Ilyushin Il-28
The Ilyushin Il-28 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-28; NATO reporting name: Beagle) is a jet bomber of the immediate postwar period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Forces. It was the Soviet Union's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was also licence-built in China as the Harbin H-5. Total production in the USSR was 6,316 aircraft, and over 319 H-5s were built. Only 187 examples of the HJ-5 training variant were manufactured. In the 1990s hundreds remained in service with various air forces over 50 years after the Il-28 first appeared. The only H-5s in service currently are approximately 80 aircraft which operate with the Korean People's Air Force. The Il-28 has the USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 27" and ASCC reporting name "Beagle", while the Il-28U trainer variant has the USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 30" and NATO reporting name Mascot.
| Il-28 | |
|---|---|
| Il-28 in Polish Air Force colours, with a man for scale. | |
| Role | Medium bomber |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Manufacturer | Ilyushin Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (H-5) |
| First flight | 8 July 1948 |
| Introduction | 1950 |
| Retired | 1980s (Soviet Union) |
| Status | In limited service with the Korean People's Air Force |
| Primary users | Soviet Air Force People's Liberation Army Air Force Czechoslovak Air Force Polish Air Force Indonesian Air Force |
| Number built | over 6,635 |
| Developed into | Ilyushin Il-30 |