Combat aircraft. The king of fighters who was shot down by their own

2024 Author: Matthew Elmers | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:49

Probably, before starting the story about the Polikarpov I-185 fighter, you should immediately admit that this story will not work out for me impassive and objective. Alas, I can’t do anything about it, since Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov is more than just a designer for me. So I apologize in advance for some distortions in the text caused by a personal relationship to this truly great man.

Today, very often there are materials on the topic "And if", which conclude that if the I-185 went into production, it could become a nightmare for German pilots.

History knows no subjunctive mood. And everything can be in its alternative versions. In our history, this plane did not go into production. And today it is worth remembering both those who created it and those whose efforts the I-185 did not take off.

The history of this aircraft began in 1939, when work was underway at the Polikarpov Design Bureau on several models at once. The modernizations of the I-16 and I-153 were being prepared, the VIT-2 attack aircraft and the SPB high-speed dive bomber were created, the I-180 and I-190 fighters were tested.

In general, the designers had something to do. Therefore, it is understandable why Nikolai Nikolayevich conducted the first works on his own. He was assisted by ONE person: his deputy Mikhail Tetivkin.

Polikarpov asked the engine builders A. Shvetsov and S. Tumansky for data on their new engines M-90 (Tumansky) and M-71 and M-81 (Shvetsov). Data with drawings was provided. That is, initially, Polikarpov saw his new aircraft with an air-cooled "star", despite the fact that all over the world the craze for water-cooled engines began.

New twin-row, air-cooled radial engines ranging from 1600 to 2000 hp. really promised good performance characteristics and in the future they were much superior to the then liquid-cooled motors.

Work went on, but in October 1939 Polikarpov was sent to Germany as part of the first delegation, which was to get acquainted with the achievements of the German aviation industry. A very useful business trip, if not for one "but".

While Polikarpov was working for the good of the Motherland in Germany, his design bureau was defeated. Most of the designers were transferred in various ways to the newly created structure of the OKO (experimental design department).

It is worth mentioning those who did this: plant director P. A. Voronin, chief engineer P. V. Dementyev and designer Artem Mikoyan, behind whom loomed the People's Commissar for Foreign Trade and Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Anastas Mikoyan.

Today they make an innocent lamb out of Artyom Mikoyan, they say, he didn't want to, he was forced. But the project of the I-200 fighter, the project of which Polikarpov submitted for approval to the People's Commissariat of the Aviation Industry, was also given to him. In general, it is not known how Mikoyan was forced to become the head of a new design bureau formed for him and accept someone else's project as a gift, but he did not resist for long, as you know.

So the I-200 became the MiG-1, and then the MiG-3.

Mikoyan and Gurevich received their orders (of the Red Star) and prizes. Polikarpov was also given a consolation prize, but was deprived of everything: design bureau, plant, designers.

Polikarpov, deprived of everything, was exiled to the city of Stakhanov (now Zhukovsky), where he was appointed director and chief designer of plant No. 51 and graciously allowed to build this plant and organize the work of all services.

With the group of employees who remained with him, Polikarpov began work in a new place. And not just started, but with a significant advance, having studied what the German designers were working on. Comparing the capabilities of his I-180, which was on the way to the series, and the German Bf 109C, Polikarpov came to the conclusion that he was moving in the right direction. And his I-180 is no worse than the German machines.

Combat aircraft. The king of fighters who was shot down by their own

It was clear that after the Bf.109С Messerschmitt would produce more modern vehicles, but the Germans prudently kept silent about the FW.190. So a great instinct of the designer played here. And Polikarpov decided for himself to work on a fighter, different from the one on which Yakovlev, Lavochkin, Mikoyan and Gurevich worked.

Here it is worth throwing a huge lump into the garden of those authors who for many years regaled us with fairy tales about how young designers overtook the luminary Polikarpov. They lied to us for a long time and with taste, but everything is fine here: the history is written by the winners. But the victory of Yakovlev and the company came later, but in the meantime Polikarpov began to work on "Project 62", which eventually became I-185.

The opinion that "Polikarpov was too carried away by biplanes" is still very often encountered. "We needed maneuverable fighters" and other non-specialist nonsense.

The I-16 was a monoplane and a very maneuverable aircraft. I would even say - a unique aircraft in this respect.

But in those years, the scheme of using two aircraft at the same time prevailed: high-speed and high-altitude and maneuverable fighters. And, if you look at the work of Polikarpov, then everything is in perfect order: the high-speed and high-altitude I-185 and the maneuverable I-195 half-plane.

But Polikarpov considered the I-185 to be the main aircraft. And priority was given to him.

And this plane needed an engine. And with the engines, as always, it was difficult. The M-88 clearly didn’t pull, and the new M-90 and M-71 went with great difficulty and problems.

In general, the first I-185 with the M-90 engine (power 1750 hp, by 1942 brought up to 2080 hp) of the Zaporozhye plant was built in May 1940. Accordingly, then the plane could fly, but … The engine turned out to be useless for anything. Complete substandard, not passed bench tests and suitable only for blowdowns.

At that time, "new generation" aircraft were just beginning to undergo a test cycle. Yak-1 and others. The I-180 was built in series, so the situation was very stable: give me a motor - there will be a new fighter.

However, bringing to mind the M-90 was delayed and in May 1940 the People's Commissar of the Aviation Industry Alexei Shakhurin decided to come to the rescue. The People's Commissar suggested installing the M-71 engine on the I-185.

The M-71 was not at all the same as the M-90. The M-90 had a short piston stroke, and the M-71 had a long one. The M-71 was heavier and larger in diameter. Under it, the nose of the aircraft would have to be seriously altered. But the M-71 gave 2,000 hp. and it was very good.

Polikarpov agrees, calculations were made according to which the I-185 with the M-71 could accelerate to 665 km / h, which was a prohibitive speed for Soviet aircraft of that time. It remained to be confirmed in practice.

But time passed, and there was no motor. Shvetsov's team could not cope with the fine-tuning of the engine to condition. In November 1940, Shakhurin's patience snapped, and he proposed another replacement: the M-81. This is another engine of the Shvetsov Design Bureau, but not 18, but 14 cylinders and, accordingly, with a capacity of only 1600 hp.

Step back? Yes, quite so. But having installed the M-81, Polikarpov was able to lift the plane into the sky and start testing in anticipation of a more powerful engine. The design speed was expected to drop to 610 km / h, but still, it remained quite impressive, albeit on paper. A working engine was needed to confirm all this.

The M-81 was also received far from immediately, but only in December 1940. This once again illustrates how “fine” everything was with the Soviet engine builders of that time. But the M-81 did not solve the problems either, because it also turned out to be substandard!

The defective engine was somehow brought into working order and a month after the engine was at Polikarpov's, the I-185 made its first flight. It happened on January 11, 1941.

The defective engine could not deliver the declared power. We flew 16 flights, after which the engine finally "died". But they managed to measure the speed at the ground in one of the flights, it was 495 km / h. Estimated was 500 km / h, that is, everything was more or less normal. Test pilots noted good takeoff and landing characteristics and high controllability of the vehicle.

In March 1941, the order of the Deputy People's Commissar of the AP A. S. Yakovlev to terminate the program, since it was decided not to tinker with the M-81 in favor of more powerful engines.

And only in February 1941, with a delay of almost eight months, Polikarpov received two M-71 engines.

Joy? Not at all. In a complaint filed with the People's Commissariat of the Presidential Administration, Polikarpov reports that the power of the first motor is 15% lower than the declared one, and the weight is 13% more. The second motor gave out the nominal value, but weighed 1079 kg instead of 975.

What is 104 kilograms in excess of the norm in the nose of the aircraft, I think, is not worth talking about.

And the motors worked disgustingly. Forced landings, failures and endless replacement of parts - all this pursued not only Polikarpov, but also Sukhoi, who planned to install the M-71 on his Su-6 attack aircraft.

