RED STAR No 3 POLIKARPOV'S I-16 FIGHTER

The Polikarpov I-16 is often dismissed by aviation historians because it did not fare well against its more modern adversaries in World War II. It was often referred to in the West by the disparaging nickname of Rata, the Russian word for rat! Nikolai Polikarpov's I-16 was nevertheless an outstanding fighter in its day - among other things, because it was the world's first monoplane fighter with a retractable undercarriage. Its capabilities were demonstrated effectively during the Spanish Civil War and it was still in front-line service when the German invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The book details every variant of this diminutive fighter, including development aircraft and unbuilt projects. An account is also given of Polikarpov's early monoplane fighters that presaged the I-16 and of the later designs that evolved from it. Details are given of all surviving examples including the six aircraft which were restored to airworthy condition in Russia in the 1990s. With 185 black and white photographs and seventeen pages of colour artworks.