- Yes
- No
Ilyushin Il-10 “Turboprop Version”
Background
In the late 1960s, the Chinese PLAAF’s fleet of IL-10 ground-attack aircraft faced a terminal “engine crisis.” The original Soviet AM-42 piston engines had long been out of production, and with the supply of spare parts completely severed, these formidable “Flying Tanks” were being grounded one by one.Refusing to let such a heavily armored platform go to waste, Chinese aviation engineers embarked on an audacious modernization program defined by raw power and ingenuity: the “Piston-to-Turboprop” conversion.In the early 1970s, two experimental prototypes based on the early IL-10 airframe emerged at an airfield in Northwest China. Engineers stripped away the obsolete piston engines and transplanted a monstrous new heart—the WJ-6 (WoJiang-6) turboprop engine. Originally designed for the Y-8 transport, this engine unleashed a staggering 4,250 shaft horsepower (shp), more than doubling the power of the original Soviet engine.To tame this savage increase in power, the aircraft’s profile was radically altered. The nose was significantly shortened, featuring a prominent wide-mouth chin intake and a massive four-blade constant-speed propeller. During flight tests, this resurrected iron beast stunned pilots with its explosive low-altitude acceleration and energy retention. Although the project was eventually sidelined by the mass production of the Nanchang Q-5 jet, this turboprop-powered IL-10 remains the most powerful and legendary “Sturmovik” variant in aviation history—a WWII legend reborn with the heart of a Cold War titan.Nose Inscription: “全力以赴 务歼入侵之敌”(English: GO ALL OUT. CONSUMMATLY DESTROY THE INVADING ENEMIES)
Technical Data
Crew - 2
Length - 12.10 m
Height - 4.18 m
Wingspan - 13.4 m
Empty Weight - 5500 kg
Gross Weight - 7300 kg
Max Takeoff Weight - 8500 kg
Powerplant - 1 x WJ-6 Turboprop Engine (3,170 kW)
Max Speed - 520 km/h at Sea Level | 556 km/h at
Service Ceiling - 8500 m
Rate of Climb - 2.3 Minutes to 3,000 m
Range - 900 km（Range with external fuel tanks 1,250 km）
Takeoff Run - 320 m
Landing Run - 580 m
Armament
2 x 23mm Yva-23 Cannons (150 rpg)
2 x 7.62mm ShKAS (750 rpg)
1 x 12.7mm UBT Machine Gun (150 rpg)
2 x 100-1 Bombs
2 x 250-2 Bombs
2 x 57-1（57mm Rockets）19 x 2
2 x 57-1（57mm Rockets）4 x 2
2 x Small Drop Tank（Or 2 x 50kg Bombs ）
Images
Sources
中国飞机全书 第2卷 北京：北京航空工业出版社 2004
《History of Chinese Aviation Industry》
《中国空军武器装备发展史》
《一代名机伊尔-10》
《中国强击机史话》