Polikarpov I-16

Polikarpov I-16 Type 28 158 IAP Red 1 Leningrad September 1941 1/72 Scale Model by ICM

The Polikarpov I-16 was a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world’s first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain operational status. The I-16 was introduced in the mid-1930s and formed the backbone of the Soviet Air Force at the beginning of World War II. It figured prominently in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, Winter War and the Spanish Civil War – where it was called the Rata (“Rat”) by the Nationalists or Mosca (“Fly”) by the Republicans.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 6.13 m (20 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 9 m (29 ft 6 in)
• Height: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
• Wing area: 14.5 m² (156 sq ft)
• Airfoil: TsAGI R-II (16% at root)
• Empty weight: 1,490 kg (3,285 lb)
• Gross weight: 1,941 kg (4,279 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Shvetsov M-63 9-cylinder supercharged air-cooled radial engine, 820 kW (1,100 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed variable-pitch propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 525 km/h (326 mph, 283 kn) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
• Range: 700 km (430 mi, 380 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 9,700 m (31,800 ft)
• Rate of climb: 14.7 m/s (2,890 ft/min)
• Time to altitude: 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in 5 minutes 48 seconds
• Wing loading: 134 kg/m² (27 lb/sq ft)
• Power/mass: 0.35 kW/kg (0.21 hp/lb)

Armament

• 2 × fixed forward-firing 7.62 mm (0.300 in) ShKAS machine guns in upper cowling
• 2 × fixed forward-firing 20 mm (0.787 in) ShVAK cannon in the wings
• 6 × unguided RS-82 rockets or up to 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs

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