Il-10 armament
by Massimo Tessitori
Updated on July 15, 2010
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Bombs armament

The Il-10 had 2 internal bays under the wingroots, plus two external racks in front of these bays.

Combination of freefall armament could include:

Underwing external bomb racks


 

FAB-100M

DDAP-100PD

 

A detail of the lock of the wire sustaining a bomb.
 
 


Bomb bay




 
Each bay could carry up to one 100-kg bomb or up to 100 kg of small fragmentary and incendiary bombs or AZh-2 incendiary ampoules, loaded from removable panels on the back of the wing and laid directly on the closed doors; to keep the bomblets in good order, up to two removable walls were installed in each bomb bay.  

 
 
 
 
Left: the front of a FAB-100M visible through the front panel removed on the upper wingroot on an Il-10.

Below: a device to lift bombs through the wing of Il-1M. A similar device was used to lift bombs through the open panels on bomb bays of Il-10.


 
 
 

Wing-mounted gun armament

On Il-10, the wing armament was similar to that of late Il-2s and comprised:

2 VYa 23 mm guns, one on each wing, with 300 rounds each;

2 ShKAS 7,62 mm machine-guns .

On the right wing, outside the guns, there was the presisposition for a PAU-22 or S-13 gun camera.


 
 

The NS-20KM of later variant and B-33
 
 


Gunner's turret

Five types of rear turret and weapons were utilized on this type:

Sh-20 20 mm gun on VU-7 turret for the Il-10 prototype;

Berezin UBK 12, 7 mm machine gun on Vu-8 turret for early production Il-10s;

Berezin B-20 gun on VU-9 turret for late production Il-10s;

Berezin BNT-20 E on electrically actioned turret VU-9M on Avia B-33;

Berezin BT-20 EN on electrically actioned turret VU-9M on Il-10M.

Turrets were exteriorly identical, and were (hardly) distinguishable by the gun barrel.
 
 
 
The VU-7 turret of the Il-10 prototype, armed with a Sh-20 20 mm gun, doesn't show esthetical differences when compared to later versions.

 

The VU-8 turret of early Il-10s was armed with UBK 12, 7 mm machine gun. 

Note that the gun is arranged in different way than on Il-2, where gas cylinders were over the barrel; on Il-10, all the weapon was reclined on its side to allow better visibility.

The ammo box is on the side of the machine un; two furter ammo boxes are stored on the rear wall.

Note that the gunner seats on a sort of belt, only marginally more refined that those of Il-2; it allows better side movements for aiming.

Those weapons were provided for the external installation of a gun camera on the barrel for training purposes.

The VU-9 turret for late Il-10, aesthetically identical, is equipped with the 20 mm B-20 gun, hardly distinguishable from UBK except for being thicker.

There is only an ammo box suspended to the turret frame, and connected to the gun by a flexible ammo guide.

Those weapons were provided for the external installation of a gun camera on the barrel for training purposes.

The turret VU-9M was electrically actioned, and armed with 20 mm Berezin BNT-20 E (on Avia B-33) or BT-20 EN (on Il-10M).

The ammo box arrangement was as on VU-9.

Three shots of a S-13 gun camera installed on the gun barrel of a Czech B-33.

Image from Il-2 type 3 and Il-10/avia B-33 in detail, WWP


 
 




AG-2 aviation grenades


 
Defensive armament also included ten AG-2 parachuted aviation grenades in a DAG-10 container installed in the aft fuselage.

This device, installed on early Il-2s and usable both against pursuing planes and against infantry, was discontinued on late production Il-10s. It was sometimes present on B-33s too.

It fired through a slot under the right wingroot fillet.

Image from Il-2 type 3 and Il-10/avia B-33 in detail, WWP


 
 
 
 
 

AFA-IM camera

An AFA-IM camera for aerial photography was installid in the lower part of rear fuselage. It took shots through a window closed by small doors.


 
 


Rocket armament

Il-10 was provided with up to 4 rails for rockets RS-82, RS-132 and ROFS-132, 2 under each wing outer panel.
 
 
 

 
 

Left: two rails under the wing of a plane preserved in a Polish museum. 

Right: two images of 132 mm rockets in another plane preserved in Poland; the firing cables are lacking.

Below right: the only rail of another plane preserved in poland. The firing cable is clearly visible at the rear end of the rail.
 
 

 


 

JRRO-130 launch tube for LR-130 Czech rocket on a B-33. On the small images, two details of the rear end

Image from Il-2 type 3 and Il-10/avia B-33 in detail, WWP

Other varants

According to some sources, the wing armament of Il-10s was replaced with 4 NS-23 guns with 150 rounds each; I have not photographic evidence of this modification, that could easily be mistaken for Czech-built B-33.

B-33 was a Czech-built version, built in 1952-1955 in about 1500 pieces and exported to Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Yemen

was armed with:

Note that many photos of Czech B-33 have the same armament of the early I-10. They could be Soviet-built planes.

Apart for the wing guns, the B-33 could be distinguished from Il-10 because of her radio mast, slightly bended forward instead of vertical.
 
 

CB-33, a Czech-developed trainer markedly different from Soviet Il-10U, could have four, two or none wing guns.
 
 

Il-10M, an enlarged version built in 1952-1954 in about 136 examples, was armed with:

4 NR-23 with 600 rounds each instead of the previous wing armament;

VU-9M turret, electraically-powered, replaced the VU-8 and 9; it was equipped with one BT-20EN 20 mm gun, with 150 rounds;

bombs as the original version, plus two racks under the outer wing panels, between the guns, able to load furter 2 x 250 kg bombs or auxiliary tanks.