⚜ | How to kill IL-2s

There are many ways to shoot down an enemy plane, but all involve shooting. Well, nearly all.
If you enjoyed this video, give it a Like & Subscribe. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[@vonneely1977]

Gaijin Entertainment would like to remind everyone that IL2 can fly at mach2 and its armor can stop 120mm cannons.

[@vonneely1977]

Grape Juice: Secret documents! ;)

[@tomsonlarrson3318]

What are secret documents? I only know about sekrit dokuments

[@MrBioniclefan1]

I know right

[@carbon1255]

We all know it regularly out turns A6M2 Zeros. And only made of the stronkest Stalinium.

[@somedumbdude3661]

I got hit by a KV-2, ‘landed’ at the airfield which broke off both my wings, and repaired the wings in 2 min 30, then tiny Ivaned the kv

[@HaakonDueland]

Soooo... I took your advice, and attacked the IL2 from below. Was juuuust about to clear underneath the IL2 when the motherfucker dropped its bombs on me. Mid air. RIP pilot

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

+Haakon Dueland That's taking my words a bit too literally. Did you try to slash open his belly with a saber ? :O :D

[@HaakonDueland]

Ah, yes. For the fatherland!

[@HaakonDueland]

By the way. I'm really struggling to get on target in pursuit of other fighters, or even just moving vehicles with some aircraft. I'm new to the game, and I can't see that german fighters (most of them anyway) have any sort of pitch or roll trim, making the plane bob around when trying to get on target - using the slightest of moves to the joystick. Any suggestions?

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Pitch trim for German fighters is logged under the options menu as 'horizontal stabilizer'. Also, adjust the sensitivity of the stick up a bit so it becomes more of a curve. That should help you - but you'll have to experiment with it to find your best setting.

[@HaakonDueland]

Thanks man! Appreciate it a lot! Keep up the good work, keep flying - and keep those vids coming!

[@SmilerAndSadEyes]

"Party with the squirrels" ...Thank you Bismarck, i just found my new catchphrase!

[@pursuinginsanity]

Shadow squirrels? The best squirrels.

[@johnmarston1155]

I eat ALL squirrels... Mwuhahahaaa...

[@old_guard2431]

Nice. It's a beautiful game. I can watch this kind of thing just for the cockpit/plane graphics and the engine sounds. (Been out of IL2/BoS for some time, I don't think I actually ever got a FW190 off of the ground intact. But love the videos anyway.)

[@arnonmoscona]

Great explanation. I really hope you continue giving us tips like this. I am not new to flying, but rather new to flying and shooting at the same time. Very challenging. Thanks for the tips!

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Erster! First! Premier! Primais! Primo!

[@jetski3384]

+Bismarck haha, thats awesome. Bismarck...that is an American Trollish thing you did there =P

[@LeeNTien]

+Bismarck Первый!

[@mihaeltomasovic]

awesome video, Herr Bismarck! i have never flown IL-2, any version actually, as I don't have a very good computer. I bought this computer back in 2009 and have only upgraded the RAM, but it still takes DDR2 LOL so I have 8 gigs of DDR2 RAM and a GTX 960 GPU, those were the two upgrades I made in addition to the fans. I still have the old ass MoBo and the AMD Phenom II x4 Black Edition Quad Core CPU which is _so_ old nowadays it cannot really handle these type of CPU and GPU intensive games; however, I am able to play War Thunder which was the very *first* aircraft-based game I have ever owned and I've gotten a bit better at it over the last few years. I originally _only_ flew in Arcade Battles mode, but then I recently, at the beginning of this year, moved to flying _only_ Realistic Battles. I don't have any type of joystick or controls for Simulator Battles so I have to stick to that mode, also my vision isn't the best and my monitor isn't so great LOL as it is from around 2009 as well! I do the best I can, though, so ya know... Being an officer in =NmY=, *Jengar*'s squadron, has helped me to learn a *_LOT_* more about flying and how to lead targets correctly and everything. With that being said, IL-2 is obviously _entirely_ different as War Thunder is still from a 3rd Person perspective and while you must lead your target correctly, while trying to fly in even "Virtual Cockpit" mode, I notice I have some problems with it since I've gotten so used to flying in 3rd Person mode as I only have an old keyboard and mouse for controls... I would *LOVE* to fly IL-2 and some of the other excellent flight simulator series, maybe even the old "Rise of Flight" game all the way to the newest one called "DCS" or whatever it is lol! Thanks again for your video content and happy flying, my friend! Oh, I guess my question would be... What Flight Sim would you suggest me trying to transfer onto when I get a new rig and the right equipment that I need to fly in such a game?

