Polikarpov I-16 COMBO
The first low-wing monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to enter service, the Polikarpov I-16 was obsolete even before the Second World War began, yet plodded along as the Soviet Union's first line fighter until 1943 when the Red Air Force finally introduced top-notch aircraft to slug it out with the Luftwaffe for the remainder of the war.
Of advanced design for its time, the I-16 was, none-the-less, an illustration of poor timing, being the fastest of its type when first introduced, highly maneuverable, with excellent climbing speed and roll rate, yet soon outclassed by a newer craft developed by Germany and Japan. While the aircraft performed well against German combat aircraft during the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939), and against the Japanese Air Force in Manchuria starting in 1937, by the time Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the aircraft was outclassed by new generations of enemy fighters. Yet, as the most numerous of the Soviet fighters available at that time, it bore the brunt of the battle for several years.
Drie uitvoeringen mogelijk;
- I-16 Type 24 - VVS SF, 72 SAP, Capt.Boris F.Safonov, Summer 1941.
- I-16 Type 24 - VVS KBF, 4 Gv.IAP, Snr.LT.Gennadiy Tsokolaev, Camouflage in Winter, 1942.
- I-16 Type 24 - 254 IAP, Lt.Krichevskiy, 1943.
Aantal onderdelen; 43 X2.
Afmetingen;
- Lengte 86 mm.
- Spanwijdte; 128 mm.
