EAW Polikarpov I-153 Chaika (Russian for Seagull)

Soviet I-153 of the 7 IAP of the V.V.S. operating from Leningrad, Autumn, 1942

Because combat reports from Spain indicated that the I-16 had trouble staying in close durnig dogfights with enemy biplanes, Russia decided to continue biplne fighter development in parallel with monoplane development. As a result, the Polikarpov I-153 was developed directly from the I-15 and I-152 fighters. It had a larger and more powerful engine and the airframe was built to be considerably stronger than the I-15 and I-152. Top speed was 279 MPH.

By the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the I-153 was numerically the second most important fighter in the VVS. One batch was sent to China to help Chang Kai Shek fight the Japanese. The Russians alsa used this plane to fight the Japanese in the Nomonhan incident that saw Russia and Japan in a full scale, but undeclared war along the Mongolian border. By the time the Germans invaded in 1941, the I-153 was decidedly obsolete. Nevertheless, it stayed in the frontline inventory of the VVS until 1943, predominantly utilized for ground attack missions.

I developed this model from the I-15 and I-152 versions I originally made for the Spanish Civil War Campaign. This plane uses Moggy's stick on element method. Moggy graciously helped with a new rendering sequence patch for the I-15 and 152, and this plane uses the patch as well.

Please note that each version of the I-153 that I have released has unique 3dz and graphics files. The models are interchangeable BUT the PCX and TRA files are NOT. This was necessary to produce the markings for these planes, as they required several different stick on panels carrying markings.

I hope you have fun with it.

Cheers


Captain Kurt Oct., 2002


