
on the ground by 14.00.After that, the strike force
would be redirectedat airbasesin Syria, Jordan and
Iraq.
By the spring of 1961it becameclear that war was
imminent; skirmisheson the Israeli-Syrian border
in which both sidesusedheavyweaponsand aircraft
were becoming increasinglymore frequent. On l7
May Egypt started concentrating troops on the
Israeli border; four days later Egypt and Israel
caffed a mobilization of the army reserve,and on 22
May President Nasser declared the Suez Canal
closedto Israeliships.
The Arab nations(Egypt, Syria,Jordan,Lebanon
and lraq) had a total of some800combat aircraft at
the start of the conflict. This total included49 to 56
Il-28s- 35 or 40 in Egypt, ten in Iraq and four to six
in Syria. These aircraft and the Tu-16 Badger-A
bombers (30 in Egypt, including some Tu-l6KS-1
missilestrike aircraft, and six in lraq) were consid-
ered priority targetsduring the planned air strikes.
On the morning of 5 June a massiveassaultwas
launched against Arab airbases. Among other
things,28 EAF Il-28sweredestroyedon the ground
at Ras-BanasAB and Luxor. One more Beagle and
its fighter escort (probably MiG-l7Fs) were shot
down by Heyl Ha'avir Dassault Mystdre IVs while
attacking Israeli troops advancing on at El'Arish.
The SyrianAir Forcelost two Il-28son the ground.
In February 1968the Il-28 first put in an appear-
ance in Vietnam, when three Beagleswere deployed
to Fukien AB, 30 km (18 miles) north-west of
Hanoi. It was believed they were to support the
large-scaleViet Cong offensive launched after the
USA had stopped the first series of bombing
attacks on Vietnam (the Tet offensive), but the
Il-28s did not participate in this operation.
Normally the Beagles were based in southern
China; if the US intelligence service reported the
presenceof theseaircraft on any North Vietnamese
airfield, the airfields in question would be pounded
with cluster bombs loaded with pellets.
ln 1971 the North VietnameseIl-28s did see
action, supporting the Vietnamese People's Army
and the Pathet Lao guerrillas in Laos. Soviet airmen
took part in these operations, too; pilot Berkootov
and navisator/bomb aimer Khachemizov were even

:::::::i,,t
l:lll
ril;i
Armourers load large-calibreHE bombs into a regimentof PLAAF Il-28s.ChineseBeaglesalso had their shareof light-
ing. ( Chinu Aift ftr/i )
awarded the title of Hero of the Vietnamese
People'sArmy.
August 1968added another shamefulpageto the
Il-28's biography when Beagles were used, along
with other Soviet Air Force aircraft, to suppressthe
mutiny in Czechoslovakia. Specifically these were
7th FBAP bombers from Starokonstantinov, and
possibly Il-28R reconnaissance aircraft from
Schuchin(BelorussianDD).
Skirmishes between Israel and Egypt continued
after the Six-DayWar until 1970.EAF 11-28s partic-
ipated actively in these clashes, flying reconnais-
sance missions over Israeli territory; two of them
were shot down between l0 July and I August 19'70.
One more example was lost in a 'friendly fire' inci-
dent in March 1970 when an I1-28BM towing a
sleeve-typetarget was destroyed by an S-125 Koob
(Cube; NATO SA-3 Gainfuf surface-to-air missile;
the missile system was manned by a Soviet crew
under N. M. Kootyntsev. Of course a scandal
erupted; to make matters worse one of the airmen
. 89
Tsp Bc,tcr,t rN SERVTcE
who had perishedin the shootdown was a member
of one of the Arab royal families. However, using
the missile system's data recording equipment,
Kootyntsev proved that the air defence crews had
not beeninformed of the bomber'smissionand the
Il-28's IFF transponder was out of order.
Furthermore, a group of four Heyl Hu'uvir
McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom IIs had crossed
the Suez Canal, formating with the Beagle, then
headingback at ultra-low level.As a result,the mis-
sile team misidentifiedthe ll-28 as the leaderof an
Israeli strike group and opened fire. The Egyptians
had to admit the Soviet officer was right.
Iraqi Air Force Il-28s were used operationally in
the late 1960sand in the first six months of 1974in
Saddam Hussein's relentlesswar with the Kurdish
minority living in the north of Iraq and striving for
sovereignty. The Kurdish rebels claimed one
bomber shot down in April 1974.
According to some reports, Soviet Air Force
Il-28Sh strike aircraft were used operationally
9 0 . I r v us r r r|.x - 28B r..r< ;t.r,

b-"brt:

A f o n n l t t i o n o l ' I ' L A A I: llL tt,g lt' scltr lin - uln cr e r cisc. i( l ti rttt
.ti rl rrl r)

d ur ing t hc S ino -S o v i c l l rfl n c c l c o n l l i c t a ro L l ncl Ll ncomnrou cl uri ngthc A l ghan W ar.Trai torsl tntong
l )u nr ans k iyI s lanc lo u 1 h cA n tu r R i v c l i n th c c arl y thc A l ghan pcrsonnclol ' S hi ncl anclA B w ho hacl
19 7 0s . bccn boLrghto11'by thc rcbcl sbl cw r" rpcl cvcuol ' thc
I n t hc lat c 197 0 sth c b l o o c l yfc -q i n tco l ' P rtl P ot bonrbcrs;thc l l amcscl Lri cklsprcacl
y to thc othcl ui r' -
uscclu hlrncllirlol' Bca.q/r,s (pnrbably Chincsc-bLrilt cral i unclthc 335thC onrposi l eA i r R cgi mcntccasccl
H- 5s )agains lt hc o 1 -r1 -ro s i ti l io
rrcn c sh e a c l c cbly H cng 1()cxl sl .
Sl tnr lin.who bc c a mch c a c lo l ' th c g o v eru n te n ta f i cl ' In 1985 anothcr C hi ncsc l l -28 abscondcd.thi s
Pol Pot rvasor.rstccl. Onc ol- thc Il-28swas reprtrtcclll' ti nrc to S outh K orcu. Thc crew w as l essl Lrckythi s
shot dorvn; two mol'c werc caplLllcd intact at ti me: thc ai rcral i w as total l y dcstroyed w l ti l e
Po c hc nt ongA B n c a r Ph n o n t P e n l t o n 7 J a n u arl , atten.rpti ng a l brcccll andi ng i n a l ' i cl cl .ki l l i ng the
1 979 u' hc n t hc b a s c w a s o v c rrL l nb y Vi c tn a n tcsc gunner and a local firrr.ncr.
Iti )( ) p\s gpp( ) rit6r ] t IC p p l -rl stii p rr. l -i nni sh Il -2uR s w crc used a l ot l br 5nsppi ng
T hc A lghan W a r w u sl h c l a s tc o n l l i c t i n l v l ti c ht hc arouncltl.reSovietbcllclcr.(FinlanclwASon liicndly
vcnc lablcbonr be r p a fti c i p a tc c lD . e s p i te i ts a g c. i t tcrms rvi tl .rthe S ovi ct U ni on. br-r1that di d not stop
tu l nc d out t o be w c l l s u i tc c l b r th i s l v a r.th a n k s tcl thc l--innsliour spyin-u!)The r"reighbor-rr's Bcuglas
i ts lLr ggc cdc l pc nd a b i l i tyi n th e h a rs h c o n c l i ti o n sof w crc a constantsourceof annoyanccl br the S ovi et
Al -uhanis t an. wit h i ts i l l -e q L ri p p eacilrtl c l d sa n d fcr' - Air Def-cncc Force (PVO Protit'ot,o:tloosltrtu.t'u
l 'a s iv c dus t . Unerp e c te d l y .th c s e e rn i n g l ya rc hai c tthontrut)lighter regimentsstationeclin the area.As
ma nnc dt ail s unn e l ' ' ss ta ti o ntu rn e c lo r-rtto b e c l u i tt- soou as the air def-ence raclarscletectecl an ailcrafi
r-rscl-r.rl; thc slrnnerwould firc at cneutytroops on thc hcading towards the bordcr liou-r Finland. fighters
g l o r - r nd. c lis c ou ra g i n g a tta c k s w i th s l to u l d cr' - w oul cl scrambl eto i nterccpt. R eal i zi ngthey had
l a unc hecsl ur f uc e -to -a i rn r i s s i l e sT. h e e ffi c i e n cyol ' beendetected.the Fi nni shcrel vw oul d fl y al orrgthe-
this tactic can be.juclged by thc litct that r.rota sir.rgle borclcron their side.while thc Soviettighterswoulcl
Al g han A ir F br c e Il -2 8 rv a sl o s t to th e ML r.l a h i di n do thc silmc on l/icl' sicie.firmlv inciicatingthat the
rebels'air clef-enccs. However.Ihe Bcucleswgrc lost nei ghbor-rrs shoLrl d' kccp thei r poocl t off our l aw n' .
o n e nigl" r tin. lanu a rv 1 9 8 5 i n a w a rr th a t w i l s n ot Tl'rentl.reIl-2tl would ostensiblygive up arrd hcad

into Finnish territory; as soon as the frghters, too,
headed back to base,the spyplane would pop back
up. By then the fighters would be getting critically
low on fuel and had no choice but to head for home.
the angry pilots radioing to base to urgently send a
relief crew. The I1-28R'slong endurance (thanks to
its tip tanks) allowed the Finns to play this game of
tag.
Survivors
As alreadyrecounted,hugenumbersof Il-28swere
wantonly destroyedbecauseof Khruschev'smis-
silizationideasor endedup as AAA and gunnery
targets.Otherssimplyrotted awayat variousbases,
waitingto be scrapped;for instance,the hulk of an
Il-28waspresentat KubinkaAB nearMoscowuntil
at least 1997,and severaldozen were dumped at
Tambovwhen the TVVAUL re-equippedwith the
TupolevTu-I 34UBL Crusty-B trainer.
Fortunately several examples of this sleek
bomberhavebeenpreservedfor posterity.The col-
lectionof the SovietAir ForceMuseumin Monino
nearMoscowincludesIl-2804 Red(c/n53005771);
interestingly,
this aircraftoriginallysportedten mis-
sion markingson the nose.Another Moscow-built
Beagle(10 Red,c/n 65010809) is preserved in the
Soviet Armed Forces Museum in Moscow. An
Omsk-builtexample(01 Red,c/n 36603807) is on
display in the open-air aviation museum at
Khodynkaairfieldin the centreof Moscow;at one
Tp'p.BLqam rN Spnvrcp. 9l
time this aircraft featured crude nose art depicting
Santa Claus and Cheburashka(a cartoon character)
on the starboard side. An Il-28 coded 07 Red is on
display at the Naval Air Arm Museum in Safonovo
near Severomorsk-l AB (Murmansk Region).
An Omsk-built example coded 85 (c/n 56606201)
is a ground instructional airframe at the Samara
State Aviation University (SGAU Samarskiy
gosoodarstvennyy aviatseeonry)y ooniversitet; for-
merly KuAI Kuibyshev Aviation Institute). One
example coded 30 Red is displayed on a plinth out-
side the Air Force'sAircraft Overhaul Plant No. 712
in Chelyabinsk, which refurbished Il-28s. Others
probably survive as gate guards on various Russian
airbases.A few more ll-28s are on displayin the avi-
ation museums of Bulgaria, Czechia, Finland,
Hungary, Poland and Romania.
,<t(*
The Il-28 hasbeenaptly described by one Russian
author as 'a successful designthat was alwaysout
of luck'. Eventhoughthe Il-28'scombatpotential
wasnot usedto the full, it wasthis typethat intro-
ducedjet aircraft and all-weathercapabilityto the
bomberelementof the SovietAir Forceand several
otherair arms.The11-28 helpedto trainhundreds of
first-classnavalpilots.Westernaviationexpertsgave
the Beagleduecredit,describingit asa masterpiece
of Sovietaircraftdesisn.
 Bn.qcmsWonrD-wIDE
fTlh. Il-28 was operared by 25 nations in
I Europe. Asia (includingSE Asia),Africa and
I the Middle East. Second-hand aircraft were
alsoexported,whichincidentallysaveda few Il-287
torpedo-bombers from the torch.
Afghanistan
A numberof obsoleteIl-28 bombersphasedout by
the VVS were deliveredto the Royal Afghan Air
Forcein 1969.Reportson the numberof aircraft
suppliedvary considerably,rangingfrom twelveair-
craft (one squadron) to 45 aircraft (three
squadrons).The Beagleswere mostly based at
Mazar-eSharif wheremost of the Sovietmilitary
adviserswere stationed.The Il-28s were probably
usedoperationallyby the Afghan RepublicanAir
Force (Afghan Hqnai Qurah)at the opening stages
of the Afghan civil war (i.e. prior to the Soviet
invasion).
Only one aircraft wearingthe serial 163 Black
and early-stylered roundelswith yellowDari script
has beenidentified;it was operatedby the 335th
CompositeAir Regimentat Shindandin the sum-
mer of 1979.All of the unit'sIl-28sweredestroyed
on the groundin January1985.
Albania
The Albanian People'sRepublicAir Force(Forcat
Ushtarake Ajore Shquipdtare, later renamed
AviacioneUshtarakShquipdtare) took deliveryof an
unspecifiednumberof Chinese-builtHarbin H-5s.
Threeaircraftserialled026,29and 3608havebeen
identifiedto date;the last examplebelongedto the
4020th(formerly l594th) Aviation Regimentbased
at RinasAB nearthe Albaniancapital,Tirana,and
remainedoperationaluntil 1993.(In somesources
the Albanian name has beenrenderedas Aviatika
Militar e RepublikaPopull\ree Shquip€rise.)
Algeria
The SovietUnion beganprovidingmilitary assis-
tance to Algeria in 1962,right after the country
gained independencefrom France.Initially twelve
Il-28 bomberswere deliveredto the Alserian Air
Force (Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Jaza'eriyalForce
AtrienneAlgtrienne)via Egypt,with which Algeria
was closely allied; direct deliveriesmight have
causedunfavourablepoliticalconsequences for the
SovietUnion. Theseaircraft probablyparticipated
in the clashwith Moroccoin 1963.Another twelve
Beaglesweredelivereddirectly from the USSR after
the 1965military coup when the new government
(which was evenmore pro-Soviet)requestedaddi-
tional military aid. Nearly all the Beagleswere
unserviceableby 1979,and the few whichremained
operationalwererelegated to secondaryduties.
Bulgaria
The Bulgarian Air Force (BVVS - Bolgarski
VoyennoVozdooshniSeeli) operutedvarious ver-
sionsof theBeagle.Around 36ll-28swerebasedat
Tolbukhin AB in the north-eastof the countrv:
theseincludedfour Il-28R reconnaisanc e aircrafl,'a
few Il-28T torpedo-bombers and two Il-28U train-
ers.A dozenaircraftmodified for electronicwarfare
dutieswerereportedlystill operationalin 1983.
Only oneaircraft,coded43 Red (c/n ...2504),has
been identified so far; it is on display at the
BulgarianAir Force Museum(Graf IgnatievAB,
Plovdiv).
China
CommunistChina was by far the largestforeign
operator of the type. Deliveriesto the People's
LiberationArmy Air Force(PLAAF, or Chung-kuo
Shen Min Taie-Fang-Tsun Pu-tai) started in 1952.
By 1956the PLAAF inventoryincludedmore than
250 Soviet-builtIl-28s. This number was further
expanded when production of the Beagle and
Mascotas the H-5 and HJ-5 respectively startedat
Harbin. RAT-52 torpedoesfor the Il-28 werealso
manufacturedlocally.
More than 300I1-28swerein serviceby theendof
1964,not countingIl-2SUs(a total figure of 400-
plushasbeenreportedin servicewith twelvetactical
bomberregiments).Their principal role was to be
on ready alert and intimidate the Taiwanese
Nationalists.More than 100Il-28sweretransferred
to the naval air arm (PLANAD and converted
 Bt:t;t,t,sWonrn-u'tnr.. 93