[@reachmcreach4315]

PRIMO VICTORIA?>

[@calebcook2938]

This is 2019 so math dk not cheek out

[@KB9813]

A German that can say squirrel, it's a miracle! sorry I just had to do that since you made that joke about tree top level flying lol.

[@ownageDan]

now it's up to you to say "Oachkatzlschwoaf", which means squirrels tail in southern German / Austrian dialect :p

[@ThroneOfBhaal]

Of course people donate and share! You make top quality videos, both entertaining and educational, often both! There aren't a lot of people who can do what you do as well as you do it. :P

[@Dan-n-Duke-jr2ic]

Your vids have made me appreciate the art of dogfights, I watch the old footage with a newfound respect, thank you, p.s, do you think in real life pilots were aiming at specific points or would they as I assume fire like crazy soon as the plane hits the crosshairs?

[@alfredopotatogaming7033]

I've got a joke for you. How do you shoot down an Il2 in warthunder? You don't unless it's a german premium! #russianbias

[@lordbinkythebuffoon5465]

37mm russian bias dakkadakkadakka :D Or you can crack out the XP-55 and show those damned shitviets why prototype aircraft are always superior to production units.

[@apieceofstring]

I lol'ed.

[@LeaderofChickens]

yep i own 1 german premium kills people a whole br higher

[@alfredopotatogaming7033]

LeaderofChickens I meant the german Il-2, not just a random prem.

[@mattb.2359]

You shoot the elevator up. Then eventually it will go down. Or shoot it in the oil cooler from underneath

[@BabyGreen162]

How to kill IL2s? Equip gun pods or take the Fw190 :P

[@MGB-learning]

Outstanding job. Thank you!

[@ghoulunathics]

BNZ, aim to the wingtips only, and repeat til the wing clips. the outer part of the wings are by far the weakest point of the aircraft, and can sustain only few cannon hits at max. this also means you attack from an odd angle to the gunner so it will be harder for him to hit you even if you slip into his sight (which you should not). id actually say that for the new players it's very good to aim for a specific target in a plane with determination, especially when going against il-2's, because it teaches you the bullet trajectory, speed and drop much better than simply aiming for the whole plane (or the nose with the attitude that at least this will hit somewhere).

[@tennisguy96]

Ausgezeichnetes Video! Wirklich prima!

[@gergogoszpodinov9517]

Aaaaand what are you using for view control, and look around?

[@atlehunekonge]

Thank you for another great vid;)

[@Duececoupe]

Awesome video!! 👍👌👏

[@jetski3384]

I am very glad to hear you are getting the support from your community, because I must say, I was very bummed to hear you might have to start slowing down a little on your videos. You were one of the main people that have I could go to your channel and learn how to fly airplanes no matter what game. I fly IL-2 BoS a lot (LOVE the summer map and its back to being my favorite game again), but I swear...being the only one in my group of friends that can fly or like to fly at this level of Sim (lets not mention DCS)...I always tend to get wrecked by groups in the Wings of Liberty Server. Please keep these videos coming Bismarck, enjoy 'em all.

[@AnantBhan]

11:55 "Right, where are you going sunshine?" XD

[@momotheelder7124]

I have newly become a fan of your videos, great insights on (digital) air combat aided by very appealing visuals in this sim. I wonder if this particular tactic was employed by Luftwaffe pilots? I assume that the average pilot would shoot at the whole aircraft, and that an experte would aim for the radiator. I need to read some Eastern front pilot biographies.

[@brianwyters2150]

Fighters aim at the engines of a bomber in almost every instance. I imagine pilots would transfer this knowledge to taking out single engined planes.

[@Fandom_Junkie]

Can you customize paint jobs in Battle of Stalingrad (like War Thunder)?

[@TheDelta07sev]

do you use trackir?

[@fighterbrony]

how to kill IL-2s soviet Russia wants to: \/ know your location

[@tool3833]

LOL "party of the squirrels". Nice.

[@thegreenfaction]

can this be done in il2 1946?

[@jaygoodner7219]

Question: I see this 109 has a Galland hood. Do you have any idea why the Germans never adopted a true bubble canopy like on the Spitfire, P-51D, or P-47? They always seemed to prefer the greenhouse type canopy except for the FW-190. Just curious... And great video!

[@flatoutsupercars166]

I believe that has to do with the Germans being on the defensive from around 1943 till the end of the war.Both the 109 and 190 were used to intercept bomber formations and specially on the western front the amount of .50cal machine gun fire coming at them from all angles certainly could dissuade them from wanting to expose themselves at the expense of better visibility, specially when the German pilots for the most part, had a great deal of experience in aerial combat and thus, spotting bandits.

