Ilyushin Il-4

what is it?

The Ilyushin Il-4 (DB-3F) (Russian: Ильюшин Ил-4 (ДБ-3Ф); NATO reporting name: Bob) is a Soviet twin-engined long-range bomber and torpedo bomber, widely used by the Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Aviation during World War II.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 21.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 410 km/htop speed
• range 3,800 kmwithout refuelling
• size 12.1 tmax take-off weight
• built 5,256made 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 87 years ago, in 1939.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 21.4 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 2 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 3,800 km: 21× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1939-05-21

introduced

1940

retired

1952

status

retired

number built

5,256

role

long-range bomber

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Irkutsk Aviation Plant, Voronezh Aircraft Production Association, Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center

engines

2× Tumansky M-88B / Tumansky M-87 / Tumansky M-88

length

14.8 m

wingspan

21.4 m

max take-off weight

12.1 t

top speed

410 km/h

range

3,800 km

ceiling

8,700 m

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