into torpeclo-bombcrs similar to early Sovict P LA N A F as the H -6 IV armed w i th C -601

conversior.rs. This was at a time when a mannc Silkr.vonn rnissiles Chinese coDics of thc
assaultfrorn Taiwan wasconsideleda distinct possi- K - l t' /N A TO A S -5 A .' r.
b i l i ty i n n- r ainlandChin a .
Kn o w n P LA A F I l- 2 8 sa re l i s tc di n T a b l e 1 6 .T h e
rn ca rri n gof P LA A I T s e ri a l si s o b s c u l e .b u t i n th e Czechoslovakia
cascol- five-digitscrialsthe first two digits may be a The flrst three ll-28swcr"eclelivcrcdto the CzechAir
code dcnoting one ol- thc elevendcf'cncedistricts. Force (CzAF. ol fVL (-t't/r,,.r/r,r'.'l,rl;c
I-olt'n,;kl
th e fo u r t h digit a unit co d e .w h i l e th c th i rc la n d fi l l l r Lt,tcctt' o)i n Janual y l 9-5,5: the type w as i utencl eci to
d i g i tsm ak c up t he indiv i d u a ln u m b e ro l -th c a i rc ra tf rcpl acethe obsol cteA ero C -3 (the C zechdcsi gnu-
i u th e r-r nitChines
. eI l-2 8 s u s r" ra l lhya d d a rk g l e e n ti orr ol - S i ebelS i 204D s usctl as bctntberl rai ncrs).
r-rppcrsurfncesancl pale blue undersr.rrfaccs. but Four S ovi eti nstructors(surnatl csTsi l i n. Y crshor,.
wholc units are knowr.r1o havc bcen equippcclwith Li si tski y ancl S al azki n) stal tccl trai ni ug thc l -i rst
n a tu ra Im et aI( or s ilv c r-p a i n te cal )i rc ra l l . ten crcws clu 9 Fcbrr.rary. Thc Czcchs ri,crecluick
on thc uptake,and thc threc ui rcral i pul ti ci patccl
Th e Bru glL, r em ainc in d s e rv i c er" rn tith l e l a te 1 9 9 0 s in thc VE-Da1' air 1-raraclc on 9 Maf itt t6c sllt.tc
(3 0 0 H - 5s and HZ - 5s w c rc re p o rtc d l y s ti l l o n ycar. flown by Czech crcws (l'ligh1 lcadcr Mrr.j.
s trcn g th wit h t he P L AA F a n c l 1 ,5 0 to rp e d o - K orri i r' ).
b o mb cr swit h lhc P LA N A F i n 1 9 9 7 ),th o u g h i t w rL s On l 7 S eptcnrbcl 1955 tcn Il -28s cscortcclbv
gradually supcrscdccl by Tu- l(r bourbcrs ancl l i ghtcrs took part i n thc A vi ati on D ay l l ypl st i n
Tu - l 6 K- I l- | 6 ant i- s hi p p i n gm i s s i l c c a rri ers . T Irc ll'ont of- 1hc Czcch govcntr.r.ro.rt, dropping livc
la ttcl ty pc was built in X i a n (w i th o u t th e b c n c fl t o l ' bombs ou ' cucl l ty l brti l l cati ons'(!). H ow cvcr.thc
a l i ce n cc )as t hc H- ( r. a n c l s o l c l i c rso u u ' i th th c pcrlbI.rancc was alnrctst ovcrshadowccl bv ir

\Y-:++1;;

A busy scetteat a Chineseairbasc.with numcrousH-5s gctting leacl1" lbr thc day'sflight trairrine.Notc thc servicentanin
tl"relbrcgror-rrtd
who Irasliverredup his khaki attirc with a clccidctlli'non-r'egulatic'rn
stmw hatt.tChittu.1irtnr1r
t
 94 . Ir-yusurNL-28 Bt,tcLt

Table 16. KnownPLAAF ll-28s

Serial C/n Version Notes

6l Red ? il-28U
0031Red ? Il-28
0 1 31Red ? il-28
0194Red ? Il-28 Naturalmetal
0195Yellow ? Il-28 HangchowAB; greenwith blueundersurfaces. Defectedto Taoyuan
AB, Taiwan,I l-l l-66; preserved
0986Red ? ll-28 Naturalmetal
1 1 10Y ellow ? Il-28 Greenwith blueundersurfaces
1206Red ? Il-28 Naturalmetal
l2l0 Yellow ? il-28 Greenwith blueundersurfaces
1400Red ? Il-28 Naturalmetal
1402Red ? n-28 Natural metal
1403Red ? It-28 Naturalmetal
l47l Red ? Il-28 Greenwith blueundersurfaces
I 510Red ? il-28 Greenwith blueundersurfaces
1 5 12Red ? Il-28 Naturalmetal
l 5l3 Red ? Il-28 Naturalmetal
1618Yellow ? \-28 Greenwith blueundersurfaces;
17 18Red unconfirmed(drawrngonly)
? Il-28 Naturalmetal
l80l Red ? |-28 Naturalmetal
1 0198 Red ? il-28 Naturalmetal.Preserved pLAAF Museum,Datangshan
10692Red ? HJ-5(I-28U) AB
Naturalmetal.Preserved pLAAF Museum
3 0 518 ? Il-28*
3 07r 0 ? Il-29*
3 071I ? Il-29*
307t2 ? Il-28*
307t3 ? Il-29*
30714 ? It-29*
3 0 715*, k ? Il-28*
3 07I 6** ? Il-29*
307l7 ? Il-29*
3 0 718 ? Il-28*
307lg** ,|
Il-29*
3 0 8 10 ? It-29*
3 0 81I ? Il-28*
3 0 812 ? Il-28*
3 0 9I 3** ? Il-29*
3 0 814 ? Il-29*
3 0 81 5 ? Il-29*
43050Red ? il-28 Naturalmetal
43684Red ? H-5 Naturalmetal
43693Red ? H-5 Naturalmetal;sometimes
44690Red reportedin errorasIl_2gU
? il-28 PreservedPLAAF Museum,two-tonebluecamouflage with white
undersurfaces;non-standard
nose
45552Red ? Il-28 Natural metal
63019Red ? HJ-5(il-28u)
none 4149 n-28(H-5?) Natural metal.PreservedpLAAF Museum
none s4120 [-28 (H-5?) Naturalmetal.Preserved pLAAF Museum
Notes:
* Exactversionnot known (maybe H_5).
*t< Existence
not provedbut likely.

&3*.
m
A CzechAir ForceIl-28 (or Avia 8-228)in pre-1957markinss.rRl/lrr
formation of 33 C-3s shaped like a hammer and
sickle.The organizersof the flypast had probably
wanted to show that aircraft which had done ster-
ling servicemake way for new types,but the implica-
tion was just the opposite the old guard never
surrenders,it only dies!
Th e b om ber unit s equ i p p e dw i th II-2 8 sb e c a me
f u l l y o p e r at ionalby O c t o b e r t9 5 5 . U n ti l th e m i d -
1960sthe Czechshad a habit of redesignatingfor-
eign military aircraft in Czech AF service. For
example,the MesserschmittBf l09G was the S-99
(t h e Bf l09G - 12 r r ain e r w a s th e C S -9 9 ), th e
MiG-l 5bisFugot-Bwas built as the Aero S-102(and
t h e UTI-M iG - |S M idge t a s th e C S-1 0 2 ),e tc . As
already mentioned,Czech-built tl-28 bombers and
Il-28U trainerswere designated8-228 and C8-228
respectively.
Besidesthe bomber version (sometimesreferred
to as the Il-28B by the Czechs) and the Il-28U
trainer, the Czech AF had some II-28RTR ELINT
aircraft. The aircraft were progressivelymodified;
e.g. the nose guns were removedand new avionics
installedin 1959-60.Some aircraft were fitted with
empty shellcollectorcasesunder the tail turret.
At leastone bomber wasconvertedlocallyinto an
ELINT or ECM aircraft.This was characterizedby
largecylindricalpods at the wingtips resemblingthe
Bntctts Wonro-wtoE . 95
:sx
r(-30
Il -28R ' sdrop tanks.The front and rear porti onsof
thesepods weredielectricancipaintetldark blue.
Ini ti al l y C zech mi l i tary ai rcraft and hel i copters
had alpha-nr.rmeric serialsconsistingof one or two
lettersand two figures;the lettersweie a codedenot-
ing the squadron to which the aircraft belonged.
l l -28sw ereal l ocatedseri al si n the A D , B A , C D , D E ,
E B , FC , FH . GO, LB , P K , P U , P X , R L. TH bIOC K S
and possiblyothers.The serial was painted on the
lorward luselagein hugecharaclers.A diflerenrsys-
tem w as i ntroduced i n mi d-1957,w i th l bur-di gi t
serialsmatching the last fbur of the aircrali's con-
struction number;the serialwas now paintedon the
rear luselage
Until 1960CzechBeuglescontinuedappearingat
airshows. For example, the 1956 VE-Day parade
featured a flypast by no fewer than sixteen ll-28s.
The grand show staged in Prague-Ruzyneairport
on 2 September1956was openedby a fbrmation of
three ll-28s led by Maj. Hdjek and closed by
another Il-28 escortedby four MiG- I 5s,followedby
three vics of three Beugles.Business comes first,
however,and the crews kept training. Training was
not l i mi ted to home ground: i n June 1956ni ne arr-
craft were deployed to Hungary and nine more to
East Germany to participatein Warsaw pact mili-
tary exercises, acting as aggressoraircraft. To this
 96 . lrvu srrrxl:-28 Bt , . t t ; r . t
t''/n)
{
ffi*ll
t:
ThisCzcch Air.Fil r c c ||- 2ELl( or Av iaC. B- 22ii) c : t r r i c s t r t l a | p I r i t - n r t n l c r i c s c r . i l t l t r n 1 h e l i l l . w i r c l
plcltlfcwltstakctr alt c r l95T. whc r t t hc lbur ' - c ligit s c r i u l s o r . r t h c a l i l - L r s c l a g c w c l c i n t r o d u c c d . i / 1 . . 1 R 7 r
cnd thcy wcresuitablyr.narkedby a blue clr red stripe
around thc rear l'r-rselagc. Czechoslovakia also
served as a trainir.rgground I'or Baugle crcws fior.t.r
Egypt. Syria. Indoncsia. Nigcria and a few r.uore
count r ies .
T he bas icbom b e r w a s rc ti re di n 1 9 6 5 .T h e trri ner.s
and reconnaissanceversions rcntained in selr ice
unt il 1973.B y 19 7 7a l l C z e c hIl -2 8 s .e x c e p tfo u r i ti r-
crall displayedat the Military Museum at Prague-
Kbely airport, had cither bcen scrtipped or had
ended up as target drones or gunncry targets at
practice raltges.
Czech sportsmenalsc'rused the Il-28 lor setting
severalworld records.Thc idea was born when the
Czechswon every possiblemedal at the 3rd World
Skydiving Charmpionshipheld at Moscow-Tushino
in 1956; the catch-phraseo1- the day was 'The
studer.rtshave surpassedthe teachers'.Of course.
the winners were treated like national heroes.
Among other things.they had an audiencewith the
thcn P resi dent of' C zechosl ovaki a. A ntoni n
Zipotocky who asked thcrn in a private couversel-
ti on w hat hc coul d do for them. S ci zi ngthe oppor-
tLlnity. absolute world cl.rantpionGr.rstavKoubek
sai dthey w oLrl dl i ke to makc a j url p 1romhi gh al ti -
l ude i n order to gl ori fy thei r homel and,but onl y the
Air Force had aircraft which could takc them high
enough specificallythc Il-28 bomber,which could
accommodatea team of skydiversin the bomb bay.
The President tasked the Minister of Def'ence
Lornsky with providingassistance; the ministergave
appropriateorders to the Czech Air Force C-in-C.
Lt-C err.JoselV osahl o.
Apparently the rnilitary werenot overjoyedabout
this r-rnexpccted task, let alone the prospectof let-
ting civilians use their aircraft. Since this was a
presidentialtask, they could not just give Koubek
and his team tl.rebrush-off.Hencethey tried to scare
the unwanted guestsoff. At the first meeting with
Lt-Gen. Voshhlo the sportsmengot bawled out by
his aides, who kept telling them rhey would get
 . 97
Bn,qcusWonr-o-wron

Table17. KnownCzAF ll-28s

Serial C/n Version Notes

AD-3I ? il-28 (8-228?)