As a result, it turned out to be a complete nightmare: three copies of the I-185 were built (one with the M-90 and two with the M-71) and none of them flew.

Polikarpov went to the end, offering to buy imported motors, since there are no domestic ones, from Pratt & Whitney, Wright or BMW.

Shakhurin went to meet him, but the time was already lost. They tried to buy BMW.801A in the same February 1941, but the Germans flatly refused to sell the engine. There was no longer such a warm relationship as before. The Americans also did not cooperate, since Roosevelt imposed an embargo on all military supplies due to the Soviet-Finnish war.

The result was a situation where there were no motors.

Here it is necessary to remember and remember the not quite kind word of Alexander Yakovlev. Not so much a designer as Shakhurin's deputy. So it will be more accurate.

So, Alexander Sergeevich made a very tactless phrase in relation to Polikarpov. Speaking about the fact that Polikarpov in August 1941 was in a depressed mood, Yakovlev explained it this way:

But with empty hands Polikarpov left the People's Commissariat of the Aviation Industry. It was the fascination with in-line water-cooled motors that almost led to the disaster. But at the end of that same 1940, Polikarpov could have received a masterpiece at his disposal: the Shvetsov M-82, which gave 1700 hp. By that time, the motor had already passed the entire cycle of state tests. A short-stroke "star" of a very small diameter - what could be more successful for an aircraft with an inevitably wide "forehead"?

But the new engine of Shvetsov M-82, with a capacity of 1700 hp. passed the tests, but did not go into the series. As unnecessary. Moreover, the Perm plant, at the direction of the NKAP, was ordered to be redesigned for the production of water engines. Which would knock the plant out of action for a year or so.

And only the intervention of the party in the person of the first secretary of the Perm regional committee, Gusarov, who went to report to Stalin in May 1941.

Stalin listened to Gusarov, whose reputation, frankly, was extraordinary. But there was an aviation education, and Gusarov understood what he was talking about. Then Stalin listened to Shvetsov separately. And a miracle happened: on May 17, literally two weeks after the showdown arranged by Gusarov, the M-82 went into series. In Perm.

Shakhurin, as an honest man (which he definitely was), takes the blame upon himself in his memoirs and says that the NKAP was mistaken in its position on air-cooled motors. And it could easily happen that La-5, La-7, Tu-2 simply would not take off. Because the M-82 did not happen serially. By the way, after the war, the ASh-82 regularly carried a bunch of aircraft and even one helicopter (Mi-4) across the sky.

It would be nice to ask, but alas, there is no one. And I would like to know what the same deputy Shakhurin on new technology Yakovlev was doing? Well, yes, the promotion of new aircraft. Last but not least - our own.

It is clear that the young designers really wanted to do the "King of Fighters". By any means, because I really wanted orders, awards, cars, Stalin's favor.

Probably because the head of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Trade Mikoyan could not buy engines in other countries. And NKAP, significantly rejuvenated, did everything to make the series have the maximum "fashionable" water-cooled engines.

On May 5, 1941, Polikarpov receives an official assignment for an I-185 with an M-82 engine. A month and a half before the start of the war. And in an outrageous mode, the design bureau recycles the fuselage of the aircraft under the M-82. And, as always, Polikarpov does everything and more. That is, there are two options for the fuselage. One is simply "as is" with a new engine, the second is slightly lengthened and with a reduced midship, purposefully under the M-82 and therefore - with better aerodynamics.

And the narrow, compared to the same M-90, the M-82 engine made it possible to wrap around itself a simply terrible battery of THREE ShVAK cannons and two ShKAS machine guns. All this was synchronized with the engine. But it was also possible to install a ShKAS at the root of each wing. That is, three cannons and four machine guns. Moreover, the guns were not located in the wing, which means they fired much more accurately than that of the same Focke-Wulf. And ShKAS with its rate of fire was not important where to stand, he poured his 1800 per minute from anywhere.

The construction of the I-185 with the M-82 was completed on July 19, 1941, and in August it made its maiden flight. And then the tests began. And at the same time, the I-185 with the M-71 engine finally flew. Not only did it fly, the plane also showed a speed of 620 km / h. It immediately became clear to everyone that an air-cooled engine was promising.

What is Yakovlev doing? He simply takes from Polikarpov all the developments on the "stars", especially on the propeller group, and gives it to Lavochkin and Mikoyan. Well, he does not forget himself. As a result, promising models La-5, MiG-9 M-82 (a variant of the MiG-3 with an air engine) and Yak-7 M-82 appeared. The "young designers" caught on …

Then the work had to be curtailed due to the evacuation. Polikarpov was sent to Novosibirsk. But not to an aircraft plant, as one should have counted on (Yakovlev moved there, to plant No. 153), Polikarpov, as the "king of fighters", was allocated the premises of the Novosibirsk menagerie and the airfield of the local flying club …

Just estimate: on February 10, 1942, the I-185 M-71 and I-185 M-82A were presented for state tests. On March 28, the tests were successfully completed.

The plane showed itself just fine. The test results, which were signed by the leading engineer of the Air Force Research Institute Lazarev, says the following:

“1) The I-185 M-71 aircraft in terms of its flight characteristics is higher than all existing domestic serial and foreign aircraft.

2) In terms of piloting technique and take-off and landing properties, the aircraft is simple and accessible to pilots of average and below average qualifications …

… During the test, the aircraft lifted 500 kg of bombs (2x250 kg) and took off and landed with 4 bombs of 100 kg each.

The I-185 M-71 aircraft, armed with three ShVAK-20 synchronous cannons, meets the modern requirements of the front and can be recommended for the Red Army Air Force … I-185 M-82A … is second only to the I-185 M-71 aircraft, surpassing all serial airplanes, both ours and foreign ones … The piloting technique is similar to the I-185 M-71, i.e. simple and affordable for pilots below average skill."

At the same time, do not forget that all this is on motors that are not brought to perfection!

After state tests, front-line pilots flew over the aircraft, who arrived in Novosibirsk for new aircraft.

“After flying the I-185 M-71 aircraft, we report our considerations: speed, maneuverability, armament, ease of takeoff and landing, low mileage and takeoff run, equal to I-16 type 24, survivability in battle, similar to I-16, comparative ease and pleasantness in piloting technique, the possibility of repair in the field, the ease of retraining pilots, especially with the I-16, give the right to recommend putting this aircraft into serial production."

Signed by the commander of the 18th Guards Fighter Regiment, Guards Major Chertov, and the squadron commander, Guards Captain Tsvetkov.

One could be relieved to say that here it is, a fighter that can break off the propellers of German aircraft. Good flight characteristics, which, as the engines were brought to mind (direct fuel injection on the M-82 gave the La-5FN an increase in speed of 50 km / h), promised to be simply excellent, the most powerful armament of three synchronous cannons with an ammunition load of 500 rounds (La- 5 took 100-120 shells per barrel), all this made it possible to give an answer to the desperate letter of the Air Force Research Institute of December 24, 1941.

In that letter, which was sent first of all to Yakovlev, it was said that according to the test results of the captured Bf-109F in the Red Army Air Force, there is no fighter with flight characteristics better or at least equal to the Messerschmitt.

Yes, today many will say that the NKAP decided to bet on the La-5. But the La-5 in March 1942 was just being tested. And in what underground conditions Lavochkin created it - that is a separate story altogether.

Yes, and La-5 would not have been, if not for another party member, first secretary of the Gorky regional committee, Rodionov.

There is a version (I believe in it), according to which the same Yakovlev turned out to be the evil genius here, who really wanted his Yak-7 plane with M-82 to be adopted. The plane flew for the first time on February 28, 1942, but did not show anything like that. Speed at an altitude of 571 km / h, at the ground 505 km / h. And the armament was so-so, two wing-mounted ShVAK cannons and one UBS synchronous machine gun.

