The Polikarpov I-16 Soviet Fighter

[@kevting4512]

My favorite low tier flyer in War Thunder. It’s fun bring it to high tier matches and dunk on the better planes.

[@pvt.potato1943]

Dudes playing on Republic of China difficulty

[@kentuckyace1068]

​@@pvt.potato1943 it's fun to shoot down jets with it

[@roanferguson8873]

I won't lie, you can viciously bully I-16s in a Wildcat if you know how to use rudder and flaps properly

[@felixbui9818]

its impressive tho when you take down a high tier aircraft with a low tier

[@jacksteel1539]

@@felixbui9818 The I-16 has extremely good turn rates, if they play well you're pretty fucked but if you can catch two people fighting or if someone wants to turn fight you it's super easy to kill them

[@JWQweqOPDH]

I think the I-16 looks very nice. It looks like a caricature and resembles WWI aircraft in some ways.

[@superjuca55]

The initial versions with the enclosed cockpits didn't look half bad, really like a 30s air racer. But the canopy was of extremely poor design and got quickly removed: With the open cockpit any potential good lines are destroyed and it looks like a cartoon plane.

[@pinngg6907]

Looks like a cartoon plane which unique in it's own way

[@sergeybalakin9705]

Это был КАКОЕ ТО ВРЕМЯ лучший истребитель на планете...

[@realrichardyoutube]

@@superjuca55the i 16 doesn’t look like a cartoon plane its the other way around

[@themajesticmagnificent386]

The first aerial kill by the Germans over Russia was the I-16,by a BF-109E-7..First kill by the Russians,when the Germans invaded was a Bf-109E-7 by a I-16.. Great video on the I-16..Thank you.👍

[@durianlau1914]

I think u should count Spain civil war too

[@Firefocus-fz2we]

0:50 Nice, Youjo Senki is a gold mine for historical weapons

[@user-op8fg3ny3j]

What is it

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Wont be the last time I use it ;)

[@Firefocus-fz2we]

@@user-op8fg3ny3j Anime alternate WW I/WW II fusion featuring Über Germany(Germany and Austria fused together), weaponised magic, mostly historical weapons used in there, MC is a semi-psychopatic guy Isekai-ed into that shi*hole as an orphaned girl by the "God" and the plot is a reverse Book of Job i.e. "God" trying to convince the MC to believe in him by yeeting the MC's country into a war with more and more countries. It really well shows how "fun" the full-scale trench warfare was with really good visuals and sounds(artillery bombardment, explosions sounds awesome), animations are sometimes meh, soundtrack lets you know when sh*t is about to hit the fan and builds up tension nicely, or lightens it. The overall background(maps etc.) is clearly presented, all decisions(strategy and tactics) are clearly laid out so mostly watching it you are not confused by the out-of-the-a*s changes. 10/10 Waiting for the Season 2(has Season one, short comedy episode(as "fun" as it might be during the conflict), and full movie). The cross-over(Isekai Quartet) is comedy.

[@MyH3ntaiGirl]

​​@@Firefocus-fz2we mate i recommend read the novel or at least listen to the audiobook (up to chapter 6) It go much more in-depth and actually show you the real world historical context Spoiler a bit, look like "Italy" have enter the chat And the Empire is looking for a way out

[@Firefocus-fz2we]

@@MyH3ntaiGirl I do read the Novels. I'm at Volume 5

[@lucagerulat307]

I have seen one in a museum and its a really cute little plane. kind of looks like an airpllane drawing from a child.

[@k9turrent]

"You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly but I bet you ain't never seen a donkey fly."

[@nikolaykhramov1269]

The latest modifications of the Soviet I-16 had as many as three 20 mm cannons. and the German He-111 was smashed to pieces, and with a successful maneuver, the faster Bf 109s.

