USSR : IL-2

The famous IL-2 Sturmovik was a Soviet WWII-era attack aircraft created by the Ilyushin Design Bureau and nicknamed «Hunchback» by Red Army troops due to the distinct fuselage shape.

The designers nicknamed their aircraft the «Flying Tank». Luftwaffe pilots, due to the IL-2's incredible ability to withstand battle damage, called it the «Betonflugzeug» or «Concrete Plane». German ground troops, conversely, despised and feared the IL-2, giving it a slew of unpleasant nicknames, such as «Schlachter» (Butcher); «Fleischwolf» (Meatgrinder); «Eiserner Gustav» (Iron Gustav) and «Schwarzer Tod» (the Black Death). Some historians believe that the 'Black Death' was actually a successful invention of the Soviet propaganda machine that caught on with the Germans.

The IL-2 was the most mass-produced military aircraft in history.