A...-81 s70r9 n-28 (B-228) Reserialled7019?
BA.lO? ? n-28U (CB-228?)
BA-11(l ) 56775 \-28 (8-228) Fateunknown;seenextline
BA-11(2) 56926 il-28RTR (9-228) Reserialledto, seebelow
6926 PreservedCzechaerospace museum(VM VHU)*. Prague-Kbely
CD-IO 65010501?Il-28U C/n reportedas650.100501- misquote?Reserialledto, seebelow
0501 PreservedVM VHU
DE-50 ? r-28 (B-228?)
DE-51 ? r-28 (9-2287)
TH-I4 ? r-28 (8-228)
PK-30 ? l-28 (8-228?)
PU-I2 ? I-28R (8-228?)

t904 t904 Il-28

2t07 52107 \-28 (B'-228) PreservedVM VHU
2303? 52303? il-28R (B-228) Reportedpreserved VM VHU but possibleconfusionwith 3303,
seebelow
2309? 52309? n-28 Unconfirmed (drawingonly)
2404 ...2404? II-28RT PreservedNadaceLbteckdHistorickdSpoletnostiVj,Ikov(Yylkov
AviationHistoricalSocietyCollection),Slatina.Could be B-228
cln 52404
3303 53303 r1-28RT (B-228) PreservedVM VHU
6915 56915 r-28 (B-228) Enginetestbed
notknown 54665 I-28 (8-228) Possiblyserialled4665
Note:
'l' VM VHU = Voiensk,!
muzeumVojenskihohistorickihoistavu * Military Museumof the Military Historical
Society.

incineratedby the engineexhaust,or freezelike rab-
bits at high altitude,or getsmashed to deathagainst
the aircraft'sfuselageby the slipstream,or their
lungs would burst and they would suffocate.But
Koubek and his teamwould not be put off that eas-
ily and demandedpersistentlythat a test with a
dummy be performed at first. Grudgingly the
military had to agree.
The sportsmengot their first look at the Il-28's
bomb bay at Mlad6 AB, Milovice,discussingthe
modificationswhich neededto be madeto the air-
craft with the local technicians.An Il-28 serialled
TH-14 was equippedwith a cine-camera mounted
aheadof the bomb bay to checkhow the dummy
would travel after leavingthe bay.Later, live jumps
were made by Air Force parachutistsBilek (first
nameunknown) and Leopold Ozi.},al.
Meanwhile, the sportsmen were preparing in
earnestfor the record attempt. Specialheat-insu-
latedand windproof clothing,includingfacemasks
of the kind worn by anti-terroristtroops,wasmade
to protect them from the slipstreamand the killing
cold of the stratosphere.The parachutists trainedin
a pressurechamber,with physiciansmonitoring
their health;two of thecandidates failedto passthis
test.Then the aircraft'sbomb bay doorswerelined
with thick felt to reducethe risk of injuries,special
suspension beltswereinstalledas a safetymeasure
to restrain the parachutists until the aircraft
climbedto a safealtitude.and the bomb bavwasfit-
ted out with an oxygensystem,an intercom,lights
and additionalcameras.
Prior to the recordattempt the skydiversmade
two training jumps from 6,000m (19,685ft) and
9,000m (29,527ft). An unexpectedcomplication
aroseon the latter occasion- the barographswhich
were to record the altitude during the jump froze
and failed.A specialfrost-resistant lubricanthad to
be developedurgentlyand all of the parachutists'
equipment(altimeters,barographs,chronometers,
oxygenkits) weretestedat -60oC(-76"F) and simu-
lated altitudes up to 13,000 m (42,651 ft).
Incidentally,eachman'sequipment,togetherwith
the PTCH-3parachute,weighed60 kg (1321b).
9ll . Irlr.srrr.lh -28 Bt : . u, t . t ,
An F lir s(tic nnauI l -fi i R u b o u tto b c s i ni tstu k c -o l l ' f uu.
r/t.l /l /
A t 08. 07on 2l Ma rc h 1 9 5 7 .Il -2 8 T H -1 4 p i l otccl
by JaroslavHa.lcktook oll' ll'onr MlaclaAB. acconr-
p anic c l by a LJ T I-M i G-1 5 ,' tl n { q r,/tn ri n c r l s rr
canr c r as hip.W he n th e b o n .rb ecl l i n rb c cul s h i g h a s i t
w oulc lgo.c loing5 5 0 k m/h (2 9 7k t). a t 0 8 .-5 th 5 c s k1,-
cli v c ls J alos lav J c h l i i k a . Z c l c n e k Ka p l an a ncl
C us t av K oubc k l c l t th c b o n b b a i r a t l l .8 -5 0 nr
(42. 1581t )anc lf t ll I 1 .6 6 4n (3 8 .2 6 7l t) b e l b reo pen-
i n g t heir par ac hu tc s .
Not s at is lledw i th th i s rc n .ra rk a b lacc h i c v e m ent.
th e s am e t r io de c i d c d to r.n a k ca s c c o u d s tra tos-
p her icjLur p at n i g h t. At 2 l .l -5 o n 2 7 M a rc h they
took ofl' ll-om Mlaclh AB in the sarncairclali. leav-
i n g it at 21. 56at a n a l ti tr.rd oe f l l .5 l 8 m (4 1 .0 (r9l t)
a nd f alling 11. 08 2m (3 9 .6 3 9l i ) b e l b reo p e n i n gth ei r
paracl.rutcs. Specialsearchlightswel'eset up on the
g r ount l. s hining v e rti c a l l y i n to th c s k 1 ,to te l l the
pilots when and whereto clropthc sk1'divers.
East Germany
Thc LSK/LV ( Lult,rtraitllii/1t' tmd Lulivcrteidiguttg
dar Daut,scltan
DantokrutisL'ltatt RL'ptrblilt Air Force
and Air DefenceForce of thc Gcruran Demoelatic
Republic) used the Il-28 erclr"rsivclylbl trlrget-tow-
ing clLrtics. To this cr.rcl thc 3rclSt4/al (squacllon)ol
.l FCi I (.fug1/licgcrgcsclnrutlcr lightcr wing) at
(-ottbus w as rcorgani zecli n Fcbruary l 9-59 as
orclercclby EastGcrn.rany's ntinisterol- clel-cucc. Thc
sclr.urclror.r's flrst aucl seconclllights continucd tc'r
opcrarcP ZL Li m-5 (P ol i sh-bLri Mi l t G-l ' /F F).t' .st' t t -
(' ) day l i ghtcrsanciLi m--5P(P ol i sh-bui lMi t G-l 7P F'
l -rt' .sto-D ) al l -w cather i nterceptor" s.'w hi l c the
thi rd t' l i ght w as i ni ti al l y ecl Lri pped w i th tw o Il -28s
seri al l ecl190B l ack ancl 196B l ack.To thi s cncll bur
LS K /LV pi l ots took conversi or.r tl ai r.ri ngi n C ottbus
or.rI Februaly 4 March. while two navigatorsand
three raclio operators Llnderwent theoretical
trai ni n-{ at tl .re S ovi ct A i r Force' s l l th OR A P
(otdel'ttt'r'rtr:r,ed.t'r'utcl'ttt'.t' aviupolk indcpendent
rcconnai ssance regi ment)stati onedat N cu-W el zow
AB.
Shortly aflerwards3/JFG I was transfblmeclinto
ZDS 2l (Zicldur,stallungsstu//el target-towing
scluadron).'Theunit bccane fully operationalir.rtl.re
I Li nr = l i tcttt.r'j rt.r
nt.ri l i rrt,r' l i cence-bui Jt
l i ghter.
I S omc (i crr.nan soul ces cl ai m that thc l l -28s rcnrai neclon
stl engthn'i th.l FG I unti l D ecemberl 9-59.
 Butctas Wonlo-wroe . 99

spring of 1960, providing target practice primarily
for Volk,sarmee (People'sArmy) AA gunners firing
anything from 14.5mm (.57 calibre)machine-guns
to 57 mm 5-60 radar-directed automatic AA suns.
The latter were noted for their high accuracy,6ft.n
shooting the towed 'sock'right off. Target practice
took place at the Zingst AAA range on the Baltic
Seacoast.
Il-28 target tugs were used to train East German
Navy (Zolksmarine) gunners as well; their tasks
included dropping flare bombs which were used as
targets by AA gunners (!). LSK/LV fighter pilots
were to join the fun later on, practising attacks on
low-flying targets.Of coursegreat care was taken to
ensure the target tugs would not be hit by friendly
fire.
A single Il-28U was delivered in 196l for crew
training. The location of ZDS 21 chaneed several
times; at one time the unit operated frJm Drewitz
AB, not far from Cottbus. Five more Il-28s were
transferred from the l lth ORAP to ZDS 2l at this
base in 1962. After 1972 the unit was permanently
based in Peenemiinde.In due time the unit was
renumbered,becomingZDS 33;on I Decemberl98l
it was demoted to ZDK 33 (Zielctarstellunsskerte-
target-towingflight;.
Originally the East German ll-28s were painted
silver overall, but some aircraft were later reoainted
in a camouflage schemewith dark greenidaik earth
upper surfaces and light blue undersurfaces.The
Il-28s servedwithout incident until 1982,when they
were replaced by Czech-built Aero L-39V Albatros
target tugs and KT-04 towed targets. The last air-
craft, serialled208, was retired on 20 October 1982
and preservedat the LSK/LV ofTjcers'flvins school
in Bautzen (OJfiz i er hochschuIe Franz l,f i hr ii s l.
E ast German II-28s w ere al so used to test new
models of parachutes.Before a test jumper coulcl
risk his life, a tin dummy filled with sand would be
dropped from an Il-28 at various speedsand alti-
tudes.
gypt (UnitedArab Republic;Arab
Republicof Egypt)
The Egyptian Air Force (EAF, or al Outrvrat ul-
Jawwiya it-Misriya) took delivery of its fi-rstBeagles
in December 1955,ordering about fifty B-228sand
CB-228s from Czechoslovakia.The aircraft were
based at Cairo-WestAB. After the Suez Crisis of
1956,in which at leastsevenof thesebomberswere
lost, President Gamal Abdel Nasser launched a
maJorprogrammeto re-equiphis armed forces;this
includedthe acquisitionof more Beugles.In March

Table18. EastGermanll-28s
Serial C/n Version Notes
I l??? ...2002 I l -2 8 Serialasreportedbut doubtful;latestGermanpublications do not confirm
existence of thisaircraftin EastGermany!
1 8 0Bl a c k . . . 9014
r8 Il -2 8 R Ex DDR-ZZI (enginetestbed.V EB EntwickIungsbaupirna),transferrecl
I - I | -61. WFU Oranienburg AB ?-?-76;
SOC*25-6-j9,scrapped
184Black 5901207 Il -2 8 R Ex DDR-ZZK (engine testbed,
VEB Entwicklungsbau pirna).transferred
l -l l -6 1 . W F U Orani enburgA?-?-77;
B S OC25-6-j 9,scrapped
1 9 0Bl a ck 55006937 Il -2 8 D/D 1959.SOC l2-10-82, scrapped
193Black 650103r
l? il-28U D/D 1961.C/n reportedas61031LCamouflaged. SOC30-3-79. becamea
targetat thegunneryrangein Peenemi.inde
I9 6 Bl a c k 55006944 il-28 D/D 1959.Crashed30-7-"11
204Black 4404426 Il -2 8 DID l2-l-62.Crashed in Poland12-10-63
205Black 54006279 Il-28 DID 1962.Crashedin the USSR?-5-69; SOC30-5-70
208Red** 55006448 rl-28 DID 1962.Camouflaged. SOCl3-10-82, preserved
BautzenMuseumthis
oate
224 Black 55006445 il-28 DID 1962.SOC9-l2-77.scrapped
226Black 5500641
7 Il -2 8 DID 1962.Crashed at Peenemiinde 4-2-i0:.SOC30-7-71
Notes:
* SOC = struck off charse.
':!* The red serial on 208 iinoteworthy, as normally only single-seatfighters wore
red serialsin the East German Air
Force; all other aircraft wore black serials.
The aircraft transferred lrom the Soviet Air Force havebeen referred to as Il-28Rs, which certainly
seemslogical"
considering that they were transferred lrom a reconnaissanceregiment. However, German ,ourcei
say only iwo
Il-28Rs were delivered;and indeed the other LSK/LV Beaglesd6not have the tip tanks characteristic
of the
reconnaissanceversion.
 100 . IrvusHrx lt-28 Bt-:,tc;r.r:
.t :i
,r
,
....'rii..,.i;li:::rl,
.. :.:.:
'..
,... '1 , {
'i
This EgyptianAir Forcc Il-28 was displayedin Cairo in I 956 togetl.rerwith otlicr aircraft therroperatedby the EA F. The
bomber can'iespre-UARAF greenand wliitc national insignia.r lt.,tRz r
1 957 t hr ee Rom a n i a n s h i p s b ro u g h t th e fl rs t ten
Il - 28s t o A lex and ri a ,a m o n g o th e r th i n g s ; b y l ate
Junet he E A F had a b o u t 4 0 o n s tre n g th .
I n his s peec ho n 2 5 J u l y 1 9 5 7o n th e o c c a s i onof
Nasser'sfiflh anniversary as President,Egyptian
Air Force Chief of Stafl Air Vice-Marshal
Mohammed Sidki stated that the EAF's first-line
assets had doubled as compared to the time
immediatelybeforethe SuezCrisis.To add weight to
his words.a formation of no fewerthan 100combat
jets was to pass over Cairo on the sarne day.
However. the show of lbrce fizzled because the
technicalstaff had managedto prepareonly 42 air-
craft for the display elevenMiG-l5bis Fugot-Bs,
eighteen MiG-l7F Fre,st'o-Cs and thirteen ll-28s.
The watching crowd went wild all the same, but
the messagewas clear: it would take years for
the Egyptian Air Force to becornefully combat-
capable.
When Egypt and Syria joined forces against
Israel, creating the United Arab Republic on I
February 1958,the EAF Il-28swere includedin the
assetsof the newly created United Arab Republic
Air Force (UARAF). Three squadrons of Beugles
were fbrmed: in addition to the basic bomber
and Il-28U trainer, the UARAF reportedly
operated Il-28R tactical PHOTINT aircraft and
Chinese-builtH-5s. Egypt reclaimedmost of these
aircraft in September1961when the United Arab
Republic ceased to exist and Egypt and Syria
(and their respectiveair forces)went their separate
ways.
Reports on the number of Egyptian ll-28s vary
widely, some sourcesstating as many as 72 aircraft
in 1966.These included four second-handIl-287
torpedo-bombersbought from the Soviet Navy in
1962with a supply of 90 RAT-52 torpedoes.Other
sourcesclaim that 21 of 30 (!?)aircrafi on strength
in 196l were destroyedon the ground by Israeli air
stri kesduri ng the S i x-D ay W ar (5 l l June 1967).
Two Il-28swereresoldto Nigeria and six to Syria; it
makesyou wonder where the remaining 34 aircraft
went! Anyway, by the beginning of the Holy Day
War (6 October 1973) Egypt had a Beugle force of
35 or 40 aircraft in four bomber squadronsand one
reconnaissancesquadron. The Il-28s were now
based at Aswan. No more than four or five
remained airworthy by 1983; two aircraft were
 B ttt;tt s Wonl Ir-u tD F . l 0l

1\ ! r'
*.-\
l'.*"*-| I l \ - **-*
\
'\
i\
:\

l*"

"*"-
g-:-:i

t"
t'-
'lL

.N*-i lb

Egyptian Air Forcc ll-28 1733at Kont Anshim AB: the aircrali wcarscamoullagcintrocluccdalier the Six-Dav War ol
1967. t ; ti ,,t(r,rtl ,,u ,tr, h i ,

w ri tte n of f on 25 A pr i l 1 9 7 0 u n d e r u n k n o w u c i r.- more ai l cral l i n r-ratural

clrmstances(possiblya rnid-air collision or ground
co l l i si on) .
On l y t wo air c r af t ,s e ri a l l e d1 7 3 3a n d 1 7 7 8 .h a v e
been positively identified so lhr; both wore
sand/brown camouflage.A drawing exists ol- one
metal fi ni sh seri al l ed1731.
Speakingof which, Egypt was one of the f'ew air'
iirms to havc camouflageclIl-28s (most operators
had silver-paintedaircrall); the camoullage was
introducedas a result of lessonslearnedin the Six-
Dav War.
 102. Ir.rLrsrrrtrt
lt-2E Br..u;r.r,

*t
*-,$

tr-
rlr#'f
.l
; ""'llili '.;,,,

3. t,.{

I
t"
A n trtlrcrcrrrno ul'll qc tl:l . Al; llc t t , glcl77li"
. ut ( ' lir . o- w c s t u i t h r S o v i c t _ b u i l K
t r A Z - 1 5 - 5 l l( r x ( rt r u c k i n t h c l o l . c g r . o L r n d.