[@MrLolx2u]

The I-16 was NOT too old to be used as a fighter plane for the VVS as they did show its prowess in the Caucasus region as far as 1944. With all monoplanes being bigger and more powerful, it made it real hard to control and navigate across the Caucasus mountains and the Soviets soon realized that too. Apart from their I-16 fleets that they still had post-Barbarossa, the VVS was receiving tons of newer aircraft like the Lavochkin La-5 and 7s and the Yakolev Yak-3 fighters. However, those newer, more powerful and massively bigger monoplane fighters were more suited for open area combat where massive evasive actions can be pulled easily and they can openly open the throttle and go against any Luftwaffe planes they came in contact with which, the Luftwaffe was also facing the same issue with their Messerschmitt BF-109s and Focke-wolf FW-190s. When these planes went into the Caucasus, it was soo hard to move across the mountainous terrain and valleys that these modern fighters had to cut alot of speed just to not clip anything and crash to their deaths. The VVS soon realized this too and to counter air superiority in the region, they didn't choose to toss new planes to the region but instead sent whatever remaining I-16 that they had in hand together with the older yet still workable I-15 biplanes to airbases near the Turkish borders. When the Luftwaffe, Romanian and VVS pilots met, the Axis airforces pilots were in for a rude shock that what they perceived as an older and way outdated plane was effortlessly tracing their evasive moves across the valley despite them ducking and weaving and whatever speed was safer but still fast for them and the I-16s had no issue tracing them. Many of the Axis pilots were in fact shot down in the valley by the Soviets in either the I-15 or I-16 (Mostly I-16). Estimate was that between 1942 with Sevestapol and till 1944 after the Soviets pushed into both Germany and Romania, the I-16 squadrons in the Caucasus region shot down over 400 planes at the loss of just about 140 which, in retrospect, was pretty good considering the treacherous terrain.

[@IonPerseus]

Very intresting! Thanks for sharing this story

[@yran1664]

Бред сивой кобылы.А грубо -ты просто идиот

[@PretzelDarter]

Source?

[@MrLolx2u]

@@PretzelDarter Not everything has to be a "source" for god's sake.. If you want sauce, make it yourself or go to the market and get them. There's an old documentary done by the Russians that's translated into full English that talks from the start of the war till the every end till the time the Soviets smashed into Berlin and during one of the episodes where they talked about Sevestapol and the whole fight in the Caucasus region, they talked about the air war over the region too. Don't be lazy, do your own researchy

[@PretzelDarter]

@@MrLolx2u With all due respect sir, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. With that in mind, could you please name this documentary instead of vaguely mentioning it unnamed, which is not at all helpful in finding it in the first place? I have seen not one other mention of this supposed employment anywhere else but from you, and when the claim is as big as I-16s and I-15s being put back into Frontline service abruptly, and also succeeding to a degree that 400 kills are claimed against 140 losses, it's quite hard not to be skeptical with no other mentions at all- it would be mentioned everywhere where the I-16 is the topic if such an event happened, no? Additionally, most air combat takes place in open spaces anyways, mountainous regions are no different. People forget that just because most VVS Fighter engines are specialized for performance below 2000 meters, doesn't mean they can't, or didn't, also fight above said altitude (though it was primarily the case across the Eastern Front that it was below). It wouldn't have stopped them from simply being well above the mountain range where engagements called for it, and wouldn't call for bringing back Fighters that were already replaced in 1942-43, and would be at a severe performance deficit in 1944. I also believe you aren't giving enough credit to the agility and performance of Fighters like the Yak-9, Yak-3, La-5FN, La-7, and similar types of 1944 that made up the majority of the VVS' inventory at this time. Not every aircraft design went the way of the speedy but brick-ish P-47, especially not Soviet Fighters that still had a lot of emphasis on traditional dogfights reflected in their qualities and armament. So, repeating the earlier request, what name does this documentary have? And are there any means to watch it whatsoever?

[@Sofuss]

Awesome video! Both I-16’s design and history have a vibe of the Little engine that could. :)

[@steventhorson4487]

It did not help the communists in Spain!!

[@i_basl]

Great informative videos, love it !

[@TallDude73]

Great video, love the information beyond just splicing together movie scenes

[@nirvana3921]

The I-16 was indeed one of the better fighters of the 1930s. Both its mobility and ground attack capability.

[@krstoevandrus5937]

slaughtered by zeros of japs,.over china 's air.

[@nirvana3921]

@@krstoevandrus5937 That was in the 1940s. Idiot. In fact, the I-16 performed well in both the Spanish Civil War and the Battles of Khalkhin Gol . The I-16 is just a star fighter of the 1930s. Its landing gear retraction function is the first in the world. Times are constantly advancing. In the Manchurian campaign of 1945. The Soviet Union's Lavochkin La-7 gave the Japanese Zero an 8:0 swap ratio. It was even more dazzling than the Mariana turkey hunt. on the Mudan River 1945.

