The author thanks FIO Chairman Mr
CarlosValleforhissupport,thehistoric
photos and the information provided
regarding Bravo.THEI-16INHISTORY
When it joined the Soviet air arms in 1935, the I-16 was revolutionary, and unarguably the
most advanced fighter of its time, being the first production retractable undercarriage
cantilevermonoplanefighterinservice.Therehadbeenfastmonoplanesbefore,evenprior
totheGreatWar,buttheywerealmostallexternallybraced.ThePolikarpovwasnotablefor
being the first machine to combine these many innovations, make it into production and
active service, then be successful in combat.
Designed by Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov, who conceived it after developing the I-15
biplane, the design was based around a woodensemi-monocoque fuselage, a large, bluntly
cowled radial engine (going against the streamlined, in-line engine fighter doctrine of the
era) and a cantilever wing that was made possible by a chrome-molybdenum steel alloy wing
spar. Other innovations included a retractable undercarriage, with the wheels being pulled
upbyacable,manuallywoundbythepilot,afullcockpitcanopy(thatultimatelyprovedto
be problematic in use and often removed) and ailerons that could be drooped as landing
flaps.Averycleandesignapartfromthebluntnose,ithadfabriccoveringontheaftpartof
the wing and tail surfaces.
As a revolutionary aircraft, it required pilotsthat were able to manage a faster, and therefore
less manoeuvrable machine than they’d seen before, and unsurprisingly faced problems
being accepted on introduction, with aerobatics being banned for an initial period. The
short-coupling of the undercarriage made ita handful on take-off and landing, where even
todaysomehaveeffectivelybeengroundedintheUSAduetotheseconcerns.Inflightitwas
found by the Russian and Spanish pilots that ‘slashing’ straight-line diving attacks were
necessary, again, a radical departure from standard fighter doctrine of the time which
favoured close-in, turning dogfights.
Thetype’sflyingcharacteristicshavetobeseeninthecontextoftheera,whenitwasamajor
change in performance and speed, compared to what came before. Reports of a tendency to
spin easily seem to depend on model and loading, as the actual spin tests done on a
prototype showed better than normal spin entry and recovery. However the longitudinal
stability was always marginal, the canopy could slam shut and distort the pilot’s view, and the
cable-operatedguntriggersmeanttheeffortrequiredtofirethegunscouldcausepilotsto
drag the sights off target.
TheI-16wasabletomatchtheMesserschmittsuptotheBf109DinSpain,andwasjust
outclassedbythe109Ein1942atthestartoftheGreatPatrioticWar.Frombeingasuperior
typeinthethirties,itwasoutclassedintheforties,butservedtheSovietUnionwellinthe
eastandwestuntilbetterfighterswereavailable.
Effectively forgotten, and traduced from the thirties onward in western accounts as a ‘Soviet
copyofaGeeBee’oraBoeing,thetypewasrevivedbyajointprojectachievedinSiberiafor
the Alpine Fighter Collection in New Zealand. Replacing the original engine with a modern
725hp(540kW)Ash-62IR,asusedontheAntonovAn2,withamodifiedpropellerhubto
carry two, rather than four, blades was the main variation, evidenced by a fatter prop spinner
than original. However, for the first time in nearly half a century, this innovative design was
backintheairamazinganothergenerationofairshowgoers-andpilots.Todayoneflyerisin
private hands in Russia, another in Germany, the example featured here in Spain, and three in
the United States. Original static examples exist in Finland (a two seater), China, and two
more in Russia.James KightlyFLIGHTPATH|51José María Bravo flew over 2,300 flying
hoursasafighterpilotandwascredited
with23enemyaircraftshotdown,either
solo or jointly. After the end of W.W.II (where
Franco’s Spain had remained neutral, but
sympathetictotheAxispowersthrough-
out) Bravo chose to stay in Russia, teaching
theSpanishlanguageatuniversity.Here-
turned to Spain in 1960 and died in Madrid
on 26 December 2009. He wrote an autobi-
ographyandwasinterviewedseveraltimes
wherehetoldthestoryofhisfirstopera-
tional flight:
“Myfirstfightwasabitofjoke.Itwashis-
toric. It was during the Belchite offensive.
The Russian general Tuji, the top Russian
pilot in Spain, got us all together, and said:
‘Comrades, you have come through your
training course in the Soviet Union with fly-
ingcolours:butthatwasthetheoretical
part.Youhaven’tfinishedyet!Nowcomes
thepracticalpart.Yourtrainingcontinues
here in the war. That’s why for your first few
flights,youwon’tbefighting.Youaregoing
toseeexperiencedRussianSquadronin
combat, but you will just watch them.’
“I’vealwaysbeenverycheekyandIasked
him through an interpreter ‘Comrade José’
(aswecalledhiminSpain)‘Hastheenemy
agreed to that then?’
“HecalledmeaTrotskyite–thatwasthe
worst thing anyone could call you then. ...
Idon’trememberwhat’shappenednext,
butIthinkIhitthenailonthehead.Soone
daythewholesquadrontookofftogether.I
wasflyingaheadaclassmateofmine,Gan-
dia. ... Suddenly the leader saw some air-
craftbelowusandhedivedtoattackthem.
GandiaandIgotstuckamongabunchof
Fiats,anddidn’tseewhattheleaderhad
done. So there we were, surrounded by all
theseFiats.MycolleaguessaidIwasa
hero,butIwasn’t.Iwaspetrified.I
squeezed the machine gun trigger until I
runoutofammunition.We’dbeengivenor-
dersnottoleavethebattleareawhilethere
were still enemy aircraft in the air. Anyway
IlookedaroundandIcouldn’tseeanybody.
Iwasalone.Andsuddenlytheanti-aircraft
gunsstartedfiringatme.Ithoughmyself
‘thisisnotgood!’soIturnedaround.Just
asIturnedtheenginestopped.I’drunout
fuel!Ihadaparachute,butitwasagood
thingIthought‘howcanIjumpoutnow?’
withtheaircraftintact.Thatwouldbedis-
graceful! And so on.
“SoIsaidmyself‘Right.Whateverhap-
pens, I’m going to try to land somewhere.’ I
didmanagetofindanairfieldandIlanded
justfine.Anditturnedouttobemyairfield.
I had no idea it was, but I had landed there!
Everybody was congratulating me, they all
thought I’d been shot down because I got
back so much later than everybody else. The
aircraft was covered in bullet holes, on the
wings, on the propeller.”
Apost-war ‘Rata’, bearing theEjército del Aireroundel, and seen in 1952 at
Tablada, Seville, just before they were finally withdrawn from use.