And what about the I-185? And Polikarpov was offered to build a reference copy of the I-185 M-71 for mass production. The standard flew in June 1942. The tests were delayed due to the same disruptions in the supply of the motor. The tests at the Air Force Research Institute were also successful. Military trials began in November.

What the pilots reported on the test results, history has kept us. The commander of the 728 IAP, Captain Vasilyaka, wrote a detailed report on the flights on the I-185. Vasilyaka flew on many airplanes, I-16, Yak-1, Yak-7B, LaGG-3, La-5, Hurricane. He flew both Polikarpov's planes, with engines M-71 and M-82.

“The transition from other fighter aircraft to the I-185 aircraft is simple and does not cause any difficulties for the pilots.

The aircraft is easy to fly in flight, very stable and without any special whims.

Takeoff and landing are extremely easy.

The advantage of the aircraft is its extremely high vertical maneuverability, due to its good climb rate, which makes it possible to conduct air combat with enemy fighters, which is not always possible on Yak-1, Yak-7B and La-5 aircraft.

In horizontal speed, the I-185 has a great advantage over domestically produced aircraft, as well as with enemy aircraft …

The aircraft develops a speed along the horizon from evolutionary to maximum speed very quickly in comparison with LaGG-3, Jla-5 and Yak. has good pick-up.

Performs aerobatics easily, quickly and energetically, similar to the I-16 …

The I-185 is the best fighter aircraft in terms of its ease of control, speed, maneuver (especially on the vertical), armament and survivability."

And the reference I-185 M-71 has already surpassed these samples in flight data. In factory tests, test pilot Loginov received a speed of 667 km / h. Specialists from the Air Force Research Institute, the most famous and experienced test pilots P. M. Stefanovsky and P. Ya. Fedrovich.

Stefanovsky was able to accelerate the plane to 680 km / h, and there were attempts to show even greater speed. In some passes, it exceeded the mark of 700 km / h, but above it did not get a stable flight, mainly due to the quality of the candles, magneto and carburetors. Due to the poor quality of equipment, forced landings took place several times, and even one accident.

Nevertheless, Stefanovsky gave very positive comments about the aircraft.

"Despite the high load per square meter, the aircraft, thanks to an exceptionally successful combination of shapes, dimensions, excellent wing mechanization and successful layout …, has very high speeds and climb rate, good maneuverability and comparative simplicity in piloting technique …"

Fedrovich wrote, comparing the I-185 with other Soviet machines:

There were also negative moments. Poor engine operation at the design (6250 m) altitude and low reliability of the M-71 were noted.

In addition, the following were noted: a spherical cab visor, distorting the view, no emergency reset of the sliding part of the canopy, tight manual control of the hood blinds and the oil cooler flap.

But the main thing is the Act of state tests. And this document was signed on January 29, 1943 by the head of the Air Force Research Institute, Major General ITS P. A. Losyukov.

1. The I-185 aircraft with the M-71 design by com. Polikarpov, armed with three synchronous ShVAK-20 cannons with 500 rounds of ammunition, with a fuel supply of 470 kg, is the best modern fighter.

In terms of maximum speed, rate of climb and vertical maneuver, the I-185 with the M-71 surpasses domestic and latest production enemy aircraft (Me-109G-2 and FV-190).

2. To recommend to adopt the I-185 aircraft with the M-71 engine and to apply for launching it into large-scale production. The normal flight weight should not exceed 3600 kg.

3. To ask the People's Commissar of the Aviation Industry to demand from the plant No. 19 eliminate defects in the M-71 engine, equip the engine with an air self-start, a compressor and direct injection.

4. To demand from the chief designer comrade. Polikarpov, eliminate the identified defects in accordance with this act and make changes in the drawings for the serial construction of the I-185 with the M-71.

Chief Engineer of the Red Army Air Force A. K. Repin approved this act the next day. Preparations for production began in Moscow, at plant # 81.

In turn, the leadership of the Air Force Research Institute turned to Stalin with a request to accelerate the mass construction of an aircraft that in 1943 could correspond to the performance characteristics of German aircraft, and ideally surpass them. Experts from the Air Force Research Institute were talking about an all-metal fighter, the speed of which at the ground would be 550-560 km / h, and at an estimated altitude of 6-7 thousand meters - 680-700 km / h.

