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# zhopa057 Il-28 Beagle bomber

11 cm wing span (4.5 inches) miniature 1/200 detailed model of historic Il-28 bomber.

The Ilyushin Il-28 is a jet bomber aircraft that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Force and was the USSR`s first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was also licence-built in China as the Hong H-5. The NATO reporting name for the type is Beagle for the bomber and Il-28R reconnaissance versions, and Mascot for the Il-28U trainer version. Estimates for total production in the two countries ranges from 2,000 to as high as 6,000. In the 1990s, hundreds remained in service with various air forces, over 40 years after the Il-28 first appeared. The aircraft is conventional in layout, with high, unswept wings carrying large engine nacelles beneath them. The bombardier is accommodated in the glazed nose, and the other end of the fuselage carries a turret for two machine guns. These features make it resemble the World War II medium bombers that preceded it, but the swept tail surfaces and the pilot`s bubble canopy and ejector seat were more similar to other aircraft of its own era, making it a blend of old and new features. The Il-28 was widely exported, serving in the air arms of some 20 nations ranging from the Warsaw Pact to various Middle-Eastern and African air forces. Egypt was an early customer, and targeting Egyptian Il-28s on the ground was a priority for the Israeli Air Force during the Suez Crisis, Six Day War, and Yom Kippur War. The Soviet Union was in the process of providing the type for local assembly in Cuba when this was halted by the Cuban Missile Crisis, after which Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove them. The type also saw limited use in Vietnam and with the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Four ex-Egyptian and two ex-Soviet Il-28s (all with Egyptian crews) were operated by the Nigerian Air Force in the Biafra Wars. Yemen Il-28s took part in the civil war in that country. Finland also had four examples of this type delivered between 1961 and 1966. They remained in service until 1980s. The Soviet Union withdrew the type in the 1980s, while the last Soviet-built examples were still flying in Egypt into the 1990s. Chinese-built Il-28s designated H-5 and built by HAMC were also flying in the 1990s, with several hundred in China itself, and a smaller number in North Korea and Romania.
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This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 25 August, 2005.