Editing Polikarpov I-16 (section)

===Soviet Union===
[[File:Khalkhin Gol Soviet pilots august 1939.jpg|thumb|[[Soviet Air Force|VVS]] pilots at [[Khalkhyn Gol]] in front of their I-16 in August 1939.]]
The pilots nicknamed the aircraft ''Ishak'' (Russian: ''Ишак'', ''Donkey''/''[[Hinny]]'') because it was similar to the Russian pronunciation of "I-16" ("ee-shestnadtset"). When [[Operation Barbarossa]] erupted on 22 June 1941, 1,635 of 4,226 [[Soviet Air Force|VVS]] aircraft were I-16s of all variants, fielded by 57 fighter regiments in frontier areas.<ref name="Maslov p.68">Maslov 2010, p. 68.</ref> The main assault delivered by the Luftwaffe's ''Luftflotte'' 2 (in support of [[Wehrmacht]] Army Group Centre) was directed against the Soviet Western Special Military District, that deployed 361 (424 according to other sources) I-16s.<ref name="Maslov pp.68-69">Maslov 2010, pp. 68–69.</ref> During the early phase of the campaign the I-16 bases were the main targets for the German aircraft and after 48 hours of combat, of the 1,635 Polikarpov monoplanes in service on 21 June 1941, only 937 were left.<ref name ="Maslov p.69">Maslov 2010, p. 69.</ref> By 30 June the number of I-16s in western front line units had dropped to 873, including 99 that required repairs.<ref name="Maslov p.72">Maslov 2010, p. 72.</ref> To stem the Luftwaffe aerial assault several I-16 pilots adopted the ''[[Aerial ramming|taran]]'' tactic and sacrificed their lives, ramming German aircraft.<ref name="Maslov p.72" />

Its main opponent in the sky in 1941 was the German [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]].<ref name="Drabkin p.142">Drabkin 2007, p. 142.</ref> The I-16 was slightly more maneuverable than the early Bf 109s and could fight the Messerschmitt Bf 109E, or ''Emil'', on equal terms in turns. Skilled Soviet pilots took advantage of the Polikarpov's superior horizontal [[maneuverability]] and liked it enough to resist the switch to more modern fighters. The German aircraft, however, outclassed its Soviet opponent in service ceiling, rate of climb, acceleration and, crucially, in horizontal and diving speed, due to better aerodynamics and a more powerful engine. The main versions of the I-16 had a maximum speed of 450–470&nbsp;km/h (279–291&nbsp;mph), while the Bf 109E had a maximum speed of 560–570&nbsp;km/h (347–353&nbsp;mph), the more streamlined Bf 109F ''Friedrich'' could hit 615–630&nbsp;km/h (372-390plus&nbsp;mph). So German pilots held the initiative and could decide if they wanted to chase their opponents, could attack them from above and behind and then gain altitude for a new attack. Meanwhile, Polikarpovs could only defend each other by forming a defensive circle or via horizontal maneuverability.<ref name="Drabkin p.142" />

Moreover, in terms of armament, Messerschmitts had a slight edge on the I-16. The ''Emil'' carried two wing-mounted 20mm [[MG FF]] cannons and two synchronized 7.92&nbsp;mm [[MG 17 machine gun|MG-17s]] with a weight of a one-second [[salvo]] of 2.37&nbsp;kg, while the most common version of the I-16—armed with just two synchronized and two wing-mounted 7.62 ShKAS—could deliver 1.43&nbsp;kg of bullets each second.<ref name = "Drabkin pp.142-143">Drabkin 2007, pp. 142–43.</ref> Finally, the ammunition storage on a Messerschmitt exceeded that of the I-16, carrying 1,000 rounds for each machine gun (plus sixty [[Drum magazine|drum]]-housed rounds for each cannon), while the Polikarpov carried just 450 rounds for each ShKAS gun.<ref name="Drabkin p.143">Drabkin 2007, p. 143.</ref>

Around half of all produced I-16s were still in service in 1943, when they were finally replaced.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Specially modified I-16s were used in the [[Zveno project|Zveno]] [[parasite aircraft]] experiments using the [[Tupolev TB-3]] as a mothership. These I-16s carried two 250&nbsp;kg bombs for dive bombing. This was more than double the bomb load an I-16 could take off with under its own power. Once the bombs were dropped, they could perform as normal I-16s, and could re-attach to the TB-3 for the return journey.<ref name="Shavrov 1985"/>

The [[Luftwaffe]] was known to have captured some I-16 and UTI-4 two-seat trainers (two of which were marked with the ''Stammkennzeichen'' codes DM+HC and DM+HD) and flown from the [[Rechlin-Lärz Airfield|''Erprobungstelle Rechlin'']] central Luftwaffe test facility by [[Kampfgeschwader 200]] (KG 200).<ref>Thomas 2004, p. 80.</ref> The Luftwaffe was not the only air force able to test its fighters against the I-16; the Japanese captured a few I-16s as well,<ref name="Liss 1966, p. 10"/> and the Romanian Air Force also got one when a Soviet pilot defected.<ref>Stapfer 1996, p. 46.</ref> The Finnish Air Force (FAF) captured some I-16s (along with several other Soviet types). During the [[Winter War]] and the [[Continuation War]], the Finns captured six I-16s and one I-16UTI. Two of the captured I-16s and I-16UTIs were put back into flying condition and flight tested.<ref>Perttula, Pentti. [http://www.saunalahti.fi/~ambush/faf/fafincolor.html "FAF in Color."]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''saunalahti.fi''. Retrieved: 6 September 2009.</ref>