The Polikarpov I-16 is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain operational status and as such "introduced a new vogue in fighter design". The I-16 was introduced in the mid-1930s and formed the backbone of the Soviet Air Force at the beginning of World War II. The diminutive fighter, nicknamed "Ishak" or "Ishachok" by Soviet pilots, figured prominently in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, Winter War and the Spanish Civil War – where it was called the Rata ("rat") by the Nationalists or Mosca ("fly") by the Republicans. The Finns called the aircraft as Siipiorava "(flying squirrel)".
The Yakovlev Yak-3 was a single-engine, single-seat World War II Soviet fighter. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by both pilots and ground crew. One of the smallest and lightest combat fighters fielded by any combatant during the war, its high power-to-weight ratio gave it excellent performance and it proved to be a formidable dogfighter.
The Yakovlev Yak-9 is a single-engine, single-seat multipurpose fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union and its allies during World War II and the early Cold War. It was a development of the robust and successful Yak-7B fighter, which was based in turn on the tandem-seat advanced trainer known as the Yak-7UTI. The Yak-9 started arriving in Soviet fighter regiments in late 1942 and played a major role in retaking air superiority from the Luftwaffe's new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and Messerschmitt Bf 109G fighters during the grand Battle of Kursk in summer 1943.
The Yakovlev Yak-2 was a short-range Soviet light bomber/reconnaissance aircraft used during World War II. It was produced in small numbers, and most of them were destroyed during the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa.
The Yakovlev Yak-4 was a Soviet light bomber used during World War II. It was developed from the Ya-22/Yak-2.
The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.
The Yakovlev Yak-7 was developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, initially as a trainer but converted into a fighter. As both a fighter and later reverting to its original training role, the Yak-7 proved to be a capable aircraft and was well liked by air crews. The Yak-7 was simpler, tougher and generally better than the Yak-1.
The Polikarpov ITP was a Soviet fighter prototype designed during World War II. Development was prolonged by the evacuation of the design bureau forced by the German advance on Moscow in the fall of 1941. By the time the second prototype was finished the Soviets had fighters with equivalent or better performance already in production and the program was cancelled.
The ShVAK was a 20 mm autocannon used by the Soviet Union during World War II. It was designed by Boris Shpitalniy and Semyon Vladimirov and entered production in 1936. ShVAK were installed in many models of Soviet aircraft. The TNSh was a version of the gun produced for light tanks. ShVAK shares the name with its 12.7 mm heavy machine gun predecessor.
The Petlyakov Pe-3 was the long-range heavy fighter version of the successful Petlyakov Pe-2 high-speed dive bomber used by the Soviet Union during World War II.
The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a refinement of the earlier LaGG-1 and was one of the most modern aircraft available to the Soviet Air Force at the time of Germany's invasion in 1941. Compared to its opponents the LaGG-3 was underpowered and, despite its wooden construction, overweight. It was unpopular with Soviet pilots, but despite this, at one point in the war, on average 12 LaGG-3s were being completed daily and 6,528 had been built in total when production switched to the Yak-3 in 1944. The LaGG-3 was steadily improved, forming the basis for the more successful La-5 and La-7.
The Sukhoi Su-1 or I-330 was a prototype Soviet high-altitude fighter aircraft built at the beginning of World War II. An improved version, designated Su-3 (I-360), was also built and tested the following year. Neither version was mass-produced.
The Grigorovich IP-1 was a fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. When the performance of both the Grigorovich I-Z and its single-shot Kurchevski DRP cannon armament proved disappointing, the development of that particular system did not halt development of the basic underlying concept of a cannon-armed bomber destroyer. Leonid Kurchevsky developed a new, 75 mm cannon designated the Kurchevski APK-4 which could fire five shots instead of just one, and once again the Grigorovich design bureau created an aircraft to carry it. The IP-1 was a conventional, low-wing cantilever monoplane with retractable tailskid undercarriage and an open cockpit. Construction throughout was all-metal, and like its predecessor, its horizontal stabiliser was mounted high to avoid gasses from the underwing cannons. Once again, however, trials proved the concept a failure.
The Ilyushin I-21,, also known as TsKB-32, was a single-engined, single-seat fighter produced in the USSR in 1936-7 in response to a government specification.
The Polikarpov I-17 was a Soviet single-seat fighter prototype designed and built by a team headed by Nikolai Polikarpov at the Central Design Bureau (TsKB) in 1934.
The Tairov Ta-3 was a twin-engined single-seat heavy fighter designed and produced in the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union from 1939. The Ta-3 was envisioned to serve primarily as an escort fighter. Competing contemporaneous designs in the USSR included the Grushin Gr-1, Mikoyan-Gurevich DIS and Polikarpov TIS.
The Polikarpov TIS was a heavily armed Soviet heavy fighter designed during the early 1940s. Competing contemporaneous designs in the USSR included the Grushin Gr-1, Mikoyan-Gurevich DIS and Tairov Ta-3.
The Polikarpov VIT-1 was a Soviet twin-engined multi-purpose aircraft developed before World War II. One prototype was built in 1937, with an extremely heavy armament for ground attack duties. That was the only example built as it was decided to revise the design with more powerful engines as the VIT-2.
The Polikarpov VIT-2 was a Soviet twin-engined ground attack aircraft developed before World War II. A single prototype was built in 1938 for evaluation purposes. Although a promising design it was recommended that it be introduced into production as a high-speed dive bomber with a reduced armament to increase its speed.
The Tupolev I-14 was a Soviet fighter aircraft of the 1930s. It was a single-engined, single-seat monoplane with retractable undercarriage, designed to carry heavy armament, and as such was one of the most advanced fighters of its time. It was ordered into production, but this was cancelled after only a small number had been built, the competing Polikarpov I-16 being preferred.
