WW2 Aircraft Ranked by Weight of Armour Plating (1 Viewer)

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a8 r8 armor.pngfw 190f armor.png
 
This is great data and blows away yet another misconception of mine (like so many have been since coming to this forum). Given the Thunderbolt's reputation for toughness I always assumed it was much more heavily armored than it's contempories.
 
I believe you, but could you site the source for the figures on the Il-2, its hard to believe a 1940 design propeller plane could get off the ground with 16% of its weight as armor/dead weight.
I can't speak for the precise numbers, but as people said above, the armour wasn't simply protection added to the airframe - it formed the structural monocoque for the forward fuselage (engine/cockpit) with the wings and tail bolted to it. Also, it had a stupidly grunty 1700hp engine.
 
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