Vasily Emelianenko was nervous. His entire unit of rugged Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft had just decimated a German-controlled airfield in Eastern Ukraine.

The Storm Birds had swiftly risen from the hills and rained hell on two rows of Luftwaffe aircraft. Despite the low altitude at which they were flying, German machine-gun fire did little damage to the Sturmovik’s armor.

However, a few moments later, one lucky shot made its way to Emelianenko’s engine, and his aircraft barely reached the tall pines surrounding the enemy airfield.
With oil pressure rapidly plummeting to zero, Emelianenko headed toward Soviet lines while German fighters were relentlessly chasing him.

His Sturmovik then made a hard landing in open terrain, and the young pilot now had to run into the woods before a German sniper picked him up.

It was thanks to the outstanding resilience of the Sturmovik, whose entire fuselage was made from pure steel armor, that Emelianenko survived. But it was just the beginning of the aircraft’s career, as it went on to play a critical role in the brutal Battle of Kursk….

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Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.

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