Ilyushin Il-18

The Ilyushin Il-18 (; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the Soviet Union's principal airliners for several decades and was widely exported. Due to the aircraft's durability, many examples achieved over 45,000 flight hours and the type remains operational in both military and to a lesser extent in civilian capacities. The Il-18's successor was the longer-range Ilyushin Il-62.

Design and development

Two Soviet 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. The two aircraft designs were developed as the Ilyushin Il-18 and the Antonov An-10 and the engine chosen was the Kuznetsov NK-4 rather than the Ivchenko AI-20. During 1957 the plant began to reduce its production of the Ilyushin Il-14 and prepare to build the production aircraft designated IL-18A. 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, has been converted into a static hotel suite at Teuge Airfield in The Netherlands.

As of July 2018, there are 7 aircraft in airliner service with 6 operators.

The Il-18/20/22 are serving in the Russian Air Force as reconnaissance and command post aircraft.

On 17 September 2018, an Il-20M was accidentally shot down with 15 people on board near Latakia, Syria.

On 24 June 2023, an airborne command-center Il-22 was shot down during the Wagner Group rebellion. All ten crew members were killed.

On 14 January 2024 Ukrainian media sources reported that an Il-22 was shot down along the sea of Azov. The aircraft successfully crash landed at Anapa Airport. It was claimed to have been damaged beyond repair.

Variants

thumb|Il-18 on display at [[Sheremetyevo International Airport]]

thumb|An example at a museum in [[Borkheide, Germany]]

thumb|An Il-20M in 2009

thumb|[[Malev Il-18 in at an open-air aircraft museum at the Budapest Ferihegy International Airport]]

thumb|Ilyushin Il-18D at China Aviation Museum, Beijing

thumb|Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-20M

thumb|Il-20RT, Telemetry aircraft

thumb|Il-22M, Airborne command post modernized version

thumb|Il-22PP "Porubshchik", EW, ECM airplane

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<nowiki>:</nowiki> Coot-A)

: COMINT/ELINT reconnaissance airplane version.

;Il-20RT

: Four Telemetry aircraft used to support the Soviet space activities, later replaced by a variant of the Il-76.

;Il-22 (NATO reporting name<nowiki>:</nowiki> Coot-B)

: Airborne command post version. (Not to be confused with 1947 prototype Soviet jet-engined bomber Il-22.)

;Il-22M

: Airborne command post version same as the Il-22 but had new mission equipment.

;Il-22PP

: Electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft. Began development in autumn 2009, one unit built and entered service with the EW detachment of the 117th Military Transport Aviation Regiment.

Former operators

thumb|Il-18E of [[LOT Polish Airlines in Warsaw. (1990)]]

Military operators

<big>Current operators:</big>

; Russia

Russian Aerospace Forces – Il-20, Il-20M, Il-22PP and Il-38 versions

<big>Former operators:</big>

Accidents and incidents

Specifications (Il-18D)

thumb|Layout of Il-18

thumb|Cockpit of Il-18

thumb|Cabin of Il-18 (Interflug)