[@andyho9670]

Nice video! I-16 had help my country to fight Japanese invader. Many heros of our air force had ever flown I-16. Happy to see our nation insignia on wingtips in the video.

[@СергейДокучаев-ь2к]

Молодец китаец, помнишь, что мой народ сделал для твоего. Русский с Китайцем братья на век!!!

[@ballbby3775]

Its got the insignia on it in the mobile game Wings Of Heros.

[@brothercaptainwarhammer]

I always wondered about this Little Donkey of a Workhorse when I discovered it years ago, but Life and my Forgetfulness made me forget about it... But now my Knowledge on it has Expanded, Thanks Johnny! Such a Beautiful Piece of Russian Aviation History and Engineering! Keep up the Damn Fine Work, Johnny!

[@incogni-bro8276]

Great video! Keep up the good work!

[@bolnol]

Hey Johnny. Just recommending and not trying to say you have to do this but would you consider doing a video on the f-86 Sabre?

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

I will I promise! It's already on my to do list :) Just not sure when yet

[@evancrum6811]

I didn't know much about this plane but I did recognize it. Thanks as always!

[@yopnickcheater1781]

Little Donkey is not a nickname set by it`s look or slow speed - it's cause in Russia words "И шестнадцать" (I sixteen) and "Ишак" (Little donkey) start with the same sound. So it simply is a way to say it's name the short way.

[@gomipajgd125]

I've never shot down Zero with an I-16 fighter.

[@Demolitiondude]

Italy said hold my wine.

[@mbryson2899]

CR.42 vs. Gladiator!

[@warfighter3128]

I remember the first time I ran into this in war thunder. Didn’t think much of it since I had already had quite a few dogfights in my Zero. Imagine my shock when I got completely out maneuvered by this flying barrel haha. Needless to say I never underestimated this thing again.

[@Daniel4646]

And next we'll be surprised to learn that some army would seriously consider introducing pogo sticks for off-road locomotion. But seriously: It's amazing what odds and tidbits about all manners of arms - including long forgotten ones! - you can learn from this channel.

[@joshuajoaquin5099]

tbh its not crazy if someone did considered it. Remember there are tons of weird designs, ideas and doctrine in militaries around the world. From Moon tank, the 1950's Pentomic division, M113 equiped with wings and armed with sidewinders (Not kidding, reformers considered it). and the 1990's planned replacement for M16

[@Daniel4646]

@@joshuajoaquin5099 Just saying.

[@benjaminong3773]

@@joshuajoaquin5099 k

[@Eddy1938-b]

Great video once again Johnny. Could you also cover the IL-2?

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Thanks man! And absolutely yes

[@ya_xaeshka]

Какой именно ил 2? Их было куча

[@abcd-dk5zp]

@@ya_xaeshkaAs well as modifications of the I-16. But it's about the model. Therefore, you can put everything in one video. Don't complicate.

[@orange8420]

Wow I 16 looks like my 6yrs old drawing of ww1 fighter aircraft

[@BrianRosborough]

One of my few warthunder planes I have a 3:1 Kill to death ratio with. The donkey with 20 mm cannons is pretty nasty. As usual, JJ, you’ve out done yourself. Much love to you brother, God speed!

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Happy flying

[@tonybaloney8455]

Great job as per usual!

[@WarblesOnALot]

G'day, Ah, how did you manage to miss the point that Polikarpov's famously tight Flat-fronted Engine Cowling had Shutters on each Cylinder's Cooling-Air Inlet, while each Cylinder's Waste Heat went into the Airflow ducted to blow backwards - with each Head's Exhaust Pipe in the centre of the Annular Hot Cooling-Air Duct so that each Exhaust-stroke extracted it"s own Pulse of increased Airspeed out the Exit, pulling in more fresh Air - through a Shutter which enabled adjustments for ambient Outside Air Temperature, Altitude and Power-Setting... But the major point is that the I-15, the I-115 & the I-16 all had the same Trick Cowling which exploited Thermal Ramjet-Effect to not only improve Cooling:System Efficiency, but also to generate more Jet-Thrust from the Engine-Heat than it made in the way of Aerodynamic Drag. The I-15 was flying in about 1930... North AmeriKan didn't start building Mustangs - with their famous "Meredith-Effect" Radiator Ducts until 1941... And in 8 minuettes you didn't mention it. BUGGAR...! Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@carlorrman8769]

Hi there Johnny. The covid finally got me. Great to see another one of your videos. A welcome distraction. Thanks, mate.

