Ilyushin DB-3 1/72 Scale Models

Soviet DB-3M - This is a model of a long-range heavy bomber that resisted the German led invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. The DB-3 first saw combat in 1939 in China, because Stalin was sending Soviet planes and pilots to help the Chinese fight the invading Japanese. The DB-3M was obsolete by 1941, and Luftwaffe fighters decimated them. The Finns captured some DB-3Ms from the Soviets during the Winter War of 1939-1940. They flew them against the Soviets during Operation Barbarossa, and then purchased some captured ones from the Germans.

More Photos: Left, Right, Top, Front Angle Right, Front Angle Left, Rear Angle Right, Rear Angle Left, Above Left, Above Right

Soviet Il-4 - This is a model of a long-range heavy bomber that flew against the Germans in 1943. The Il-4 was originally called the DB-3F, because it was an improved version of the DB3-M. But it was so different from its predecessor that it was given the name of Il-4 in March, 1942. The Finns acquired some captured Il-4s from the Germans in 1942 and flew them against the Soviets beginning in 1943. After the Finns joined the Allies in September, 1944, they flew their DB-3Ms and Il-4s against the Germans in Lapland. The Soviets produced the Il-4 through the end of WWII and it was their primary long-range heavy bomber.

More Photos: Left, Right, Top, Front Angle Right, Front Angle Left, Rear Angle Right, Rear Angle Left, Above Left, Above Right

Barbarossa: The Air Battle July-December 1941, Christer Bergstrom

Black Cross/Red Star: The Air War Over the Eastern Front, Volume 1, Operation Barbarossa, Christer Bergstrom

Black Cross/Red Star; The Air War Over the Eastern Front: Resurgence, January - June 1942, Christer Bergstrom

Finnish Air Force 1939-1945, Kalevi Keskinen

In the Skies of Europe: Air Forces Allied to the Luftwaffe 1939-1945, John Cochrane

Ilyushin Il-4 in Action, Hans-Heiri Stapfer

Soviet Combat Aircraft of the Second World War: Twin-Engined Fighters, Attack Aircraft and Bombers, Yefim Gordon

Stopped at Stalingrad; The Luftwaffe and Hitler's Defeat in the East, 1942-1943, Joel Hayward