The Ilyushin Il-32 was a

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, ...

heavy

military glider Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops ( glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft wer ...

developed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

to deliver of cargo. To facilitate loading and unloading, the glider's nose and tail sections were hinged to swing sideways. The Il-32 required a four-engined aircraft to tow it safely; it was canceled when it became clear that no such tug was going to be available after the

Tupolev Tu-75 The Tupolev Tu-75 (russian: Туполев Ту-75) was a military transport variant of the Tu-4 bomber, an unlicensed, reverse engineered copy of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The Tu-75 was similar to the Tu-70 airliner, both using a new, pur ...

and

Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-18; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner 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 ...

programs were both canceled because of shortages of their intended

Shvetsov ASh-73 The Shvetsov ASh-73 was an 18-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine produced between 1947 and 1957 in the Soviet Union. It was primarily used as the powerplant for the Tupolev Tu-4 heavy bomber, a copy of the American Boeing B-29 Superfortr ...

engines.

Development

After the end of World War II, the Soviets devoted a considerable amount of effort to developing heavy transport gliders to deliver troops during an

airborne assault Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ai ...

. As part of this effort, the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...

ordered the

Ilyushin The public joint stock company Ilyushin Aviation Complex, operating as Ilyushin (russian: Илью́шин) or as Ilyushin Design Bureau, is a former Soviet and now a Russian aircraft manufacturer and design bureau, founded in 1933 by Sergey ...

design bureau on 20 September 1947 to begin work on a glider capable of carrying of cargo, including 60 troops or a cannon with its

prime mover Prime mover may refer to: Philosophy *Unmoved mover, a concept in Aristotle's writings Engineering * Prime mover (engine), motor, a machine that converts various other forms of energy (chemical, electrical, fluid pressure/flow, etc) into energy ...

, ammunition and crew. Its intended tug was the Tupolev Tu-75, a four-engined transport derived from the

Tupolev Tu-4 The Tupolev Tu-4 (russian: Туполев Ту-4; NATO reporting name: Bull) is a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber that served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid-1960s. It was reverse-engineered from the American Boeing B-29 ...

.Gordon, pp. 191–92 The Il-32 was an aluminum-bodied,Zaloga, p. 123 high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fixed tricycle undercarriage whose fuselage was square in cross-section to fit as much cargo as possible. The two-

spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

wings had a moderate aspect ratio. It was regarded as expendable and was built very simply to facilitate large-scale manufacture. The nose and tail sections swung up to 95° to starboard to facilitate loading.Gordon, p. 192 The Il-32 made its first flight on 20 August 1948, towed by a twin-engined

Ilyushin Il-12 The Ilyushin Il-12 (NATO reporting name: Coach) was a Soviet twin-engine cargo aircraft, developed in the mid-1940s for small and medium-haul airline routes and as a military transport. Design and development The Il-12 was developed as a priva ...

, but the Il-12 was not powerful enough to tow a fully loaded glider and the four-engined Il-18 airliner prototype was adapted to tow it from 20 September. During these flight tests it reached a cruising speed of at an altitude of and a weight of . The flight tests were satisfactory and preparations were made to begin series production, but the lack of suitable tugs was a problem. None of the Soviet four-engined aircraft that could be used were either in production or available. Both the

Tupolev Tu-70 The Tupolev Tu-70 (russian: Туполев Ту-70; NATO reporting name: Cart) was a Soviet passenger variant of the Tu-4 bomber (which was reverse-engineered from the American Boeing B-29 Superfortress) and designed immediately after the end of ...

and Il-18 airliners had been canceled, as had the Tu-75 transport, and the Tu-4 was dedicated to the strategic bombing mission. Experiments were made with a pair of Il-12s towing the Il-32, but this was both difficult and risky for all involved. The Il-32 was therefore canceled for lack of a proper tug.

Specifications

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{good article 1940s military gliders Il-032 Abandoned military aircraft projects of the Soviet Union 1940s Soviet military transport aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1948

Development

Specifications

See also

Notes

Bibliography