How to shoot down the IL-2?

[JG_deserteagle540]

Dear Pilots,

 

 

I know that in real life the luftwaffe had difficulties shooting down the flying tank IL-2. In this this game it is very similar, so that is good for the realism.

 

In real life the oil cooler below the plane seemed to be the weak spot and once hit the engine would die quickly due to failure of lubrication. However in the game this seems hard to achieve.

 

 

What is your experience downing the Il-2?

 

Head-on attacks, diving from above, hanging on his six, hanging below his six, aiming for the oil cooler or anything else?

 

 

[[_FLAPS_]Grim]

Didnt see an IL2 for a long time, but shooting the wing tips while turning did a good job. Always slicing attacks, dont expose to a gunner longer than it has to be. Never head-on against a tank with big guns.

[jollyjack]

Have pity on me as IL2 fan. Learned to keep close to the ground, and shoot rockets at tanks.

[Guest deleted@210880]

Never do a head on to an Il2, well actually, please do, I love it when the blue fighters do that.

 

My Il2 always goes down easily enough, and I once (a long time ago granted ) did a test and shot 6 down whislt flying the fw190 in a single quick mission. I am no ace.

 

In the accounts in 'Red star against the swastika'  there are of course Il2s that got home with lots of damage, but also it seems that every other mission if not more, one of the il2s went down in flames (maybe ground fire though to be honest)

 

In game for me, 50% of the time, just one pass whilst it might not send the il2 down, means it is critically damaged and either cannot continue with a mission (if flying with any sense of realism matters or maybe flight control is too damaged to hit anything if I manage to get to target) or will go down later.

[cardboard_killer]

To be brutally honest, the USSR built 36k(?) IL-2s during the war. If the dang thing was such a tough a/c they'd never had to build so many replacements.

[easterling77]

Most of the time, i face them in a Fw190 and hammer on their ailerons. Serious damage inflicted there, they dive straight to the grounnd.

 

But i must agree. The IL2 is a hell of a tank for withstanding huge amounts of combat damage, for which I love this sturdy Iron Beast^^

Edited December 16, 2020 by easterling77

[jeanba]

Shooting at the wings or rudder usually does the job : if possible attack from six below.

Often, the Il2 does not fall immediatly, but is too damaged to keep on the fight and return to base, so be patient.

One pass is usually enough, and you may be hit by return fire if you do more than one.

Don't fire in the cockpit or fuselage, that's where it is nearly invulnerable

 

In single player, I usally shoot down 2 or 3 / mission, sometimes more in a G6 or with 3 20 mm instead of the usual 1.

 

[[110]xJammer]

After recent DM changes IL2 can soak up even more 20mm fire than it used to. The suggestion to go for wing/tips/ailerons is a very sound one, especially if you focus only on one wing (to make it as painful to fly as possible for the IL2).

 

Rudder/Elevator is no longer a weak spot and can easily take 5-10 20mm hits before going down (historically was a weak spot, but I guess there was too much drama about IL2s getting severed elevators).

 

Engine is heavily armoured, and new engine damage model means that even oil cooler hits are not critical and generally give the IL2 enough lifetime to finish the mission.

 

If you see IL2 flying with an open cabin you could try aiming for it, however forget trying to go for a pilot kill if it is closed (20mm direct HE hit will only wound the pilot and usually not even cause a blackout).

 

in a 1v1 situation you could just dump flaps in a 109, and sit behind an IL2 showering it with lead. If you go for BnZ attacks however be very mindful of return fire with 23mm vyas having effective range of up to 1.5km (and skilled IL2 pilots can precision aim them to up to 1km). Thus generally attempt to exit with a dive while making small continuous course adjustments to throw off the aim. Immediately climbing after a pass will usually result in your death if the IL2 has the energy.

 

 

P.S. generally "I have shot down 20 AI Il2s" is quite meaningless, as AI bails / does a lot worse job at keeping aircraft in the air than a typical pilot can.

Edited December 16, 2020 by [110]xJammer

[=J18=FritzGerald]

I usually shoot at the one of the wing roots with a Focke Wulf 190 or a Bf 109 with extra cannons...the weak spot is about 3ft away from the fuselage on the IL2. Just my guesstimation though for the measurement...but that is where I get most of my IL2 kills from is by shooting right there and then the wing comes off.

Salute!

-Gerald

[JG_deserteagle540]

Thanks for the input!

 

 

3 hours ago, jeanba said:

Shooting at the wings or rudder usually does the job : if possible attack from six below.