[@DosGaming101]

The best tactic for downing "stubborn" planes, is to hone your skills on aircraft like the P-47 and the Ju-52. Allied pilots would often call the Ju-52 a "tough, old, bird".

[@klausweling9559]

I was thinking about getting IL-2 BoS. Now for the series, how is the controls, in terms of thing such as start-up, and different controls for the aircraft mid-flight? I have played DCS for a while and it took me quite a bit of time to get the routine procuders to get the aircraft in the air, down pat. Is it more simplified, the same or a bit more in comparison for controls in general?

[@SteelBollocks]

+Klaus Weßling IL-2 has a auto-start system you can enable. so you just have to hit one button and it does all the startup stuff and gets the engine running for you. I, myself, would never remember the sequence and dont actually know if you can turn it off and do it all manually. All the in-flight stuff like trims and radiator and stuff has optional management too. So basically you can press a few keys and have the game do everything for you except the fighting, OR you can disable all the training wheels and make it as complex as you want

[@klausweling9559]

SteelBollocks Ok thanks. For me the remembering of the sequence just takes a lot of time and practice.

[@KB9813]

Bismarck, would you think that you could do some IL-2 Cliffs of Dover with the Team Fusion mod? I miss flying in that sim, my computer is to crap to even run it. Wish I had the money for me to be able to build one.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

+KB_TheDireWolf I tried it out a few weeks again, sadly I have a bug that stops me from spotting Spitfires. They are literally popping in and out as if equipped with a cloaking device. All other planes are fine, just not the Spits. I've looked for help but this is like the first time everyone hears about it...

[@KB9813]

Bismarck Thats really weird.... Well I know your German, but just fly the Spit's lol. Sorry, not a game Dev. Wish I could help.

[@regular4634]

I found that, forcing antialiasing on nvidia control panel fix that problem,at least for me, but, it required a good pc because only works if you set it to 8x or above.

[@Bochi42]

For instructional purposes I think a white paint job on the IL2s would help against the dark background. Better allow beginners to see the sight picture and changing angles of approach? Not a criticism just a suggestion. I would like it if you did more of these instructional videos, would be nice to have something new like Dart's vids for IL2 1946. EDIT: Ooops just realized this is from 2015

[@krackenmaster1191]

What is your setup?

[@simideelite001]

Even Gen. Gunther Rall himself has been quoted that even seasoned Luftwaffe pilots had accounts of using up all their ammo on a IL-2 and it still remained flying! : ) Tough old Bird!

[@carbon1255]

Yeah but there are multiple reports of that happening with zeros too. It was tough for a wood & canvas aircraft ;P

[@zJoriz]

I read one account that said many German pilots hated the IL-2 because they took so much cannon fire to bring down -- the cannons also shaking their own fighter and forcing the pilots to clench their jaws to stop their teeth fron chattering, in turn causing headaches. I think the complaint went something like that. Might be bullmush as far as I know, but it sounds like a nice anecdote.

[@zJoriz]

Wooden & canvas planes are relatively unfazed by normal (armor piercing) ammo, as it simply punches a small hole through the plane without shedding its energy. I think Bismarck also points this out in one of his WW1 videos. I think in both cases, their adversaries learned to mix HE or phosphorous ammo with the usual ammo to achieve better results.

[@christopherhalim2801]

1. Get on a plane. I suggest a Bf-109 G6 or Fw 190-D13 2. Get in the air 3. Gain altitude 4. Find Il-2. Hopefully the one without rear gunner 5. If Il-2 does not have a boyfriend then dive on it, If they have, then dive on the Il-2. 6. Aim the wing 7. Shoot continously because shooting burst is for Amerikaner 8. Pull up 9. Repeat from step 5 until ammo or der kanone ist kaputt

[@Halinspark]

Are there any P-39s in IL-2? That was one of my favorite aircraft to fly in Warthunder.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

There will be a P-39 with Battle of Kuban

[@Halinspark]

Bismarck Neat. So long as I dont have to worry about that unrecoverable spin problem, Ill give it a look.

[@Karottenbrot1]

A perfect example of well disciplined and efficiant german flying

[@wmfife1]

...They weren't called the Cement Bomber for nothing. Just wondering-in cases where the pilot is solo, no rear gunner why keep so much speed? Why not use the Bong method and just drive up behind them and blaze away? Unless he's at treetop level you're bound to hit something vital if you stay on him.

