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The Ilyushin Il-18 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-18;
NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform man ...
: Coot) is a large
turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...
airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ai ...
that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known and most durable Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades and was widely exported. Due to the aircraft's airframe durability, many examples achieved over 45,000 flight hours and the type remains operational in both military and (to a lesser extent) civilian capacities. The Il-18's successor was the long range Il-62 jet airliner.


Design and development

Two
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
aircraft shared the designation Ilyushin Il-18. The first Il-18 was a propeller-driven airliner of 1946 but after a year of test flights that programme was abandoned. In the early 1950s with a need to replace older designs and increase the size of the Soviet civil transport fleet, a Soviet Council of Ministers directive was issued on 30 December 1955 to the chief designers Kuznetsov and Ivchenko to develop new turboprop engines and to Ilyushin and Antonov to design an aircraft to use these engines.Gordon and Komissarov 2004, pp. 7-9 The two aircraft designs were developed as the Ilyushin Il-18 and the
Antonov An-10 The Antonov An-10 Ukraina ( ua, Антонов Ан-10 Україна, , Ukraine; NATO reporting name: Cat) is a four-engined turboprop passenger transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Design and development Development of a four-en ...
and the engine chosen was the Kuznetsov NK-4 rather than the Ivchenko AI-20. The Il-18 design had started in 1954 before the directive was issued and experience with the piston-engined Il-18 was used although the aircraft was a new design. The design was for a four-engined low-wing monoplane with a circular pressurised fuselage and a conventional tail. The forward retracting tricycle landing gear had four wheels fitted on the main leg bogies, the main legs bogies rotated 90 degrees and retracted into the rear of the inboard engines. A new feature at the time was the fitting of a weather radar in the nose and it was the first Soviet airliner to have an automatic approach system. The aircraft has two entry doors on the port-side before and after the wing and two overwing emergency exits on each side. The prototype SSSR-L5811 was rolled out in June 1957 and after ground-testing it began taxi test and high-speed runs on 1 July 1957. On 4 July 1957 the prototype first flew from Khodynka. On 10 July 1957 the aircraft was flown to Moscow-Vnukovo Airport to be presented to a Soviet government commission; also present was the prototype
Antonov An-10 The Antonov An-10 Ukraina ( ua, Антонов Ан-10 Україна, , Ukraine; NATO reporting name: Cat) is a four-engined turboprop passenger transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Design and development Development of a four-en ...
and the
Tupolev Tu-114 The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya ( ru , link=no, Tyполев Тy-114 Poccия; NATO reporting name Cleat) was a turboprop-powered long-range airliner designed by the Tupolev design bureau and built in the Soviet Union from May 1955. The aircraft w ...
. The Il-18 type was formally named ''Moskva'' and this was painted on the fuselage, although the name was not used when the aircraft entered production. The Moscow Machinery Plant No. 30 located at Khodynka, near where the Ilyushin design office and the prototype had been built, was chosen to manufacture the aircraft.Gordon and Komissarov 2004, pp. 13-49 During 1957 the plant began to reduce its production of the
Ilyushin Il-14 The Ilyushin Il-14 (NATO reporting name: Crate) was a Soviet twin-engine commercial and military personnel and cargo transport aircraft that first flew in 1950 in aviation, 1950, and entered service in 1954. The Il-14 was also manufactured in Eas ...
and prepare to build the production aircraft designated IL-18A. The Il-18A was only different from the prototype in minor details, mainly internal configuration to increase the seating from 75 to 89. The first production aircraft were powered by the Kuznetsov NK-4 but the engines were plagued with problems so the Council of Ministers decreed in July 1958 that all production from November 1958 would use the Ivchenko AI-20 and earlier production would be re-engined. Only 20 IL-18As were built before production changed to the improved Il-18B, this new variant had a higher gross weight and the nose was re-designed with a larger radome which increased the length by 20 cm. The first Il-18B flew on 30 September 1958 powered by the AI-20; a VIP variant was also built as the IL-18S for the Soviet Air Force. From April 1961 a TG-18
Auxiliary Power Unit An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115& ...
was fitted for ground starting rather than the bank of lead-acid batteries. Some aircraft were modified to allow the APU to be run in flight. With experience of the earlier aircraft a further improvement was the Il-18V variant. The Il-18V was structurally the same but the interior was re-designed including moving the galley and some minor system changes. The first Il-18V appeared in December 1959 and was to continue into production until 1965 after 334 had been built. Specialised variants of the aircraft also appeared, including aircraft modified for flight calibration and a long-range polar variant. Military variants also appeared including the anti-submarine
Ilyushin Il-38 The Ilyushin Il-38 "Dolphin" ( NATO reporting name: May) is a maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It was a development of the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop transport. Design and development ...
.


