Finnish Polikarpov I-153 Chaika. By Geg.
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This is basically an update from my old I-153 (which was an I-15 actually, lol).
Used Captain Kurts I-153 skin and 3dz for this, S! to him (and his readme is below).
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Enjoy!
S!, Greg "Geg" Thomas, March 2003
gegmk2@tpg.com.au



EAW Polikarpov I-153 Chaika (Russian for Seagull)

Chinese Polikarpov I-153 of the either the 3rd, 4th, or 5th Chinese fighter group in 1941.

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.

During 1940, China lost a large number of their operational combat aircraft in their war with the Japanese. An urgent purchase of 93 I-153s from the Soviet Union was made to re-equip the Chinese 3rd, 4th, and 5th Fighter groups. These were the last Russian aircraft delivered to the Chinese Nationalist government. In April 1941, the Soviets signed a non-aggression treaty with Japan, cutting the Chinese off from Russian equipment. Chinese I-153s could be effective against Japanese bombers and fixed gear Japanese fighter types, but experience showed it had no chance against the Zero fighter. Consequently, Chinese interceptions against escorted bomber formations were avoided if possible. Until the American lend-lease program began supplying P-40 fighters, the I-153, along with a number of surviving I-16s, remained the backbone of the Chinese fighter groups.

I developed this model from the I-15 and I-152 versions I originally made for the Spanish Civil War Campaign.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


