Ilyushin Il-28

what is it?

The Ilyushin Il-28 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-28; NATO reporting name: Beagle) is a medium-range jet bomber, originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Forces, in service since 1950. It was the Soviet Union's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. Total production in the USSR was 6,316 aircraft.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · mid-wing aircraft · retractable tricycle gear · 21.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 902 km/htop speed
• range 2,180 kmwithout refuelling
• size 21.2 tmax take-off weight
• built 6,316made 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 78 years ago, in 1948.
• 🏎️Top speed is 6.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 21.5 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 4 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 2,180 km: 12× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1948-07-08

introduced

1950

status

still flying

number built

6,316

role

medium bomber

origin

🇷🇺 Russia

makers

Dux Factory, Aviakor, Voronezh Aircraft Production Association, Production Corporation Polyot

engines

2× Klimov VK-1A / Klimov VK-1

crew

3

length

17.7 m

wingspan

21.5 m

height

6.7 m

max take-off weight

21.2 t

top speed

902 km/h

cruise speed

770 km/h

range

2,180 km

ceiling

12,300 m

wings

mid-wing aircraft

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

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