I-153 M-62 (China)

␗I-153 M-62

␗I-16 type 5

␗I-153 M-62

␗I-16 type 5

China

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.0	2.3	2.0

Class:

Fighter

Research:4 000

Purchase:2 100

Description

The ␗I-153 M-62 is a rank I Chinese fighter with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB/SB) and 2.3 (RB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".

General info

Flight performance

The Chinese I-153 M-62 Chaika has a really good turn radius thanks to retractable landing gear, that increases aerodynamics. This plane's battle rating makes it a match against early BF 109's and other single wing fighters. This allows the I-52 M-62 to out-turn planes at its battle rating. The plane does not come without its downsides, for example other planes at this battle rating can go faster than this plane, which you might have a difficult time keeping up with other fighters.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 4,850 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	425	410	10700	13.8	14.4	11.4	11.4	274
Upgraded	466	444		13.0	13.3	20.1	15.2

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	X	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
580	450	N/A	~12	~6

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 180	< 240	< 380	> 250

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,530 m	840 hp	1,024 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,200 m	800 hp	975 hp

Survivability and armour

The Chaika is a biplane, so don't expect much in the way of survivability. It can withstand a few shots from 7 mm MGs, but guns like the American .50 cal will shred it to pieces, and cannons will decimate it. However, it can be flown (to some extent) with parts of the wings missing, which can be helpful with getting back to the base. Your greatest 'protection' is your maneuverability, so use it when you can!

The only armour on the aircraft is a 8mm steel plate behind the pilot. While it can stop rifle calibre MG over 400m, its effectiveness remains limited against targets at closer range or armed with heavier armament.

• 8 mm steel: behind pilot

Armaments

Offensive armament

The I-153 M-62 (China) is armed with:

• 4 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns, nose-mounted (700 + 750 + 520 + 500 = 2,470 total)

Suspended armament

The I-153 M-62 (China) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 4 x 50 kg FAB-50 bombs (200 kg total)
• 8 x RS-82 rockets
• 8 x RBS-82 rockets

Usage in battles

Simulator:

The I-153 can be used in turn fighting, bomber intercepting and ground-pounding. Like in AB and RB, it is excellent in turning tightly and continuously, and it has lovely low-speed handling and low stall speeds (unlike its successor I-16), making it a great starter plane for simulator battles. However it does have its drawbacks: the rather big nose blocks the visibility a lot, offering very poor over-the-nose visibility which is a disadvantage in a turn fight, because when leading a shot the enemy will always get obstructed by the engine, making the player guess the shot. Also, its upper wings will get in the way when you look aside.

Note: it is recommended to set the convergence within 300m, with vertical convergence on, because the majority of turn fights happen at that range or closer.

Before engaging a fight, it is better to have an altitude advantage first. When approaching the fight try to figure out which is your teammate and which is the enemy, to avoid going for a second pass, as the energy retention of the I-153 is rather slow. Also, pick your target carefully. For easier aiming, you want to go for those less-manoeuvrable twin-engine aircraft like Ju 88 or Ki-45, or bombers if there are any. Given the bad forward visibility of the I-153, these are the best options as they are quite slow and sluggish, and are a bigger target to hit. However getting hits on them doesn't mean good damage, so you must be patient. When dealing with fighters, it is way harder to aim. The elevator control of the I-153 is extremely sensitive, giving it good manoeuvrability, but at the same time, bad handling. The I-153 will respond in a very fast turn upon moving your stick/mouse by a little bit, which makes tracking nimble planes quite hard. But once you get used to it, try to lure every enemy into a turn fight, as that is where the I-153 shines. Quite a bit of bullets are required to effectively damage the enemy so you must be patient. If you find an enemy at your 6, utilise your great roll rate to do defensive manoeuvres like scissors to make them overshoot. Or you can simply do tight turns, most monoplanes won't be able to cut inside your turn and they might disengage.

If you are not very experienced in simulator battles, you can also go for even bigger targets (bombers) for easier aiming. However, you want to be more careful when hunting bombers, since with the Sim control (whether it be mouse joystick or a real stick) the plane will manoeuvre much more gently, making itself a great target for the bomber's gunners. DO NOT follow behind a bomber's 6 unless you are sure that its tail gunners are unconscious. Chasing behind a bomber makes yourself stationary for the tail gunners, and you will be showered with bullets. Your big radial engine will usually get damaged. Instead, before attacking, get an altitude advantage over the bomber by flying around 2 km above it. The bomber should only fill up about 1/6 of your gunsight. The best position for an attack is at the bomber's high 6 so you can adjust the lead much easier. Dive at the bomber, but not directly at it, try to predict where you two will crash by imagining yourself like a missile, that's where you should aim at (deflection shooting). To maximise the damage it is better to aim for their wings and engines, as the fuselage usually soaks up quite some bullets. Only fire when the bomber passes in front of your guns. This short window might seem inadequate to do anything, but with an accurate burst on the engine, the 4 MG can at least damage it. With an engine damaged most bombers cannot go far.

Ground pounding ability is average as there is only light bombs and rockets. The 8 rockets, with accurate aiming, can destroy 4 targets, whether them be tanks or pillboxes. The small 50kg bombs can be used on light pillboxes. Once the suspended armaments are gone, the 4 MG are good for killing soft targets like trucks, artillery and AA cars.

Enemies worth noting:

Ki-27, N1K1, He 51, Gladiator, etc;

Those commonly seen planes are equally good at turn fights and will be a hard target to down since they are very small and agile. To deal with them you need to practice leading and deflection shots, plus maneuvers like barrel rolls and scissors. They still need plenty of bullets to get damaged, so these kind of targets are the hardest to kill and requires great skills from the player.

Do 17 Z:

This early twin-engine plane always shows up as an AI-controlled recon aircraft that you have to down, which is a piece of good news as AI won't manoeuvre aggressively. However, this plane is extremely durable for the I-153's weak MGs. When it shows up as an AI, deflection shots are not recommended as the small shooting windows really does nothing. Instead, try disabling its 2 gunners first, then just sit behind it and burst on its wings and engines. When attacking the gunners try to not get your engine damaged by pulling evasive manoeuvres as soon as the bullets come close, since the Do 17 can outrun the I-153 in a level flight.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm	DZ-40
II		Compressor	Airframe		RO-82
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 7 mm MGs
IV		Engine injection	Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fast climb rate
• Excellent manoeuvrability (Will out-turn any enemy aircraft it encounters)
• Extremely difficult to target while it is making manoeuvres
• The above point can make it hard to use boom and zoom tactics against this plane (if you see it coming)
• Great at destroying bombers with a hail of rockets and machine-gun fire
• Option to be equipped with rockets that can pierce up to 60mm of armour (Can destroy most enemy tanks in ground RB at the rank)
• Very low stall speed
• 4 x rapid firing ShKAS machine guns with large ammo reserves
• Deadly with tracer belts
• The ability to retract landing gear reduces parasitic drag, improving your energy retention
• Favourable matchmaking allows it to fight earlier monoplanes and worse biplanes
• Small target
• Excellent for learning/performing highly advanced aerobatic maneuvers

Cons:

• Low speed compared to monoplanes
• Frail airframe, can be destroyed or crippled with a few well placed hits
• Loses a lot of performance if the engine is hit
• A single machine gun round to the engine is capable of knocking it out
• ShKAS machine guns prone to overheating
• Defensive armaments of bombers can easily wreck this aircraft's engine
• Vulnerable to boom and zoom, especially when climbing
• Not suited to head on attacks
• No self-sealing tanks

History

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Media

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See also

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• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
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