Zhukovsky's I-153-M62

This page is about the Soviet fighter Zhukovsky's I-153-M62. For other versions, see I-153 (Family).

Zhukovsky's I-153-M62

360://https://old-wiki.warthunder.com/images/9/99/Cockpit_i-153_m62_zhukovskiy.jpg

Zhukovsky's I-153-M62

USSR

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.0	2.3	2.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:400

STORE

Description

Zhukovsky's I-153-M62 is a premium rank I Soviet biplane fighter with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB/SB) and 2.3 (RB). It was introduced in Update 1.31.

The plane is painted after the camouflage scheme of Soviet pilot Sergey Y. Zhukovsky in the 127th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Soviet Air Forces. The Chaika is nicknamed the Death Ray because of the 4 nose mounted 7.62 machine guns.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 4 850 m444 km/h

Turn time13 s

Max altitude10 700 m

EngineShvetsov M-62

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight2 t

The I-153-M62 handles like a dream, outperforming most fighters at its BR. It accelerates fast and has a good max speed. The Chaika possesses a good turn radius, good climb rate and good acceleration at low altitudes. To fly this plane, you should climb to medium altitudes after taking off (2,000 - 3,000 m) then accelerate to prepare for hot pursuit against enemy fighters and bombers. The plane's massive flaws are its low top speed for its BR and weak airframe.

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	421	409	10700	14.1	14.4	11.3	11.3	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
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
580	450	N/A	N/A	N/A	~12	~6

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

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural580 km/h

Gear450 km/h

• 8 mm Steel plate behind the pilot.
• No armour glazing, open cockpit
• Critical components located at front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB556

RB276

SB306

Crew training450

Experts3 000

Aces45

Research Aces220 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 20 / 30 / 60 %

2 × 100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Radiator Compressor Wings repair Engine Engine injection	Airframe Cover	shkas_belt_pack DZ-40 RO-82 shkas_new_gun

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 14 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun

Ammunition2 470 rounds

Fire rate1 800 shots/min

Zhukovsky's I-153-M62 is armed with:

• 4 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun, nose mounted (750 + 520 + 500 + 700 (clockwise from top-right) = 2,470 total)

Suspended armament

List of setups (3)

Setup 12 x 50 kg FAB-50sv (forged) bomb

Setup 28 x ROS-82 rockets

Setup 38 x RBS-82 rockets

Zhukovsky's I-153-M62 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 50 kg FAB-50sv bombs (100 kg total)
• 8 x ROS-82 rockets
• 8 x RBS-82 rockets

Usage in battles

As described earlier, climbing at an aggressive rate during the beginning of the game is extremely beneficial. Once at bomber altitude, building up speed is a must as the biplane bleeds speed in high altitude turns. However, once this is achieved, the plane has free reign overruling the sky. Play mainly as an interceptor and air-defence fighter and watch as the enemy plummets towards the ground.

Anything with .50 cals will usually knock your engine out almost immediately. Also, tracer belts easily light this on fire, and the burning is usually fatal. As a result, turn-fighting to keep yourself out of enemy guns is advisable.

Many aircraft will attempt to Boom & Zoom you if you remain at low altitudes. Should this happen, engage as though you were going to head-on and break off at the last moment. By swinging around, you'll be able to catch them as they pull up and destroy them.

Realistic Battles: Start out by climbing to ~2,000 m and then gaining airspeed. You then react to the most immanent/dangerous threats, either diving on lower flying planes or attackers, or going a bit higher up to get a bomber kill, or in general, luring people into turnfights.

