Polikarpov I-15 "Chato"
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27th Pursuit Squadron, Chinese Air Force, 1939

A small number of Polikarpov I-15 was used by the Chinese Air Force during late Thirties, but mainly for training,lefting the combat role to the more advanced I-15bis and I-15ter or I-153, altought is believed that they entered combat in few occasions, mainly for emergency intercepting role.
  
Skin done by Damir Paul Fillen on a composite base of various skins cutted off and recomposed by hand.
The main base was the Jan Tumas and C. skin of a Russian I-15, marked with a red 3 on the rudder, to wich I added minor pieces of other I-15, I-152 and I-153 skins of other provenience to obtain the finish I wanted.
Use with ECA panel in the Spit XIV slot.

As usual, the original Read me file by Jan Tuma is showed below. Thank you to him and all other people that developed all the Chato/Super Chato and Chaika skins.

Enjoy!

Damir Paul Fillen
DamirPaulFillen@hotmail.com 


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HISTORY:

The I-15 began production in the Soviet Union in 1934 using mainly directly imported American powerplant equipment, the Wright SGR-1820 Cyclone engine and other items such as the Hamilton Standard V22 propeller and Stromberg carburetor. This equipment was later copied and put into licensed production in the Soviet Union. The engine became the M-25 in Soviet lexicon.

The I-15 had a top speed of 228 miles per hour (367km/h) and had a service ceiling of 32,000 feet. It carried 4 .303 machine guns in the nose - 2 over the engine and 1 on each side of it. Some 675 I-15 fighters were produced before production ceased in 1937. Of these, 186 were sent to Spain to fight for the Spanish Republican government.

The first I-15s arrived in Spain in October 1936 along with an eventual 141 Soviet pilots and some 2000 ground personnel. Stalin was not just lending a hand to help another communist government. He charged the Spanish government $35,000 US dollars per plane, which had to be paid in gold.

The Republicans also bought a license to produce the Chato in Spain and between August 1937 and the end of the war a total of 237 "Chatos" were built in Spain.

The Republicans dubbed the plane the "Chato" - meaning snubbed nose. The Nationalists did not believe it was a Soviet design. They thought it had to be an American plane, or a copy of one. So they called it a "Curtiss".


The I-15 also fought in the Kalkhan Gol/Mongolian war between the Japanese and the Soviet Union. Little is known of that history.

When Germany invaded Russia in 1941, a number of I-15s remained in service. They were employed mostly in night harassment missions.



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TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION:


Country:_______________ Russia
Function:______________ fighter
Year:__________________ 1933
Crew:__________________ 1
Engines:_______________ 1*715 h.p M-25
Wing Span:_____________ 9,75 m
Length:________________ 6,10 m
Empty Weight:__________ 965kg
Max. speed:____________ 367 km/h
Service ceiling:_______ 9.800 m
Normal range:__________ 500 km
Armament:______________ 2-4*mg 7.92mm


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EAW MODEL DESCRIPTION (Credits):

Skin:__________________ Jan Tuma.
3Dz model:_____________ Captain Kurt, updated by Jan Tuma (separate upper wing skin).
Virtual cockpit:_______ SteveT.




Version description:

1.0 - Sept. 2002 - Captain Kurt's new I-15 Chato (Spain) model.
1.1 - 12/4/2003 - Jan Tuma`s modification.





EAW Compatibility:

Sp14 slot.
With the ECA Panel use as Polikarpov I-15, or use with the Jan Tuma`s "Slovak over Eastern front" campaign (as alternative for I-15bis).






Jan Tuma 

Http://mujweb.cz/www/tuma.eaw/
tuma.eaw@atlas.cz
