How did the I-16 Really Perform in WWII? (1 Viewer)

[Airborne2001]

With the interest in the I-185 here, I think I can also introduce to this topic Polikarpovs planned further developments.:

The I-187 and I-188. The former was going to use the M-71(F?), and the latter would've used the M-90. They both had an interesting movable ducts, which could've closed itself like with the I-16, but instead would've blended into the cowling and the spinner. An armament of 4x20mm cannons was planned. This shows that, even in the face of everything he went through, Polikarpov wasn't willing to give up on his plans. What truly put the final nail in the coffin of the fighters that began with the I-5 was his passing in 1944.

 

[FulmenTheFinn]

Finland captured quite a few of them, though unlike with the I-153 I am not sure if they were used operationally:

They were not. The Finns operated three I-16s. The rest were not restored to airworthiness. They were as follows:

VH-201 -> VH-21: Captured in the Winter War of 30 November 1939-13 March 1940, this aircraft was apparently a Type 18. However on 30 October 1940 an order was given to restore captured I-16s to their original armament, which was cited as two fuselage MGs (7.62 mm) and two cannons in the wings (20 mm). This would imply a Type 17 or 24. It's possible this was a Type 18 whose armament the Russians had modified.

31 December 1940, State Aircraft Factory (VL) hands a/c over to Air Depot
12 March 1941, Air Depot hands a/c over to Squadron 24, a/c flown from VL in Tampere to Sq. 24 at Vesivehmaa Airfield
1 April 1941, flown back to Tampere
15 April 1941, returned to Air Depot
21 April 1941, loaded aboard steamship Ariel, shipped by German military officials to Stettin, Germany, destination Die Erprobungstelle der Luftwaffe, Reshlin.
A/c not returned, phases and final fate in Germany unknown.

Known FAF flight time 3 h 25 min, official FAF flight time 6 h 20 min.

IR-101: Shot down during the battles over Suursaari in late March 1942, this Type 6 or Type 5 aircraft was recovered by the Finns and found to be in airworthy condition.

31 March 1942, flown from Suursaari to Kotka
15 April 1942, flown from Kotka to VL Tampere
23 April 1942, relinquished to Air Depot
29 April 1942, relinquished to VL Kuorevesi
25 July 1942, relinquished to Air Depot 1
31 July 1942, received by Air Depot 1
1 August 1942, relinquished to Sq. 6's 3rd Flight
16 November 1942, relinquished to Sq. 30's 2nd Flight
11 June 1943, relinquished to Air Depot for storing
22 June 1943, received by Air Depot
23 June 1943, relinquished to VL Kuorevesi for repairs
25 June 1943, received by VL
26 June 1943, repairs cancelled by Air Depot Chief Lt. Col. Stenbäck, nonetheless Air Depot made a work order the very same day for inspection and repair of the a/c by VL. Instead of being flown over, the a/c had been disassembled and shipped by rail due to overheating of the engine. The work order had an urgency rating of 3.
2 July 1943, a/c ordered to be stored, repairs halted the same day
17 September 1943, FAF HQ orders a/c to be struck
22 September 1943, relinquished as scrap to Air Depot 2
23 September 1943, a/c recommended to be struck
2 November 1943, a/c struck

Known FAF flight time 6 h 50 min, official FAF flight time 6 h 35 min.

VH-22 -> UT-1: This two-seater I-16UTI based on the I-16 Type 10 was captured near the Svir in September 1941.

6-7 September 1941, evacuated from Troitsankontu Airfield by Field Air Depot 4
17 October 1941, relinquished to Air Depot
27 October 1941, relinquished to VL Tampere
30 October 1941, received by VL Tampere
31 March 1942, relinquished to Air Depot 1 after repairs
1 April 1942, received by Air Depot 1
10 April 1942, relinquished to Sq. 48
10 August 1942, relinquished to Replacement Sq. 35
11 September 1942, relinquished to Air Force scrap storage in Parola, a/c flew from Vesivehmaa Airfield to Parola at 10:30-11:15 am
16 July 1944, recommended struck due to poor general condition
9 August 1944, struck
15 December 1944, relinquished by Air Depot to Air Combat School

Known FAF flight time 39 h 50 min, official FAF flight time 43 h 25 min.

Source: Atso Haapanen (2008): Punatähdestä hakaristiin [From the Red Star to the Swastika].

 

[bf109xxl]

VH-201 -> VH-21: Captured in the Winter War of 30 November 1939-13 March 1940, this aircraft was apparently a Type 18. However on 30 October 1940 an order was given to restore captured I-16s to their original armament, which was cited as two fuselage MGs (7.62 mm) and two cannons in the wings (20 mm). This would imply a Type 17 or 24. It's possible this was a Type 18 whose armament the Russians had modified.

Most likely, this is an I-16 type 27 - a modification of the I-16 type 17 with an M-62 engine, structurally similar to the I-16 type 18. About 60 of them were produced.

IR-101: Shot down during the battles over Suursaari in late March 1942, this Type 6 or Type 5 aircraft was recovered by the Finns and found to be in airworthy condition.

The I-16 Type 6 is a training aircraft with an M-22 engine, 20 of them were produced in 1934-1935. It cannot be confused with the I-16 type 5. I assume that a regular I-16 Type 5 was shot down.

VH-22 -> UT-1: This two-seater I-16UTI based on the I-16 Type 10 was captured near the Svir in September 1941.

Most likely, a conventional UTI-4 (type 15).

 

[FulmenTheFinn]

Most likely, this is an I-16 type 27 - a modification of the I-16 type 17 with an M-62 engine, structurally similar to the I-16 type 18. About 60 of them were produced.

Perhaps, though Haapanen excluded the possibility of it being of another series than the already mentioned 17, 24 or modified 18. He based this on the time period the aircraft was captured in, which I'm not sure makes sense as the Type 27 appears to also have seen action in the Winter War.

This website does call it a Type 27, and also mentions that the wing cannons were replaced with machine guns, something Haapanen does not mention specifically (perhaps they were at some point, hence the order to restore the original armament?).

Worth pointing out is that according to the Russian Wikipedia page on the I-16, the Type 17 existed in both M-25V and M-62 configurations, so the engine alone does not rule out the possibility of it being a Type 17.

The engine was an M-62 series A-7, number 725. Maybe that will give some clues?

EDIT: Saw your edits now regarding the other two I-16s. Will have to respond to those later.

 

[bf109xxl]

Perhaps, though Haapanen excluded the possibility of it being of another series than the already mentioned 17, 24 or modified 18. He based this on the time period the aircraft was captured in, which I'm not sure makes sense as the Type 27 appears to also have seen action in the Winter War.

This website does call it a Type 27, and also mentions that the wing cannons were replaced with machine guns, something Haapanen does not mention specifically (perhaps they were at some point, hence the order to restore the original armament?).

Worth pointing out is that according to the Russian Wikipedia page on the I-16, the Type 17 existed in both M-25V and M-62 configurations, so the engine alone does not rule out the possibility of it being a Type 17.

The engine was an M-62 series A-7, number 725. Maybe that will give some clues?

I looked at Maslov's book, which contains photos and descriptions of this aircraft. Maslov writes that this is a Type 27 with its weapons removed - Browning guns were installed instead later. Maslov points to the large windows for ejecting ammunition links on the underside of the wings, which allows the aircraft to be clearly identified as a Type 27.

EDIT: Saw your edits now regarding the other two I-16s. Will have to respond to those later.

As for the other two aircraft, the data provided by Maslov fully corresponds to my assumptions: they were an I-16 Type 5 with the number "15" from the 11th IAP of the Baltic Fleet Air Arm and an UTI-4.