I-16 type 18

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

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

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

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	440	421	9300	17.4	18.0	14.3	14.3	210
Upgraded	___	___		__._	__._	__._	__._

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	+	-
0	260	N/A	N/A	260	~14	~7

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

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,530 m	850 hp	1,020 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,200 m	800 hp	960 hp

Survivability and armour

The I 16 type 18 has, like all I-16 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.

Armaments

Offensive armament

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

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

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

Usage in battles

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 than the Spitfire. 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.

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 maneuvering 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 300m, with vertical convergence on, because the majority of turnfights happen at that range or closer.

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 unmaneuverble 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 maneuverbility, 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 maneuvers 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.

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

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm	DZ-40
II		Compressor	Airframe		RO-82
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 7 mm MGs
IV	95 octane fuel usage	Engine injection	Cover

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
• No manual trim controls in Simulator which makes it hard to handle

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

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 2.5mm 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

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.