Aerial armor in the palm of your hand The Ilyushin IL-2 Shturmovik was the Russian military's main ground-attack aircraft during WWII, with over 36,000 examples built by the end of the war. Production of the single-seat version of the IL-2 began in March 1941 but severe losses led to the development of a two-seat version with a rear gunner. A version which featured outer wing sections swept back at 15-degrees for a better center of gravity was introduced in late-1943. Together with the T-34 tank, the Il-2 contributed greatly to the eventual Russian victory.