IL-2 Sturmovik: . 80-A and 80-B Collector Planes Released

The IAR 80 was a Romanian low-wing monoplane originally designed in the late 1930s by Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR, or Romanian Aeronautic Industry in English). First flown in 1939, the IAR-80 was comparable to other fighter aircraft designs of the late 1930s and would remain in service with the Royal Romanian Air Force throughout World War II. In 1941, the IAR-80 was modified to become a dive bomber and thus became the IAR-81. This new model was fitted with a bomb cradle under the fuselage which would throw the bomb clear of the propeller when the bomb was released. IAR-80s and 81s both saw action during the Battle of Stalingrad and later took part in combat over the Kuban and the Crimea throughout 1943 and into 1944. Meanwhile, in August 1943 IAR-80s took part in the defense of the Romanian oil fields at Ploesti for the first time against US Army Air Force B-24 heavy bombers. After Romania switched sides in August 1944 and joined the Allies, IAR-80s and IAR-81s fought along