Oxford AC049 Soviet Polikarpov I-16 Fighter - G. Tsokalayev, 4th Guards Regiment, Leningrad, 1942 (1:72 Scale)
"I requested a transfer to the front more than once. But the front required well-trained fliers. While training them for future battles, I was also training myself. At the same time, it felt good to hear of their exploits at the front. In late 1942, I was sent to learn to fly a new plane, the Lavochkin LaG-5. After March 1943, I was finally in active service."
- Ivan Kozhedub, recalling his first exploits as a combat pilot on the Eastern Front
The Polikarpov I-16 was a Soviet fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to have attained 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" ("Donkey") by Soviet pilots, prominently featured in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of Khalkhin Gol and the Spanish Civil War - where it was called the Rata ("Rat") by the Nationalists or Mosca ("Fly") by the Republicans. The Finnish nickname for I-16 was Siipiorava ("Flying Squirrel").
Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a Soviet Polikarpov I-16 fighter that was piloted by G. Tsokalayev, who was attached to the 4th Guards Regiment, then deployed to Leningrad during 1942.
Now in stock!
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 4-inches
Length: 3-inches
Release Date: March 2015
Wingspan: 4-inches Length: 3-inches
|