I-16 type 10

I-16 type 10

MiG-3-15

I-16 type 18

I-16 type 10

MiG-3-15

I-16 type 18

USSR

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.0	1.7

Class:

Fighter

Research:5 900

Purchase:6 300

Show in game

Description

The I-16 type 10 Ishak is a Rank I Soviet light fighter with a battle rating of 1.7. It was introduced in Update 1.45 "Steel Generals".

The I-16 Type 10 is equipped with four ShKAS machine guns chambered with the 7.62 x 54R cartridge, a cyclic rate of fire of 1,800 rpm. Two of them are mounted above the engine cowling and carry 650 rpg while other pair are mounted on the wings and have ammo load out of 900 rounds each. Historically the cowling mounted machine guns where synchronized to propeller spin resulting in a rate of fire of 1,460 rpm, preliminary analysis seems to suggest that the synchronization gear is not modeled in the game and all four guns fire at 1,800 rpm.

While the increase of the armament by double may seem already quite an upgrade it has to be remembered than the extra pair of light machine guns are fitted in the cowling, which means that convergence range is not quite as important for effective fire when compared to the wing mounted only armament of the Type 5. Of course it is still not to be neglected and as with any light machine gun armed vehicle a relative close gun convergence range of 150 to 400 meters is generally more effective. As with any other ShKAS machine gun armed aircraft, jamming due to overheat can be a serious threat although not quite as crippling as it is with the Type 5's (losing a machine gun in the Type 5 means losing 1/2 of your firepower, losing one in the Type 10 mean losing "only" 1/4 of your firepower). Unlike the I-16 Type 5, the Type 10 is equipped with a PAK-1 reflector sight making overall aiming at close range easier than with a telescopic sight. It has to be kept in mind that in spite of the increased weight and more powerful armament, the lack of trimmer control and plane's inherent stability make it a rather lousy gun platform compared to latter heavier aircraft.

Unlike the Type 5 that precedes it, the Type 10 does have the ability to mount armament on its external pylons. This armament in-game is limited to six wing-mounted RS-82 rockets, unfortunately these rockets had a somewhat lackluster performance against armor (although they are a still a considerable upgrade compared to just light machine guns) and can be somewhat effective against exposed ground targets and enemy aircraft with the use of good aim and a bit of luck. Still this armament is overall unreliable and it should only be taken in very specific situations if air combat is expected.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 3,160 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
?	?	9,300	??.?	??.?	??.?	??.?	210
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 3,160 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
467	459	9,300	16.1	16.7	27.0	19.9	210

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
620	240	???	~19	~11

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 280	< 320	< 320	> 220

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,900 m	750 hp	830 hp

Survivability and armour

• 6 mm Steel - Plating behind pilot seat
• No armour glazing (open canopy)
• Critical components located at front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)

Armaments

Offensive armament

The I-16 type 10 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 10 can be outfitted externally with:

• Without load
• 6 x RS-82 rockets
• 6 x RBS-82 rockets

Usage in the battles

Like its predecessor the strength of the Type 10 depends in some extent to it's versatility, being able to out speed most biplanes and outmaneuver most monoplanes it faces, however, because of the plane's higher BR in all game modes the Type 10 will face high performance monoplanes like the Spitfire MkI/II, the Bf 109 E/F, the MC.202, the P-400 and early Yak's and LaGG's in mixed battle matchmaking a lot more often than its predecessor. This can be quite problematic since the aircraft overall performance isn't much better than the Type 5's and is actually inferior in some regards, the Type 10 however somewhat makes up for it do to the increase in firepower which allows to take much better advantage of split-second firing opportunities since while it's four light machine gun armament is generally not enough to kill in a quick burst it can at least hit and damage enemy aircraft a lot more efficiently than just two wing mounted machine guns.