Everything seemed to match. The drawings are ready, the plant is approved, the recommendations are from wherever you can eat. All that remains is to work on starting serial production as soon as possible, but …

But Polikarpov, as if feeling that everything is very bad, writes letters to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and Stalin, in which he speaks of three years of hard work on a very promising aircraft, which has already passed three series of state tests and has great potential for further improvement …

Polikarpov was right. And the final decision on the adoption of the I-185 was not followed.

Here you can cite many quotes from the book, which is the main evidence in favor of Polikarpov. This is the same "Purpose of Life" by Alexander Yakovlev. I will not cite, I will not reproach, it is enough that this book contains a LOT of lies. Suffice it to say that in it Yakovlev admits that he simply deceived Stalin when the question of the I-185 came up. And given that the issue was being sorted out by people who knew absolutely nothing (except for the interested Yakovlev) in aviation.

And the I-185 issue was postponed.

Polikarpov fought. He wrote explanatory notes and reports, insisted on the usefulness of his car, but everything was useless. The plane was shot down on takeoff. Moreover, they brought down their own.

The reason was "excessive wing loading". At the beginning of 1942, TsAGI gave birth to a "scientific" work, starting mainly from the data of the Bf-109F-2 and He-100 aircraft, on the basis of which the wing loading threshold was set not higher than 180-185 kg / m2.

Needless to say that the only aircraft that did not fit into this standard was the I-185?

Of course, the question arises: who needed such "special work of TsAGI" in the middle of 1942, if the I-185, Bf-109G-2, FW.190, R-47 "Thunderbolt" and a bunch of lesser-known aircraft?

Moreover, TsAGI for some reason decided to measure the wing load without taking into account the engine power … In general - “order” as it is.

The I-185 was "ordered" to be produced by other aircraft of other designers. However, it is worth looking into the numbers. The Yak-7 with a load of 177 kg / m2 had a vertical speed at the ground of 16.5 m / s, and the I-185 M-71 with a load of 235 kg / m2 - 20 m / s. And the altitude of 5000 meters Yak-7 gained in 5, 3 minutes, and I-185 - 4, 7 minutes.

Questions? Only to Yakovlev.

Unfortunately, in 1943, if there was an aircraft capable of withstanding the Bf-109G-2 and the FW-190, there was only one: the I-185. A pretty confident statement like that, but true.

For a very long time we were regaled with information about how calmly Yakovlev's light fighters coped with the "overweight" Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs.

Why then did our main air brawler Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin not want to change to the Yak? And during the whole war he was not kicked out of the cockpit of the Airacobra?

By the way, very interesting statistics. If you take the "Top 30" Soviet aces, you get a very interesting picture. If you group the pilots by aircraft, you get the following picture:

LaGG-3, La-5, La-7 - 10 people.

R-39 "Airacobra" - 7 people.

Yak of all models - 7 people.

And 6 more people flew a large number of models, so you can't tell right away on which plane they made the most victories and sorties.

Considering how many "La" were produced and how many "Yak" - the question is clear, as it were. And the answer is not in favor of Yakovlev.

Already the winter of 1942 at Stalingrad showed the full advantage of the Bf-1096-2 over all Yakovlev fighters (Yak-1, Yak-7, Yak-9) in terms of speed, rate of climb and armament. Even the La-5, which was first used there, had superiority in speed at the afterburner only near the ground, and already at an altitude of 3-4 km lagged behind by 15-30 km / h, and by 60 km / h - by 6000 m.

But the I-185 with the M-71 surpassed the Bf-109G-2 at the ground by 75-95 km / h, at an altitude of 3-5 km - by 65-70 km / h, at 6000 m - by 55 km / h, and only at the heights of 7, 5 - 8 km the advantage in speed passed to the Messerschmitt. But on our fronts, no one fought at such a height.

