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#2048

Ilyushin Il-38

🇷🇺 Soviet Union ·first flew 1971· anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft

🎖️ military 4× turboprop ✓ still flying
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. Il-38 May: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
  2. 2. IAF Tu-142 and Il-38: Andrea· CC BY 2.0
  3. 3. Ilyushin IL-38SD 'May' IN305: Alan Wilson· CC BY-SA 2.0
  4. 4. Ilyushin Il-38SD Krivchikov 2007: Sergey Krivchikov· GFDL 1.2
  5. 5. Soviet Il-38 May passing low over USS Midway (CV-41): US Navy Employee· Public domain
  6. 6. 2025-01-30 IL-38 RF-75323 Red 25: Japan Ministry of Defense / Japan Air Self Defense Force· CC BY 4.0
  7. 7. 22 red Ilyushin IL-38 Russian Navy RAF Fairford 22.7.96 (55117968395): Colin Cooke Photo· CC BY-SA 4.0
  8. 8. A-7E VA-27 IL-38 1981: Photographer's Name: Lt. David M. Kennedy, USN· Public domain
  9. 9. F-14A of VF-111 with Soviet Il-38 in 1984: USN· Public domain
  10. 10. F-14A Tomcat of VF-1 escorting Soviet Il-38 in 1987: USN· Public domain
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Ilyushin Il-38, photo 1 of 10
1/10 Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain

what is it?

The Ilyushin Il-38 (nicknamed Dolphin) (NATO reporting name: May) is a maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is a variant of the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop airliner.

How to recognise it: 4 turboprops · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 37.4 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 645 km/htop speed
  • size 66 tmax take-off weight
  • built 58made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 55 years ago, in 1971.
  • Top speed is 5.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 37.4 m: about 8 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 11 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • Can fly 1.2× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight
1971-07-20
introduced
1969
retired
2023
status
still flying
number built
58
role
anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft
origin
🇷🇺 Soviet Union
makers
Ilyushin
engines
4× Ivchencko/Progress AI-20M / AI-20
length
40.2 m
wingspan
37.4 m
height
10.2 m
max take-off weight
66 t
top speed
645 km/h
range
—
ceiling
11,000 m
wings
low wing
landing gear
retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family

↑ Ilyushin Il-18parent

Sources: Wikidata Q163838, Wikipedia: Ilyushin Il-38 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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