Polikarpov I-16 Fighter Aviation Art Limited Edition Print by Aviation Artist Darryl Legg

Known by numerous nicknames during its service in both the Spanish Civil War and WWI, Polikarpov's I-16 was designed in tandem with the bi-plane I-15, which actually first flew slightly after it.

At the time of its deployment to Spain the I-16 was the most modern fighter aircraft in the world and outclassed the Nationalist biplanes in everything except agility. It would eventually be bested with the introduction of the Bf-109 but this did not stop both Spain and the USSR using the aircraft well into the 1940s. 

 By June 1941 and Operation Barbarossa the aircraft was still one of the mainstays of the Soviet Air Force and as such was put into combat with the Luftwaffe in large numbers. Against the superior Bf-109 and Fw-190 it suffered heavily but did inflict damage on the German bombers.

The aircraft seen in Darryl Legg's aviation art print is that flown by Snr Lt Anatoli Lomokin over the Gulf of Finland in 1942. 

Our LIMITED EDITION ART PRINT of only 50 COPIES has an image size of 14" x 10.5"