It's normal for the air force to have bombers, but it sounds a little different if it's the navy that owns the bombers. In fact, only a select few powers in the world have bombers in their naval aviation display cases. And, Indonesia was once one of these powers, namely in the decade of the 60s.
In addition to the public in Indonesia being confused by the fame of the Tu-16 Badger long-range heavy bomber belonging to the Indonesian Air Force (formerly AURI), Indonesia also got a medium-class bomber, the Il-28, a bomber made by the Ilyushin Design Bureau, a type of multirole bomber created by the Union. Soviet post-World War Two. Because the launch of this plane coincided with the entry of the Cold War era, as has become a tradition, the Il-28 was given the designation by NATO as the Beagle, and has become a popular designation for the Il-28 Beagle to this day.
Outside the Soviet Union, China, and the ex-Warsaw Pact countries, Indonesia is a fairly large number of Il-28 operators. Il-28 is recorded as being used by the Indonesian Air Force and the Indonesian Navy (formerly ALRI). Within the scope of the Indonesian Air Force, the Il-28 is included in the 21st Air Squadron based at Kemayoran Air Base, Jakarta. In terms of numbers, there are two versions, according to Wikipedia the Indonesian Air Force Il-28s have 12 units.
While quoted from the Space Collection Edition "Operation Trikora Air," it was stated that the Indonesian Air Force received 18 Il-28 units. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Navy through Puspenerbal (Navy Aviation Center), according to Wikipedia, is said to have received more than 30 Il-28T torpedo bombers and 6 Il-28U units as trainers. But there is other information, that the Indonesian Navy only has 10 units of Il-28T and 2 units of Il-28U.
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| Il-28T ALRI |
As the first jet era medium bomber, the Il-28 was designed to carry conventional bombs. If the Indonesian Air Force uses the Il-28s version, which has standard capabilities. It is different with the Indonesian Navy, which operates the Il-28T, which has the ability to release torpedoes.
Entered in the Air Squadron 500 storefront, making the Indonesian Navy's aviation power the strongest in South Asia in the 1960s. The reason is that the Navy's patrolling fleet is not limited to the role of transport and maritime reconnaissance, but also includes the role of taking action against targets at sea, both surface ships and submarines.
During the Trikora period, the portion of the Dutch warship bulldozing from the air was indeed quite diverse. Call it the Tu-16 with anti-ship missiles AS-1 Kennel and Gannet which can throw torpedoes to marine bombs.
Incidentally, the Soviets also had a large portion of the AKS (anti-submarine) variant on the Il-28, it is understood that during the Cold War era there was a psy war in the sphere of power in the ocean. Of the dozens of Soviet-produced Il-28 variants, there are two types designed for warfare at sea, namely the Il-28T and Il-28PL.
Il-28T
As a variant for pursuing targets at sea, the Il-28T in the line has its own system, which can carry two small torpedoes or one large torpedo. For large torpedoes, this means the RAT-52 rocket propelled torpedo. Torpedoes are placed in the bomb bay. Unfortunately there is no information, regarding the provision of radar and electronic devices for sensing in the ocean.
Quoted from Angkasa.co.id, one of the Penerbal pilots who is also a living witness to a number of combat missions carried out by the Penerbal pilots, Colonel (Ret.) H. Dana Is (70), his colleagues are known to be brave. Dana, who flew the Il-28 and Dakota torpedo bombers, has lost several seniors because of their bravery and recklessness.
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| Il-28U |
“Penerbal once owned 12 Il-28 aircraft. Ten Il-28Ts for torpedo bombers and two Il-28Us for trainers. At that time, as young pilots, the seniors were very enthusiastic about fighting, so sometimes courage overcame common sense,'' said Dana, who is also an alumnus of the Naval Academy in 1967. "Therefore, even though spare parts are running low due to the strained relations between Indonesia and Russia, the IL-28 pilots still dare to fly so that a number of accidents cannot be avoided," he added.
Emergency Landing
During the flight missions, both in training and in combat, 12 Il-28s belonging to the 500 Squadron, five of them had accidents. One plane made an emergency landing on Banyuwangi Beach, East Java. The three crew of the Il-28, Young Lieutenant (LMU) Wulang Sutekowardi and a navigator, Suyono, managed to land safely but the plane was completely damaged. Another Il-28 aircraft was lost and did not return to base during a flight navigation exercise over Masalembo Island, Madura.
