On June 9th 1892, Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov was born. He was one of the founders of the Soviet fighter aircraft design school in the 1930s. His design bureau developed the I-16 (the world’s first mass-produced monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear), the I-15 and I-153 “Chaika” (the most mass-produced biplane fighters in the USSR in the second half of the 1930s), and the U-2 (an extremely popular multirole aircraft). After the designer’s death in 1944, the U-2 was renamed the Po-2 in his honor.

30% discount on Soviet fighters!

I-16 type 28 (USSR, Rank II)

945 Golden Eagles

• Fans of low-level maneuvering combat will appreciate the I-16 type 28 fighter, which offers a high rate of climb and maneuverability, armed with two 20 mm ShVAK cannons and two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns. It also won’t disappoint those looking for ground attack, thanks to its six 82 mm unguided rockets and two FAB bombs weighing up to 100 kg.

I-153P (USSR,Rank II)

665 Golden Eagles

Zhukovsky's I-153-M62 (USSR, Rank I)

280 Golden Eagles

• Both I-153 “Chaika” variants have access to FAB-50sv bombs and ROS-82 unguided rockets. The difference lies in the forward armament: the I-153P is ready to give it some heat with two 20 mm ShVAK aircraft cannons, while Zhukovsky’s I-153-M62 relies on four 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns with an impressive ammunition supply of 2,470 rounds.