The Su-2 was the immediate predecessor of the much more famous Il-2 (p.W115). Hopelessly outclassed by German fighters in 1941, the Su-2 was forced to fight (and die) until sufficient numbers of the Il-2 were available to replace it. By mid-1942 the few planes were out of front-line service.
The Su-2 dated back to an initial design (the first by Sukhoi) in 1936 and was very similar to the Fairey Battle. The Su-2 did not enter service until 1940 and none are believed to have participated in the Winter War. Known as the “Ivanov” in service due to it’s ease of operation, some 500 Su-2’s were built in total; the design below represents a late production model.
The Su-2 has a crew of two, pilot and rear gunner. The plane uses 47 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Heavy Fighter chassis +3, Light FB Wings +3, partial
rotation Medium Weapon turret +1, three retractable wheels +0.
P&P: 1,044 kW HP gasoline engine w/1,044-kW aerial propeller
and 150 gallon fuel tank [Wings].
Occ: 2 CS Cargo: None
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| All | 2/3 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 2/3 |
| Crew | 0/+30 | 0/0 | 0/+30 | 0/+0 | 0/0 |
Weaponry
4¥Aircraft LMG/ShKAS [Wings:F] (500 each).
2¥Aircraft LMG/ShKAS [Turret:F] (600 each).
4¥220-lb bombs [Body:U]
2¥550-lb bombs [Wings:U]
Equipment
Body: Medium radio receiver and transmitter, navigation instruments,
autopilot, bomb bay (880 lbs). Wings: 550-lb hardpoint each.
Statistics
| Size: 34'x47'x13' | Payload: 1.55 tons | Lwt: 5.18 tons |
| Volume: 224 vsp | Maint.: 38 hours | Price: $27,700 |
HT: 12
HP: 240 [body], 240 [each wing], 24 [each wheel]
| aSpeed: 302 | aAccel: 6 | aDecel: 33 | aMR: 8.25 | aSR: 2 | aDrag: 132 |
| Stall: 78 mph |
Design Notes
Design speed was 311 mph. The historical value has been used, as well
as the actual wing area (312 square feet). To boost weight t the proper
range, wing weight, cost and HPs were doubled. Loaded weight was decreased
by 2%.
The Su-2 could carry rockets in place of bombs under the wings.
Variants
The original Su-2 used an M-88 (709-kW) engine, with a top speed of
286 mph. Weight was 4.75 tons and total bombload was only 1,320 lbs. Also,
only one LMG was located in the rear turret.
The M-88B-engined Su-2 (746-kW) was actually slower, at 283 mph.