Fighter-Biplane I-15
1/72 WWII military aircraft fighter scale plastic model kit
ICM 72062
High-quality details.
Manufacturer: ICM Models (Ukraine)
Scale: 1/72
Material: Plastic
Paint: Unpainted, Unassembled, Kit do not contain paints and glue.
Condition: New in Box
The Polikarpov I-15 (Russian: И-15) was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed Chaika (Russian: И-15 Чайка, "Seagull") because of itsgulled upper wings, it was operated in large numbers by the Soviet Air Force, and together with the Polikarpov I-16 monoplane, was one of the standard fighters of the Spanish Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, where it was called Chato (snub-nose) in the Republican Air Force, or "Curtiss" (because its resemblance to Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk) in the Nationalist Air Force.The first flight was made in October 1933 with V.P. Chkalov at the controls, powered by an imported Wright R-1820 Cyclone engineThe I-15, also known by its development name TsKB-3, was a small biplane fighter with a gulled upper wing. The single bay wings were of wooden construction, while the fuselage was of mixed steel and duralumin construction, with a fabric covered rear fuselage.
Production started in 1934, initially being powered by the M-22, a licensed built version of the Bristol Jupiter radial engine. While less powerful than the Cyclone, the M-22 powered aircraft were still superior to the I-5 which it replaced, demonstrating excellent manoeuvrability. Production switched to the 515 kW (700 hp) M-25 engine (a license built Cyclone) in late 1936.A total of 671 I-15s were built, 284 in the Soviet Union and a further 287 under license by CASA in Spain.
The gulled upper wing of the I-15 was unpopular with some pilots, as it was felt to restrict visibility, so Polikarpov's design bureauproduced a revised version, again powered by the M-25, with a longer span un-gulled upper wing. This version, the I-15bis, commenced production in 1937, a total of 2,408 I-15bis' being delivered by the time production finished in 1940.
| I-15 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| I-15bis | |
| Role | Fighter |
| Designer | Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov |
| First flight | October 1933 |
| Primary user | Soviet Air Force |
| Produced | 1934–1937 |
| Number built | 3,313 (plus 3,437 of I-153) |
| Developed from | Polikarpov I-5 |
| Variants | Polikarpov I-153 |
- Stock: 1
- Model: ICM72062
- Weight: 0.34lb
- DATE ADDED: 27/02/2014
-250x250w.jpg "Roden 057 - 1/72 - Fairchild C-123K/UC-123K American special purpose aircraft")
