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This section will cover the history, development, and use of the Ilyushin Il-38 'May' maritime reconnaissance aircraft. In this section you will find where the aircraft has been used, when it was designed, its limitations and abilities, and how it functions. |
The Il-38 'May' is an anti-submarine variant of the civilian Il-18 airliner. Unlike the civilian aircraft, the 'May' has a lengthened fuselage, a radar set in a bubble under the nose, and a Magnetic Anomaly Detector, along with other specialized electronics. The Il-38 'May' also has the option of carrying anti-submarine weapons if required.
The aircraft first flew in the mid-sixties and quickly became the standard shore-based maritime recon platform of Soviet Naval Aviation. They ranged over the Atlantic ocean and Mediterranean sea. In later years the Il-38's would operate over the Indian ocean, having been based in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.
In 1975 the Indian navy showed an interest in obtaining several Il-38 aircraft of their own. The first batch of four were delivered in 1977. They have not been exported to any other nation.
The Il-38 'May' gave the Soviet Union a much greater ability to patrol the open ocean and deal with the growing submarine threat posed by NATO. It had much longer range than other recon aircraft of the day and could loiter over an area longer than any other Soviet anti-submarine aircraft. The fact these capabilities could be obtained with an existing civilian airframe made the aircraft even more attractive.
Any limitations that the aircraft has are fairly typical of its type. The Il-38 has no noteworthy disadvantages or problems and will probably remain in service for the foreseeable future.
Here you can see what aircraft the Il-38 replaced and what aircraft eventually replaced it in the role of maritime reconnaissance. You can find out more about these aircraft if we have them on our site by clicking on the links below.
| The Il-38 'May' replaced... | Ilyushen Il-38 'May' | The Il-38 'May' was replaced by... |
| Uncertain at Present | Nothing, it is still in service |
Here are some of the most informative sources that we have used in compiling this information for you. We hope you can find them as useful as we have.
Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation, Compiled and edited by Michael J. H. Taylor, Published by Crescent Books, New Jersey, 1995