Polikarpov I-5

what is it?

The Polikarpov I-5 was a single-seat biplane which became the primary Soviet fighter between its introduction in 1931 through 1936, after which it became the standard advanced trainer. Following Operation Barbarossa, which destroyed much of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS), surviving I-5s were equipped with four machine guns and bomb racks and pressed into service as light ground-attack aircraft and night bombers in 1941. They were retired in early 1942 as Soviet aircraft production began to recover and modern ground-attack aircraft like the Ilyushin Il-2 became available.

base stats

• speed 278 km/htop speed
• range 660 kmwithout refuelling
• size 1,355 kgmax take-off weight
• built 803made in total

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 96 years ago, in 1930.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1930-04-29

introduced

1930

retired

1942

status

retired

number built

803

role

fighter

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Sokol

engines

1× Shvetsov M-22

crew

1

length

6.8 m

max take-off weight

1,355 kg

top speed

278 km/h

range

660 km

ceiling

7,500 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.