Finland
J'h c l: inr r is hA ir F o r-c c(l l tttttro i n tu !)rc c c i l ,c crtncl \\i rth\,anous ty;l cs ol ' targcts.i ncl Lrcl i ng
l l -2ll bor ubc rlnc l o n c II-2 8 R p l i o to rc c o n n u i s s uncc l col tvcl t_
ti onal sock uncl u l ur-sccl urt-sha;l ccl gl i cl cr.Thc
i ri l c nr lt in 1960 I ; trv o n ro rc Il -2 8 R s fb l l o u c cl i n
ai l cral t l vcrc si l v' cr-ovcral l . l vi th the cl etuchabl c
1 9 66.S t r ange' ly c n o u g h .a l l l b u r Bt,ttg l cw
s c rc o p cr_ cngi nccow l i ngsori gi nal l ypai ntcclgrccn ou N H _l ;
l u te cbyl t hc F innis h A i t. F o rc c ' stfa n s p o rts c l u a dron l utcr.thc cow l i ngs.w i ngti ps(or ti p tanks.i n thc case
( KuIjt't u,s Icttt ttIu i yttt'. or KLrlj L Lv ) lLtU tti. of' the l l -28R s)anclstabi l i zcrti ps l vcrepai nteclcl av_
glo orange. Thc lircl.afi carriecl a clay,glou,.rng"
N Il-2ll/.1 wcrc latcr-cortve rtcclto targct tu-esaccorcl_ peunaulor_rl l i nccl i rt rcd ou thc fl n. pctssi bl to
v rtrark
i n g t o t hc S ov iet Il -2 8 B M s ta n c l u ri i th
: e -*rv
v o rkcd l l tcrDi rsti l t' ucttU gs.

'l'able19. l,'innish
Air Forcell-2lls
Serial C/rr !'ersion \otes
NII-I .-5706 il-2t D/ D* 28- l- ( r 0 :r 'c r i 'e c.lf i c . h c a r , 1 , i . r d i . - ul 0 - l l - 7 6 : f L r l lc / , 5 3 0 0 _ 5 7 0 ( r . j
NH - ] . I 710 It-2 tR D/ D l, l- 6- 6 l: WF L I 6 - 8 I : t i r l l c i n
NH .J . r 7l3 -590171(il
il-28R D/ D l- 66. W F L J1 0 - 6 - 8t : f i r l l c / n 5 9 0l 7 t i , l
NII-,1 . l 10 6 II-]ER DiD l- ( 16.wF L l 3 0 - 6 - 8l " p r c s e r 'c d s t r . r t t 'r t I r r r t t r i lM t r t t . s c . . T i k k a k o s k in: o t
N'loscou-br-rilt (secSo'"'ie r sccrion/ll-l8Tl).lirll c/n 5901l0(r.l
Notes:
* D/D Dclir,,crl,Datc
 Bt,tctts Wonlo-wrop . 103

I l-28R N H-2 (c/n I 7 l0) with camouflagedwraps on the tip tanks to hide the dayglo finish. ( Yt,lirtt
Gortlon
urcttirL
)

,.8rr

'r.\-

Another Finnish Il-28 target tug. NH-4 (cAr ll06); this aircral'tapparentlydoes not have the characteristicdayglo
markinss. ( Y'lin Gorlonurtlrirt,)
 104 . IryusHrNl..-28 Br,tctr;

Hungary
The Hungarian Air Force (MHRC - Magyar
HonvedsegRepik) Csapatai)introduced the Il-2g in
late 1954learly1955. Thirty-seven exampleswere
initially on strength, with one regiment based at
Kunmadaras; at least some of them (possiblyall)
were Czech-built B-228s and CB-228s. A second
Beagle regiment, the 82nd Vtsyes Reotik)
Hadosztaly (bomber regiment) at Keiskemet, was
established later.Little elseis known, exceDtthat the
l ast tl -28sw erereri redi n 19i 2.

Table20. HungarianAir Forcell-28s

Serial C/n Version Notes
l 0 Red ? il-28
I9 R ed ? il-28RTR Often reported in error as a Romanian Air Force aircraft
20 Red ,!
Il-28 PreservedO:igetvar Mu:eunt, V6cses.in lake Soviet Air Force markings
34 Red 56424 rr-2 8(B -2 2 8 )
50 Red ? Il -2 8 PreservedMugyur Repiilist\rtcneti Mu:ewn,szolnok
55 Red 56455 il-28 (8-228) Preserved,location unknown
7 l R ed 'l I l -2 8
72 Red ,)
Il-28
Tl R ed 69420',! il-28U(CB-228?)

34 Red, a Hungarian Beugle , in flight. ( ytfin Gontorturttrilc)

Czech-built Hungarian Air Force Il-28 55 Red in a local museum

 . 105
Bucrcs Wonlo-wron

Indonesia
When President Sukarno was in office. Indonesia
was on fairly good terms with the Soviet Union and
enjoyedSovietmilitary aid. In l96l the Indonesian
naval air arm (Tentera Nasional Inelonesru
Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL) took delivery of more
than thirty overhauled Il-28T torpedo-bombers
serialledfrom M-841 onwards, together with a suit-
able complement of RAT-52 torpedoes, and six
Il-28U trainers (M-801-M-806). The aircraft were
suppliedvia Czechoslovakia,which also servedas a
training basefor the crews,and equipped No. I and
No. 2l squadronsat Surabaya.Quite possibly the
aircraft were reserialledlater on, as a photo existsof
TNI-AL Beagles serialled 504, 506 and 508, plus
I1-28U sseri al l ed511and 512.
In 1966, however, Dr Sukarno was overthrown

"?&d.lai,$i r:irttiix,rrar!5t*{e*a.iq&*r
;;ar -!tx!Wq1'rit!er::**tr:"..,,

--8-

f ndonesianNavy Il-28T M-842 taxiesout for take-off.with M-844 and M-847 visiblebevond. I R/1nr)

Another IndonesianNavy Bcagle,now wearingTNI-AL insigniaand the new-styleserial506. rRznrr

106 . Ir-yusHrNIt-28 Bex;tr

I
ht , \.-

M-803, onc of'lbur IndonesianNavy ll-28Us. immediatelyafler take-oll'.rn.arizr

r,lriilllrw!&,

q".r

r:,,,r1,,]:r:llii{se

Another Mustot in new-styleTN I-AL insignia,apparentlywithdrawn fiom use.Note the double trccof spadesnoseart,
presumablya squadronbadge./ R.tRrl

by the staunchlyanti-Communist Gen. Suharto. A
wave of repressionsagainst Communists swept
through Indonesia, and Soviet support was
promptly cut off. Predictably,all Soviet-built air-
craft were soon grounded by lack of spares.The last
Beugleswere retired in June 1972.
light-bomber squadron equipped with ten ll-28s
and two Il-28Us. The aircraft were supplied via
Egypt in 1958,replacingde Havilland Venom FB.50
fighter-bombers.Interestingly,the M ilitair' 82 hand-
book reported ten Il-2SUs in servicewith the IrAF
i n 1982.

Iraq Kampuchea
Prior to the Six-Day War the Iraqi Air Force (ai A handful of Il-28s (probably Chinese-builtH-5s)
Quv,w'at ul-Jutrv'i,yu al-lraqiya) operated a single were operated bv the National Khmer Aviation
 Buctes Wonlo-wror. 107

A FederalNigerian Air Forcell-28 undergoingminor maintenance.rR;Rrr

,gar,;ff

This Federal Nigerian Air Force Beugle is photographed in an intriguing setting possibly after an off-field landing;
though none were lost to enemyaction. severalll-28sweredamagedin accidents./R,lnrl

(NKA) when the country was run by the dictator
Pol Pot.
Morocco
The Royal Moroccan Air Force (al Quwwat ul-
Jawwiya al-Malakiya Marakishiya or Aviation
Royale Chtrifienne) operated a mere two ll-28s,
probably supplied by Egypt.
Nigeria
In 1969Nigeria, which had been in the throes of a
civil war sinceMay 1967,bought three second-hand
Il-28 bombers (two from Egypt and one from
Algeria); some sources,though, claimed that the
FederalNigerian Air Force(FNAF) had at leastsix
of the type. The aircraft wore wraparound
green/darkbrown camouflage.Only one Nigerian
Il-28, NAF 635,is known; a drawing of an example
serialled NAF-158 has been oublished. but this
appearsdoubtful.
North Korea
An unknown
number
of Il-28sweredelivered
to the
Korean People'sArmy Air Force before the end of
the Korean War; at any rate, ten Beaglestook part in
 108. lryusurNlt-28 Bt,t<;r.r
th e v ic t or y par adei n Py o n g y a n go n 2 8 J u l y 1 9 5 3 .In
the early 1960sCommLrnistChina beganrebLrilding
North Korea'sair force in an attempt to strengthen
its military presencein the region. Obsolete ex-
PLAAF equipmentwas exportedto North Korea in
violation of the ceasefiretreaties;this included 70
ll-28s deliveredby sea. Deliveriescontinued r.rntil
th e m id- 1960s wh , e r, re l a ti o n sb e tw e e nC h i n a and
North Korea deteriorated. Only three examples
have been identifled to date; two ol these are
b o m ber s Har bin H -5 4 5 B l u e i n d a rk g re e nc a m-
oullage with natural metal undersurfacesand red
ru dder ,and I l- 28 3 1 4 R e d i n o v e ra l ln a tu ra l m e tal
fi n is h.T he t hir d a i rc ra l t i s a n Il -2 8 R s e ri a l l e d0 220
Red. onceagain in r.raturalmetal flnish.
Pakistan
In 1965China s ig n c da c o n tra c t w i th P a k i s ta non
th e dc liv er yol- c omb a tj c ts . n ra i rrl yC h c n g d u F T-5
trainer s ( a M iG - 1 7 c l e ri v a ti v ea) n d Sh e n y a n gF-6
(Chines e- bLr ilt M iG -I9 5 F ) l i g h te rsto rl .rePa k i s r l ni
Air Force(PAF. or PukistunFi:u'.t'u).The deal also
i n cluc ledlbur t ec nS o v i e t-b u i l tIl -2 8 b o m b e r-s w h i cl r Lrpgradi ngthe P W L w as compl eted;thc l l rst w as
wer e deliv er - edin 1 9 6 6 1 o l b rn t a l i g h t-b o m ber
sq uadr c lr rP. ak is t a nd e n i e dIn d i a n c l a i r.uth
s a t i t was
u singt he t y pe opc ra ti o n a l l y .
The r eas onf br th i s d e a l w a s th a t th e U S A had
wi thdr awn all nili ta ry s u p p o rt i n th e w a k e o 1 ' the
In d o- P ak is t ar nic o n tl i c t o f 1 9 6 5 . T h e PA F w as
e n t ir ely eqLr ippe dw i th U S a i rc ra fl . i n c l r" rdi ng reconnaissance
Ma r t in B - 57B s( a s p i n -o fl ' o f th e C a n b e rra ),a n d as
Polish Air Force I l-28 I I Red j ust belbre la nding . I t1.o
j.skrtruAggtt.ju Frrtt.qrulit
luospareswerefbrthcomingthe lbrce was facedwith
the daunting prospectof being gror-rnded entirely
or linding replacementaircrafi.
Thus, the Soviet'Canberra'wasselectedersa pos-
sible replacen-leutfbr the US Car.rberrasinceit was
readily availablefrom China. Moreover. Pakistan
w as evcn negoti ati ngthe del i veryof 30 to 40 Il -28s
directly fr"omthe USSR in 1969.Had the deal gone
through it would inevitablyhavecar.rsed a rifl in the
Indo-Soviet relationship. Eventually, however,
Pakistan arranged to buy an adequate supply ol'
Wright J65 turbojets fbr the B-57sin France,so thc
ll-28s werepr.rtin storageand neverflown.
Poland
The fl rst Il -28s fbr the P ol i sh A i r Force (P W L
Rtl.skicWoj.sko Lottric:a)arrivcd at Warsaw-Okpcie
ai rfi el d (w hi ch i s now thc ci ty' s i ntcrnati onalai r-
port) on 20 JLrl y1952.Thc typeattai ncdi ni ti al opcr-
ati ng capabi l i ty (l OC ) eal l y the l bl l ow i ng year.
allowing the ktrtg-servingTu-2 and PctlyakovPe-2
bombel s to be reti red. Thus thc secondstage ol '
tl.re replacentent ol' pislon-engined lighters with
Mi G-f 5 Fupt-A l B s and Mi G-17 Fr.r,,rcos w hi ch
w erel atcl l i cence-br.ribyl t the P ZL Mi el ecl actoryas
thc Li m-l /Li m-2 and Li n-5/Li m-6 scri esl espec-
tivcly.Apart liom the basclinebornber version,thc
P W L al sohad l l -28R seqLri ppi ng several l ong-rarrge
units.
A smal l number of- Il -28U trai ners w as al so
:ttut
 Wonro-u'tol.. |09
Bt..tc;t.t:s

sn
lr
;6-l ,,/
:r s/

/ ,rl

(r2 Rccl.anothcr P\NL Bruglc,in cruisc llight, LJnlikcll Rccl.this onc has a latc-nroclclSRO-2 Oll ktls IFF tlanspon-
ClCf. i ll i,l'li,,rrrr .1{crttju littr\rttliL:ttrt )

.>

:.*.*

\
A scrriot.o lllce rciveslas t - nr inut eins t r t t c t ions t c lt hec le w c l 1 'a P c l l i s h I l - 2 8 R . 0 3 R e d . , | | | l i 'l | ; a r t t
- -a'_*,N -fd--,f
 I l0 . lrYusHrNIt--28Bt,tct.n

delivered;starting in 1955, they served alongside
regufarIl-28s at the WOSL (Wyszu Ofic'erskaSzkokr
Lotniczu Officers'Higher Flying School) popu-
larly known as Szkola Orlet (Eaglets'School) at
Dgblin. The Masc'otswere known locally as SII-28,
the S standing for [samolotls:kolnt,(trainer), and
had alpha-numericserialscommencingwith S. The
PWL's ll-28s wereof both Sovietand Czechorisin.
Polish pilots quickly grew familiar with the type
and performed well during national and Warsaw
Pact manoeuvres.The most striking demonstration
of their skill, howevet came at the 1966 military
parade in Warsaw commemorating the 1,000th
anniversaryof Polish statehood.Until the 1970sit
was quite common to sky-write by flying in special
formations,and messages like 'Peace'or'50 yearsof

*
l; .
rJ ,"
"-Lta

C!
f.r*'-
f5
r if
*t:r

..ti:h ff
Maintenancework on P WL Il -2 8 U5 5 R e d .Note the non-standard dipole aerial mounted on the rear lairing. (wtj.skowt
Aguciu F'otogrulicnu )