Operational history

The first Il-18, initially equipped with Kuznetsov NK-4 engines, flew on 4 July 1957. On 17 September 1958 the aircraft first flew with the new Ivchenko AI-20 engines. Vladimir Kokkinaki was the test pilot. Between 1958 and 1960 twenty-five world records were set by this aircraft, among them flight range and altitude records with various payloads. In 1958 the aircraft was awarded the
Brussels World Fair Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (french: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles de 1958, nl, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling van 1958), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Bel ...
Grand Prix. In April 1979 a monument was unveiled at
Sheremetyevo airport Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport ( rus, links=no, Международный аэропорт Шереметьево имени А. С. Пушкина, p=ʂɨrʲɪˈmʲetʲjɪvə ''Mezhdunarodny aeroport Sheremetyevo imen ...
to commemorate the aircraft. Seventeen foreign air carriers acquired some 125 Il-18 aircraft, seating 100-120 passengers. Il-18s are still in service in
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...
,
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
and the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, whilst a number of examples manufactured in the mid-1960s were still in civilian use in Africa and south Asia as at 2014. The type operates in various military capacities, including the Il-22PP electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft which entered service in October 2016. A modernized Il-20M with improved radar, radio and optical-electronic reconnaissance equipment entered service in July 2020 to provide secure targeting to Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile system. An Il-18 (registration DDR-STD) belonging to Interflug and used as a transport by East German leaders, including
Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...
, has been converted into a static hotel suite in The Netherlands. As of July 2018, there are 7 aircraft in airliner service with 6 operators.