I personally do not understand very well how on a Yak-9 with a cannon and a machine gun it was possible to fight on a par with the 190 Focke-Wulf. But I didn’t fight then, I’m forgiven.

In general, of course, it is very insulting for how many people were engaged during the war with outright foolishness. Inventing justifications why our aircraft are much better than the German ones, and then they began to explain our losses. Moreover, they did it rather stupidly. Either the bomb racks on the fighters are to blame, or the gasoline is incorrectly poured into the tanks …

The engine… Yes, with the engines we have always been bad. No engine, no plant … Serious problems, I agree. But solvable. Polikarpov worked with THREE engines at once. Truly, the King of Fighters, who loved his country so much that he did everything possible for it. And the impossible. Mostly impossible.

But beating our own people has always been something of a national pastime.

The lack of an engine is a very good reason. If with at least one of the engines the I-185 could record its performance characteristics, then there would be fewer claims to Polikarpov. One side.

On the other hand, he would have been hit in the back anyway.

If the I-185 went into production and began to beat the very Bf-109Gs that the aces could handle with imported equipment, then there would be no special need for La-5. La-5 was weaker than I-185.

And Yakovlev … Here the Deputy People's Commissar would have had a very difficult time. The I-185 is not Yak-1, Yak-7, Yak-9, or even Yak-3.

The losses of Yakovlev's frankly weak fighters would have been less, because Polikarpov's fighters would have been produced instead. And there would be fewer Jacob.

This is normal, the strongest survives in a fight. Therefore, it turns out that Polikarpov and Shvetsov were interested in the serial production of the I-185 …

But what about Yakovlev? But what about more than 30 thousand fighters? Yes, here the question arises, where are they all. Serious threat.

When, at the beginning of 1942, both versions of the I-185 passed state tests, a real threat hung over Yakovlev's aircraft. After all, both I-185s showed very good data, better than those of the Yaks. Moreover, it was significant, since neither the Yak-1, nor the Yak-7, nor the LaGG-3 can compete with the Bf-109F (I don't even want to talk about G), and many factories are just settling in a new place …

And the motor was. Yes, the M-82 is not as cool as the M-71, but as practice has shown, it was a Motor with a capital letter. Subsequently. But the Slayer King could see it.

And at Yakovlev, the Yak-7 began to fly with the M-82. Crappy, not like the I-185, but I started. And the armament is weaker, but this is the "trick" of all Yakovlev's fighters.

And the MiG-3 is still out of production. And LaGG-3 was removed. And the only one who can prevent the coronation of Yakovlev is the real King of Fighters Nikolai Polikarpov. Yes, there Lavochkin is trying to make something out of his LaGG, but these are trifles.

And, by the way, the withdrawal from production of the LaGG-3, which I do not consider a bad plane, the withdrawal of Lavochkin from the Gorky and Novosibirsk factories, the link to Tbilisi … Luxurious merit of Deputy People's Commissar Yakovlev in helping the designer Lavochkin. Let Semyon Alekseevich secretly create something there, then we will deal with him.

But Lavochkin is a trifle. The main thing is to defeat Polikarpov. But here the Party intervenes. The party is really with a capital letter, which wishes victory to the whole country, and not to Yakovlev.

And on May 6, 1942, on the day of the completion of La-5 tests, Yakovlev wrote to Shakhurin: data: Vmax0 force. = 556 km / h, V6170 = 630 km / h, t5000 = 5.2 minutes, and in terms of fire power it surpasses all enemy fighters, including such as the Xe-113 and FV-190. In view of this, I consider it necessary to immediately launch the military series of the I-185 fighter at plant No. 31 in Tbilisi.

Agree, both vile and shameful.

A beautiful justifying piece of paper, Deputy People's Commissar Yakovlev did not help the designer Lavochkin, because he seemed to be betting on the I-185 with the M-71.

One could take the risk and believe Yakovlev if he wrote this immediately after the end of the I-185 tests. Not in a month. During such a war, thinking for almost 40 days is both shameful and despicable.

