A question about Russian planes

[beaker126]

Originally Posted by baldwin8

Several layers of heavy weight steel? Uh!!!!

I've never heard of World War II aircraft covered in steel. Aluminum yes, but not steel. But I will dig deeper into this one.

The P-51 was not in fact, covered with steel. Most US planes, however, had a superior level of armor protection for the pilot. This might be what Soviet Ace is referring to. The IL-2 series was covered in steel, the entire fuselage, in varying thicknesses from 4-13mm, over a 5mm layer of duraluminum. The last is from the book "Complete Book of World War Two Aircraft" by Enzo Angelucci and Paolo Matricardi, 2001 updated edition, White Star Publishers. But then again, it's not a fighter.