A publicity shot of sevenPolish Air Force Il-28s. r M11skowt

Agentju
Fotogru/it:nu)
 BttctrsWonr-o-wroE . lll

Table21. KnownPolishAir Forcell-28s

Serial C/n Version Notes

l Red ? Il-28
2 Red ? I1-28 Air ForceTechnicalInstitute(ITWL), brakeparachutetestbed
3 Red ? r1-28
4 Red . . . 19 l0 It-28 Soviet-builtbut factory unknown. PreservedMuzeumWyzwoleniaMiasta
Poznania(PoznairCity Liberation Museum)*
5 Re d ? Il-28
TR e d ? n-28
03 Red ...2905 Il-28R Soviet-builtbut lactoryunknown
09 Red ? il-28
ll Red ? Il-28
17Red ? It-28
20 Red ? Il-28
22Red 56729 r-28 (9-228) PreservedMuzeumWojskaPolskiego(PolishArmed ForcesMuseum),
Warsaw,with fake serial65 Red (seebelow)
30 Red 41302 Il-28R (8-228?) Reserialledto, seebelow
32 Red(a)
32 Red (b) ? ll-28
33 Red ? Il-28
34 Red ? Il-28
39 Red ? Il-28
40 Red ? Il-28
4l Red 56729 11-28(B-228\
42 Red ? Il-28
43 Red ? 11-28
46 Red ? Il-28
50 Red 56538 Il-28(8-228) Convertedto targettug. Preserved Broni(Comradeship-
MuzeumBraterstwa
in-ArmsMuseum),Drzon6wnearZielonaG6ra**
52 Red ? ll-28 Seefive linesbelow
54 Red ? Il-28
57 Red ...2308 Il-28 Soviet-builtbut factoryunknown
58 Red ? Il-28
59 Red ? ll-28
62 Red ? Il-28
64 Red ...2113 Il-28 Soviet-builtbut factoryunknown.Reserialled
to, seebelow
52 Red Preserved
MuzeumOrg:a Polskiego (PolishArms Museum),Kolobrzeg
65 Red ...2212 Il-28 Soviet-builtbut factoryunknown.PreservedWOSL, Dpblin
68 Red ? Il-28R
69 Red ? ll-28 PreservedMuzeumMarynarki Wojennei(Navy Museum),Gdynia
72 Red 41909 Il-28R(8-228?) PreservedMuzeumLotnictwai Astronautyki(MLiA- Aerospace
Museum),
Krak6w; full c/n may be43051I 909
001Red ? il-28 ITWL, brakeparachutetestbed
021Red ? |-28
030Red ? Il-28R
101Red ? n-28
l l l Re d ? Il-28
I l9 Blue ? il-28 Convertedto, seebelow
il-28H Inst! tut Lo tnictwa,enginetestbed
133Red ? Il-28
Sl Red? ? Il-28U Existencenot provedbut likely
32 Red? ? il-28U Existencenot provedbut likely
53 Red 69216 il-28U (CB-228) PreservedMLiA, Krak6w
54 Red ? n-28U
55 Red ? Il-28U
not known 4r906 n-28 (8-228)? Couldbe an Il-28R(full c/n 430511906?)
Notes:
* Aka MuzeumCytadeliPoznafiskiej(PoznafrFortressMuseum)
*i! Somesourcesstatethis aircraft aspreservedMuzeumZiemi LubuskrT(Lublin RegionMuseum).
 112 . IrvusHrN h-28 Br,qcLe

something-or-other'made up of aircraft were Romania

almost obligatoryat airshows.Yet the Poleswent
onebetterand createdan eagle- the Polishnational This was one Socialistcountry that was paranoid
symbol- out of no fewerthan 33Il-28s.Theimpres- about security,so little wasknown about Romanian
siveformationwasled by Lt-Col JerzyW6jcik. Il-28s until recently.The type was introduced into
the Romanian Air Force (Foryele Aeriene ale
By the mid-1970sthe PolishIl-28shad beenwith- RepubliciiSocialisteRomdne)servicein early 1955,
drawn from firstJine serviceand usedas targettugs when the Regimentul282 Avialie Bombardament
with fabric sleeve-typetargets,just as in East (282ndBomberRegiment)atlanca AB,40 km (25
Germany. Yet again the Poles went one better, miles) south-westof Galati, took deliveryof the
developing targets with acoustic hit detectors. first three aircraft - two bombersand one Il-28U
The last PWL Beaglewas retired on 29 December trainer.aSoonafterwardsthe unit movedto Mihail
1977. Kogdlniceanu AB. As it oftendid, the SovietUnion
The Il-28 contributeda lot to the progressof sent a team of instructorsto train the customer's
parachutingin Poland.On 4 September1957the personnelin situ;the groupwhichcameto Romania
parachutistTadeuszDulla made a jump from an to assistin masteringthe Il-28 was led by Capt.
Il-28 flying at 12,500m (41,010ft),3 setting a Mikhail Boykov.It remainedwith the unit until 5
nationalrecord.Later,other Polishskydiversmade May 1955,whereuponthe282ndBomberRegiment
singleand group jumps from Il-28s in a similar relocated to Otopeni(nowBucharest's international
fashion. airport).
Two yearslater the unit moved yet again, this

Table22. KnownRomanian
Beagles
Serial C/n Version Notes
001Red Il-28U
002 Red ; Il-28U
003 Red i Il-28U
014Red ? Il-28
0 1 5Red ? ll-28
0 1 8Red ? r-28U
125Red? ? ? Existencenot confirmed
301 Red? ? B-5 Existencenot conhrmed
307Red ? B-5 Targettug conversion
308Red ? B-5
309Red ? B-5
3 1 0Red ,|
B-5 Repaintedin grey/bluecamouflageby 7-01as 310Black.Damagedbeyond
repairat Borcea-Fetegti
AB 2l-7-01
402 Red Il-28R PreservedMuseulAvialiei,Bucharest-Otopeniairport
403Red Il-28R Targettug. Crashedat BacduAB l-8-55
405 Red Il-28R PreservedMuseulAviatiei,Baneasasection
407 Red il-28U (BT-5?) DID 1979.StoredBacduAB
408Red il-28U (BT-s) DtD 1979
433Red I1-28 Targettug
443 Red Il-28
462 Red? B-5 Existencenot confirmed
491Red? B-5 Existencenot confirmed
501Red Il-28U
543 Red? B-5 Existence
not conhrmed
701Red B-5
703Red B-5 StoredBaciu AB
704Red B-5R
706Red B-5 StoredBaciu AB
707Red B-5
708Red B-5
709Red B-5
710Red? B-5 Existencenot confirmed

,,1&:a
.rltii:,
**
t{ L-
L:
: d#
A long row of VVS Beagleson the flight line, headedby ll-28U 03 Blue. ( y'lintGonton
time to Boteni. and was transformed into the
Regimentul 282 Avia(ie Cerc'etare(Reconaissance
Regiment).In 1960it was demotedto squadronsta-
tus, becoming the Escadrila 282 Aviulie Cert'eture,
and relocatedfor the last time to Borcea AB. near
Cocargeaua,whereit remainsat the time of writing.
Two of the bombers (433 Red and 443 Red) were
used for target-towing duties at Mihail
KogalniceanuAB in the 1960s;it is not known
whether they were standard Il-28BMs or local con-
versions.The original Soviet-builtBeugles(unoffi-
cially designated Il-28B in Romanian Air Force
service) and Il-28U trainers were later supple-
mented and gradually replaced by Chinese-built
B-5s deliveredin 1972.One of them. 307 Red. was
also converted for target-towing duties; target prac-
tice took placeat the Cap Midia gunnery range.
Starting in 1961,all Romanian Beuglasand their
engineswere refurbished at the Bacdu aircraft over-
haul plant (URA Bacdu).5In due time the unir was
renumbered, becoming Escadrila -i8 Avia(ie
Cercetare;also, the original natural metal finish of
the H-5s gave way to an overall light grey colour
scheme (except for the tail turret, which is white)
and the new Romanian roundels replacing the
Socialist-erastar-typeinsignia.Romania is the last
3 Other reports statea height of I 1,900rn (39.041ft)
A
Some sources claim that all three aircraft delivered initiallv
u ere t r a i n e r s .
5 Later renamed IAv Baclu (lntreprenderiu Avioane aviation
enterprise);now Aerostar SA.
. I 13
Bt,tcr,rsWonr-o-wroe
urtttitr,l
European nation to operatethe type. Incidentally,
the Romanians have given the Beuglca nickname,
BlAndul Bcn ('Gentle Ben', after a good-natured
bear in a TV series),reflectingthe aircraft'seasyand
forgiving handling.
A minor sensation(and a major treat for warbird
enthusiasts)was planned for 27 29 July 2001, when
a RomanianAir Force H-5 was to participatein the
30th Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF
Cottesmore,Rutland, making the type's first-ever
visit to the West. Unlbrtunately these plans were
dashed to the ground (literally) just a few days
beforethe show when the aircraft (3l0 Black) crash-
l andedduri ng a trai ni ng fl i ght on 2l Jul y,l osi ng i ts
enti restarboardw i ng. S i nceal l other survi vi ngH -5s
were non-airworthy at the tinte (or in less than
showcasecondition anyway),the trip had to be can-
celled.
Somalia
In the late 1960sthe Somalian AeronauticalCorps
(Dayuurutluhu Xooggu Dulka Sontuliyeed) report-
edly operated ten ll-28s. Unfortunately no details
are known.
Soviet Union
The SovietAir Force(VVS) was the largestoperator
of the type. Unfortunately, becauseof the systemof
tacticalcodesdescribedearlier,the only way of pos-
itively identifying an aircraft is by the construction
number, of which only a few are known.
114. Irvusurult-28 Bn.qcLr

Table 23. SovietBeagles

C/n Tacticalcode/ Version Notes
registration
a) Moscowproduction
50301104 none Il-28T* Prototype,IlyushinOKB
50301106 not known Il-28T* Prototype,IlyushinOKB. Converted
to, seebelow
4 Red II-28TM Prototype,IlyushinOKB
50301408 not known ll-28
50301801 not known Il-28
430512301 not known Il-28R
61003001? not known Il-28U C/n reportedas63001
6*003501? not known Il-28U C/n reportedas63501
52003701 not known Il-28 VK-5-poweredversion/firstprototype,IlyushinOKB
52003714 none I1-28RM Prototype,IlyushinOKB
52003719 not known 11-28 VK-5-poweredversion/second prototype,IlyushinOKB
53005005 not known Il-28
53005112 12Red Il-28LSh IlyushinOKB, ski landinggeartestbed
54005217 38 Red Il-28 - deliveredlate?
Yearin c/n out of sequence
53005710 l0 Blue ll-28LL LII, ejectionseattestbed
53005717? 09 Red Il-28T NikolayevMinelayerand Torpedo-Bomber FlyingSchool
53005771 04 Red Il-28 Preserved Soviet(Russian)Air ForceMuseum,Monino
55006424 26 Blue ll-28
55006445 not known Il-28 Transferred
to the EastGermanAF as224Black
55006,+48 not known Il-28 Transferred
to the EastGermanAF as208Red
55006542 I I Red Il-28 GSVG,OranienburgAB (until 1975)
55006937 not known Il-28 Transferred
to the EastGermanAF as 190Black
55006968 03 Red rl-28
65009706 42Blue Il-28U
65009807 100Red Il-28U
6501031I ? not known Il-28U C/n reportedas03I I . Transferred to the EastGermanAF as 193Black
65010809 16Red Il-28 Moscow-built.Recoded to. seebelow
10Red PreservedArmed ForcesMuseum,Moscow(currentlyresprayed as l0 Red
outllne)
b) Voronezhproduction
6450001 not known Il-28
6450301 not known Il-28
2402101 0l Red Il-28 LII, refuellingsystemtestbed
3402209 12Blue Il-28
3402701 notknown ll-28
c) Omskproduction
0016601 not known Il-28
0416601 not known Il-28
36603509 not known Il-28
36603807 01 Red Il-28 Preserved Moscow-Khodynka
56605702 33 Red Il-28 Preserved Civil AviationMuseum,Ulyanovsk,as11-20 (no tacticalcode,
Sovietflag on tail, Aeroflot logo on fuselage)
56606201 85 Red Il-28 Preserved/GlAKuibyshevAviation Institute (KuAI)**

d) unknown factories
...1905 not known 11-28 ProbablyMoscow-built(c/n 50301905)
...2007 not known 11-28 ProbablyMoscow-built(cln 50302207).
Developmentaircraft, Ilyushin
OKB, brakeparachutetests
...3513 not known Il-28 Full c/n 52003513
or 36603513
...4702 not known Il-28T Full cin 52004702
or 46604702
...4705 not known Il-28T Full c/n 52004705
or 46604705
? 2Red Il -2 8 -1 3 1
 BLlct,EsWonlo-wtor,. I l5
Tabfe 23 (continued). Soviet Beagles

Cln Tactical code/ Version

registration

,) 7 Red Il-2gT* PacificFleet/567th

MTAp
,) 08 B lue rt-28 57th VA/63rd BAD/408rh FBAp. Cherlyany
l9 Red AB. I957
il-28Sh
22 Red II-2 8 PreservedR Igu.rAvi ut.ij u.rM ti: c R i ga_Spi
? 2l Red f,r, Ivc
il-28Sh
? 25 Red II-2 8 S h
,!
29 Red II-2 8 Sh
? 30 Red II-2 8 Preservcdas gateguard at a Russianairbase
54005777 CCCP-A |-20
54006I 04 c c c P - A ...5 3 8 It-20 I e. SSSR- L.. . 5 3 8
,)
CCCP-A2035 il-20 Ie. SSSR-L2035;existencenot conflrnted
Notes:
The purpose-bLrilt
Il-2gT.witha long weaponsbay
:a*
Now SamaraStateAviation Univcriity
tSCAUf .

