FLYPAST CLASSICS: ILYUSHIN IL-28
Guy Martin assesses the world’s first successful jet bomber – the venerable Il-28
PHOTOS MALCOLM V LOWE COLLECTION • ILYUSHIN VIA NIKOLAY NILOV • JB VIA MALCOLM V LOWE • KEY COLLECTION • ALAN WILSON • ILYUSHIN • XUAN SHISHENG • ALLEN WATKIN
Sergey Ilyushin’s Il-28 was the most mass-produced jet bomber ever. Providing the Eastern Bloc with a versatility comparable with the West’s English Electric Canberra, the type eventually proved its capabilities throughout 50-plus years’ continuous service globally. Several Chinese Harbin H-5s, licence-built copies, are still believed to be operational in North Korea.