Often, the Il2 does not fall immediatly, but is too damaged to keep on the fight and return to base, so be patient.

One pass is usually enough, and you may be hit by return fire if you do more than one.

Don't fire in the cockpit or fuselage, that's where it is nearly invulnerable

 

In single player, I usally shoot down 2 or 3 / mission, sometimes more in a G6 or with 3 20 mm instead of the usual 1.

 

You are right, but the 109 with additional underwing cannons will increase it's armament enormously, but affect it's maneuverability. Not very pleasant when there are hostile fighters nearby.

The Il-2 rear gunner are acting like very skilled sniper and before you know it they fill up your aircraft with lead. Hanging low on it's six or just behind his six is getting very suicidal in my opinion. I might be doing something wrong? Do you have a video how you shoot down the IL-2's?

 

 

4 hours ago, easterling77 said:

Most of the time, i face them in a Fw190 and hammer on their ailerons. Serious damage inflicted there, they dive straight to the grounnd.

 

But i must agree. The IL2 is a hell of a tank for withstanding huge amounts of combat damage, for which I love this sturdy Iron Beast^^

I agree on this one. The Fw190 has the best armament to do the job.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, [110]xJammer said:

After recent DM changes IL2 can soak up even more 20mm fire than it used to. The suggestion to go for wing/tips/ailerons is a very sound one, especially if you focus only on one wing (to make it as painful to fly as possible for the IL2).

 

Rudder/Elevator is no longer a weak spot and can easily take 5-10 20mm hits before going down (historically was a weak spot, but I guess there was too much drama about IL2s getting severed elevators).

 

Engine is heavily armoured, and new engine damage model means that even oil cooler hits are not critical and generally give the IL2 enough lifetime to finish the mission.

 

If you see IL2 flying with an open cabin you could try aiming for it, however forget trying to go for a pilot kill if it is closed (20mm direct HE hit will only wound the pilot and usually not even cause a blackout).

 

in a 1v1 situation you could just dump flaps in a 109, and sit behind an IL2 showering it with lead. If you go for BnZ attacks however be very mindful of return fire with 23mm vyas having effective range of up to 1.5km (and skilled IL2 pilots can precision aim them to up to 1km). Thus generally attempt to exit with a dive while making small continuous course adjustments to throw off the aim. Immediately climbing after a pass will usually result in your death if the IL2 has the energy.

 

 

P.S. generally "I have shot down 20 AI Il2s" is quite meaningless, as AI bails / does a lot worse job at keeping aircraft in the air than a typical pilot can.

Good information.

 

 

 

At the moment shooting down a B-25 or A-20 is very easy compared to shooting down the flying tank IL-2.

[jeanba]

4 hours ago, [110]xJammer said:

 

 

 

P.S. generally "I have shot down 20 AI Il2s" is quite meaningless, as AI bails / does a lot worse job at keeping aircraft in the air than a typical pilot can.

When I see how the Il2 is usually damaged, I doubt the plane will fly for a long time, even with a human !!!

1 hour ago, JG_deserteagle540 said:

 

The Il-2 rear gunner are acting like very skilled sniper and before you know it they fill up your aircraft with lead. Hanging low on it's six or just behind his six is getting very suicidal in my opinion. I might be doing something wrong? Do you have a video how you shoot down the IL-2's?

 

 

 

Shoot from relativly high range, on its 6 Low (I mean "much below" not few cm below) and do not stay too long to minize the risks

[[110]xJammer]

17 hours ago, jeanba said:

When I see how the Il2 is usually damaged, I doubt the plane will fly for a long time, even with a human !!!

Shoot from relativly high range, on its 6 Low (I mean "much below" not few cm below) and do not stay too long to minize the risks

 

 

I guess I should have been more specific -> human pilot won't give you the best avenues of attack to begin with. On top of it he will be able to fly the damaged IL2 much longer than an equivalent AI would do.

[FTC_crane]

High deflection shots into the cockpit from above to kill the pilot and stay out of the gunners arc.

[JG13_opcode]

Wait until they do the usual high, banking turn to reposition for the next run on their target.

 

If you put some rounds into the wing when the pilot is at high alpha you will usually cause a spin or at least a sudden dramatic drop in lift on that wing which at low altitudes is often fatal.

[JG_deserteagle540]

5 hours ago, JG13_opcode said:

Wait until they do the usual high, banking turn to reposition for the next run on their target.

 

If you put some rounds into the wing when the pilot is at high alpha you will usually cause a spin or at least a sudden dramatic drop in lift on that wing which at low altitudes is often fatal.

 

Yes, I noticed this too. ?