what is it?
The Polikarpov I-1 was the first indigenous Soviet monoplane fighter. It had to be redesigned after the crash of the first prototype, and was eventually ordered into production in small numbers, but it was never accepted for service with the Soviet Air Forces.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · low wing · 10.8 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 103 years ago, in 1923.
- Top speed is 2.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 10.8 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1923-08-15
- introduced
- 1924
- number built
- 33
- role
- monoplane fighter
- origin
- 🇷🇺 Soviet Union
- makers
- Dux Factory
- engines
- 1× Liberty L-12 piston engine / Liberty L-12
- crew
- 1
- length
- 8.3 m
- wingspan
- 10.8 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,510 kg
- top speed
- 264 km/h
- range
- 650 km
- ceiling
- 6,750 m
- wings
- low wing
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1752155, Wikipedia: Polikarpov I-1 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.