*h
{,

r!i:.-r:i:r,
A typical publicity shot from a Soviet
airfield.with II-28 crew chieri reporting
has red-painted cowlings. Note the II-28U to the pilots. At leastone arrcrafi.35 Rcd.
trainer io: n.a) ,,t ,h;;;;;i,h; i.r*. , ,rr,,,,Grtrrktn
urtttiyt,t
 I f 6 . f n 'L;srrnr
h.-2 8B r . . u; t . r

*.s
ffiaqr

A t y 1 - r i c r rSf o v i c t A i r - Fo lcc Il- lll cr u isin g u t h ig h a ltitu clc. , ,i 'ti ,,,(i trtt.tttrrrtti tt)

*{*S
'*'!
,g
$7 - r3;,*
rir
l',6'q

*CF**
w \3 qb.
' a, . '

.,!*.. ]*&t

This ll-2,3.67 Rccl.callies an 'Erccllcnt aircrall' baclgeon thc nosc.an award to the ground crew lbr maintaining the
b o t t t be t'i n p crf-cct co ttclitittn. ' IL' litr r( ior dut ur tltir L t

Syria
The Syrian Air Force (al Quwwat al-Jawwiya ul-
frqbiya as-Suriya) took delivery of six ex-Egyptian
Il-28s. Two of them were destroyed bv Israeli
attacks during the Six-Day War (5 ti fune tqOZ).
Taiwan (Republicof China)
The Republic of China Air Force operated a sinsle
e x-PL A A F I l- 28 whic h fe l l i n to N a ti o n a l i s th a n " d s
when its crew defected on ll November 1966. The
aircraft was reportedly used for spy missions over
mainland China, retaining its PLAAF stars-and-
bars insigniaand the serial0195Yellow.It is now on
display at the ROCAF museum at Taoyuan AB.
Vietnam(North)
Having establishedfairly close ties with North
Vietnam in the mid-1960s,Communist China
startedfoistingits obsoletemilitary aircraft,includ-
ing Beagles,on the Vietnamese. China servedas a
training and maintenancebasefor the Vietnamese
Bt,tctos Wonr-o-wroe. ll7
People'sAir Force (VPAF, or Kh6ng euan Nhant
Dan Vi€t Nam). For instance,Vietnamesell-28s
(obviouslyex-PLAAF but Soviet-builtaircraft)are
known to havebeenrepairedat Mengtseairbasein
Yunnan province.In 1968 the VpAF inventory
includedeight or ten Il-28sbasedin Hanoi. Only
threeserials,1817Red, 2210Red and 3256Red,
havebeenreported,but the former two are uncon-
firmed.
VPAF Il-28s probably supported North
Vietnamese groundtroopsduring the VietnamWar
but did not intrude into SouthVietnamin order to
hit Republicof VietnamAir Forceor USAF bases.
Yemen
Both North and SouthYemenoperatedthe Beagle
The yemenArab
on a smallscalein themid-1960s.
Republic(North Yemen)had six Il-28s,while the
People'sDemocratic Republic of yemen (South
Yemen)hadtwelve.Unfortunatelyno serials
or base
detailsareknown.
 o

Tup Ir -28rNDEran

tbllowing structural description applies
-Fh.I t o t he bas ic b o mb e r v e rs i o n o f th e Il -2 8.
I The Il-28 is an all-metal monoplane with
shoulder-mountedunswepttrapezoidalwings, two
turbojet enginesin underwing nacellesand a con-
ventional swept tail unit with a low-mounted tail-
plane. The crew includes three persons: pilot,
navigator/bombaimer and tail gunner/radioopera-
tor.
The airframe is made chiefly of D-l6T duralu-
min, with flush riveting usedthroughout. AK6 alu-
minium alloy is used for the wing/fuselage
attachment fittings and grade 30KhGSA steel for
the tail unit/fuselage attachment fittings. The
frames of the cockpit canopy, navigator's station
and tail gunner's station glazing frames are made
from cast ML5-TCh magnesiumalloy, as are the
frames of the navigator'sand tail gunner's entrance
hatches.
Fuselage: Circular-section stressed-skinsemi-
monocoquestructurebuilt in four sectionsfor ease
of assembly.The skin panels are 0.8 2.0 mm
(0.03 0.78in.) thick and are supportedby 50 fiames
(l -17, f 74, 18, l 8A , l 88 and 1947), i ncl udi ng 14
mainframes,and 38 stringers,7 of which are rein-
forced. Maximum fuselage diameter between
framesl 7 and 20 i s 1.8m (5 ft 10.86i n.).
The .forward fuselage (section ,F/. frames I I lA)

Ik)Llr.li IlAphAttr eut rti)Art,r,-.,lwl

,rn 1604 Jr r'^ri o^f| IAOA fl[

":-. .
lt\.

I t
'.":
I ,, ,, 5JrJ, ;"
A diagram from the manufacturer'sdrawings showing the internal layout of the ll-28R configured for night (above) and
day (below)reconnaissancemissions.r ttlttttG,,rJ,ttttrLltit't
)
 Tur L--28lN Dnrerl . ll9

.{"
'i!.!|
lr

l_u

- 't-* ' .*:i.ll

.!il. ..

rhis photo shows some ol the removitbleaccesspanels which made thc Bcuglcso easy to scrvicc.I ti,/ittt
Grrtl.rturcltiv,)

lncorporatesa pressurizedcockpit (frames 6 I lA) The centre.fuselage(section F2 , frames I I B 38A )

and a pressurizednavigator'scompartment (frames is unpressurized, incorporating the bomb bay
0-6), both of which have sloping rear bulkheads. (fiames l8-29) and the avionicsbay fbr the search
The navigator's compartment features extensive radar (frames l l B l 6). It al so accommodatesthe
Plexiglassglazing, with an optically flat Triplex wrng centresection(fiames23 21) and the fuel cells
lo we rfo rwar dpanel I 3- 1 5 mm (0 .5 1 0 .5 9i n .) rh i c k . are located in the f uselagelbrward and aft ol' the
The entrancehatch (frames3 6) locatedin liont ol' wings.The bomb bay is closedby two pneumatically
the cockpit canopy is offsetto starboardanclhinged actuateddoors powered by the pneumatic system.
to port; the navigator'sejectionseat is immediately with an emergencyair bottle.
below For bomb aiming by means of the optical The rear fuselagc (sectionFJ. frames 38B 42A) is
sight the navigatorusesa foldingjump seatattached
to frame 2.
The cockpit canopyconsistsof a fixed windshield
with an elliptical flat Triplex forward panel l3-15
mm thick and two curved sidelights,and a rear sec-
tion hinged to starboard with a one-pieceblown
Plexiglasstransparency.The cockpit is equipped
with a control column featuringa W-shapedcontrol
wheel, hinged rudder pedals. port and starboard
consoleswith throttles and other controls.The for-
ward fuselage incorporates the nosewheel well
(frames 4--1lA) and the nose cannon ammunition
boxes(frames7-8).
The ejection seats have back plates of l0 mm
(0 .3 9i n .) st eelar m our an d d i s h e di e a t p a n so f 6 m m
(0.23in.) steel.Additional duralumin armour sheets
10 3 0 mm ( 0. 39 l. l8 in. ) th i c k a re i n s ta l l e du n d e r
the navigator'sseat.The pilot's windshielddoesnot
incorporate bulletproof glass.Total weight of the
armo u r i s 454 k g ( l, 000 1 b ). The navigator's station glazing. I yt,litrrCiottlon
trrchircl
 120. IrvusurNlt-28 Bt,tr;r,t

".? f.
"*if".
3x;r*wx@dr:,:
t * ....,.. ,. .. :**.::*:

4
,lr

Tlrc cockpit carropy.Notc that Il-28 crewsslill wore lcathel heln-rcls (iortt.tt
and l1yinggoggles.1ti,/irtt urtttitt,)

also unpressurized,incorporating an avionics bay

(with ventral accessl.ratch)and tail unit attachment
.fl1" fittings locatedat frames38.40 and 42A. ll-28s built

eu by Plant No. 64 in Voronezhhave sectionsF2 and

Thc tbrward ttrselage of an ll-28U. 1 ti,/inrGontonurchirct
F3 cornbinedinto a singlewhole, so that the fuse-
lage is built in three sectionswith manulacturing
joints at fiames I I and 42.
The aft.fuseluge(section,lN4,
fiames 428 47) is the
tail gunner/radio operator's pressurized cabin
accessedfrom below via a forward-openinghatch
locatedbetweenfiames 42B and 45. The tail turret
is nrountedon fiarne 4'7.The gunner'sstation has a
106 rnm (4.11 in.) br-rlletproofrear window and
68 mm (2.67 in.) bulletproof side windows; addi-
tionally. the gunner and the ammunition boxes of
the Il-K6 turret are protected by 8 mm (0.31 in.)
steelarmour.
Wings: Cantilever shoulder-mounted two-spar
structurebuilt in threesections.The centresectionis
integratedinto the fuselageand the detachableone-
piece wing panels carry the engine nacelles.The
wings employ a TsAGI SR-5S(Pl l-l) aerofoilwith
 T u e L - 2 8 r ND n r e t . l 2 l

1f.
, \l *
L i l -i
n " -\il"K ,\

": riii
...r..
-rill:iiil ,,,r
,,::1.1,,r,,,'::
....:,:llai,'ri.
'i, "* l'::,llrrr

':ill'.',, ,,",,,
:tii!1111,.ir,
. ':lli,rr,'lri:li:,
.:::t:lt::::::::

The all l'uselageand tail unit of an Il-28R (c/n 2905),sl"rowingthe gunner"sentry hatch. which doublesas an escape
slide/slipstlearndeflector. l lll j.ttrnu.1.qt,rtt
ju Rtrogntl
il :rur1
 122. Ir-yusnrN
lt-28 BeN;tt
a thickness-to-chord ratio of 12"/u.Dthedral 1"12'.
incidence3o,aspectratio 7.55,taper 2.08.
The wing box fbrmed by the two spars (attached
to the fuselageat framesNos.23 and27), reinforced
skins and multiple ribs and stringers acceptsthe
aerodynamicalloads. The wing skins are 24 mm
(0 .0 7 - 0. 15in. ) t hic k . A r th e ti p s ,th e tra i l i n g e d g eis
occupiedby ailerons,the starboardaileron incorpo-
rating a trim tab. The rest of the trailing edge is
occupiedby two-sectionhydraulicallyactuatedslot-
ted flaps inboard and outboard of the engine
nacelles.The flaps are deflected20" for take-off and
48'for landing; total flap area is L45 m2(80 sq. ft).
Both the aileronsand the flapsare horn-balancedto
reducecontrol/actuatorforces.
Tail unit: Conventional swept tail surfaceswith
cantilevertailplanes.The fin and the stabilizershave
a two-sparstructureand are attachedto the fuselage
by threepairs of bolts.
The fin is sweptback 41" at quarter-chord(lead-
ing-edgesweepis 45'). The stabilizershave33olead-
i n g -edges weepand 7 ' d i h e d ra l . T h e ta i l u n i t u ti l i z e s
symmetrical NACA aerofbils with a thickness-to-
chord ratio of 12 10"/, fbr the vertical tail and
l l -1 0 ' k , lor t he hor i z o n ta l ta i l . S ta b i l i z e rs o a n i s
1 .3 6 m ( 24 f t 1. 17 i n .), s ta b i l i z e ra re a i s t0 .8 2 m ,
(1 1 6. 34s q. f t ) ; f in ar e ai s 7 .8 mr (8 3 .8 7s q . ft).
This view of Il-28U 42 Blue (c/n 65009706)showshow the Il-28'stwo-pieceannular cowlingsare removedto exposethe
enginecompletely.
Landing gear: Pneumatically retractable tricycle
type, with oleo-pneumatic shock absorberson each
unit. The aft-retractingnose unit has twin wheels-
ori gi nal l y 600 x 155 mm (23.6 x 6.1 i n.), l ater
600 x 180 mm (23.6 x 7.08 i n.) or 600 x 185 mm
(23.6 x 7.28 in.). The main units with single
1,150x 355 mm (45.27x 13.97i n.) w heel sretract
forward into the lower portions of the engine
nacelles,the wheelsturning through 90oby meansof
mechanical linkages to lie flat under the jetpipes.
The nosewheelwell is closedby a forward door seg-
ment attachedto the nosegear oleo and two lateral
doors; eachmainwheelwell is closedby twin lateral
doors and a small rear door hinged on the inboard
side. All wheel well doors remain oDen when the
geari s dow n.
The Il-28R hasa hydraulicallyretractablelanding
gear 1,260x 390 mm (49.6x 15.35i n.) mai nw heel s
f-eaturing a hydraulic spin-up system to prolong
tyre life. Wheel track L4 m (24 ft 3.3 in.), wheelbase
6.677m (21 ft 10.8i n.). N osew heel tyrepressure4.5
kg/cm' (0.315 psi), mainwheel tyre pressure 7-8
kg/cmr(0.49-0.56psi).
Powerplant:Two Klimov VK-lA non-afterburn-
ing turbojets,each rated at 2,100 kgp (5,952 lb st)
for take-off and 2,400 kgp (5,291 lb sr) lor
cruise. The VK-lA has a single-stagecentrifugal
*^ ' :r*FB{
*'', .tq", ,*

compressor,nine straight-flowcombustioncham-
bers, a single-stage axial turbine and a subsonic
fixed-areanozzle.The enginefeaturesan accessory
gearboxfor driving fuel, oil and hydraulicpumps
and electricalequipment.Starting is electricalby
meansof an ST2or ST2-48starter.
The enginesareinstalledin area-ruledunderwing
nacellesand fitted with long extensionjetpipes.
Eachengineis mountedon a bearervia four attach-
ment points: two trunnions on the right and left
sidesof the compressor casingbelowthe axisof the
engineand two mountinglugsin the upperpart of
the engine.The forward part of eachnacellecon-
sistsof two annularcowlingsections,the front sec-
tion incorporatinga paraboliccentrebodycarried
on a straight-through verticalpylon;whentheseare
detached,the engineis exposedalmostcompletely
for maintenance or removal.
To reducethetake-offrun, two PSR-1500-15 jet-
assisted take-off (JATO) rockets with a thrust of
1,650kgp (3,637lb st) and a burn time of 13 sec.
could be fitted to the centrefuselagesidesunderthe
wing roots.
Control system: Manual controls throughout.
One-pieceaileronsfor roll control,one-piece eleva-
tors for pitch control and one-piecerudder for
directionalcontrol; the rudder and elevatorsare
horn-balancedto reducecontrol forces.The star-
board aileron,rudderand both elevators incorpo-
rate trim tabs.The elevatorsand rudderhavecable
control runs, while the aileronsare controlledby
push-pullrods.The elevatortrim tabsaremechani-
cally operatedby meansof cables,while the star-
board aileronand rudder trim tabs are electrically
actuated.
Fuel system:Five self-sealing fuel cells(bladder
tanks)locatedin the fuselageaheadand aft of the
wings(No. l, framesI lA-15; No. 2, framesl5-18;
No.3, frames18-21;No.4, frames29-32;No.5,
frames 32-36). The cell walls are 3.3-10.8 mm
(0.120.42in.) thick.The total capacityof the fuel
systemis 7,908lit. (l,739imp.gal.)on the standard
bomberand6,600lir. (1,452imp.gal.)on theIl-28U
trainer.The Il-28R reconnaissance versionfeatures
modifiedinternaltankageand 950 lit. (209 imp.
gal.)drop tanksat the wingtips,which givesa total
of 9,5501i1. (2,101imp.gal.).
Electric system: Two GSR-9000 (later
STG-12000) starter-generatorsdriven by the
engines and two l2-4-30 lead-acid batteries
installedin the fuselage.
Hydraulicsystem:The hydraulicsystemoperates
the flaps,wheelbrakesand,on the Il-28R,the land-
ing gear actuatorsand mainwheelspin-up drives.
Hydraulicpoweris providedby a GNP-l hydraulic
Tue Il-28 rNDpren . 123
pump driven by the port engine,with two hydraulic
accumulatorsas a back-up.
Pneumaticsystem:The hydraulic system operates
the landing gear (on all versions except the I1-28R),
bomb bay doors, gunner's station entry hatch, and
inflatable canopy/hatch seals.In an emergencyit is
also used to deploy the flaps, operate the wheel
brakes and jettison the navigator's hatch cover.
Compressedair is stored in severalsphericalbottles
which are charged on the ground and topped up by
engine bleed air in flight.
De-icing system: The wings, tail unit and engine
air intakes are de-icedby engine bleed air.
Armament: The defensive armament comprises
four 23 mm (.90 calibre)Nudelman/RichterNR-23
cannon. Two of them, with 100 rpg, are rigidly
mounted in the nose, the other two, with 225 rpg,
are carried in the Il-K6 tail turret installed in the
rear fuselageand controlled by the gunner.
The normal bomb load of the Il-28 consistsof
1,000kg (2,204Ib) of bombs carried internally.The
maximum bomb load is 3,000kg(6,612lb) - i.e.one
FAB-3000HE bomb.
Avionicsandequipment
The 11-28featuresa comprehensive avionicssuite
enablingthe aircraft to operateat night and in any
weather.
a) pilotingand navigationequipment: SD-l VOR
receiver,AP-5 electricautopilot,OSP-48instrument
landingsystem(comprising an ARK-5 Amur auto-
matic directionfinder (in a dielectricfairing imme-
diately aft of the cockpit), an RV-2 Kristall
low-altituderadio altimeterand an MRP-48Dyatel
markerbeaconreceiver),RV-10high-altituderadio
altimeter.
b) communications equipment:RSU-5 (on early
production aircraft) or RSIU-3 Klyon (Maple)
UHF command radio; RSB-5 communications
radio with antennacablestretchedbetweenfin top
and antennamast immediatelyaft of the cockpit;
SPU-5intercom(samolyotnoye peregovornoye oost-
roystvo).
c) flight instrumentation:AGK-47B artificial
horizon,GPK-46 gyro compass,DGMK-3 remote
gyromagnetic compassindicator,KI-ll compass,
AB-52navigationdisplay,KUS-1200airspeedindi-
cator(ASI, kombineerovunnyy ookazahteI' skorost i),
VD-17 altimeter,RV-2 radio altimeter indicatot
EUP-46electricturn and bank indicator(elektrich-
eskiyooka1ahtel' povorota),VAR-75verticalspeed
indicator (YSI, variometr),UP-2 turn indicator
(ookazahtel' povorota), MA-095 Mach meter,
AVR-M and AChKhO chronometers. etc.
 124. IryusurNh--28Bntcu

