General info for I-15 M-22

• Country USSR
• Vehicle role Light Fighter / Biplane
• Rank 1

• Battle rating in
  • arcade battles 1
  • realistic battles 1
  • simulator battles 1

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Wiki info about I-15 M-22

Official War Thunder wiki

Polikarpov I-15 (TsKB-3) single-engine fighter, produced in 1935 The launch of the Soviet licensed version of the Wright Cyclone SGR-1820 engine, under the designation M-25, was quite drawn out; therefore, a majority of production I-15s were equipped with M-22 (a licensed version of the British Bristol Jupiter VI) nine-cylinder, air-cooled engines, whose rated power was only 480 hp. This significantly worsened the plane's flight characteristics. Aircraft from the final production series had M-25 engines. In addition, they had one more pair of 7.62 mm synchronous PV-1 machine guns. Most I-15s had fixed-pitch propellers, but some machines received VISh-6 controllable-pitch propellers. In Spain, in the autumn of 1936, the I-15 fighter was used for the first time in the field. The first air battle involving an I-15 took place on November 4. A total of 186 I-15 fighters were received by the Republicans from the USSR. I-15 fighters were also used in the Khalkhyn Gol frontier conflict, in the Winter War of 1939-40, and even during the initial period of World War II (mainly as ground-attack aircraft). However, the plane was considered obsolete even by the Battle of Khalkhyn Gol. Stable and handy, with good flight characteristics, exceptional manoeuvrability, and excellent takeoff/landing parameters, the I-15 fighter enjoyed a well-deserved success among pilots. Some I-15 fighters were used as personal command vehicles. For example, a drawing of a flying red banner with the words "FOR VKP (B)", i. e. "For the All-Union Communist Party (of Bolsheviks)," was applied to the fuselage of the personal I-15 of Brigade Commander I. U. Pavlov, and a bent white arrow directed down was painted on the red rudder. The metal skin of the nose fuselage was polished in a frost pattern. On November 21, 1935, the test pilot V. K. Kokkinaki established the world's unofficial (as the USSR was not yet a member of the FAI) flight altitude record of 14,575 m while flying a special TsKB-3 with a reduced weight. The I-15's manoeuvrability was excellent, and its short fuselage and large control surfaces ensured the fighter's agility. Not a single major rival of the I-15 in Spain (neither the German He 51 fighter nor the Italian CR.32) was its equal in these characteristics. The I-15's full-scale production was discontinued in 1936. A total of 384 aircraft were manufactured at Factories No. 1 and No. 39 from 1934-36. In addition, 291 more aircraft were built under licence in Republican Spain.