ILYUSHIN IL-12

Description

The Ilyushin Il-12 (NATO reporting name "Coach") was a Soviet twin-engine cargo aircraft, developed in the mid-1940s for small and medium-haul airline routes and as a military transport. The Il-12 was developed as a private venture by the Ilyushin Design Bureau from autumn 1943 and was intended as a replacement for the Lisunov Li-2, a license-produced version of the Douglas DC-3. The new aircraft followed a classical layout for a twin-engine transport, with a metallic structure, monoplane wings, a conventional tail section. One major improvement over the Li-2 design was the tricycle landing gear, which allowed better visibility when taxiing and landing. Initially the Il-12 was designed for 29 passengers in a pressurized fuselage, with projected maximum range is assumed of 5,000 kilometers at a cruising speed 400 kph. The aircraft was to use four M-88B engines already proven in use on the Ilyushin Il-4. However, during development, the M-88B engines had to be replaced by two ACh-31 diesel engines (each producing 1,500 hp). The plans for a pressurized fuselage were abandoned and the number of passengers reduced to 27. The Il-12 made its maiden flight on 15 August 1945. It was soon decided to re-engine the aircraft with Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engines with the revised aircraft flying on 9 January 1946. (Scale : 1/144e)