Powerful and rugged, the Ilyushin Il-2 was the most widely produced aircraft in history with over 36,000 built. It epitomized the Soviet need for ground attack aircraft and earned a variety of nicknames: the Germans called it "Schwarztot" (Black Death) and the "concrete bomber", those who flew it called it the "flying tank" or most commonly, the Sturmovik (Attacker). The Il-2 offered unprecedented armor protection to compensate for a rather slow speed and was able to carry bombs, rockets and even torpedoes, as well as mounting anti-tank guns; still it was somewhat vulnerable to enemy fighters although this would be less of a concern once the Soviets obtained air superiority after 1943. Used extensively during the full course of the Russian campaign, Il-2 pilots developed some innovative tactics like the "Circle of Death" in which Il-2 would cross a target from the side, turn and attack from behind: during the Battle of Kursk, the 9th Panzer Division suffered 70 knocked out tanks from this. Without a doubt the Il-2 was one of the best ground-attack aircraft of the war and served up until the fall of Berlin by which time it was in the process of being replaced by the Il-10 although it remained in use post-war by various Eastern European nations, China, and North Korea.

The Sturmovik first flew in prototype form as the TsKB-57 on 12 October 1940 and a limited number of the basic Il-2 variant were already available when the Germans invaded in June 1941. A heavily modified variant was introduced the following year, known as the Il-2m3 it featured a second crew member manning a gun for rear defense and a boosted engine. Later, the Il-2m3(mod) was modified to carry 37-mm guns in place of the 23-mm cannon while the Il-2T became a dedicated torpedo bomber. Despite the enormous number of aircraft built, no other major variants were produced although the similar looking follow-up, the Il-10, was based on the same design but is described separately.