The Polikarpov I-15 "Чайка" "Seagull" was a Soviet fighter aircraft that first flew in October 1933 by V.P.Chkalov.

I-15, also known by its development name TsKB-3, a small biplane fighter with a gulled upper wing. It was a development of the I-5 fighter.

The I-15 was used in combat in the Spanish Civil War and proved to be one of the best fighter biplanes of its time.

It was equipped with one 700hp M-25 engine. Total 674 were built.

Variants

• I-15bis/I-152 - had straight upper wing and more powerful engine. 2408 were built.
• I-15ter/I-153 - similar to I-15 but with retractible landing gear.

Specifications (I-15 M-22)

General Characteristics

• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 9.75 m (32 ft 0 in)
• Height: 2.20 m (7 ft 3 in)
• Wing area: 21.9 m² (236 ft²)
• Empty: 1,012 kg (2,226 lb)
• Loaded: 1,415 kg (3,113 lb)
• Maximum takeoff: kg ( lb)
• Powerplant: 1x M-22 radial engine, 358 kW (480 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 350 km/h (218 mph)
• Range: 500 km (312 miles)
• Service ceiling: 7,250 m (23,780 ft)
• Rate of climb: 454 m/min (1,489 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 65 kg/m² (13 lb/ft²)
• Power/Mass: 0.25 kW/kg (0.15 hp/lb)

Armament

• 4x fixed forward-firing 7.62 mm PV-1 machine guns or
• 2x fixed forward-firing 12.3 mm BS machine guns
• up to 100 kg (220 lb) of bombs or
• 6x RS-82 rockets

External links

• http://www.aviation.ru/Po/#15

Related content

Related development: Polikarpov I-5 - Polikarpov I-16

Comparable aircraft:

Designation sequence: I-10 - I-12 - I-14 - I-15 - I-16 - I-17 - I-20