Herpa Interflug Ilyushin IL-18 – DM-STO 1/200 572873

As the last of 16 Ilyushin IL-18s, DM-STO entered service with Interflug, the state airline of the German Democratic Republic, in April of 1968. In the almost 30 years of service, the four-engine, Soviet-produced turboprop was the main aircraft type and was used domestically but also on long-haul routes as far as Havana and Beijing. The first IL-18s, which were delivered from 1960 onwards, still flew in a blue livery and with the well-known crane as Deutsche Lufthansa. Due to legal disputes with Lufthansa, which was revived in West Germany at the same time, the GDR founded Interflug as a second air transport company. DM-STO is released in the red livery and markings of Interflug, introduced in 1963. Starting in 1991, it saw service with short-lived BerLine, founded by former Interflug employees. After a short time in use by Bulgaria’s Air Zory, this IL-18 was ultimately used from 1995 until the early 2000s in Cuba by Aero Caribbean, mainly on routes to neighboring countries throughout the Caribbean.