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Russia’s iconic I-16 fighter plane that wreaked havoc on the German army, ready for Fly-Past on Victory Day

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On May 9, like Russia celebrates the Day of Victory, a Polikarpov I-16 Soviet-era fighter planes – the only aircraft to see action in World War II – will be on display over Moscow.

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The only Soviet I-16 fighter fighter in Russia, which took part in the battles of the Great Patriotic War and was refurbished for participation in the 79th anniversary of the Soviet victory, will take to the skies.

“This year, the Soviet I-16 will be the only historic fighter aircraft to take to the skies as part of the ‘Immortal Aviation Regiment’ campaign. The restoration of the legendary fighter is a long-term, painstaking work of a large number of patriots and enthusiasts, ranging from search teams to aviation companies in our country,” Boris Osyatinsky, chairman of the Winged Memory of Victory Foundation, told reporters.

He told reporters that parts of this fighter plane were found two kilometers northwest of Lake Kokkojärvi in ​​Karelia in June 1992. The aircraft was likely part of the 155th Fighter Aviation unit and crash-landed in the area in the summer of 1941 during World War II. .

“Fragments of the wooden hull, center plane, chassis, consoles, some of the plumage and the M-62 engine were found…Plates marking the series and numbers of the left and right consoles indicated that these structural elements were allegedly produced at the Gorky factory. named after S. Ordzhonikidze – in Novosibirsk at the aviation plant named after Vice-President Chkalov,” said Osyatinsky.

In 1992, participants in the Winged Memory of Victory project transported fragments of the I-16 aircraft to Novosibirsk, where it was restored after a long search for design documentation.

The flight of this plane over Moscow on Victory Day will bring back memories of the Allies’ victory over Nazi Germany. The Soviet Union lost the largest number of troops in the battle. In the two years of war against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has used this day to position his country as the destroyer of Nazism.

The I-16 Combat Jet was a Soviet marvel

The I-16 high-speed fighter monoplane was developed by the design bureau of Nikolai Polikarpov and made its first flight in 1933.

The I-16 was a revolutionary single-engine, single-seat fighter aircraft from the Soviet Union that “introduced a new trend in fighter design”, as it was the first cantilever monoplane with low wings and retractable landing gear.

The aircraft’s design was intended to maximize mobility for aerial combat while still being a fast-moving fighter aircraft. Small ‘as a fly’, the I-16 represented the ideal of a fast aircraft that was also particularly good at aerobatics, setting it apart from all biplanes.

In 1934, the Red Army Air Force began fielding the I-16 fighter. During its seven-year production period, the aircraft underwent more than ten upgrades, all of which included improvements to the weapons, an improvement in engine power, and a gradual increase in mass, while maintaining overall size. While it was incredibly agile, it was quite a challenge to manage.

Polikarpov I-16 - Wikipedia
Polikarpov I-16 – Wikipedia

The aircraft was deployed in various combat zones, including the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Spanish Civil War, the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland, etc. The aircraft performed exceptionally well in all these battles. However, it is the Soviet war against Germany that remains the most notable of all the battles in which the I-16 saw action.

Nazi forces surprised the Soviet Union with a powerful offensive on June 22, 1941. Under the code name ‘Operation Barbarossa’, three million Axis soldiers invaded the Soviet Union on three fronts. The initial attack came from more than 1,200 Luftwaffe aircraft, which attacked locations so quickly and fiercely that approximately 2,000 Soviet aircraft were destroyed on the ground in just two days.

The I-16 formed the backbone of the Soviet air force, but proved to be inferior to the German aircraft. Soviet aircraft of the era were generally inferior to those of their opponents, with the I-16 being no exception. It had a maximum speed of 280-290 mph (450-470 kilometers/h), as opposed to the German Messerschmitt Bf 109E’s 350 mph (570 kilometers/h).

Messerschmitt Bf 109 - Wikipedia
German Messerschmitt Bf 109 – Wikipedia

Several Soviet pilots took drastic measures in their last-ditch effort to protect their motherland. On the first day of what Soviet citizens eventually came to call “The Great Patriotic War,” fifteen Soviet fighter pilots used the “taran” or “battering ram” maneuver to down German planes. This essentially involved slamming their planes into enemy fighter jets to destroy them.

About 40% of the Soviet fighter inventory, or 1,635 Polikarpov I-16 aircraft, was in service at the start of hostilities. By the end of June 1941, only 873 remained, of which about 100 needed repairs.

Despite these obstacles, many Red Army pilots achieved “ace” status with five enemy kills or more. In a dogfight, the I-16’s ability to make a tight turn was considered remarkable.

It can also withstand a lot of damage. Later aircraft variants were significantly more lethal when equipped with two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns in the overhead canopy and two 20 mm (0.787 in) ShVAK wing-mounted guns.

Vladimir Barsuk, Honored Test Pilot of the Russian Federation, told RIA Novosti: “How they fought is still not completely clear to me. Very little fuel – for 40 minutes of petrol. It is necessary to find the enemy, shoot him in these conditions, and also find your airfield and come back. Very poor visibility, there was no automation – there was not even an air horizon. To land, the plane would have had to jump into the current. Despite all that, the combat task was completed.”

File: Khalkhin Gol Soviet i 16 1939.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
I-16 in 1939 – Wikimedia Commons

The attack on the Mga train station on March 12, 1942 was an example of the I-16’s potential as a ground attack weapon. In that operation, a flight of 18 I-16s buzzed into the station at zero feet from the south in an attempt to deceive enemy anti-aircraft guns. These jets then divided into two groups of nine and circled back to attack the trains full of Wehrmacht soldiers, weapons and ammunition from two different angles. The cramped carriages and wagons were hit by rockets, cannon fire and machine gun fire, resulting in explosions and fires that burned for hours.

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In addition, Soviet pilots were among the first to dismantle German bomber formations with missiles. Eight German Ju-88 aircraft flying into Sevastopol were reportedly attacked by five Polikarpov I-16s of the Black Sea Fleet in November 1941. Four I-16s launched all 24 missiles at the bombers. One plane caught fire and crashed into the ocean. The others escaped after setting off their bombs over open ground.

By the end of 1943, the Polikarpov I-16 had been supplanted in service by more modern Soviet aircraft such as the Lavochkin LaGG-3 and Yak-7. It was the I-16’s key role in the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany that is commemorated to this day.

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