1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. И-3: Nick 2007 13· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The Polikarpov I-3 (Russian: Поликарпов И-3) was a Soviet fighter designed during the late 1920s. It entered service in 1929, but was retired in 1935 with the advent of fighters with higher performance.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · biplane · 11 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 98 years ago, in 1928.
- Top speed is 2.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 11 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
- 1928-02-21
- introduced
- 1928
- retired
- 1935
- status
- retired
- number built
- 399
- role
- biplane fighter
- origin
- 🇷🇺 Soviet Union
- engines
- 1× BMW VI / Mikulin M-17
- crew
- 2
- length
- 8.1 m
- wingspan
- 11 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,846 kg
- top speed
- 278 km/h
- range
- 585 km
- ceiling
- 7,200 m
- wings
- biplane
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1421751, Wikipedia: Polikarpov I-3 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.