Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Tupolev I 4

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Top speed
  
257 km/h

Length
  
7.27 m

First flight
  
1927

Designer
  
Pavel Sukhoi

Wingspan
  
11 m

Retired
  
1933

Manufacturer
  
Tupolev

Tupolev I-4 httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

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 Tupolev, the first Soviet all-metal fighter.

Contents

Design and development

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.

Operational history

The I-4 was used as a parasite fighter in experiments with the TB-3 bomber. The aircraft was in Soviet service from 1928–1933. A total of 369 were built.

Variants

  • ANT-5 : Prototype.
  • I-4 : Single-seat fighter aircraft.
  • I-4Z : Single-seat fighter with span of lower wings greatly reduced.
  • I-4bis : Monoplane version (lower wings totally removed).
  • I-4P : Floatplane version.

    • Operators

     Soviet Union
  • Soviet Air Force

    • Specifications (I-4)

    General characteristics

  • Crew: one, pilot
  • Length: 7.27 m (23 ft 10 in)
  • Wingspan: 11.42 m (37 ft 5 in)
  • Height: 2.82 m (9 ft 2 in)
  • Wing area: 23.8 m² (256 ft²)
  • Empty weight: 978 kg (2,156 lb)
  • Loaded weight: 1,430 kg (3,153 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × M-22 (Bristol Jupiter) piston radial, 343 kW (460 hp)

    • Performance

  • Maximum speed: 257 km/h (160 mph)
  • Range: 840 km (524 mi)
  • Service ceiling: 7,655 m (25,100 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 555 m/min (1,820 ft/min)
  • Wing loading: 60 kg/m² (12 lb/ft²)
  • Power/mass: 0.25 kW/kg (0.15 hp/lb)

    • Armament

  • 2 × 7.62 mm machine guns

    • References

    Tupolev I-4 Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA