There are a lot of planes that have gotten little if any attention for either kit makers or publishers and the IL-4 has gotten darn little from the latter. This twin was the last  Soviet designed long range bomber to operate on piston engines. While the TU-4 followed, that was basically a copy of the B-29. After that it was the jet age with turbine power being used for all tactical and strategic bombers.

Designed as a replacement for the now elderly TB-3 four engine bomber, the TsKB-26 and 30 prototypes eventually became the DB-3 and looked very much like something designed in the US. Not that surprising as the Ilyushin gang spent several years at Douglas in the US, watching how modern aircraft were assembled. The result was what became a fast twin that had excellent range, though it was initially hampered by low powered engines. Later redesignated IL-4 when a new nose was added to replace the older version, the aircraft went on to be used by VVS bomber squadrons well into the late 1940s, with the last one removed from service in 1952. The only other country to make any real use of this plane was Finland who operated a number of aircraft captured by them during the various wars with Russia and those provided by the Germans, who also captured quite a few of them in the early days of the war.

As with most Soviet aircraft, the plane underwent a number of modifications throughout its service life and this edition of In Action faithfully annotates each of those differences from variant to variant. There is also a section on the aircraft in combat and the usual excellent drawings and profiles that one expects from the In Action series.

You can find this book and many others at

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has well over 200,000 visitors a month, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.