[@zJoriz]

Sorry for replying to old comments... anyway, he explains this in the video. If you stay on a plane's tail, there's a good chance you run out of ammo before hitting anything vital. The fuel tanks, wings, engine and control surfaces (the main things that are needed for powered flight next to the pilot) all apparently present better targets when viewed from the top or the side. If you can deflect-shoot like this guy can, obviously. Pretty sure I can't pull this kind of stuff off.

[@veterankasrkin7416]

I was wondering. Why the tracers leave that smoke trail?

[@Nate-my7je]

+Crimsun Barun Chemistry can be interesting but the long conversions and the other crap can be quite frustrating.

[@Nate-my7je]

Awesome, I did not mean that the math was difficult. I meant some of the conversions are extremely long, which is frustrating. I also have dyslexia which does not help much.

[@Nate-my7je]

I still keep my grades up :)

[@calebcook2938]

I do not know

[@konstantin.v]

Kill ill 2... There was a movie about it, wasn't it :D

[@xmifi]

More IL2 tutorial videos.

[@sizzler2462]

Erich Hartmann says aim for the oil cooler under the aircraft

[@jarikinnunen1718]

IL-2 rear fuselage is wood and weak for cannon fire. The wing root is weak spot, tell finnish Brewester and Bf-109 ace. 76 kill.

[@jarikinnunen1718]

@Fransen In Finland they was need witnesses to get scores. In BF-109 was gun camera and crashes happened in Finland side. If enemy plain got hit and escaped, no score.

[@kuuras.9258]

Can i run BoS with these specs: Intel Core i7-6700HQ (3,5 GHz) 8 GB ram NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M? (copypasting is fun)

[@ARBH587]

+Pessi Suonio are you trolling?

[@Pikilloification]

+Pessi Suonio Nah, you need a screen...

[@mallorndegray]

+Pessi Suonio max 800x600 8bit color and min details ;)

[@verdiss7487]

+Pessi Suonio Only 8 GB? or was that 80 :P

[@thelvadam2884]

Pikilloification Pff only for Tryharder 😝

[@rammstein7033]

Das muss ein Programmierfehler sein! Erich Hartmann schrieb, dass die Il2 nur von vorne Treffen konnte.Und zwar den Ölkühler.Ansonsten prallten die Kugeln nur so ab! Und hier im Spiel, reicht eine Garbe von der Seite?

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

+mb bm Erich Hartmann schrieb viel...

[@rammstein7033]

+Bismarck ne ne!? 360 Abschüsse!? aber ein laber Kopp? ne! ich habe die panzerplatten gesehen, gefühlt. motor , 4 mm stahlblech.

[@rammstein7033]

+Bismarck steht nur in wiki: . Es ist eines der meistgebauten Flugzeuge der Welt. Die Hauptaufgabe dieses Flugzeugs war die Bekämpfung gepanzerter Fahrzeuge, obwohl es auch gegen „weiche Ziele“ eingesetzt wurde. Die Sowjets selbst nannten es „Fliegender Panzer“ oder liebevoll „Iljuscha“. Von deutschen Jagdpiloten wurde die Il-2 auch „Betonflugzeug“ genannt, da sie sogar direkte Treffer einer 20-mm-Kanone überstehen konnte und mit Maschinengewehren kaum abzuschießen war.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Wie so oft bei Wikipedia fehlt da der Kontext. Die IL-2 konnte sehr wohl 20mm Treffer überstehen, von MG Feuer ganz zu schweigen. Aber das konnte die P-47 auch, oder der Typhoon, oder die FW 190 und sogar die Bf 109. Klar, da gibt es ganz normale Differenzen in der allgemeinen, sprich. durchschnittlichen Überlebensquote bei Treffer unterschiedlichen Kalibers. Dennoch, es kam darauf an wo, mit was und wie der Flieger getroffen wurde. Bei den Motoren der 109 zbs. konnte eine einzige Gewehrkugel in der Kühlung das Ende bedeuten. Andererseits konnte ein 20mm Treffer einer Britischen Hispano im Hauptteil mehr oder weniger überstanden werden ohne das es gleich Probleme gibt. Kommt halt darauf an wie und wo der Treffer ist und was dort passiert. Die IL-2 war hart und benötigte auch im Durchschnitt mehr Treffer als zbs. eine Russische Yak. Das ist klar. Dennoch heißt das nicht das sie automatisch und jedes Mal mehr Treffer abbekommen muss. Bei einem 30mm Flak-Treffer war zbs. auch schon oft schluss mit lustig. Gegen einen normalen Jaeger war sie aber langsamer, groeßer und allgemein selbst mit Heckschutze ein einfaches Ziel fuer jeden Jaeger. Dazu muss man auch sagen das im Kampfeinsatz, auf ganz natürliche weise, die Zielgenauigkeit um einiges niedriger ist als in einem Videospiel. Aber wenn jetzt eine FW 190 in echt ordentlich reinpumpt, da geht die IL-2 so oder so runter. Das Problem dabei ist nur das man dafuer im Durchschnitt laenger brauchte als mit einem Feindlichen Jaeger (und damit ein Angriff im Kampfeinsatz gefährlicher ist) und, sobald die 'Reputation' der IL-2 bekannt ist, das auch mehr auffiel. Das heißt aber nicht dass das jedes Mal so war bzw. vielleicht wurde bei der IL-2 nach einiger Zeit sogar überkompensiert und da wurde dann reingeballert bis zum geht nicht mehr und das obwohl der Flieger möglicherweise schon 'Tod' war. Man wollte halt sicher gehen. Ein Flieger geht immer runter wenn a) der Auftrieb nicht mehr gewährleistet ist (zbs. durch eine kaputte oder fehlende Tragflache), b) er nicht mehr kontrollierbar ist (zbs. durch Zerstörung der Kontrollflachen) oder c) der Flieger nicht mehr in der Lage ist mit seinem Motor genügend Schub zu erzeugen (ähnlich wie A)). Natürlich gibt es dann auch noch den klassischen Pilotentot. Das lasst viele Optionen offen die selbst eine IL-2 nicht brechen kann. Die IL-2 ist übrigens eine der (wenn nicht 'die') meist abgeschossenen Flieger des 2. Weltkriegs.

