I-16 type 18

This page is about the Soviet fighter I-16 type 18. For other versions, see I-16 (Family).

I-16 type 18

I-16 type 10

I-16 type 24

I-16 type 18

I-16 type 10

I-16 type 24

USSR

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.3	2.3

Class:

Fighter

Research:3 000

Purchase:6 300

Show in game

Description

The I-16 type 18 Ishak is a rank I Soviet fighter with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 4 400 m461 km/h

Turn time16 s

Max altitude9 300 m

EngineShvetsov M-62

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight2 t

The I-16 type 18 has an outstanding turn time. It can outmanoeuvre anything in the sky at its BR including the Spitfire. This can be even better when deploying flaps. It has a small engine, and because of that has a low maximum speed. It doesn't like to climb, the engine overheats quickly. For maximum efficiency stay below 2,000 m (6,500 ft).

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 4,400 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	439	423	9300	17.3	17.9	14.3	14.3	210
Upgraded	490	466		15.7	16.4	24.9	19.4

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
700	260	N/A	N/A	260	~16	~7

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 300	< 240	< 280	> 190

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear260 km/h

The I-16 type 18 has, like all I-16s a weak structure. The only armour is 6 mm (0.23 inch) steel in the pilot's seat. It has a small engine, but it's easily hit. The engine can't withstand much damage and gives way quickly. The structure can't take many hits, but it's easy to avoid being hit because of your manoeuvrability.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB279 → 419

RB546 → 821

SB708 → 1 064

Total cost of modifications5 970

4 520

Talisman cost410

Crew training1 800

Experts6 300

Aces80

Research Aces135 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

20 / 40 / 90 %

106 / 106 / 106 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 300 Cost: 230 50 Radiator Research: 300 Cost: 230 50 Compressor Research: 450 Cost: 340 80 Wings repair Research: 500 Cost: 380 85 Engine Research: 500 Cost: 380 85 95 octane fuel usage Research: 640 Cost: 480 110 Engine injection Research: 640 Cost: 480 110	Airframe Research: 450 Cost: 340 80 Cover Research: 640 Cost: 480 110	shkas_belt_pack Research: 300 Cost: 230 50 DZ-40 Research: 300 Cost: 230 50 RO-82 Research: 450 Cost: 340 80 shkas_new_gun Research: 500 Cost: 380 85

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 14 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun

Ammunition3 100 rounds

Fire rate1 800 shots/min

The I-16 type 18 is armed with:

• 2 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns, nose-mounted (650 rpg = 1,300 total)
• 2 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns, wing-mounted (900 rpg = 1,800 total)

Suspended armament

List of setups (4)

Setup 12 x 100 kg FAB-100sv (forged) bomb

Setup 22 x 50 kg FAB-50sv (forged) bomb

Setup 36 x ROS-82 rockets

Setup 46 x RBS-82 rockets

The I-16 type 18 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 100 kg FAB-100sv bombs (200 kg total)
• 2 x 50 kg FAB-50sv bombs (100 kg total)
• 6 x RS-82 rockets
• 6 x RBS-82 rockets

Usage in battles

Realistic:

The I-16 type 18 is a classical turn fighter. It can carry rockets which are effective against bombers near the ground, and ground targets. However its main role is getting the enemy in to a turn fight. Then it's easy work: get in to the enemy tail and shoot. Its main opponents are: the Spitfires, any biplane, Bf 109s, and Hurricanes. It's easier to shoot down less manoeuvrable planes like the Hurricane Mk I/L than the Spitfire Mk Ia. You should never go head on in this plane unless you have rockets and fire them from at least 2 km (1.24 mi) away. Watch out for boom and zoom aircraft because they can come quick and surprise you.

In realistic battles the I-16 type 18 shares a similar playstyle as its predecessors, which is turnfighting. Start off the match by climbing between 10-17 degrees to gain altitude. Although this is not a real Boom & Zoom fighter, getting some altitude will still grant you many opportunities.

Your biggest threat when flying the I-16 Type 18 comes from pretty much any fighter aircraft at this BR, since they all have a significant top speed/climb rate advantage (such as Ki-43 and Bf 109 F). A common scenario you will encounter is, you will see those planes higher than you before an engagement due to your inferior climb rate. They will always try to BnZ you, while your only effective tactic is to evade their dives and bleed their energy. Bank towards your teammates and keep climbing with WEP. As the enemy starts diving on you, wait until the distance closes to ~0.9 km, then use your great roll rate and turn rate, suddenly roll to one side and dodge under the attacker. This will usually force them to either shoot at an awkward position and miss (usually), or they will straight up relinquish the pass and pull up. Some enemies might lose patience after a few successful dodges and chase you rather than zooming away to try and destroy you. Now again utilise your agility to perform horizontal manoeuvres such as scissors, in a combination of short vertical movements such as Immelmanns and chandelles, to force an overshoot or to get on their tail. With careful aiming, the 4 ShKAS MGs will quickly cripple a fighter.

