The Polikarpov I-153 saw service in: China, Finland, Germany, USSR

Total production: 3437

Technical details Polikarpov I-153
Type:____________Fighter
Span:____________10 m
Lenght:__________6.17 m
Engine:__________Shvetsov M-63 / 1,100 hsp.
Max speed:_______450 km/h
Service ceiling:_9,000 m
Range:___________880 km
Armament:________4x7.62 mm machine guns

Two images on the Polikarpov I-153 preserved at Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace in Paris.
This aircraft was captured by the Germans in Ukraine 1941. It was brought to France to be studied. Due to its design it wasn’t scrapped since it didn’t contain any strategic materials and it was still intact at the liberation. This saved this valuable aircraft to posterity!
© Håkan Gustavsson
Click on the images to see them in full size.

Polikarpov fighters in Finnish service

Sources:
Combat Aircraft of World War Two - Elke C. Weale, 1985
Polikarpov Fighters in action Pt. 1 - Hans-Heiri Stapfer, 1995
Additional information kindly provided by Clotilde Cucchi-Vignier (Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace).
Translation kindly provided by Helene Hillerström