Polikarpov I-180
| Polikarpov I-180 | |
|---|---|
 Polikarpov I-180-2 |
|
| Type: | Fighter plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
December 15, 1938 |
| Number of pieces: |
3 prototypes |
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The Polikarpow I-180 ( Russian Поликарпов И-180 ) was a single-engine fighter aircraft of the Soviet designer Nikolai Polikarpow .
development
It was created using assemblies from the successful Polikarpow I-16 and the test fighter Polikarpow I-17 . An adjustable three-blade propeller was used for the first time on a Soviet aircraft. As drive a used M-88 - radial engine .
The first flight of the I-180-1 took place on December 15, 1938 and ended in a disaster. The engine stalled on approach and the plane crashed; the well-known pilot Valeri Pavlovich Tschkalow was killed. In 1955, a commission set up by Khrushchev investigated the circumstances that led to the crash, but found no evidence of a conspiracy that has been suspected to this day. What is certain is that neither the chief designer Polikarpow nor the project manager for the I-180 , Tomaschewitsch , had given their consent for the first flight. In addition, there was no approval for the first flight for the I-180 from the manufacturer, among other things because of the missing radiator flaps for the air-cooled double radial engine Tumanski M-88. At about −25 ° C, Chkalov took off on the first flight from the Chodynka field ("Central M. W. Frunze Airport") and initially flew the intended traffic pattern without any problems. After that, in the second lap, at an altitude of approx. 2000 m, he clearly exceeded the altitude limit of 600 m specified in the flight order. In the following landing approach, which was set too short, the engine failed, probably due to hypothermia or carburetor icing or due to accelerating too abruptly during interception, possibly also due to a combination of both causes. Tschkalow avoided a few houses with the engine stopped, but then came into contact with an overhead line and crashed.
The second machine I-180-2 received an M-87B engine and a wing span increased by 105 cm and began flight tests on April 29, 1939. When this aircraft also crashed during testing on September 5 of that year, whereby the pilot Tomas Susi was killed, Josef Stalin was about to discontinue the program and Polikarpow fell out of favor. Nevertheless, a third prototype flew with a closed cabin and a small pre-series of ten I-180S was built. When the final decision for the I-180 was decided, Polikarpow turned to the successor I-185 .
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data (I-180S) |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| span | 10.05 m |
| length | 6.9 m |
| Wing area | 16.1 m² |
| Takeoff mass | 2,675 kg |
| drive | a double radial engine M-88R |
| power | 735 kW (999 PS) |
| Top speed | 585 km / h at an altitude of 7,100 m |
| Rise time | 5 min at 5,000 m |
| Summit height | 11,000 m |
| Range | 900 km |
| Armament | two 7.62 mm MG SchKAS |
literature
- Polikarpov I-180/185/187 . In: Fliegerrevue . No. 9 . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1991, p. 360 .
- Wilfried Bergholz : Russian combat aircraft since 1934. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 2019, ISBN 978-3-613-04226-1 , pp. 27-29.