Do not try to out-dive any monoplane as the I-16's light weight means that it is relatively slow at building up speed in a dive and also causes it to have lacklustre energy retention. However some short dives will gather you speed for more manoeuvres, or drag enemy BnZ planes to the deck. Once they are low, it is rather easy to outmanoeuvre them.

When confronting slower but more manoeuvrable planes such as Ki-27, energy tactics like BnZ are to be favoured over turning and burning. When you do not have altitude advantage over the Ki-27, the use of rolls is the most desired if not a nigh obligatory form of evasion. There is minimal chance to turn out or outrun the Ki-27, but you can out-roll it, particularly at high speeds. On the other hand, zoom climbs are a bit of a mixed bag. While the I-16 sometimes can get away with it through its superior power-to-weight ratio, the Ki-27 has a much lower stall speed which sometimes allows it to stay all the way through the zoom climb with I-16.

The I-16 Type 18 is not a very effective interceptor, not being much faster than most monoplane bombers in its rank while having both a rather weak armament and protection.

Simulator:

The I-16 can be used in turnfighting, bomber intercepting and ground pounding. However in this mode, its characteristics appear to be quite conflicting. It is excellent in turning tightly and continuously, yet when manoeuvring it easily gets into uncontrollable spins which isn't beginner friendly. Also the rather big nose blocks the visibility a lot, offering very poor over-the-nose visibility which is a disadvantage in a turn fight, because when leading a shot the enemy will always get obstructed by the engine, making the player guess the shot. More ever, there is no trim control available in a sim battle and the I-16 always pitch up and down. Although not a lot, it is still annoying when trying to get a precise aim.

It is recommended to set the convergence within 300 m, with vertical convergence on, because the majority of turnfights happen at that range or closer.

Unlike realistic, sim requires long-range flying so discard the habit of bringing the least fuel. Bring at least 30 minutes of fuel, although it decreases the plane's performance a bit, it prevents constant refueling which saves time for patrolling and fighting.

As your I-16 roars down the runway, you will notice that it shifts severely to the side, and the nose will tip down. If you don't correct it the propeller will eventually strike the ground, causing a failed takeoff. Thus you must put rudder input as opposed to the side it's shifting towards, and apply positive pitch to keep the propeller off the ground. You do not want to use flaps anywhere except takeoff and landing, since they are very weak and will rip at more than 260 km/h, while the average speed during a battle tends to be around 300 km/h. Once one or both flaps are gone it creates an imbalance in the roll axis, making spins more common. It also makes landing harder.

Before engaging a fight, it is better to have an altitude advantage first. When approaching the fight try to figure out which is your teammate and which is the enemy, to avoid going for a second pass, as the energy retention of the I-16 is rather slow. Also pick your target carefully. For easier aiming, you want to go for those unmanoeuvrable twin engine aircraft like Ju 88 or Ki-45, or bombers if there are any. Given the bad forward visibility of the I-16, these are the best options as they are quite slow and sluggish, and are a bigger target to hit. However getting hits on them tend to do little work, as your MGs lack damage. When dealing with fighters, it is way harder to aim. The elevator control of the I-16 is extremely sensitive, giving it good manoeuvrability, but at the same time, bad handling. The I-16 will respond in a very fast turn upon moving your stick / mouse by a little bit, which makes tracking nimble planes quite hard. But once you get used to it, try to lure every enemy into a turnfight, as that is where the I-16 shines. Quite a bit of bullets are required to effectively damage the enemy so you must be patient. If you find an enemy at your 6, utilise your great roll rate to do defensive manoeuvres like scissors to make them overshoot. Or you can simply do tight turns, most monoplanes won't be able to cut inside your turn and they might disengage. Important note: DO NOT put too much rolling and pitching input at once, as aforementioned the I-16 tend to enter spins easily.

If you are not very experienced in sim, you can also go for even bigger targets (bombers) for easier aiming. However you want to be more careful when hunting bombers, since with the Sim control (whether it be mouse joystick or a real stick) the plane will manoeuvre much more gently, making itself a great target for the bomber's gunners. DO NOT follow behind a bomber's 6 unless you are sure that its tail gunners are unconscious. Chasing behind a bomber makes yourself stationary for the tail gunners, and you will be showered with bullets. Your big radial engine will usually get damaged. Instead, before attacking, get an altitude advantage over the bomber by flying around 2 km above it. The bomber should only fill up about 1/6 of your gunsight. The best position for an attack is at the bomber's high 6 so you can adjust the lead much easier. Dive at the bomber, but not directly at it, try to predict where you two will crash by imagining yourself as a missile, that's where you should aim at (deflection shooting). To maximise the damage it is better to aim for their wings and engines, as the fuselage usually soaks up quite some bullets. Only fire when the bomber passes in front of your guns. This short window might seem inadequate to do anything, but with a accurate burst on the engine the 4 MG can at least damage it. With an engine damaged most bombers cannot go far.