And so the M-82 was actually taken away from Polikarpov, because he went to La-5. Because those who think that Polikarpov was mistaken, betting on the M-71, no, dear, you are mistaken. It's just that all the M-82s went to La-5. And for the I-185, only the M-71 remained.

But the factories were also bad. With factories in general there was a leapfrog.

At the end of 1941, at plant number 1 in Moscow, the production of the MiG-3 was stopped and the Il-2 was introduced.

At plant No. 153 in Novosibirsk, the Yak-7 was launched instead of LaGG-3.

In 1942, the Omsk plant No. 166 was transferred to the Yak-9 instead of the Tu-2 bomber.

The Yak-7 is being introduced at the Moscow plant # 82.

Factory # 21 managed to remove LaGG-Z, introduce Yak-7, build 5 serial Yaks, and then replay everything and start production of La-5.

At the end of 1943, at plant number 31, instead of LaGG-3, they began to introduce La-5FN, but, having built 5 units. La-5FN, the plant switched to Yak-3 in 1944 …

From the above, it is easy to see that no one particularly thought about "maintaining established production" when it came to the Yak fighters, even such mediocre ones as the Yak-7. It's good to be deputy commissar, isn't it?

I don't want to bash Yakovlev and everyone who helped him. All of them are gone, and I don't see much sense in this.

But I see how our pilots went out against the good fighters of the Germans on airplanes that clearly did not meet the requirements of our time. Even La-7, which is the maximum for its design.

Meanwhile, the I-185 was made earlier and showed its performance characteristics on more unfinished engines.

Sometimes you can hear the following phrase: “We did without the I-185”. We did it. Yes, we did without much in that terrible war: without the elementary readiness of the top leadership of the army and the country for defense, without repressed military leaders. We have done without a lot. And you know what paid for it. Blood.

Forgive me, every such ambition, whether Yakovleva or Petrova, was paid for in blood and did not bring Victory any closer. On the contrary, she alienated her.

Failures with the I-180 and I-185 undermined the health of Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov and he left us at the age of only 52. July 30, 1944. Cancer.

After his death, work on ALL of his projects was discontinued.

At the very beginning, I apologized that the article would not be devoted to the plane, but to the Constructor. To the king of fighters Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov. To the great disciple of the great Igor Sikorsky. His struggle for a bright future for the country, which he adored and idolized. And for which he did everything in his power.

The I-185 fighter was the last completed work of Nikolai Nikolaevich.

And this work was great, like everything that the King of Fighters did in his work. Undercover intrigues did not break him, the King simply died. Long live the King and thank him for what he did for this country.

That is, for us.

And the last thing. For all the time, not a single designer from the "young cohort" could come close to the indicators that the I-185 had. One can argue for a long time about how the war in the air would have developed if, instead of Yakovlev's fighters, the Germans would have been met by Polikarpov's fighters. But all this will already be from the field of alternative fiction.

But the fact remains that even the over-praised Yak-3, which appeared in 1944, did not reach the aircraft created five years earlier in terms of flight characteristics. Yes, the Yak-3 was fast and maneuverable. But this was paid for with weapons (initially one ShVAK and one UB) and flight range.

We were generously stuffed with nonsense such as that the lighter the plane, the more opportunities it has in battle. Let me remind you that the P-47 Thunderbolt is the most efficient fighter in the US Air Force, weighed under 6 tons. That did not prevent him from ripping off the wings of everything that rose into the air. It’s not just about the masses.

Of course, when it was unrealistic to squeeze more than 1100 hp out of the Klimov engines, which were installed on Yakovlev's fighters, then what are we talking about? That the Bf.109G was 300-400 kg heavier than the Yak-7, but had an advantage of 70 hp?

Or about where more than 30,000 Yakovlev's fighters were launched into the sky?

We could have a decent answer to all German technology. The king among fighters, created by the mind of the King of fighters Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov. But intrigues and other ugly phenomena of that time did not let him take off. And all that remains for us is the memory of the great man, which just needs to be carefully preserved.