IL-10 Beast – PDF

The Ilyushin Il-10 “Beast” was developed during World War II to replace the enormously successful Il-2 Shturmovik with a faster and more capable armored ground-attack aircraft. Designed by the Ilyushin design bureau, the Il-10 retained the basic concept of protecting the crew and vital components within an armored structure while incorporating improved aerodynamics, greater performance, and better defensive capabilities. Its combination of cannon, machine guns, bombs, and rockets allowed it to attack troops, vehicles, artillery positions, and other battlefield targets.

The Il-10 entered Soviet combat service during the final months of World War II and participated in operations against Germany in 1945. It also saw action against Japanese forces during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. Although it arrived too late to achieve the wartime prominence of the Il-2, the Il-10 represented the culmination of Soviet experience with heavily armored piston-engine attack aircraft.

Following World War II, the Il-10 became an important ground-attack aircraft for the Soviet Union and several allied nations. Czechoslovakia produced an improved version as the Avia B-33, while the aircraft also equipped Polish, Chinese, and North Korean forces. North Korean Il-10s saw extensive combat during the opening stages of the Korean War, attacking South Korean and United Nations troops and transportation targets before suffering increasingly heavy losses to opposing fighters and anti-aircraft defenses.

The Il-10 bridged the transition between the massed armored attack aircraft of World War II and the jet-powered tactical aircraft of the Cold War. Although its operational career was relatively short compared with its legendary predecessor, its service from the final battles of World War II through the Korean War made the “Beast” an important example of Soviet ground-attack aviation during a rapidly changing era.

Service Branch: Soviet Air Forces
Soviet Service: 1945–1956
Number Built: 6,000+

What’s Included:

For both the USSR and North Korean versions

• 12 1.5” square counter images
• 24 1” square counter images
• 35 .75” square counter images
• 40 .625” square counter images
• Numbered Images to assist with game organization and tracking
• Printable PDF format for personal gaming use

Each image size is contained on a ½ sheet.

• Enables users to save paper and print 2 types of aircraft on the same page.
• Print one set of aircraft images then reverse the page in the printer and print a second type of your choice on the same page.