Although ground pounding ability is limited, there are still bombs and rockets to choose from. The 2 bombs can effectively destroy pillboxes or tanks while the rockets, with accurate aiming, can destroy 3 targets. Once the suspended armaments are gone, the 4 MG are good for soft targets like trucks, artillery and AA cars.

Just like the SB-2M, the I-16 can still fly when it's extremely slow, causing it to bounce up during landing which can lead to a fatal crash. The trick is similar: slow it down more than other aircraft. Make sure you are around 1 km from the start of the runway and is no more than 300 m high. When the runway fills up your gunsight, drop speed to around 210 km/h and deploy landing flaps. The good thing is, the I-16 will not pitch up drastically upon using its flaps so you don't need to counter the extra lift. Make sure that you extend landing gears early as they move very slow (takes around 15 seconds to deploy). When you are about to touch down you should be flying at around 140 km/h. You must control your rate of descent (I-16's gears are fragile) and make sure that you are slightly pitching upwards with the nose obstructing the horizon. This way the I-16 should land gently without having to brake for too long. Once you are sliding on the ground, fully deflect your elevators upwards to counter the momentum that can push the nose into the ground. You must release brakes once every 4 seconds, because if you only release them as the nose dips down, it's too late.

Enemies worth noting:

Ki-27, N1K1, He 51, Gladiator, etc. - Those commonly seen planes are equally good at turnfights and will be a hard target to down since they are very small and agile. To deal with them you need to practice leading and deflection shots, plus manoeuvres like barrel rolls and scissors. They still need plenty of bullets to get damaged, so these kind of targets are the hardest to kill and requires great skills from the player.

He 111 H-6 - This bomber is not only quite durable, but also pretty fast. In level flight it can outrun the I-16 rather easily. Avoid being on its 6 as it will have at least 2x 7.92 mm MG facing its tail, and their rapid rate of fire and good penetration is a big threat. Either go for a head-on or use deflection shooting and aim for its engines. If you cannot keep up with it, disengage. If it flies way higher than you, change your target.

Sunderland Mk IIIa - This flying boat is like a low-tier Be-6. Its huge fuselage is very spacious and can absorb lots of bullets and shells. It also has lethal defensive firepower: two 7.7 mm in the nose, four forward-facing, two on the top and four at the tail, so attacking from behind, in front or above aren't the best options. Dive under it and suddenly pull up to shoot its defenseless underpart. Aim at the engines, avoid shooting the fuselage.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Combined	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent turning ability- with combat flaps deployed it can out-turn any Bf 109, Fw 190 A and even turn-fighters like the Spitfire
• Extreme roll rate allows it to do offensive / defensive scissors easily, which is an advantage over Bf 109 and Spitfire as their roll rates aren't as good
• 4 x ShKAS machine guns have plenty of ammo (3,100 rounds total), allowing longer fights
• Is a very short and small plane, offering the enemy a harder target to hit

Cons:

• Extremely poor level speed, climb rate, dive acceleration and energy retention. Will get outran, out-climbed and out-dived easily by Bf 109 E / F, Fw 190 A or A6M2
• Engine tends to overheat when diving at more than 500 km/h
• Control surfaces are unresponsive over 450 km/h
• Flaps are very weak and will break over 250 km/h, severely limiting its sharp-turning potential at higher speeds
• Hard to fly in SB -- very unstable in pitch, no manual trim controls, poor over-the-nose visibility and is prone to enter flat spins

History

Archive of the in-game description

The I-16 was a Soviet single-engine monoplane fighter designed in the 1930s by the Polikarpov Design Bureau. As early as 1939, few remained unconvinced that the era of the I-16 was ending. Even the installation of the more powerful M-62 and M-63 engines did not allow serial examples to exceed 500 km/h. For some time, it was believed that better performance could be achieved with the use of the M-64 engine, rated at 1,200 to 1,300 HP. Designers expected the M-64 (there was also an M-65) to be ready by 1941; however, this nine-cylinder radial engine was never adequately completed. Nikolai Polikarpov, the lead designer, attempted to improve the I-16's aerodynamics by replacing its canvas outer skin with plywood. In the summer of 1939, a prototype with upper wing surfaces covered with 2.5 mm thick plywood was tested; at the same time, an I-16 Type 28 with plywood surfaces was submitted for state trials. The latter achieved 489 km/h, which was slightly better than other variants. However, the achievement was chalked up to the new M-63 engine. While the plywood surface was recommended for production, it was in fact never used on serial production aircraft. Further flight testing of the I-16 in 1939 proved that subsequent modifications were not cost-effective. One of the proposed modifications was to address the tuck-under phenomenon in high speed dives which took place when deflecting the elevator to a positive angle of attack. Several fatal crashes led to further research into the issue. As it turned out, the I-16 was highly sensitive to angle of attack changes of the elevator.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the I-16 type 18 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Realistic: I-16 Type 18 [Guaranteed Fun!] - Jengar

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance