In many ways it seems inevitable that the IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles series would return to the I-153 biplane. The aircraft had a cult following with original IL-2 Sturmovik fans and early in the Battle of Stalingrad’s development a short documentary even featured the fighter and chatted with a modern pilot flying one of the restored models. It took another twelve years to realize this moment but here we are with the early access release of Odessa and Leningrad – Siege and Liberation and the availability of the I-153. How does it fly? How does it survive in a monoplane dominated WWII air battle? Let’s review!

A bit of history

The I-153 derives from a lengthy history through the annals of Soviet aircraft design. The design traces lineage back to the I-5 biplane fighter. That project, developed by designer Nikolai Polikarpov, was developed together with an alternate I-6 project starting in 1928. The project development was slow and Polikarpov was arrested in 1929 and accused of “industrial sabotage.” The prison sentence was slowly reduced and then he was later released under orders to develop aircraft again. The resulting I-5 became a mainstay of the early 1930 Soviet air force.

After the I-5, design refinements lead to the I-16 monoplane design and the I-15 biplane (technically its a sesquiplane with smaller wings on the bottom but biplane is still an accurate description). These two aircraft were following Soviet fighter doctrine at the time which suggested that two types of aircraft would work in tandem with less agile monoplane fighters engaging the enemy and tying them up while more agile biplanes would out turn them and finish the job. The concept drove fighter production for years though the realities of combat would quickly dispose of the idea.

The I-15 initially employed a gull-wing design with the top wing dropping down into the fuselage where the pilot sat allowing for excellent forward visibility in the upper hemisphere. The design was then changed to a conventional biplane design for the I-15bis before then being changed back to the gull-wing, albeit with a different airfoil, for the I-153.

The I-153 was developed using the lessons learned with both I-15 and I-15bis during the Spanish Civil War and were a response to the Italian-made CR.32 biplanes success in that conflict. A more powerful engine, faster firing machine guns, better aerodynamics and retractable landing gear made it one of the most advanced biplane fighters ever developed.

It didn’t get a chance to fight in the war it was made for but, like many defense projects, soldiered on into conflicts that had clearly passed it by. It first saw combat in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in 1939, where it saw some success against Japanese Army aviation, before then being flung against the Bf109, He112, IAR 80, and other early WWII monoplanes at the outbreak of war on the Eastern Front. Because of their huge numbers and versatility, I-153s were still being flown in combat scenarios into 1942 and in some reports suggest even into 1943.

Visuals and sounds

The I-153 has been created by third party modeler and developer who appears to have done a fantastic job of visually representing the airplane. While IL-2 Great Battles visual graphics are starting to fall behind technologically compared to its closest competitors, it manages to stay good looking through great art design and that really shines here with this aircraft.

The cockpit is extremely well done with sharp texture work and readable instruments despite their relatively small size. There’s also really strong animation work with many of the rods, cables and wires for various controls visible within the cockpit.

The exterior is similarly well done. There are clear differences in the reflections from the metal and fabric components of the airplane and the metal has an appropriate level of deformation in the reflection to look the part.

The aircraft has all of the usual features these days. Good damage effects and decals, tactical code displays, and it comes with a solid selection of 9 liveries including generic ones suitable for different time periods as well as a few unique options. My only complaint? I’d love to see a few more liveries including at least one representing the Finnish Air Force’s collection of captured and repaired I-153s used in combat against the Soviet Union – we are getting a Finnish map after all!

Sounds are standard affair for the Great Battles Series with nothing particularly special about the I-153. Relative to the rest of the series, its up to par.

Flying the I-153

One of the things I remember fondly about the I-153 in the old IL-2 Sturmovik sim was just how fun the airplane was to fly around. That fun factor has translated well into this generation of combat flight sim.

The I-153 can do turns at an incredible rate and is able to out turn just about anything I put it against. It has power and turn rate that WWI types could only dream of and that translates into one hot little biplane fighter. Roll, elevator and rudder response are generally quite good within the aircraft’s preferred range of speed between about 200 and 350 km/h. Anything above or below that and the aircraft respond more and more sluggishly.

