claims Il-2 and Il-2 m.h

[Rainer]

It appears that the intelligence section of the Luftwaffe was not always up to date with the latest changes in the Soviet aircraft production, but to be honest, most Russian pilots weren't aware of the newest aircraft types in the inventory of the VVS either, as incidents like the downing of a Su-2 by Pokryshkin showed.

The Soviet Union began to built the Vultee V-11 in license, but probably unknown to the Germans the production was stopped after building just 31 aircraft as the type proved to be unsuitable for the intended ground attack role. With a similar silhouette to that of the Il-2 the identification as "Vultee" or "V-11" can be explained, but who knows if one of the claims was for one of the rare V-11 which were employed as liaison aircraft by the VVS during the war.

The RLM published aircraft recognition books during the war with the title "Die wichtigsten Feindflugzeuge in Wort und Bild", each year in an updated edition. To have a copy of them could probably help with the aircraft designations mentioned in microfilms.