Mixed Battles/CAS: Surprisingly, this small biplane is quite deadly as a CAS aircraft. It can carry 4 x 50 kg bombs, which can still be relatively effective at the battle rating, or the lethal RBS-82 rockets, 4 on each wing. These effectively function as APHE, as they deal little to no damage if a direct hit does not occur. If it does, however, it will instantly destroy the tank with a single hit. Therefore, if you are comfortable with your aim, you can destroy up to 4 targets per sortie, and a few more with some strafing. Due to its low stall speed and incredible manoeuvrability, the I-153 can easily be pulled out of a dive at very low altitude. SPAA are a considerable threat however, as the Chaika isn't exactly a hard target to hit if the pilot is unaware of their surroundings. The biggest threats are the M16 MGMC and Flakpanzer 38 due to their high rate of fire. The P.7.T AA is also a rare, yet deadly occurrence.

Simulator:

The I-153 can be used in turnfighting, 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 sim. 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 300 m, with vertical convergence on, because the majority of turnfights 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 unmanoeuvrable 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 turnfight, 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 sim, 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 as 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 a 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 50 kg 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 turnfights 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 manoeuvres 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-2 - This early twin engine plane always shows up as an AI controlled recon aircraft that you have to down, which is a 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.

He 111 H-6 - This bomber is not only quite durable, but also pretty fast. In level flight it can outrun the I-153 rather easily. Avoid being on its 6 as it will have at least 2 x 7.92 mm MG facing its tail, and their rapid rate of fire and good penetration is a big threat. Either go for a head-on or use deflection shooting and aim for its engines. If you cannot keep up with it, disengage. If it flies way higher than you, change your target.

Sunderland Mk IIIa - This flying boat is like a low-tier Be-6. Its huge fuselage is very spacious and can absorb lots of bullets and shells. It also has lethal defensive firepower: two 7.7 mm in the nose, four forward-facing, two on the top and four at the tail, so attacking from behind, in front or above aren't the best options. Dive under it and suddenly pull up to shoot its defenceless underpart. Aim at the large wings and engines, avoid shooting the fuselage.

He 100, Bf 109 E / F, A6M2 - These planes might not be able to out-turn the I-153, but they can easily outrun it as the I-153 is slower. These fighters will usually BnZ you, so you must constantly look above and behind you. If they are diving on you, do what you do in realistic: use your roll rate and dodge under their negative G areas. Most players will try to follow up, if not immediately losing track of you. Several dodges might make them impatient and if they really start to turn with you, they are already dead.

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

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent flight performance
  • Incredible turn radius
  • Great climb rate
  • Incredibly responsive controls, roll rate is very good
• Fast for a biplane
• Great offensive capabilities
  • 4 x rapid-firing ShKAS machine guns with large ammo reserves and deadly incendiary tracer belts
  • Can carry rockets to deal with ground targets

Cons:

• Low top speed
• Little protection, especially from the front
  • A single machine gun round to the engine is capable of knocking it out
• ShKAS machine guns prone to overheating

History

Archive of the in-game description

The Polikarpov I-153 "Chaika" ("Seagull") was an advanced version of the I-15 fighter developed in 1932 (thus its designation, meaning "I-15 Third Model"). The first aircraft of this type took off in August 1938, but it was only a year later that it was launched into full-scale production. The prototype served as "Black 69" with the 127th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Western Military District. This aircraft was piloted by Sergey Yakovlevich Zhukovsky, a Soviet ace who scored 13 planes destroyed and 15 shared destroyed. By the start of the war, Zhukovsky was a Junior Lieutenant and a Flight Commander with the 127th Fighter Aviation Regiment at Grodno. On June 22, 1941, he took part in nine air duels and shot down five enemy aircraft (three of them while piloting "Black 69"), and on June 29, he scored three more victories. He flew a total of over 500 sorties during the years of the war. Sergey Yakovlevich Zhukovsky was awarded with the Order of Lenin, six Orders of the Red Banner of Labour, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class, two Orders of the Red Star, and sixteen medals. He retired from the Soviet Air Force as a Colonel General of Aviation.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Zhukovsky's I-153-M62 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #162 - Pages of History section at 04:44 discusses the I-153.

See also

Related development

• I-153 M-62
• I-153 M-62 (China)
• I-153P

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.