IL-2-37

Description

The IL-2-37 is a rank Soviet strike aircraft with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory".

The IL-2-37 is the slowest of all of the extended-cockpit IL-2 variants (those featuring a gunner). As such, the IL-2-37 should be played as a strike aircraft and only as a strike aircraft. Anything else will get it destroyed very quickly.

The IL-2-37 is meant for swooping down and taking out tanks with its dual 37 mm NS-37 cannons. It does a fairly decent job at doing so, it is recommended to dive at a high angle and shoot the top of the tank to set them on fire or kill the crew.

General info

Flight performance

Details

Survivability and armour

• 6 mm Steel plate behind propeller.
• 4 mm Steel plate covering the front fuselage.
• 12 mm Steel plate in air intake.
• 6 mm Steel plates around the oil cooling system.
• 5 mm Steel plates around the fuel tank.
• 6 mm Steel plates surrounding the cockpit.
• 64 mm Bulletproof glass in cockpit front.
• 4 mm Steel plate above cockpit fuel tank.
• 12 mm Steel plate separating cockpit and rear gunner.
• 6 mm Steel plate in front of the rear gunner.

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Offensive armament

The IL-2-37 is armed with:

• 2 x 37 mm NS-37 cannons, wing-mounted (56 rpg = 112 total)
• 2 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns, wing-mounted (750 rpg = 1,500 total)

Suspended armament

The IL-2-37 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 4 x 50 kg FAB-50sv bombs (200 kg total)
• 2 x 100 kg FAB-100sv bombs (200 kg total)

Defensive armament

The IL-2-37 is defended by:

• 1 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine gun, dorsal turret (150 rpg)

Usage in battles

Being a true attacker, it should head straight to its target immediately as the battle starts.

Tips for gunners

The gunner is extremely powerful and accurate even before upgrades, it is not uncommon to get three or more gunner kills in one game. Take advantage of the fact that many enemies will approach the aircraft from straight behind, so switch to gunner view and just aim for the cockpit of the enemy plane attacking the tail. Use the Armoured targets belt for the gunner, as they feature a cement-core round capable of penetrating through most bulletproof glass, engine casing, and armour.

37 mm's

The IL-2-37 comes with a pair of 37 mm guns, each with 56 rounds loaded. In tank battles, dive from above and attack targets through their more vulnerable roof. In air battles, come from the side or back as enemies are usually travelling in a straight line. Set a gun targeting distance of no less than 500 m so the IL-2-37 can pull out of the fray once it passes over. When the enemy is in sights, fire once and see if the shots hit and kill the target. If it doesn't, fire again, and pull out of the engagement if the target was not destroyed in the two volleys. Go around for another pass or focus on a new ground target in the IL-2-37's flight path.

Manual Engine Control

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great at ground striking
• Has dual 37 mm NS-37 cannons on the wings
• Extremely generous ammo count
• One of the most durable single-engine planes in the game
• First Sturmovik model with a rear gunner

Cons:

• Hard to fly
• Takes skill to fly at low speeds
• Does not want to roll when exceeding 500 km/h (310 mph)
• The armament weight restricts the amount of payload ordnance
• No rocket armament
• Stock aircraft has an abhorrent turning radius
• 37 mm stock cannon repetitive shot spread unreliable

History

Based on the two-seat Il-2, armed with Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 in conformable gun pods under the wings, instead of the 20/23 mm cannons, this version is an attempt to create an anti-tank aircraft, first used in combat during the Battle of Kursk. However, the combat effectiveness was quite low and production of the variant was limited to about 3,500. Moreover, the bomb load was decreased from 600 kg to 200 kg. It was replaced by the conventional Il-2 attackers armed with cassettes with cumulative bomblets.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the IL-2-37 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Vehicle Profile] IL-2-37 - The Sturmovik Tankbuster
• Official data sheet - more details about the performance
• [WIkipedia] Ilyushin IL-2