Polikarpov I-15

the History of type.[/heading]

In the early thirties of the last century, not the soviet air force in its arsenal of modern fighter aircraft, Fighter I-5 was outdated before it came into production and imported I-7 it wasn't any better. J. In. Stalin solved this problem in a way own, closed design engineers into prison. It happened i N the. N. Polikarpovovi and really, the new aircraft was soon in the world – biplane I-15.

The prototype was immediately zalétaný . P. Čkalovem and the new aircraft could not speak highly enough, excellent maneuverability, agility, speed and rate of climb, just what has a jet meet.

The command to start the serial production came early, but created a problem – the prototype flew with the american motor Wright SGR-1820-F3 and in the soviet Russia, this engine has not yet been, along with, therefore, the negotiations with the american party, whose goal was the purchase of engines, or, better still, their production license. The negotiations dragged on, but eventually achieve a positive outcome. They were purchased engines (a few dozen, maybe even hundred) and obtained the rights to their licensed production.
The production engine will run in the second half of the year 1934 in the factories in the cities Perm and Kazan, their production supervised design engineer And. D. Švecov, which was responsible for the smooth production and their further development.
In the meantime, however, it produced a 404 fighter aircraft I-15, but those were powered by less powerful engines M-22 (Bristol Jupiter), the performances were of course lower than what amounted to the prototype, but they were better than I-5 and I-7. After this series was produced 59 aircraft powered by imported engines Wright and the other 270 of the machines produced got no license produced the engines identified as M-25. These engines were kapotovány cover type Towned.
Compared to the prototype was a reinforced armor, mass production machines carried the armament consisting of four machine guns PV-1.
I-15 attended battles in Spain on the side of the republican air force, he led you here, well, that is, until the arrival of the modern German and Italian jednoplošníků, Spanish is used even after the end of the civil war. In 1939, the I-15 deployed in battles khalkhin Gol with Japan, but it was no longer strictly the swan song for the slightly more powerful I-15bis. Against Germany they got into the air also a few dozen I-15, but mostly again, it was more modern I-15bis.

The pilots rated the aircraft significantly differently, many mind prosezení the upper wing (recalls the wing of the seagull), they complained about the bad view while landing even during the combat years, the other pilots have this break I overheard. However Polikarpovova design office in 1937 this wing in another version of the adjusted upper leaf canopy was restored, and was thus direct, this version was powered by an engine M-25V, which was a cover of ring of NACA, this version was designated the I-15bis or I-152.

sources:
Mikhail And. Maslov, Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153, Oxford, UK, Osprey Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84603-981-2.
Hans-Heiri Stapfer, Polikarpov Fighters in Action Part 1, Aircraft in Action, Well. 157., Carrollton, Texas, Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1995, ISBN 0-89747-343-4.
L+To no 3/1975, Aircraft 39-45, Polikarpov I-15 and I-15bis, Václav Němeček.
http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww2/i15.html
http://www.airpages.ru/eng/ru/i15_1.shtml
author archive.

Маслов, Михаил. The King of Fighter Planes: Polikarpov's Combat Aircraft. EXMO, Moscow 2009. ISBN 978-5-699-309986.
Maslov, Mikhail. The I-15 fighter: the curly-haired brawler, Kombat No. 1. Polygon 2001.
Maslov, Mikhail. Stalin's Battle Seagulls: I-15, I-15bis, I-153. Yauza, Moscow 2009. ISBN 978-5-699-32232-9.
Byushgens, G. S. Aircraft Building in the USSR (1917-1945), Book I. SAGI, Moscow 1992.
Gordon, Yefim; Dexter, Keith. Polikarpov's Biplane Fighters. Midland Publishing, Hinckley 2002. ISBN 1-85780-141-5.
Andersson, Lennart. Soviet Aircraft and Aviation 1917-1941. Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1997. ISBN 0-85177-859-3.