Within the sweet spot, however, it has extremely sharp and precise response that is more aerobatic feeling than anything else. It’s very enjoyable to just chuck around the sky!

There is a certain twitchy feeling to it that didn’t really bother me in fighter versus fighter combat but I found sometimes challenging when trying to precisely aim at ground targets. This is perhaps more on the rudder than anything else and while I found types like the IL-2 to be more dampened, this one responds to even a light touch. Some custom profiles might help or just a little more familiarity with the plane.

Takeoff comes quickly and quick rudder work is sometimes needed to make sure it doesn’t veer off in a direction you don’t want it to. It’s not all that misbehaved but it is a short and stubby airplane so it has its moments before the controls take full effect. The same is true on landing and I found myself working to contain it from bouncing up into the air again. A little familiarity helps sort that out.

Fighting in the I-153

Fighting in a biplane in a monoplane world is fun from a sim perspective but it is immediately clear that you’re fighting in an aircraft type that has long since passed its best before date. In Great Battles you’ll be up against the Bf109E and F series as well as the IAR80 and the MC.202 on rarer occasions. In the category of speed, the I-153 is completely outclassed. It does, however, manage to find a fighting chance in some of its other attributes.

Climb is a notable strong point for the I-153 with its 16.1 m/s climb rate at sea level besting the Bf109E-7 and IAR80 while being only just narrowly defeated by the MC.202 and Bf109F-2. Its close enough that a well flown I-153 might be able to evade and climb to regain energy advantage.

No roll rate comparison data is available within the IL-2 specification sheets but I can report that aside from the I-16 and maybe the FW190, the I-153 is a fast and sharp aircraft in the roll.

It, of course, obliterates the competition when it comes to turn with a reported sea level maximum performance turn coming in at 11.9 seconds. That’s six seconds faster compared to the next closest comparison – the IAR80. This is the benefit of that biplane configuration.

The I-153 does best when its able to force its opponent to turn and deplete energy while the biplane fighter closes in for a shot. It does, however, suffer too from weak armament in its default configuration. Four ShKAS machine guns concentrated in the nose are slightly better than the IAR80’s standard four FN light machine gun configuration mounted on the wings but only marginally. Get close and go for shots to fuel tanks and engines and hope to cause a fire or critical control damage for best effect.

Optionally, two of the ShKAS guns can be swapped out for a single 12.7mm UB which is far more effective though the ammo supply is quite a bit less.

The developers specifically mentioned that they looked into the I-153 variant with two ShVAK 20mm cannons. Eight were reportedly produced, a few may have seen some combat, but it wasn’t a typical configuration. I do wish they had found more documentation on that setup because that version was always quite a bit of fun and a nasty surprise to opponents in the old IL-2 Forgotten Battles dogfight servers. Alas, it is not to be in this instance.

When flying it as a fighter becomes less tenable, the I-153 has a good fallback as a fighter-bomber. It can carry eight ROS-82 rockets, up to four FAB-50 bombs, two FAB-100 bombs, or even a combo with eight ROS-82 rockets and two FAB 50 bombs. Even in 1943 battles, this kind of firepower is just enough to be useful versus ground targets and agile enough after to be able to evade fighter attacks.

The only modification I haven’t mentioned yet is the M63 engine which adds 10 km/h to the top speed and grants a slight boost in climb up to 1.5 m/s. This engine does not have provisions for the extra UB machine gun so there are trade-offs for choosing it.

Finally, I want to mention how the airplane responds to damage. The I-153 fuselage is fairly large and seems to be able to deal with light machine gun damage reasonably well. Cannons, however, cause devastating damage and the pilot has little protection from their explosive effects. The same situation exists with ground fire with the ability to shrug off at least some light machine gun fire but anything heavier will ruin your day quickly.

Performance comparison

Bf109E-7

Speed

• Maximum true air speed at sea level, engine mode – Emergency: 477 km/h
• Maximum true air speed at 2000 m, engine mode – Emergency: 520 km/h
• