Book Review of
I-16 Rata, The Fighter That Saved the USSR
Author: Oleg Pototskiy
Kagero Monographs Special Edition 14
No. 96014
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2921
MSRP: $49.95
No. 96014
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2921
MSRP: $49.95
HISTORY:
The Polikarpov I-16 (Russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain operational status and as such "introduced a new vogue in fighter design."
The I-16 was introduced in the mid-1930s and formed the backbone of the Soviet Air Force at the beginning of World War II. The diminutive fighter, nicknamed "Ishak" or "Ishachok" ("Donkey" or "Burro") by Soviet pilots, figured prominently in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, Winter War and the Spanish Civil War – where it was called the Rata ("Rat") by the Nationalists or Mosca ("Fly") by the Republicans.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Fighter
National origin: Soviet Union
Manufacturer: Plant No. 21 (Gorky), Plant No. 39 (Moscow), Plant No. 153 (Novosibirsk), Plant No. 458 (Rostov-on-Don/Baku).
Designer: N. N. Polikarpov Design Bureau
First flight: 30 December 1933 (TsKB-12)
Introduction to service: March 1935
Retired: 1945 (Soviet Air Force), 1953 (Spanish Air Force)
Primary users: Soviet Air Force, Spanish Republican Air Force,Chinese Nationalist Air Force
Produced: November 1934 – 1942
Number built: 10,292 (6,848 fighters and 3,444 trainers)
Developed into: Polikarpov I-180
The Polikarpov I-16 (Russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain operational status and as such "introduced a new vogue in fighter design."
The I-16 was introduced in the mid-1930s and formed the backbone of the Soviet Air Force at the beginning of World War II. The diminutive fighter, nicknamed "Ishak" or "Ishachok" ("Donkey" or "Burro") by Soviet pilots, figured prominently in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, Winter War and the Spanish Civil War – where it was called the Rata ("Rat") by the Nationalists or Mosca ("Fly") by the Republicans.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Fighter
National origin: Soviet Union
Manufacturer: Plant No. 21 (Gorky), Plant No. 39 (Moscow), Plant No. 153 (Novosibirsk), Plant No. 458 (Rostov-on-Don/Baku).
Designer: N. N. Polikarpov Design Bureau
First flight: 30 December 1933 (TsKB-12)
Introduction to service: March 1935
Retired: 1945 (Soviet Air Force), 1953 (Spanish Air Force)
Primary users: Soviet Air Force, Spanish Republican Air Force,Chinese Nationalist Air Force
Produced: November 1934 – 1942
Number built: 10,292 (6,848 fighters and 3,444 trainers)
Developed into: Polikarpov I-180
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland
This book is soft-cover of 180 pages in 8” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a top view of the Rata and a nose and tail view side profile, all on a blue background that has a white line drawing of the top of a Rata.
The nose view is of an overall winter white Rata, that has a color illustration of the Order of the Red Flag under the windshield on its sides.
The tail view is of a Rata that is dark green over a white under-carriage and tail end and rudder. The rudder has a dark green section across it and a Soviet red star. It has a white fuselage code no. 91.
The back cover has a color side-profile of the Rata at the top. It is dark-green over a white undercarriage. It has a narrow white band around the cowling, Soviet red star on its sides and a red no. 1 outlined in white on its rudder flap.
Below it in the left hand column there are 3 black and white photos of Rata’s.
The right hand column contains 4 color photos of the Rata.
The second page of the book shows 90 tiny and very dark photos of cover arts of other Kagero aircraft books. However, they are too tiny and dismal to make out any of their titles.
The book contains 66 black and white photos of the Rata.
There are 3 black and white photos of aircraft manufacturers N.N. Polikarpov, Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, Andrey Tupolev, A.S. Yakovlev and S.P. Korolev.
Four photos of Stalin.
Photo of Soviet engineer.
Eleven photos of Soviet pilots.
Aircraft designer D.P. Grigorovic.
Nineteen data lists.
Other countries aircraft shown are:
The British Hawker “Hurricane”, the British De Havilland DH-9 bomber, British Spad 51C1, British Hawker “Fury”, British Supermarine S-6, De Havilland D.H. 60 “Moth and the British Brewster F2A “Buffalo”.
The German Junkers D-1, German Heinkel HD-37, a wrecked German Heinkel He-111, a wrecked German Bf-109F and 3 photos of a German Bf-109G.
A U.S. Gee Bee “Sportster” model X. a U.S. Republic P-47 “Thunderbolt” and a U.S. Curtiss P-6E “Hawk”.
A French Caudron C.360. three photos of a French Caudron CR.714 and a French DeWoitine D.520.
Aircraft engines shown are:
The Liberty L-12, Gnome-Rhone Mistral, M-11, M-25, British “Jupiter”and a M-100.
A photo of the Italian fighter CR-42.
A photo of the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M.
Photos of Soviet aircraft include:
The Ilya Muromets, the world’s first 4-engined bomber, a M-5 flying-boat, a S-16,S-18 escort fighter, a S-19 experimental attack aircraft, a Sikorsky S-20, a R-1, a L-1, two of the IL-400B, two of the Il-3, a TU-144, a AIR-1, a I-2, a M-9 flying boat, a two-seat 21N1, two of a I-4, three of a TB-1 heavy bomber, two of a I-3, six of a Polikarpov I-5, a R-6 (ANT-7), a TS-KB12 M22 & TS-KB13 M22, a U-2, a Po-2VS, three of a R-5 reconnaissance aircraft, a R-1, a R-55H, two of a M-17, a PZL P.7A, a PZL-1, a I-14, five of a I-15, a I-14, three of a I-17, a D-510, a I-153, a IL-2 and a YAK-7B.
There is a photo of the fortifications on the Finland peninsula.
For line drawings there are:
Five side views of the Rata. Three side views of its evolution and a IL-400, six 3-views, one side-view of the I-17, I-18 and I-200 (scales not said).
In 1/48th scale line-drawings there are of the Rata:
Fifteen 5-views, two 6-view with bulkhead illustrations included an 8-view and one 4-view.
In 1/72nd scale line-drawings there are of the Rata:
Four 5-views, three 4-views, a 3-view and a front view.
Photos of machine guns are of:
Three of the PV-1, one of the ShKAS, one of the ShVAK and one of the APR-33.
There is a black and white photo of the Rata’s dashboard.
A black and white photo of damage done to a city during the Soviet revolution and a black and white photo of a Soviet copy of the French Renault tank.
At the end of the book there are 20 color profiles. Nineteen are side-views and one is a 4-view.
This is one neat book about the I-16 Rata. It will be of great interest to modelers who plan on building a Rata and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland
This book is soft-cover of 180 pages in 8” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a top view of the Rata and a nose and tail view side profile, all on a blue background that has a white line drawing of the top of a Rata.
The nose view is of an overall winter white Rata, that has a color illustration of the Order of the Red Flag under the windshield on its sides.
The tail view is of a Rata that is dark green over a white under-carriage and tail end and rudder. The rudder has a dark green section across it and a Soviet red star. It has a white fuselage code no. 91.
The back cover has a color side-profile of the Rata at the top. It is dark-green over a white undercarriage. It has a narrow white band around the cowling, Soviet red star on its sides and a red no. 1 outlined in white on its rudder flap.
Below it in the left hand column there are 3 black and white photos of Rata’s.
The right hand column contains 4 color photos of the Rata.
The second page of the book shows 90 tiny and very dark photos of cover arts of other Kagero aircraft books. However, they are too tiny and dismal to make out any of their titles.
The book contains 66 black and white photos of the Rata.
There are 3 black and white photos of aircraft manufacturers N.N. Polikarpov, Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, Andrey Tupolev, A.S. Yakovlev and S.P. Korolev.
Four photos of Stalin.
Photo of Soviet engineer.
Eleven photos of Soviet pilots.
Aircraft designer D.P. Grigorovic.
Nineteen data lists.
Other countries aircraft shown are:
The British Hawker “Hurricane”, the British De Havilland DH-9 bomber, British Spad 51C1, British Hawker “Fury”, British Supermarine S-6, De Havilland D.H. 60 “Moth and the British Brewster F2A “Buffalo”.
The German Junkers D-1, German Heinkel HD-37, a wrecked German Heinkel He-111, a wrecked German Bf-109F and 3 photos of a German Bf-109G.
A U.S. Gee Bee “Sportster” model X. a U.S. Republic P-47 “Thunderbolt” and a U.S. Curtiss P-6E “Hawk”.
A French Caudron C.360. three photos of a French Caudron CR.714 and a French DeWoitine D.520.
Aircraft engines shown are:
The Liberty L-12, Gnome-Rhone Mistral, M-11, M-25, British “Jupiter”and a M-100.
A photo of the Italian fighter CR-42.
A photo of the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M.
Photos of Soviet aircraft include:
The Ilya Muromets, the world’s first 4-engined bomber, a M-5 flying-boat, a S-16,S-18 escort fighter, a S-19 experimental attack aircraft, a Sikorsky S-20, a R-1, a L-1, two of the IL-400B, two of the Il-3, a TU-144, a AIR-1, a I-2, a M-9 flying boat, a two-seat 21N1, two of a I-4, three of a TB-1 heavy bomber, two of a I-3, six of a Polikarpov I-5, a R-6 (ANT-7), a TS-KB12 M22 & TS-KB13 M22, a U-2, a Po-2VS, three of a R-5 reconnaissance aircraft, a R-1, a R-55H, two of a M-17, a PZL P.7A, a PZL-1, a I-14, five of a I-15, a I-14, three of a I-17, a D-510, a I-153, a IL-2 and a YAK-7B.
There is a photo of the fortifications on the Finland peninsula.
For line drawings there are:
Five side views of the Rata. Three side views of its evolution and a IL-400, six 3-views, one side-view of the I-17, I-18 and I-200 (scales not said).
In 1/48th scale line-drawings there are of the Rata:
Fifteen 5-views, two 6-view with bulkhead illustrations included an 8-view and one 4-view.
In 1/72nd scale line-drawings there are of the Rata:
Four 5-views, three 4-views, a 3-view and a front view.
Photos of machine guns are of:
Three of the PV-1, one of the ShKAS, one of the ShVAK and one of the APR-33.
There is a black and white photo of the Rata’s dashboard.
A black and white photo of damage done to a city during the Soviet revolution and a black and white photo of a Soviet copy of the French Renault tank.
At the end of the book there are 20 color profiles. Nineteen are side-views and one is a 4-view.
This is one neat book about the I-16 Rata. It will be of great interest to modelers who plan on building a Rata and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.