VEF I-16
Encyclopedia
The VEF I-16 was a prototype Latvia
n fighter aircraft
designed by Kārlis Irbītis
and produced by VEF
in 1939
. Development was halted by the Soviet occupation
of Latvia and subsequent purge
s of VEF personnel. The only example built was later captured by German forces and tested by the Luftwaffe
.
layout with a supercharged
and air-cooled V-12 engine of Czech
origin, a two-bladed propeller
, a blown canopy, and a low set wing with rounded wingtips. The prototype had fixed undercarriage
with aerodynamic fairings, but production models were to have retractable landing gear. While unarmed, there were provisions for two Browning
machine gun
s in the fuselage, along with the ability to carry one additional gun under each wing.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
designed by Kārlis Irbītis
Karlis Irbitis
Kārlis Irbītis was a Latvian aeroplane designer....
and produced by VEF
VEF
VEF, Latvian acronym for Valsts Elektrotehniskā Fabrika , is a manufacturer of electrical and electronic products in Riga, Latvia. VEF was the biggest Latvian factory in Soviet era and the leading communication technology producer in the Soviet Union...
in 1939
1939 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1939:-Events:* Kawasaki Heavy Industries transfers its aircraft engine production business to its subsidiary, the Kawasaki Aircraft Engineering Company Ltd....
. Development was halted by the Soviet occupation
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
of Latvia and subsequent purge
Purge
In history, religion, and political science, a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, from another organization, or from society as a whole. Purges can be peaceful or violent; many will end with the imprisonment or exile of those purged,...
s of VEF personnel. The only example built was later captured by German forces and tested by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
.
Description
The I-16 was of conventional monoplaneMonoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
layout with a supercharged
Supercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
and air-cooled V-12 engine of Czech
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
origin, a two-bladed propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
, a blown canopy, and a low set wing with rounded wingtips. The prototype had fixed undercarriage
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
with aerodynamic fairings, but production models were to have retractable landing gear. While unarmed, there were provisions for two Browning
John Browning
John Moses Browning , born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world...
machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s in the fuselage, along with the ability to carry one additional gun under each wing.