Iljušin Il-4 – Kotelnikov Vladimir (2019)

This Czech-language nonfiction book describes the development and wartime service of the Ilyushin Il-4 bomber during the Second World War. The aircraft, later known as the Il-4 and the first Soviet aircraft to bomb Berlin, began to take shape at Factory No. 39 according to drawings prepared for the BB-2. By the end of March 1936, the prototype, fitted with Gnome-Rhône 14Kdrs engines but without additional tanks or armament, was ready for its first flight from Frunze Central Airport. The promising aircraft was to be presented during the May Day parade, and while rehearsing for it, Kokkinaki performed one loop over the airport, followed by two more. On May 1, Ilyushin watched from the tribune in Red Square as his creation flew overhead. Before the CKB-26 landed, he received orders to prepare it for a demonstration to the highest government officials. In the evening, a convoy of black limousines arrived at the factory airfield, one carrying Stalin himself. The Soviet leader heard details about the new bomber’s development and characteristics, then requested a flight demonstration involving advanced aerobatics. Kokkinaki fulfilled his wish completely, performing an impressive series of steeply banked turns, chandelles and spirals, ending with three loops. The demonstration clearly impressed Stalin, who ordered the tests to be accelerated so that the aircraft could enter serial production by the end of the summer.