I-Z

From OnAirpower.org

I-Z

Designation:	I-Z
Also Known As:	Zed
Manufacturer:	Grigorovich
Nationality:	Soviet
First Flight:	1931
Remarks:	Heavily armed but poor performing Soviet fighter plane produced in small numbers during the mid-1930s

[edit] Notes

The I-Z was an attempt by the Soviets to create a cannon-armed fighter aircraft, designed by Grigorovich. It was a low-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear, based on the same forward fuselage and cockpit of the I-5 fighter. It was armed with twin APK-4 (76.2mm^[1]) cannons and a single PV-1 (7.62mm) gun. The unusually heavy armaments added considerable weight to the plane: the twin APK-4 cannon weighed in at almost 150kg total plus another 55kg for fourteen rounds of ammo (450 pounds total), making up 12% of the aircraft's overall weight (1650kg). Compared with the I-5, the I-Z was slower, had a worse rate of climb, and was less maneuverable with only a 310km range. Additionally, during testing the aircraft's cannons were found to require factory repair after firing 300-500 rounds. Two prototypes of the aircraft were built in 1931-32, and series production began in 1933. Roughly 70 of the I-Z were produced between 1933-35^[2], making it more of an experimental design than an actual operational fighter^[3].