| Tupolev I-4 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Fighter |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Manufacturer | Tupolev |
| Designer | Pavel Sukhoi |
| First flight | 1927 |
| Retired | 1933 |
| Primary user | Soviet Air Force |
| Number built | 369 |
The Tupolev I-4 was a Soviet sesquiplane single-seat fighter. It was conceived in 1927 by Pavel Sukhoi as his first aircraft design for the Tupolev design bureau, and was the first Soviet all-metal fighter.
After the first prototype (under the development name Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev fighter 5 | ANT-5), the I-4 was redesigned with a new engine cowling to decrease drag, with added rocket launchers on the upper wing and a larger tailfin. The lower wing was predominantly an attachment for the wing struts; it was almost removed in the second series, the I-4Z (where the lower wings were greatly shortened), and totally removed from the I-4bis, thus transforming the aircraft from a sesquiplane into a parasol-wing monoplane.
The I-4 was used as a parasite fighter in experiments with the Tupolev TB-1 bomber. The aircraft was in Soviet service from 1928–1933. A total of 369 were built. [1]
Soviet Union Data from[ citation needed ]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related lists
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