Ilyushin Il-28 Beagle

The Ilyushin Il-28 Beagle was the primary daylight tactical bomber for the Soviet Union until the mid 1980's.

The Il-28 was first flown on August 8, 1948 and entered service in 1950. The twin jet, high wing bomber has enjoyed remarkable success, seeing limited action in Korea, Afghanistan and Vietnam. The aircraft was the product of WWII German technology. By 1950 the aircraft was being license-built in China, Czechoslovakia and Poland and were sold to over twenty other nations.

There are a few different variants of the aircraft, although it's design never underwent any significant changes. The Il-28R was the first variant, which had wingtip mounted extra fuel tanks. The twin cockpit trainer version was the Il-28U "Mascot". Small numbers of the aircraft saw service with the Soviet Navy, and these aircraft were designated the Il-28T. The Il-28Ts could carry torpedoes and spent much of their time patrolling the Baltic Sea. In China, the license-built copy of the standard Il-28 was designated the Harbin Y-5. China used the aircraft extensively, building more than 500 of the type for both the People's Liberation Army Air Force and Navy.

Maximum Speed: 560 miles per hour
Service Ceiling: 40,355 feet
Crew: 3-Pilot, Tail gunner, Navigator/Bombardier
Armament: two 23-mm NR-23 fixed cannon in the nose, two 23-mm NR-23 trainable cannon in a tail turret, plus a bomb load of up to 6,614-lbs.

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