[@rammstein7033]

+Bismarck gut... ich glaube dir zum Teil. Du relatvierst aber auch ein bisschen. Und...zum gottvater alle kampfpiloten, hartmann ein schwätzer!? ne! echt?

[@TheRealEaNasir]

You took the squirrel's from Bo

[@SteelBollocks]

and this is why i fly my IL-2 with a waist gunner

[@scum5]

there is no IL-2 with a waist gunner. only rear gun.

[@ottodidact5056]

The pilots had 10 hr training .... fish in a barrel.

[@seigrammk6042]

Aim for the pilots pinky finger, left hand preferably.

[@flyingpirate0456]

How to kill an IL-2, pilot snipe

[@truslew8089]

Bismarck, do you like potatoes?

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

+SplinterOscar Oh ja

[@zJoriz]

I like to dig them up with my recently de-propellered Bf-109. Or liked, I should say. Haven't gotten IL-2 to work on my new machine. In all seriousness though, how do you land any bullets on target without Easy Aim on? I've tried all kinds of deflection shots, but I swear my enemies just flew between the bullets. Even large bombers. Might be a 'git gud' thing, but I still am kinda jealous to see you amputate half a plane with just ten bullets.

[@anonimosu7425]

Those 5mm steel DO NOTHING. well they do little.

[@carbon1255]

Pretty terrible. Even with modern armour plate you want at least 8mm before you begin stopping .303 rounds (7.7mm) or equivalent ball. Their back armour was thicker and any angle would be protection from the machine guns of course. They painted on their gun sights by hand too I might add, at the start of the war.

[@erwinrommel4561]

Cute.

[@bird_grease9288]

You don't...

[@GUREVlCH]

Shoot off the wing

[@ZdrytchX]

Attacking IL-2s from below? Screw hartmann tactics! It's much easier to just bloody attack the top of the wings seriously. I've never had an issue dealing with il-2s that way. But attacking at the belly? The thing is the lower the Gs you are pulling (towards 0Gs) the harder it is to aim the plane with precision.

[@1986tessie]

I didn't give you shit on patreon but I'll take the credit.

[@bamboosa]

So, soldier, you have helped a beginner learn to kill fictional people in digital games. What next, feed a homeless person? Slow down, man!

[@VitorMoura]

terrain looks so bad

[@zJoriz]

Not one of IL-2's strong points. But if you realize how large the maps are (if I recall correctly, some took around 30 mins to fly across in a decent fighter) and how much more important stuff needs to be rendered (smoke trails, ground units, ships, parachutists, lots of aircraft, sirens, different types of AA, bullets (TONS of 'em) and damage models, it makes a bit more sense. Even GTA 5 will tone down the graphics when you're flying a plane across it (usually not noticeable until you take a screenshot) because so much needs to be rendered at such a high pace.