Samolot szturmowy Iljuszyn Ił-2

Polish text.
This book is a comprehensive monograph devoted to one of the most important ground-attack aircraft used in the Polish Air Force – the Il-2. The publication includes as many as 411 photographs documenting the history, camouflage, and markings of these aircraft in Polish service, along with 52 colour profiles by Andrzej M. Olejniczak.

Thanks to numerous recollections of pilots, gunners, and ground crew, the book creates a unique and detailed picture of the Il-2’s operational service in Poland.

Contents:
Introduction – 3
Camouflage and Markings – 6
War – 20
Peacetime – 47
Over the Baltic – 121
Training – 131
On the Ground – 151
Museum – 172
Appendices – 180

The attentive reader will notice that within less than a year, Stratus Publishing released two of my books devoted to the Il-2, which at first glance may appear similar. Both are in album format – richly illustrated with archival photographs – and present the story of the famous Soviet ground-attack aircraft in Poland.

However, the Polish-language edition is not simply a translation of the English one. It has been given a new publishing format, and the content has been significantly expanded with Polish readers in mind. Among the additions are:

• a greater number of side profiles (six new ones),

• more than 270 additional photographs of the Il-2,

• an expanded text with information not included in the English edition,

• airmen’s recollections – pilots, gunners, and technical personnel – added to each chapter,

• all tabular summaries moved into a single appendix section,

• photographs of unit commanders, pilots, and gunners, both Poles and Soviet citizens of various nationalities, to highlight the people connected with the Il-2 in Poland.

In addition, corrections and revisions have been introduced compared with the Polish Wings edition, eliminating errors that could not be avoided in the earlier version.