T able24. Specifications
Overalllength 17.65m (57ft 10.88in.)
Span 21.45m (70ft 4.48in.)
Height 6.7m (21ft I I .77in.)
Wing area 60.8m'z(653.76 sq.ft)
Empty operatingweight 12,890kg (28,417lb)
Normal grossweight 18,400kg (40,564lb)
Maximum grossweight 21,000kg (46,2961b)
Grossweightin overloadcondition 23,200kg(51,146 lb)
Maximumlandingweight 14,750kg (32,517lb)
Normal bomb load 1,000kg (2,2041b)
Maximumbomb load 3,000kg (6,6121b)
Top speed: at S/L 800km/h(444.4kt)
at 4,500m (14,763ft) 902kmlh(501k0
at 10,000m (32,808ft) 855km/h@75 kt],
Unstickspeed: with an 18,400 kg (40,564Ib) TOW 235km/h ( I 30.5kO
k g (5 1 ,l a 6 l b T
with a 2 3 ,2 0 0 ) Ow 260km/h (144.4kt\
Landingspeed 185km/h(100.0kts)
Rate of climb 15m/sec\2.952ftlmin)
Serviceceiling: with an 18,400kg (40,564Ib)TOW 12,500m (41,010f0
witha23,200kg (5l,la6lb) TOW 10,750m (35,269ft)
Timeto height*: 5,000m (16,404ft) 6.5min
10,000m (32,808
f0 18.0mi n
2,500m (41,010
f0 31.0mi n
Time to serviceceiling: with an 18,400kg (40,564lb) TOW 40.7min
with a 23,200kg (51,1461b)TOW 45.4min
Range** 1,930km (1,198miles)
Endurance** 3 hrs 7 min
T/O run*: concretestrip, unstick speed220 km/h(122.2kt) 875m (2,870ft)
dirt strip,unstickspeed235km/h (130.5k0 1,290m (4,232ft)
T/O run***: concretestrip,unstickspeed260kr/h (144.4k0 1,720m (5,643f0
dirt strip,unstickspeed260km/h (144.4kt) 2,350m (7,709tt)
Landingrun I,170m (3,838
f0
Notes:
* with an 18,400kg(40,5641b)
TOW
** with a 20,750kg(a5,745Ib)TOW and cruisingat 9,700-11,500
m (31,82,t-37,729
ft).
*** with a23,200kg (51,1a6Ib)
TOW

d) targeting equipment:PSBN-M 360o ground-
mappingand searchradar,OPB-6SRoptical com-
putingbomb sight(on radar-equipped aircraftonly;
substitutedby OPB-5son aircraft with the radar
removed),PKI collimator gunsight (for the pilot)
and a collimator gunsight for the gunner. The
revolving radar antenna is coveredby a teardrop
fairing madeof PVC.
e) IFF equipment: Bariy-M (Barium) IFF
transponder in rear fuselage,later replaced by
SRO-2M Khrom (Chromium) IFF transponder
(samolyotnyy rahdiolokatseeonnyy otvetchik) with
triple rod aerialsaheadof the nosegearunit.
Tsp Ir--28rNrDnrarr-.125
RescueequipmentIn an emergency, the pilot and
navigator/bomb aimer use upward-firing ejection
seats.The tail gunner/radiooperator bales out
downwardsvia the entrancehatch; the hatch cover
is actuatedby twin pneumaticrams,doubling as a
slipstreamdeflector.
Il-28T torpedo-bombers carriedan LAS-3 inflat-
able rescuedinghy; one was also carried by recon-
naissance aircraft and bombers on overwater
missions.
Exteriorlighting:port, starboardand tail naviga-
tion lights; retractablelanding lights in the outer
facesof the eneinenacelles.
 Appendix I .
AcnoNYMSANDGrossARy

AD - air defence. or retractablelauncherand havingfoldaway

ADP - advanceddevelopment project.
AFA - aerofotoapparaht - qerial camera.
AM - [pushkafAfanas'yevai Makahrovq-
Afanas'yev/Makarov cannon.
AMD - aviatsionnayamina desanteeruyemayq - Free-fallweapons- i.e.,with no provisionfor
air-dropped[anti-shipping]mine.
ARK - avtomqticheskiyrahdiokompas- automatic
directionfinder (ADF) usedin coniunctionwith
groundbeacons
ASW - anti-submarine warfare.
AUW - all-up weight.
AVMF - Aviahtsiyavoyenno-morskovo flota -
NavalAir Arm.
BAD - bombardeerovochnava aviadiveeziva-
bomberdivision1= group).
BD - bahlochnyyderlhahtel' -beam-type
[weapons]rack (asdistinctfrom bomb cassettes
for small-calibrebombs).
Bleedair - excess air pipedfrom the compressor
sectionof a gasturbineenginefor varioususes
(pressurization, de-icingetc.).
CG - centreof gravity.
C-in-C- Commander-in-Chief.
COIN - counter-insurgency (roleor aircraft),i.e., IFF - identificationfriend-or-foe(usuallyby
for useagainstguerrillas;typically,this applies
to light fixed-wingattackaircraft,often adapted
from generalaviationdesigns.
DD - DefenceDistrict (voyennyyokroog)- one of
the largeareasinto which the territorv of the
SovietUnion (Russia)was(is) dividedwith
respectto the MoD's control of the Armed
Forces.
DF directionfinder.
DK - distantsionno foop ravIyayemay a] kormovaya
lst relkovaya oostanovkal - remote-controlledtail
barbette.
ECM - electroniccountermeasures (disruntinsthe
operationof enemyradiosand the likei.
Elevatingangle- angleof verticalmotion of a
trainablegun.
ELINT - electronicintelligence(reconnaissance). KP-14- kislorodnyy
FBAP frontovoy bombardeerovochnyy aviapolk-
tacticalbomberregiment(= wing).
FFAR - folding-fin aircraft rocket- unguided
rocketdesignedto be launchedfrom a podded
stabilisingfins to fit into its launchtube.
FOD - foreignobjectdamage(damageto a jet
enginecausedby ingestionof foreignobjects,
usuallyon the ground).
guidanceto the target.
GHQ - GeneralHeadquarters.
GKAT - Gosoodahrstvennyy komitetpo
aviatseeonnoy tekhnike- StateCommitteeon
AviationHardware(ex/toMAP, which see;
demotedduring the Khruschchovyearsbut then
reinstated).
GSVG = Grooppasovetskikhvoyskv Ghermuhnii-
Group of SovietForcesin [East]Germany
(19a5-89);renamedZGY (Zahpadnayagruoppa
voysk- WesternGroup of Forces,i.e.,
Soviet/Russian Armed Forcescontinsentin East
Germanyand then reunitedGermani in
r988-94).
HDU - hosedrum unit (a powereddrum installed
on a flight refuellingtankerfrom which the fuel
transferhoseis deployed).
HF - high frequency(radio).
meansof interrogatorsand transponders
sendingcodedsignalswheninterrogatedto
identifythe aircraftas 'friendly').
IFR (1) - instrumentflying rules.
IFR (2) - in-flight refuelling.
ILS - instrumentlandingsystem(systemof
ground-based and airborneradio navieation
aidspermittingblind runwayapproacf,'and
landingat night or in adverseweather).
IMC - instrumentmeteorological conditions
(whenthe pilot hasno externalvisual
references forjudging the aircraft'sattitudeand
altitudeand hasto rely solelyon the flight
instruments).
JATO - jet-assisted take-off(by meansof rocket
boostersto shortenthe take-offrun).
preehor- individualoxygen
breathingapparatus.
KU - kormovaya[strelkovaya]oostanovka- tajl
barbette.
LII - Lyotno-issledovatel'skiy institoot- Flight

ResearchInstitute named after Mikhail M.
Gromov in Zhukovskiy near Moscow.
LL letayuschchayalaboratoriya - lit. 'flying labo-
ratory' (testbed or research/surveyaircraft).
Localizer (LOC) a radio beacon indicating the
landing approach heading (part of the ground
component of an ILS).
Mach buffeting - vibration at high Mach numbers
causedby disruption of the airflow over the tail
surtaces.
Mach number the aircraft's speedin relation to
the speedof sound (333 m/sec) which is Mach
1 .0 .
MAP - M inisterstvo aviat,seeonnoypromyshlennosti
- Ministry of Aircraft Industry.
MMZ No. *t<* - Moskovskiy mashinostroitel'nyy
zavod Moscow Machinery Plant No. ***.
Mock-up reviewcommission- a commissioncon-
sisting of customer (in this context, Air Force)
and aircraft industry representativeswhich
inspectsa full-scale mock-up of a new aircraft
and reviews the advanced development project
in order to eliminateany obvious shortcomings
before prototype construction begins.
MOP Ministerstvo oboronnoy promyshlennosti -
Ministry of Defence Industry.
MRP - markernyy rahdiopreeyomnik - marker
beacon receiver.
MTAP - minno-torpednyyaviapolk minelaying
and torpedo-bomberregiment.
MTOW - maximum take-off weieht.
Never-exceed speed(Vxs) - the sfieedlimit deter-
mined for an aircraft due to structural strength
limits; exceedingit may causethe aircraft to
break up due to ram air pressure.
l'lll - neoochno- issledova t el' sk iy i nst it oot -
researchinstitute (any kind).
NII VVS naoochno-issledovatel'skiy institoot
voyenno-vozdooshnykh seel- (Soviet) Air Force
ResearchInstitute named after Valeriy p.
Chkalov.
NKPB noc.hnoykollimahtornyy pritsel bom-
bardirovochnyy- collimator bomb sight for
night use.
NR - ftrz^rfrfra]Noodel'mana i Rikhtera -
Nudelman/Richtercannon.
NS - pasikaf Noodel'mana i Soorahnova-
Nudelman/Sooranovcannon.
OKB - optyno-konstrooktorskoye byuro - experi-
mental design bureau.
OMTAP - otdel'nyy minno-torpednyy aviapolk -
independent minelaying and torpedo-bomber
reglment.
OPB - opticheskiy pritsel bombardirovochnyy -
optical bomb sight.
Acnoruyvseno Clossany . 127
ORAP - otdel'nyy razvedyvatel'nyy aviapolk
independent reconnaissanceregiment.
OSP oboroodovaniyeslepoy posahdki - blind
landing equipment (ILS).
PHOTINT - photographic intelligence(reconnais-
sance).
PO - preobrazovahtel'odnofahanyy- single-phase
AC converter.
PSBN - prihor slepovo bombometahniya i
navigahtsii- blind-bombing and navigation
device.
PSR = porokhovaya stsrtovctyq raketa solid-fuel
rocket booster.
PZL - Panstwowe Zaklady Lotnicze - State
Aircraft Factories concern (Poland).
RAT - reaktivnaya aviut.sionnayutorpeda air-
dropped rocket-propelled torpedo.
Radar cross-section(RCS) - a measureof how
visible an aircraft is to ground radars.
RB (in RB-17 designation) reaktivnyy bom-
bardirovsc'hchik- jet bomber.
RBP - rahdiolokatseeonnyy bombardirovochnyy
pritsel -'radar bomb sight' (bomb-aiming
radar).
RD - reaktivnyy dvigatel' - jet engine.
RDS - the meaning of this acronym designating
early Sovietnuclearmunitions (RDS-3. RDS-4
etc.) is not known but some sourceshave
deciphered it as reaktivnyy dvigatel' Stshlina -
'Stalin'sjet engine'!
REB - rahdioelekttonnayahor'ha, - ECM.
RP - rahdiopreetsel-'radio sight' (i.e., fire control
radar).
rpm - a) revolutions per minute (rotation speedof
a shaft etc.);b) rounds per minute (rate of fire
of a machine-gunor an automatic cannon).
RTR - rshdiotekhnicheskaya razvedka - ELINT.
RY - rahdiovysotomer- radio altimeter.
SAM - surface-to-airmissile.
Self-sealingfuel tanks - flexible tanks with a
special protective rubber layer. The rubber swells
when it comes into contact with iet fuel if the
tank is punctured by bullets.theieby closingthe
bullet holes and stopping the leak.
SP - [sistema]slepoyposahdki blind landing
system(ILS).
SPU - samolyotnyy dahl'nomer distance measur-
ing equipment(DME)
sPU - samolyotnoyeperegovofnoye oostroystvo -
intercom.
ss (as a suffix to numbers of official documents) -
sovershennosekyetno- toD secret.
Stateacceptancetrials in ihe Soviet
Union/Russia, trials in order to determine
whether a military aircraft is suitable for service.
128. IrvusHrNlr-28 BtrcLr
For civil aircraft, Stateacceptancetrials are
basicallycertification trials.
TKRD - toorbokompressornyyreaktivnyy dvigatel'
- lit. 'turbo-compressor jet engine'(an early
Sovietterm for turbojets).
Traversingangle- angleof sidewaysmotion of a
trainablegun.
TsAGI - Tsentrahl'nyyaero- i ghidrodinameech-
eskiy institool - Central Aerodynamics&
HydrodynamicsInstitute namedafter Nikolay
YegorovichZhukovskiy.
U (i.e.,U-19) - ooskorttel- booster.
UB (l), e.g.,UB-2F Chaika- oopravlyayemaya
bomba- guidedbomb.
UB (2), e.g.,UB-16-57- ooniversahl'nyy blok -
versatile[rocket]pod, i.e., one that can be
carried by various aircraft types.
YA - vozdooshnaya armiya- air army (= air force).
VEB - Volkseigener Betrieb(German)- people's
(i.e.,state-owned)enterprisein former East
Germany.
VHF - very high frequency(radio).
VMC - visual meteorologicalconditions (more or
lessclear weatherwhen the pilot canjudge the
aircraft'sattitude and altitude by using external
visual references).
WS - Voyenno-vozdooshnyye seely- Air Force(in
this instance.Soviet/Russian Air Force).
 . Appendix II
Dnrnn Praxs

The Rolls-Royce first prototypeIl-28.