Ironically, the pilot who went missing in Masalembo was LMU Wulang, who had landed safely on the beach. The two Il-28 crew that went missing with LMU Wulang were navigator Gatot Muly ohadi and the armament operator on the plane, Corporal Sudjati.
The subsequent third, fourth, and fifth accidents were landing accidents. Twice it happened at Kemayoran Air Base, Jakarta and another at Makassar Air Base, South Sulawesi. Luckily in the last three accidents there were no fatalities.
“Being a Penerbal pilot has many challenges because the lives of the pilots are in a high risk situation. We understand this condition very well, so training and discipline and thoroughness in flying are very important. We then only dared to fly after signing the airworthiness document. Especially for night flights,'' added Dana.
RAT-52 Aircraft Torpedo
If the Tu-16KS has the AS-1 Kennel to sink the aircraft carrier, the Il-28T has the ultimate weapon in the form of the RAT-52 torpedo. This torpedo was specifically designed to be released from an airplane or helicopter, and was first released in 1952. The RAT-52 has a diameter of 450 mm and a length of 4 meters. The weight of this 'lontong steel' reaches 627 kg with a warhead weighing 200 kg. As a guide, this torpedo relies on passive acoustic homing.
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| Yu-2 torpedo made in China |
This solid rocket torpedo can hit targets with a maximum speed of 400 knots. While the maximum range reaches 10,000 meters. As has become a tradition, every mainstay product of the Soviet Union was always 'cheated' by China. And so this Bamboo Curtain Country has Yu-2 which began production in the early 70s. For information, China also licensed the Il-28 labeled H-5 made by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing. In fact, the H-5 was the last version of the Il-28 to air, being used until 2011.
The Bomber Armament
This bomber was built by the Soviet Union after the Second World War, precisely in 1947 the Il-28 prototype was launched with the ability to carry a 3 tonne bomb payload at a speed of 800 km per hour. The Il-28 is designed to be manned by 3 people (pilot, navigator and machine gunner/tail gunner). Especially for machine gunners, the position is separate, namely in the tail in the pressurized compartment.
While the navigator, which also acts as a bomber, is in the glass area on the nose of the plane. As bombing interpreters, the navigator crew is equipped with an OPB-5 sight from the Second World War. While the pilot's position is sitting under a bubble-shaped canopy. The canopy is opened sideways with qualified glass capable of withstanding the brunt of projectiles.
Returning to the tail gunner, the weapons that are relied upon are two Nudelman Suranov-23 NS 23 mm caliber cannons. Each shoot is equipped with a capacity of 250 ammunition. In some operations, the existence of this canon is removed to lighten the weight of the aircraft. But that's just defense from the rear side, the Il-28 is in fact also equipped with two 23 mm caliber cannons with a fixed angle barrel, namely the positions are left and right, precisely under the nose of the plane, and operated directly by the pilot.
As a bomber, the Il-28, like the legendary heavy bomber Tu-16 Badger, is also equipped with a bomb bay (a special room for bombs). The bomb bay is located on the belly with a hydraulically controllable cover. Bomb bay can load bombs with a total weight of 3 tons. The wings can also be attached to four bombs, each weighing 100 kg.
In terms of design, the Il-28 is unique, the wings and tail are divided horizontally through the center of the wing, while the fuselage is split vertically at the centerline. This pattern was easy to assemble and economical in production, but resulted in an increase in the weight of the aircraft structure.
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| canon Nudelman Suranov-23 NS caliber 23 mm |
The first prototype Il-28 first flew on July 8, 1948. On its maiden flight the Il-28 used a Rolls Royce Nene engine. The first test was carried out by Vladimir Kokkinaki and was able to fly up to a speed of 833 km per hour. Then on December 30, 1948, launched a second prototype that uses the RD-45 engine.
Through various considerations, finally on May 14, 1949, the il-28 was officially produced in bulk for the order of the Air Force of the Soviet Union and its allies. In its official version, the Il-28 carries the Klimov VK-1 Turbojet engine type. After officially launching, the Il-28 was moved to the position of its navigational radar from the rear of the aircraft to the nose wheel area.
In terms of safety, the pilot and navigator sit in ejection seats, while the tail gunner is a bit unlucky , because if in an emergency you can only save yourself using a parachute and get out of the door at the bottom of the floor.
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