Variants

''Data from:OKB Ilyushin'' ;Il-18 : Designation of the sole prototype of the Il-18 family. ;Il-18A : The original production model, equivalent to pre-production, powered by either Kuznetsov NK-4 or Ivchenko AI-20 turboprop engines. Circa 20 built. ;Il-18B : First major production model, a medium-haul airliner that could seat 84 passengers. ;Il-18 Combi :Il-18 aircraft modified to mixed passenger / cargo configuration ;Il-18D : Similar to Il-18I, but equipped with an extra center section fuel tank for increased range. The Il-18D is fitted with four Ivchenko AI-20M turboprop engines. ;Il-18D communications relay : Three aircraft modified to provide communications relay between VIP aircraft and Government bodies. ;Il-18D Pomor : A single Il-18D converted to a fisheries reconnaissance aircraft (''Pomor'' = person who lives by the sea) ;Il-18D Salon : VIP version of the Il-18D ;Il-18DORR :Two Il-18Ds modified as fishery reconnaissance aircraft for the Polar Institute of Oceanic Fishery and Oceanography, the modification mainly involved the fitment of specialized mission equipment. First flown in 1985 they were later modified back as standard Il-18Ds. ;Il-18E : Similar to the Il-18I, but without the increased fuel capacity. ;Il-18E Salon : VIP transport version of the Il-18E. ;Il-18Gr : Aircraft converted to cargo configuration, (Gr - ''Gruzovoy'' - cargo). ;Il-18GrM : Several Il-18 aircraft modified to Gr standard with the addition of a pressurised side cargo door. ;Il-18I :Equipped with more powerful Ivchenko AI-20M turboprop engines, producing . Seating increased to 122 passengers in an enlarged cabin gained by moving the aft pressure bulkhead rearwards by . ;Il-18LL :(''Letayuschchaya Laboratoriya'' - flying laboratory), one aircraft modified from an Il-18A to be an anti-icing test-bed and an Il-18V used by the Czechoslovak flight test center as an engine testbed. ;Il-18RT :Two Il-18Vs were modified as Telemetry Relay Aircraft to rocket and unmanned air vehicle trials. ;Il-18RTL :Prototype for Il-20RT, converted from Il-18A c/n 188000401. ;Il-18S :VIP variant of Il-18B ;Il-18SL :Designation of a number of different test and research aircraft, normally had a letter suffix like SL-18D for avionics trials. ;Il-18T : This designation was given to civil and military cargo transport aircraft converted from Il-18A/B/V aircraft. ::Il-18AT: Military transport/medevac version based on the Il-18A ::Il-18BT: Military transport/medevac version based on the Il-18B ::Il-18VT: Military transport/medevac version based on the Il-18V ;Il-18TD :One Il-18T was modified as a military transport variant to take either 69 stretcher cases or 118 paratroopers. Not wanted by the military it was converted to Il-18D standard. ;Il-18USh : One Il-18V was modified as a navigator trainer including two dorsal astro-sextant windows. Although it was tested and found acceptable the Soviet Air Force used a variant of the twin-jet Tupolev Tu-124 instead. ;Il-18V : Standard Aeroflot version, which entered service in 1961. The Il-18V was powered by four Ivchenko AI-20K turboprop engines, seating 90-100 passengers. ;Il-18V Salon : VIP version of the Il-18V ;Il-18V/polar : a single Il-18V modified for '' Polyarnaya Aviatsiya'' - Polar Aviation use. ;Il-18V-26A : a single Il-18V modified for '' Polyarnaya Aviatsiya'' - Polar Aviation use with an auxiliary fuel tank in the cabin, revised window layout and enlarged oil tanks on the engines, covered by protruding fairings on the engine nacelles (sometimes referred to as the Il-18D, before the real D model emerged). ;Il-18V calibrator : a single Il-18V operated by Interflug for navaid calibration. ;Il-20M (NATO reporting name: Coot-A) : COMINT/
ELINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...
reconnaissance airplane version. ;Il-20RT : Four
Telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', "remote", an ...
aircraft used to support the Soviet space activities, later replaced by a variant of the Il-76. ;Il-22 (NATO reporting name: Coot-B) : Airborne command post version. (Not to be confused with 1947 prototype Soviet jet-engined bomber Il-22.) ;Il-22M : Same as the Il-22 but had new mission equipment. ;Il-22PP :
Electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent ...
and reconnaissance aircraft ;Il-24N : Two Il-18Ds modified for ice reconnaissance similar to the Il-20M but with civilian reconnaissance equipment, both later modified back to standard configuration and sold. ;
Il-38 The Ilyushin Il-38 "Dolphin" (NATO reporting name: May) is a maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It was a development of the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop transport. Design and development The ...
: Maritime reconnaissance,
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typ ...
version. ;Il-118 :A proposed upgrade powered by two Lotarev D-236-T propfan engines.


Operators


Civil operators


Current operators


Former operators


Military operators

Current operators: Former operators:


Accidents and incidents


Specifications (Il-18D)


See also


Related development

*
Ilyushin Il-38 The Ilyushin Il-38 "Dolphin" ( NATO reporting name: May) is a maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It was a development of the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop transport. Design and development ...


Comparable aircraft

*
Antonov An-10 The Antonov An-10 Ukraina ( ua, Антонов Ан-10 Україна, , Ukraine; NATO reporting name: Cat) is a four-engined turboprop passenger transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Design and development Development of a four-en ...
*
Bristol Britannia The Bristol Type 175 Britannia is a retired British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the Commonwealth. During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved ...
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Canadair CL-44 The Canadair CL-44 was a Canadian turboprop airliner and cargo aircraft based on the Bristol Britannia that was developed and produced by Canadair in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although innovative, only a small number of the aircraft were ...
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Lockheed L-188 Electra The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensiv ...
* Vickers Vanguard *
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...


Related lists

*
List of civil aircraft List of civil aircraft is a list of articles on civilian aircraft with descriptions, which excludes aircraft operated by military organizations in civil markings, warbirds, warbirds used for racing, replica warbirds and research aircraft. A ABC ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

*Gordon, Yefim and Komissarov, Dmitry. ''Ilyushin Il-18/-20/-22 - A Versatile Turboprop Transport''. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Publishing, 2004, *


External links


Flight simulator Il-18 in the Museum of Technology "Hugo Junkers" in Dessau (Germany)
{{Authority control Il-018 1950s Soviet airliners Four-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Four-engined turboprop aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1957 Soviet and Russian military reconnaissance aircraft Electronic warfare aircraft