Nene-powered

The secondprototypepoweredby RD-45F engines.

An early-production 11-28;note the redesignedcanopy and the addition of landing lights.

130. IryusHrr.r
L-28 BercLr

A later11-28
bomber;note the relocatedlandinglights.

Above, below and opposite:A three-viewillustration of a typical production Beagle.

Dererr-Pr-eNs. 131
132. Ir-yusHrN
Ir-28 Br,tctt

An Il-28 fitted with non-standardcommunications

equipment;note the additionalaerialsunderthe rearfuselaee.

Another Beaglewith non-standardcommunications

equipmentand a differenranrennaarray.

The Il-28U trainerprototype.

 DererrPleNs. 133

A typicalproductionIl-28U.

A prototypeof the I1-28Rreconnaissance

aircraft;note the aerialatop the extremenose.

A productionIl-28R with early-modelcommunications

equipment(notethe wire aerialfrom cockpitto fin).
134. Irvussrulr-28 Brtctn

An updatedIl-28R with a bladeaerialfor the communications

radio.

One of the two Il-28Rsdeliverednew to EastGermanyin its latterdaysas EastGermanAir Force180Black or 184
Black.The aircraftis convertedfor target-towingduties;note the lack of radar and cannon.

A PolishAir ForceIl-28 in ECM configurationwith wingtipjammerpods.

 Derarr-PreNs. 135

The I1-28RTELINT version.

An Il-28T torpedo-bomber
conversion.

Presumablythe Il-28N nuclear-capable

bomber.
136. IlyusurNL-28 Br.tcrt

The Il-28RM prototype.

The experimental
Il-28 bomberwith VK-5E engines;note the non-standardcockpit glazing.

4 Red,the II-2STM prorotype(c/n 50301106).

 . 137
Derar Pr-eNs

Scrapviewsof the II-28TM'smodifiednoseglazingand tip tanks.

with a UB-2F Chaikaguidedbomb underthe fuselage.

An 11-28-131

An Il-28Shattackaircraft
138. IryusuruIr-28 Bzrcrc

An II-28BM targettug.

II-28LL l0 Blue(c/n 53005710),

LII's ejectionseattestbedusedin the Vostokmanned-spacecraft
programme.

01 Red (cln2402l0l), the Il-28 usedby LII as a tankertrainer.

 . 139
Dnran Pr-eNs

The Il-28 refuellingsystemtestbedwith a fixedrefuellingprobe.

The SovietIl-28R usedas a testbedfor a Dooshkinliquid-propellantrocket

englne.

DM-ZZI (c/n l4l8) or DM-ZZK (cln 5901207),

one of two Il-28Rsusedas testbedsfor the EastGermanpirna
0l4,A._1
turboiet.
140. Ir-vusurrr
lt-28 Br,cctt

Avia8-228 6915(cln 569I 5) as originallyusedto testthe walter M-701 turboiet.

The sameairqalt in a laterconfigurationwith the IvchenkoAI-25TL (walter Titan) turbofan.

An Il-20 mailplaneusedby Aeroflot.

 DBraruPraus . 141

A standardCzechAir ForceAvia B-228(BA-l I , cln 56775)with a Sirenaradar warning receiver.

An early-productionHarbin H-5.
Ixnpx
Pagenumbers in italics refer to illustrations

access panels 119 Czechoslovakian

mutiny 89
Aeroflot 64, 66-67.66.67 Czechoslovakian
production 70,72 seealso Avta9-228;
Afghanistanservice90, 92 AviaCB-228
'aircraft73' (Ttt-14) 15 Czechoslovakian
service34, 65-66,70, 70, 93,9 5-98,
'aircraft77'(Tu-12) 10,I0 95,96
'aircraft8l' 18
airframe I 18 de-i ci ngsystem
13,123
Albanianservice92 defects78
Algerian service 92
anti-submarinewarfareaircraft, ll-28PL 49 ECM aircraft,II-28REB(?\ 33,34
Arab-Israeliwars 86, 89 seealsoSix-DayWar ELINT aircraft,II-28RTR 33,J-t
armament 1l-12, 123seealsotail turret,Il-K6 EgyptianAir Force 85-86,99-101, 100,I0l, 102
ball ejectionseattestbed,I|-28LL 56,56, 57, 58,58
attackaircraft,Il-28Sh 49-50,50,85, 89-90 ejectionseats13,24
Avia 8-228:63, 65-66,70, 70,95 ejectiontrainerversion,ll-28u 29,29
Avia CB-228: 96 enginetestbeds
avionics 13, 16, 123,125 Czech63,65-66
avionicstestbeds54-55,55 EastGerman 62,64-65
Il-28H 66
bank, uncommanded13 Soviet 6l-62,62
Berkootov,pilot 88-89 EnglishElectricCanberra70,72
Biafra 87-88 equipment 123,125
Bobrovskiy,Capt.A. A. 85
Bogdanov,Fyodor D. 53 fighterdevelopment8l
bomb.RDS-4nuclear 40 FinnishAir Force 90-91.102
bomb,UB-2F Chaika guided47, 47,49 N H -2:103
bombload 13 N H -3:5J
bomb sight l3-14 NH-4:10-i
bomberversion,basic 22,24 first flight 14-15
Boogaiskiy,V. N. l4 foreignproduction 67-68, 70,72
BrunoBaadeBB 152:62,65 fuelcells 22.24.123
Bulgarianservice92 fuselage13,118-120

CG shift problem 22,24 Gallai, Mark L. 54

CastroRuz,Fidel 84 Germany,East,servicein 82-83,84,98 99,98
ChengChung,Vice-Commander86 Goryaynov,Nikolai O. 59
ChineseAir Arm (PLAAF) 67 68,68, 69, 70, 89, 90, guidedbombcarrier,Il-28-l3l: 47,47,49
92-93.93.94
Chinesedefections86 87,90 Harbin
Chineseproduction 67 68,68,70 seealsoHarbin BT-5:68,69
cockpit l2-13 H-5: 67-68,68, 69, 70, 92,93
cockpitcanopy 12,18,22,ll9, 120 HI-5:68,69
Cold War 79-85 H Z-5: 68.70
combattactics 79 80, 81-82 HungarianAir Force 33,104,104
constructionnumbersystems20 Hungarianuprising 85
CubanMissileCrisis 83-84 hydrogenbomb test 73 74
 INosx . 143

Ilyushin,SergeyVladimirovich8, ll, 14, 11 18Blue 55,55

Ilyushin 42Blue 122
Il-20 (Il-28P)mailplane 64, 66 67, 66, 67 79 Red 80
Il -2 2 :9 -10, 9 85 Red 26
ll-28 Beaglebomber 22,23,25 87 Fred26
08 Blue 8J cockpit 26 27
lQ Rred24, 35 ejectiontrainer version 29,29
12Blue 8J production 28
23 Pred 74 prototype27,28
26Blue 21 Il-2824 weatherreconnaissance aircraft 50
27 Blue 2I l l -46:71,72
30 Red 24 improvements22,24
35 Red 1/J in-flightrefuelling systemtestbeds58 59,59,6l
5l Blue 2-i Indonesian Navy 105-106,105, 106
67 Fred 116 instrumentlandingsystem 13
Il-28-l3l guidedbomb carrier 47, 47,49 Iraqi Air Force 89, 106
Il-28A (If-28N) nuclear-capable bomber 40,40 Irons,Gen. 87
II-28BM target-towingaircraft 50,51, 52,53
I1-28Henginetestbed66 Kampuchea,servicein 90, 106-107
l1-28LLejectionseattestbed 56,56,57,58,58 Karmishin,Capt. D. D. 85
II-28LL radar testbed54-55 Kennedy,PresidentJohn F. 83
Il-28LShlandinggeartestbed60,61,61 Khachemizov, navigator/bomb aimer 88-89
Il-28Mtargetdrone 53,54 Khruschev,Nikita S. 83, 84
Il-28N (ll-28A) nuclear-capable bomber 40, 40 K okki nakiV
, l adi mi rK . l + 15, 16,l 8-19,27,29,32,
Il-28P(ll-20)mailplane64,66-61,66,67 39,72
II-2SPLanti-submarinewarfare airqaft 49 KootyntsevN. M. 89
Il-28R tacticalreconnaissance aircraft 29-30,32,I l, Korea,North, service in 85, 107-108
90-91.98.103.121 Koubek.Gustav 96. 97.98
avionics32 Krautz, Helmut 65
cameras30 Kurchatov,lgor'Y. 74
fuel system30 Kiiss,I.B. 29
internallayout 118
landinggear 30,32 landinggear 12,122
performance32 landinggeartestbeds60,61,61
performance, take-off(field) 33 Lavochkin La-2008 54,55
Polish -11,109 Li Hsien-pin 86
prototype29,30 Li Tsai-wang86
I|-28REB(?)ECM aircraft 33,34 Liang Pao-sheng86
Il-28RM experimental tacticalreconnaissance aircraft
4 1 ,4 1 , 42, 43, 45 maidenflight 14-15
II-28RTRELINT aircraft 33,-l-l mailplane,Il-20(Il-28P)64,66-67,66,67
Il-28Stacticalbomberproject 4l manufacturingchanges24
Il-28Shattackaircraft 49-50.50.85. 89-90 Mewes,Klaus-Hermann65
I1-28Ttorpedo-bomber 36 39,36,37,105 Mikoyan MiG-19 Farmer-A 58 59, 81
fuel system37 Mikoyan MiG-19 Farmer-C8l
ordnanceload 37. 39 Mikoyan MiG-19PFarmer-B28
prototype37,39 missiletargetingsystemsresearchaircraft 55
specifications38 missiles53
Il-28T torpedo-bomber conversion39-40 modifications22,24
I1-28TMexperimental torpedo-bomber4647, 46, 48 Moroccanservice107
l1-28UMascoltrainer 25-29,25, 28, 79,96,106,110, MoscowMay Day parade,1952:76,78
120 Myasishchchev, Vladimir Mikhailovich l0
03 Blue 11J
03 Red 115 NATO codenamegiven 21
 144. IryusnrNlr-28 Bt,qcLr

Nasser,PresidentGamalAbdel 85 86. g7. gg.99 stabilityl5

navigator'sstationglazing ll9, I Ig Stalin,Josef 17,78
Nigeria,servicein 87-88,107,107 Stalin,VasiliyI. 76,78
nuclearbomb test 73 Suezcrisis 85-86
nucfear-capable bomber,Il-28N (ll-28A) 40"40 survivors9l
nuclearexercise,tactical 74,76 SyrianAir Force I 17
systems123
Ojukwu,Col 87
OperationKadesh 86 tacticalbomber,experimental, with VK-5 engines44,
OperationMangoosta(Mongoose)83-g4 45
OperationMusketeer86 tacticalbomberproject,Il-28S 41
tacticalcodes l5
Pakistaniservice108 tail turret, Il-K6 ball ll-12, 19,82
parachutetestbeds65-66 tai l uni t 12,13,121,122
parachutingworld recordattempts96_9g Taiwan'sclaim of independence 85, 86
performancecomparison 17, 32 seea/sotake-off(held) Taiwanese service I l7
performance take-offperformance15,33
PolishAir Force-11,66, 108,108,l0g, ltLlt2. I I0 targetdrone,Il-28M 53,54
powerplants targetdrones,PM-6G/R 52
Klimov RD-45F 16 target-towingaircraft
Kl i m ovV K - l: l7- 18.7 8 EastGermanversion 52-53
Klimov VK-IA 122*123,122 performance comparisons52
Klimov YK-5: 41,44,45 Romanianversion 53
Rolls-Royce Nene(Klimov RD-45) l2 Sovietversions (I|-28BM) 50,51,52,53
pre-production Il-28:18-19,18.l9 Titov, Gherman 58
production,total 70 torpedo,RAT-52rocket-propelled34, 35,36
productioncommences19,21.22 torpedo-bomber conversion34,35, 36 seealsoIlyushin
prototypes\4-15,14, 16 II-28T/TM
Puhlmann,Gerhard 65 trainer seeIlyushin Il-281JMascot
training 79-81
radar l8 Tupolev,Andrey N. 15-16
radar testbed,I|-28LL 5+55 Tupolev
radiationreconnaissance aircraft 34 Tu-12('aircraft77') 10,I0
Razumov,R. A. 54-55 Tu-14:15,16,17
reconnaissance aircraft seeIlyushinIl-28R; Ilyushin Tu-l4T (Tu-89)16
II-28RM Tu-77(Tu-12) 10,I0
reliability 78 Tu-81(Tu-14)16
RomanianAir Force 53. I l2-l l3 Tu-89(Tu-14T)16
tyres 16
serialnumbers 15
Sidki,Air Vice-MarshalMohammed 100 undercarriage12,122
Six-DayWar 88
ski landinggeartestbed, Il-28LSh60,61,6I Vietnam,servicein 88-89,l17
Somalianservice113 Vinogradov,A. P. 27, 29,39
Sorokin,N. D. 1+15, l8-19, 39 Vostokre-entryvehicleejectionseat 56, 56,52,59,
S o vi eAi
t r F or c e( V V S ) 1 0 ,7 3 ,8 5 l,l 3 1 1 5 58
63rdBAD 79 80,81
647thSpecialCompositeSupportAir Regiment34 war service85-91
flying schools78, 85 weatherreconnaissance
aircraft, ll-282| 50
target-towingflights/squadrons g5 w i ngs 12,13,120,122
SovietArmy motorcyclists24
SovietNavalAir Arm (AVMF) 28-29,j6, 27.8+85 Yartsev.Lt. (sg)V. Ye. 85
specifications124 Yemen,servicein 87, Ilj
speeds, top l9 Yerofeyev,B. A. 27, 29