The defensive and offensive tactics that work best for the I-16 Type 10 are similar to the ones that can be employed in the Type 5, mainly the use of scissors and short vertical maneuvers, the main difference being that they Type 10 lower roll rate makes the use of roll rate alone as an evasive tactic a lot less feasible than in its predecessor while the increased weight may proof decisive while using vertical maneuvers as a way to avoid light fighter like the A5M4 or the Ki-27. The plane is still very far from more modern aircraft like the Yak-1, the Ki-44, the Bf 109 E/F and the Spitfire Mk I in speed and vertical maneuverability forcing the Type 10 to stick to the defensive if facing a competent pilot in any of those high speed aircraft. The climbing, speed and diving acceleration receive a timid upgrade when compared to the Type 5 with particularly the former still proving a rather good asset (even much faster aircraft like the Bf 109 F or the Spitfire Mk I aren't that much better at climbing than the Type 10 at low attitudes meaning that even when facing them there's still hope to do so at a similar energy state). The plane has a rather nasty habit of starting to bank side to side and even sometimes turning upside down while trying to pull out to sharply from a high speed dive, is occurrence can proof deadly at low attitudes.

One area in which the Type 10 is a clear upgrade over the Type 5 is the ability to intercept bombers and attackers, while the plane is still very slow and quite fragile and its armament isn't exactly overwhelming it is still quite an improvement over the Type 5 in this task. The ability to mount rockets also helps to increase the aircraft effectiveness for ground attack and secondarily the possibility of taking down bombers with a good enough aim.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not ontrollable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe		RO-82
III	Wing Repair	Engine		New 7 mm MGs
IV	95 Octane Fuel Usage	Engine Injection	Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Extremely manouverable
• Very small target
• Fantastic roll rate
• Dives in excess of 650 km/h

Cons:

• Open cockpit
• Vital components clustered together

History

The I-16 Type 10 was the next step on the development of the I-16 series after the Type 5 following the lessons learned by the previous combat experience in Spain. Development of the aircraft started in December 1937 with the plane being tested and entering production through the winter, by March 1938 it was already being put in operational service. The main changes when compared to its predecessor is an increase in machine gun armament as well as the ability to mount light ground attack armament, paired with a slight increase in climb rate and speed through the addition of a new M-25V engine (early production models employed the M-25A instead), the addition of flaps, the removal of the closed cockpit and the addition of the PAK-1 reflector sight in place of the OV-1 telescopic sight (note that the later modifications were already seen in late Type 5 production models). Some models were mounted with non-retractable skies in place of the standard retractable landing gear. A total of 934 I-16 Type 10 were built by the time production ended in 1939.

The I-16 Type 10 was first deployed in combat in March 1938 in Spain becoming the backbone of the Spanish Republican Air Force through the remaining half of the conflict, while only a modest upgrade in a lot of performance parameters over earlier I-16's it was seemingly enough to overcome the previous advantages held by the Condor Legion Bf 109 B causing the replacement of this aircraft by the upgraded Bf 109 C's and Bf 109 D's. As its predecessor the Type 10 was capable to face off against its rivals at low attitude but at high attitude the Jumo Powered BF-109's still held a significant advantage. In an attempt to counter this advantage several I-16 were back fitted with supercharged Wright Cyclone R-1820-F-54 engine which allow for an increase of the plane's practical service ceiling and overall performance at high attitude, the Type 10 would only be completely superseded by the BF-109 with the arrival of the Bf 109 E in 1939. After the war several dozens of I-16's passed into service with the Spanish Air Force until 1953.

The I-16 Type 10 was also one of the most important VVS fighter during the air engagements over Khalkhin Gol and Finland in 1939, in the former conflict the arrival of this model in big numbers as well as experienced air crews played an important role in allowing the VVS to achieve air superiority in the latter half of the conflict. The I-16 Type 10 was also supplied in big numbers to Nationalist Chinese Air Force where it proved quite effective against the earlier A5M's and IJN bombers and attackers but faring very badly against the modern and much better performing A6M2 Zero. By the time of German invasion of the Soviet Union and in spite of its obsolescence a lot of I-16 Type 10 remained in service with the VVS (although a lot of them had been converted to Type 18/24 standards), a lot of them were destroyed during the initial phases of the conflict but those that survived were used as fighters and light ground attack aircraft until early 1944.

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