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Hope you feel better soon 🙏

[@Minboelf]

It's small size and high maneuver make it hard to kill in war thunder even when using Ki-43

[@hellomoto2084]

Ki -43 hayate has cannons or just machine guns?

[@Minboelf]

@@hellomoto2084 early variants have MG

[@billclinton3862]

Fantastic video!

[@paulrward]

You have some errors in your video:\ At 4:24, you state that 475 I-16s were sent to Spain. In fact, only about 240 I-16s,. ( 62 type 5s, 31 type 6s, and 150 type 10s ) were sent to Spain. A number of wrecked aircraft were cannibalized and rebuilt, and at the end of the war, the Hispano Factory was starting to produce copies of the I-16, but these never made it into combat, though they did serve into the 1950s with the Fascist Spanish Air Force.

[@2511_blender]

I used to fly I 16 in Chinese War Thunder tech tree. Guess I need more times to unlock my potential in that flying barrel.

[@Walkercolt1]

The Nationalist Chinese also had the I-15 biplane and fighters from all over the World. The Curtiss CW-21 Demon (that never got the 1500HP blower equipped radial) showed Kurt Tank of Fw-190 design fame more than a few things. I've read and re-read Col. Claire Chennault's book on the International Squadron (BEFORE Pearl Harbor) and The Flying Tigers (after Pearl Harbor) and he pulled no punches on Chiang's aircraft, or Japanese aircraft! The lack of "20th Century" skilled labor for mechanics and sheet metal repairmen hampered the air war in China more than we can imagine.

[@TheEventHorizon909]

Probably the most interesting use of this fighter that wasn’t mentioned is as an aircraft deployed by the Zveno airborne carriers as extreme range dive bombers and proved surprisingly sucessful in that role until the zveno carriers became somewhat obsolete by the availability of long range attack aircraft like the IL-2

[@OtherWorldExplorers]

It looks very similar to the GeeBee model r just stretched Add fun fact they're only ever three built (according to the TBS TV series reaching for the skies) and two of them killed their pilots. The third was flown by Jimmy Doolittle.

[@090giver090]

Flying barrel was a common trait for "lightweight, high performance" aircrafts of the time. Wildcats and Buffalos sported a similar look inherited from racing planes.

[@OtherWorldExplorers]

@@090giver090 I had completely overlooked those aircraft. THX mate!

[@larchman4327]

Gee bee= an engine with maybe some wings attached. Seen pictures of gee bees those look like death traps.

[@warfilmstudio3020]

Great video. Maybe next Mitsubishi 0 or mosin rifle

[@jorankoehorst]

Wasn't the I-16 also used in ground strike missions? I've read about it in a book my father owns.

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

You got it. Mostly what the rockets were for. Mostly.

[@Captain_wikee27]

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq Dang.Very cool,considering their massive nose size Can they can be shot down by a tank?

[@Randomvietnamdude]

Especially in the Spanish civil war

[@MontagneMainSkibi]

Could you make a video on the Roman navy?

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Cool idea! I will explore it :)

[@igorteller2371]

Compare I-16 type 24 and later to bf-109 E, you will surprised to find what they had almost similar performances. Good pilots loved this plane, got scores and preferred it to british Hurricane and american P-40

[@destroyerarmor]

I-16 looks like a muscle car of fighter planes

[@jerry5876]

Ehhh

[@aurelian2668]

That would be the hellcat and the bearcat my goodman

[@korbell1089]

USA: "Our equipment is built by the lowest bidder." USSR: "We have that beat, ours is quality built by convict labor!" Fun Fact: In the book "God is My Copilot" by Robert Scott, he mentions that in the early aircraft with manual gear retraction, pilots would fly upside down while cranking to let gravity assist in raising the gear.

[@michellebrown4903]

Interesting... interesting... The F4F also had a manual landing gear.

[@copetimusmaximus3363]

BS western propaganda

[@matthias5651]

Will there be any videos on historical characters or battles/events that have been represented in visual media.

[@HappiKarafuru]

Monoplane with huge nose, stubby short fuselage, open cockpit and two Peas shooter Yep, that i16

[@jenniferstewarts4851]

I love how you keep jumping to Tanya the Evil.

[@gavrilo46]

In Spanish civil war it was called Rata ad it was good competition to first german models of Bf 109. In later upgraded models 109 was much better.

[@gavrilo46]

@@picoletor at that time it could shoot down bf 109. Rest is just propaganda that everything from Russia is bad. And i like facts

[@skylongskylong1982]

What amuses me is when the Spanish Civil war started in 1936 the Spanish Government, sent all its gold reserves to Soviet Union. After the death of Franco and Spain had a elected democratic government elected by the Spanish people the Government asked the Soviets for their gold reserves back. Only to told by the Soviets that all the support of military equipment given to the Republicans against the Fascist from 1936 to 1939,was not for free, and the Spanish gold reserves had been used to buy not only equipment, but pay for Soviet advisors to. The only nation that gave the Republicans military equipment on a large scale for free was 🇲🇽.Mexico. Remember the USA did not give military equipment ( lend lease) to U.K. for free either, and it took Britain till 2005 to pay this off to America. For some reason both the above not covered in the history books on the 20 th Century.

[@Tim_Thaler]

И-16 был очень сложным в управлении. Кстати, есть мнение, что благодаря тому, что И-16 был основным истребителем СССР, советским асам было проще летать на P-39, так как он был схож по управлению с Ишачком.

[@BrownFoxWarrior]

When I first saw an image of it, I thought it was just a child's toy. Perfectly fits the proportions of one.

[@callsigntonks4029]

I'm a bit late but keep ip the good content johnny :)

[@imadequate3376]

Another interesting one to look at would be the Italian Stipa-Caproni.

[@Chiller01]

I get confused by the Soviet fighters, Yaks, Migs and Polikarpovs. I have the IL2 figured out but that’s about it.

[@rolfagten857]

Looks like the plane from the 1990 movie "Rocketeer" .

[@ulrikwener]

Nice! Yak-3 next? :)

[@090giver090]

When there will be any movie featuring it, I suppose.

[@sabrecatsmiladon7380]

Im thinking it would have made a fun crop-duster, zooming in and out and all around

[@FlorinSutu]

The Royal Romanian Air Force also faced the I-16's all over 1941, maybe also in 1942. In Bessarabia, the Romanians captured a few I-16's on the airfields, and more notable, also a rare Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1. Back to the I-16's facing the Romanians, they were outmatched and shot down by the IAR-80, the most famous airplane designed and built by the Romanians. At the start of that war, the Romanians had other fighters as well, like the German He-112 and the British Hurricane. Not clear if and how these encountered the Soviet I-16's, some units being dedicated to the internal defense of Romania and not sent to the front line. In 1941, the Soviet airplanes entering in Romania itself were only twin-engine bombers, easy prey for the local defense, considering that there were also German airfields using the Me-109.

[@aa1944-k2r]

beautiful aircraft, looks so cute as well

[@pacificamindustriesltd.9024]

Can we have one about the Ki-43?

[@ДжоБлэк-ш5у]

Давно я не слыхал такого бреда о нашей технике.

[@peregrinemccauley5010]

Nice advanced combat aircraft in it's early career .

[@strizhi6717]

This plane came out it was ahead of its time and set the standard just like the T-34 and MiG-25

[@mc1dash1b]

The cutest fighter plane ever.

[@rolfagten857]

Can you discuss the German Opel Blitz truck in war movies for once?!

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

I will add it to my list!

[@rolfagten857]

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq COOL John!

[@zoutigkaasplankje5057]

My Favourite plane!

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Yeah. The I-16 was the successor to the I-15. Their day - was prior to WWII. Mostly in Spain and China. The thing with China - was that the Japanese were using older pre-war aircraft their too. Yes - the I-16's in China did eventually have to face A6M's but that was later. The Chinese got a lot of their equipment from the Germans and such aircraft as these from the Russians. The biggest problem the Chinese had - was the experience level of their pilots. Here - they kept getting killed before they had enough experience - not to. That was the reason they hired the American Volunteer Group - as these men were all well trained. Chennault had also been working with the Chinese Air Force and took a lot of the lessons he learned for use with the AVG. One of the big things he organized - was an Observation Corps what would phone in the locations of Japanese Aircraft. This was a similar, cruder system than the Back Up System the British had to their Radar. As with the Coast Watchers in the Solomons - the Japanese were spotted and the defenders warned that they were coming. This let the defending aircraft get to altitude ahead of the Japanese. This was one problem the Allies had in New Guinea - at Port Moresby - they didn't get a lot of warning that the Japanese were coming over the Owen Stanley's. The flip side of that - is that when the Allies went after the Japanese Air Bases on the other side of those mountains - the Japanese didn't get a lot of warning either. .

