In early 1933, the test pilot Valery Pavlovich Chkalov, who had just come to work at the airplane factory, met the aircraft designer Nikolay Nikolayevich Polikarpov. Though the pilot had the unflattering reputation of an “air hooligan” and “defaulter”, and his engineering knowledge was not quite impressive, Polikarpov asked to appoint Chkalov as the chief pilot of the design bureau.
At the time, work was underway on a new fighter aircraft. Chkalov, along with the engineers, thoroughly studied the drawings of the I-16 and closely followed the assembly of every single unit. The result was a rather unusual aircraft: a streamlined design, short wings with an unusual airfoil, a short cylinder-shaped fuselage, and retractable landing gear. Chkalov nicknamed it “donkey”.
On December 31, the I-16 was brought to the runway. During the first tests, it turned out to struggle to keep the straight direction of the run before the takeoff. In the air, the plane tended to experience a wing drop or even fall into the spin. The landing gear caused a lot of trouble.
At some point, the management even began to doubt the feasibility of working on the I-16, and the tests were suspended. But Chkalov believed in the aircraft and turned to Grigory Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze, the People’s Commissar for Heavy Industry, for help. Ordzhonikidze ordered to continue the work.
When the fighter was ready and put into service, Chkalov personally traveled to the front-line air units and held demonstration flights to convince rank-and-file pilots of the aircraft’s performance, which was perfect for the time.
For their hard work on the creation of the I-16, the designer Polikarpov and the test pilot Chkalov received the highest USSR award — the Order of Lenin.
The fighter was in serial production in 24 various modifications for almost 8 years. Throughout the years, it underwent continuous improvements, had its engine power and, accordingly, speed increased, and its armament enhanced. However, the geometry of the fuselage, wings, and tail, as well as basic dimensions remained the same. The last, 24th modification of the aircraft, created in 1939, with an M-63 engine, could reach a speed of over 500 km/h.
There were several options in terms of the onboard armament, but most often two machine guns and two cannons were mounted on the fighter.
In the early years of the Great Patriotic War, the fighter actively participated in air battles. Many feats were accomplished on the plane. For example, it was on an I-16 in August 1941 that Viktor Vasilyevich Talalikhin became the first-ever pilot to ram an enemy aircraft at night. The aircraft remained in service in the Soviet air force until 1944.
At the time, work was underway on a new fighter aircraft. Chkalov, along with the engineers, thoroughly studied the drawings of the I-16 and closely followed the assembly of every single unit. The result was a rather unusual aircraft: a streamlined design, short wings with an unusual airfoil, a short cylinder-shaped fuselage, and retractable landing gear. Chkalov nicknamed it “donkey”.
On December 31, the I-16 was brought to the runway. During the first tests, it turned out to struggle to keep the straight direction of the run before the takeoff. In the air, the plane tended to experience a wing drop or even fall into the spin. The landing gear caused a lot of trouble.
At some point, the management even began to doubt the feasibility of working on the I-16, and the tests were suspended. But Chkalov believed in the aircraft and turned to Grigory Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze, the People’s Commissar for Heavy Industry, for help. Ordzhonikidze ordered to continue the work.
When the fighter was ready and put into service, Chkalov personally traveled to the front-line air units and held demonstration flights to convince rank-and-file pilots of the aircraft’s performance, which was perfect for the time.
For their hard work on the creation of the I-16, the designer Polikarpov and the test pilot Chkalov received the highest USSR award — the Order of Lenin.
The fighter was in serial production in 24 various modifications for almost 8 years. Throughout the years, it underwent continuous improvements, had its engine power and, accordingly, speed increased, and its armament enhanced. However, the geometry of the fuselage, wings, and tail, as well as basic dimensions remained the same. The last, 24th modification of the aircraft, created in 1939, with an M-63 engine, could reach a speed of over 500 km/h.
There were several options in terms of the onboard armament, but most often two machine guns and two cannons were mounted on the fighter.
In the early years of the Great Patriotic War, the fighter actively participated in air battles. Many feats were accomplished on the plane. For example, it was on an I-16 in August 1941 that Viktor Vasilyevich Talalikhin became the first-ever pilot to ram an enemy aircraft at night. The aircraft remained in service in the Soviet air force until 1944.
