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.
== 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 Tupolev TB-1 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) == Data from General characteristics Crew: 1 Length: 7.27 m (23 ft 10 in) Wingspan: 11.42 m (37 ft 6 in) Height: 2.82 m (9 ft 3 in) Wing area: 23.8 m2 (256 sq ft) Empty weight: 978 kg (2,156 lb) Gross weight: 1,430 kg (3,153 lb) Powerplant: 1 × Shvetsov M-22 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 343 kW (460 hp) (Bristol Jupiter) Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller Performance
Maximum speed: 257 km/h (160 mph, 139 kn) Range: 524 km (326 mi, 283 nmi) Service ceiling: 7,655 m (25,115 ft) Wing loading: 60 kg/m2 (12 lb/sq ft) Power/mass: 0.25 kW/kg (0.15 hp/lb) Armament
Guns: 2 × 7.62 mm machine guns
See also
Related lists
List of interwar military aircraft
References
== Bibliography == Lesnitchenko, Vladimir (November–December 1999). "Combat Composites: Soviet Use of 'Mother-ships' to Carry Fighters, 1939–1941". Air Enthusiast (84): 4–21. ISSN 0143-5450.
External links
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