Spanish Skies

[+ojcar 157]

There were some I-152 (Superchato in Spain)  at the end of war, and maybe some Fokker D.XXI as well, but until I'm know there weren't used in combat by the Republicans.

[Crawford 570]

Steve -

The Soviets developed one of the best small caliber aircraft guns, the ShKAS - used in both fixed and flexible installations.

 

Like, sir, not to be picky but the I-15 fighter (as well as the I-15bis variant) was armed with a less rapid-fire machine guns PV-1 with a fired 750 rounds per minute. Soviet 7,62 mm PV-1 machine-gun was a lighter modification of the Maxim machine-gun. Air cooled.

[+ojcar 157]

Some I-15 were rearmed in Spain with the ShKAS.

[Crawford 570]

There were some I-152 (Superchato in Spain)  at the end of war, and maybe some Fokker D.XXI as well, but until I'm know there weren't used in combat by the Republicans.

You're right. The upper wing in the sea-gull shape applied in I-15 did not satisfy military pilots. Of course, nothing obstructed the upward and forward view of the pilot. Along with this, the view during landing and transverse stability became worse. That is why N. Polikarpov received an order to design a variant equipped with a straight wing - I-15bis (I-152).

Except for the upper wing, the aircraft did not differ from its predecessor thought the maneuverability decreased (turn time comprised 12 seconds instead of eight). However the production was considerably larger: since 1937 until 1939 2,678 airplanes were manufactured. (I-15 was produced in a limited quantity of 385 airplanes. 155 I-15 airplanes which was 40% of all manufactured aircraft, aviated by Soviet pilots-volunteers fought in Spain. Besides, the Spanish republicans produced 287 fighters like that).

According to other sources, in 1938 93 1-15bis airplanes were transited through France to the government of Spain but only 30 were successfully delivered.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Crawford

[+Stephen1918 1,474]

This discussion has gotten lively! That's a good thing because I'm learning a lot.

Crawford, the photos of the I-152 give me a good idea of where the bombs were mounted. I spent some time looking for info about the 8kg bombs it carried.

Does anyone know if the Spanish Republic manufactured their own bombs or did they buy them from the Soviets? I'm trying to figure out what the bombs on the Chato should look like.

One the things the pilots liked least about the Chato was that it was so short and wide that it was impossible to see forward while on the ground. Pilots had to zig-zag when they taxied, but once it the air, it was very maneuverable and relatively fast.

I've armed my I-15 with PV-1s. I think it was more common than the ShKAS, and (importantly) I found several photos of the mounts. I do need to make the models of these things.

[+Geezer 3,569]

Does anyone know if the Spanish Republic manufactured their own bombs or did they buy them from the Soviets? I'm trying to figure out what the bombs on the Chato should look like.

 

The biggest driver of bomb type is the type of bomb rack.  The NATO and Warsaw Pact standardization of bomb racks was the first time that had been done on any scale.  Normally, only specific types of bombs would fit on specific types of racks.  That being the case, the Republicans probably used Soviet, French, British, and possibly Czech bombs.  That, or they adapted bomb racks to fit aircraft they were not intended for.

 

Below is the only thing I can find on Polikarpov fighter bomb racks. 

[+Stephen1918 1,474]

I've been working on the cockpit.

[+Geezer 3,569]

Here's some drawings of 1930s Soviet bombs (courtesy of Crawford).

Edited June 8, 2016 by Geezer

[+Geezer 3,569]

Steve -

 

Your cockpit looks great!  You're adapting to the 1930s very nicely! 

 

I only have a couple of hours a day for modding, so I am making slow but steady progress.  Shot below of the CR32 cockpit.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Geezer

[+Stephen1918 1,474]

I found these (copied and pasted from a larger drawing.) The bottom one looks like the one on the drawing Geezer posted. I'll probably go with that. It looks like there are 3 mounted under each wing.

[+Geezer 3,569]

Found some shots of a preserved Polikarpov R-5 two-seater.  As you can see, different types of bombs required different types of racks.

[Crawford 570]

Crawford, the photos of the I-152 give me a good idea of where the bombs were mounted. I spent some time looking for info about the 8kg bombs it carried.

I'll be extremeley pleased to help you. I believe it will be useful for you to download the book (if you have not done so, of course):

http://www.airwar.ru/other/bibl/i15bis_to1.html

On the pages 99-105 there are some illustrations on your issue.

[+Stephen1918 1,474]

I'll be extremeley pleased to help you. I believe it will be useful for you to download the book (if you have not done so, of course):

http://www.airwar.ru/other/bibl/i15bis_to1.html

On the pages 99-105 there are some illustrations on your issue.

Thanks Crawford! This is an excellent resource for the I-15. The information on bombs came in handy, it looks like the I-15 could carry four different sizes, now I'm trying to determine which kinds were available to the Spanish Republic. I am also using the other info to make changes to the plane. 

[+Geezer 3,569]

The information on bombs came in handy, it looks like the I-15 could carry four different sizes, now I'm trying to determine which kinds were available to the Spanish Republic.

 

Good point.  The Republic had to constantly improvise because of the embargos placed on the belligerents by the League of Nations.  Spain had an industrial base that was capable of manufacturing bombs, so its possible they produced bombs whose lugs and mount points would fit a variety of bomb racks. 

 

There was also a vast amount of improvisation in the field.  Shot below shows how a commercial Fokker airliner was turned into a bomber!

[+Stephen1918 1,474]

The bombs for the Polikarpov I-15 are done. I went with the Soviet AO-25. Normally the I-15 carried up to 25 kilograms on each wing, but we know that they sometimes overloaded it for short runs. I did two loadouts, one with only one bomb per wing, and another with two. I will include the bomb and installation instructions with the plane.

 

Looking through the GunData for FE, I noticed that there are several post WWI machine guns included with the stock game, including the Soviet 7.62MM PV-1. So the guns for the I-15 will be from the stock FE guns. I also noticed a 1928 Fiat-Revelli, and a 1927 Madsen. There may be others...

 

I had a minor computer glitch and lost a couple of days on the cockpit, so I won't be ready to upload until I get the cockpit re-skinned. The plane is done, the LODs are done, the decals and skins are done. I'm still working on the FM and the cockpit.

[+Geezer 3,569]

Got some work done on the Chirri and a hangar.  Shot of Nationalist airfield stuff.

 

[+Geezer 3,569]

Another shot.  Some day, I would like to fool around with game lighting and get more realistic arid climate sunshine.  For greater realism, figures intended for airfields will have higher-poly heads than the normal figures.

 

Edited June 21, 2016 by Geezer

[+Stephen1918 1,474]

Looking good Geezer! The AA gun will come in handy

I like the level of detail you put into the skins.

For the lighting, I think darker shadows would help get the effect you're looking for. Try lowering the AmbientColor at the same time you increase SunColor and SunLightLevel.

Edited June 21, 2016 by Stephen1918

[Nicholas Bell 117]

Another shot.  Some day, I would like to fool around with game lighting and get more realistic arid climate sunshine.

 

Just changing the latitude of the sun in the environmentalsystem.ini will change the lighting quite a bit.  You can further adjust sun brightness and color, sky color etc. 

[+Geezer 3,569]

More SCW stuff.

 

[+Geezer 3,569]

Adjusted the lighting in Max so the shadows were less harsh.  The results look more realistic and will make a good target for tweaking the game settings.

 

 

 

 

[+Coupi 4,380]

Very accurate!

[Silberpfeil 363]

Nicely done - great details in all the models!

[+Stephen1918 1,474]

Yesterday, I uploaded the Polikarpov I-15 for the Spanish Civil War. The Golden Era section in the download area divides aircraft into "Allied" or "Axis", which seems wrong for the 20s and 30s, especially for Spain. I put the Polikarpov in the "Allied" section because it was designed in the Soviet Union and they eventually joined the Allies.

 

http://combatace.com/files/file/16209-spanish-civil-war-polikarpov-i-15/

[Wilches 1,169]

Great model as usual!! I´m starving to see a new He 51 for SCW. Could you take the job Stephen1918? Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!