[@sergeyvekhov1432]

Beautiful plane! Legend!!

[@Jin-Ro]

Have to admit, I really like it.

[@superjuca55]

The initial versions with the enclosed cockpits didn't look half bad, really like a 30s air racer. But the canopy was of extremely poor design and got quickly removed: With the open cockpit any potential good lines are destroyed and it looks like a cartoon plane.

[@kurt5490]

A soviet Brewster buffalo.

[@josephhelgersonjoseph6115]

0:06 What is that accent?

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Old Bruce Willis

[@Boba_Tea20250]

I didn’t know the Kuomintang had an Air Force.

[@SDwriter.and.surfer]

Enclosed cockpit???

[@geraldtrudeau3223]

I always thought that the I-16 had to have been inspired by the Gee Bee racers. Maximum engine, minimum airframe.

[@vicentesanchez4403]

In Spain, the I-16 was in service until 1952.

[@Basedlocation]

Maverick: its not the plane its the pilot Proceeds to shoot down su 57 with I 16

[@TopperPenquin]

Beautiful.

[@alexanderbenkendorf688]

It was called "Little Donkey" or "IShak" because its designation "i16" in Russian is pronounced similarly with the first few letters.

[@steventhorson4487]

The German ME-109 saw combat basically toward the end of the Spanish civil war, and, not as frequently as the Italian fascist FIAT 32.

[@billgates1549]

If we are talking about good aircraft it was pretty good and by the way what is good johnny

[@therover65]

So did the designers get out of jail?

[@shauny2285]

Let's not forget it's predecessor the I-15 biplane which also fought in Spain, as I recall.

[@СергейДокучаев-ь2к]

Да, ты прав. И-15 в Испании даже больше применяли.

[@mnk9073]

Don Karnage would have loved that thing.

[@NoMoreCrumbs]

Pretty sure it's an I-16 that Archer flies in one of the coma seasons where he dreams he fought in the Spanish Civil War

[@DavidCowie2022]

Johnny: if you want to do "F35 Lightning in the movies," they show up in the Norwegian disaster movie "The Burning Sea". Two of them fire rockets to set fire to the oil slick.

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Okay sweet! I'll check it out

[@OgrabliatorKorovanov]

in Spain they remained in service till early 50s I think

[@USS_Grey_Ghost]

I have blazing angels squadrons of WW2 for my Wii it does not have the I16

[@stevenbaker8184]

Looked somewhat like the GeeBee racer.

[@sergeyg436]

Wanna know why it was called a little donkey? Because I -16 and a little donkey, which is one word in Russian, pronounced similarly. The Germans called it as rat because it was short and very maneuver.

[@toribenita_kyo]

Hey! It's the "Ishak" from R.U.S.E.

[@billyponsonby]

Fascinating

[@mart4144]

I dont mean to be pendatic, but im genuinely curious... Why do you keep saying russia instead of the USSR/Soviet Union? Like its a lot bigger than just russia

[@Iauchmitschlauch]

Most do that because the Ussr basically was under the control of russia/moscow.

[@HandyMan657]

Hmm, never heard of it. Thanks Johnny, catch ya next time.

[@Leonid_Brezhnev1]

My favourite pre war fighter

[@DeltaWolf1000]

"the state would motivate them" oh boy

[@garynew9637]

Kermit weeks has one of these

[@Litvagopnik]

Ah yes, my favourite stubby sky-shark.

[@patrickcloutier6801]

Italian pilots serving the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, also scored a number of kills against the I-16, while flying in the Fiat CR.32. Italian pilots scored well against them again, as participants in Operation Barbarossa, in 1941-1942; this time, they flew the Macchi C.200.

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Thanks for adding that. I am probably overdue for an Italian video.

[@timthewarlord2304]

I really like this plane

[@22many77]

who says the charges were 'fabricated'? Why on earth would they make up fake charges when he was an important aircraft designer? ridiculous.

[@22many77]

i notice wikipedia has NO SOURCE for the claim. great research!

[@garychynne1377]

wow. interesting

[@steventhorson4487]

How can you compare the performance of fighter aircraft to a bomber?? (I-16 v. Japanese bomber) ?? Your narrative overall is flawed.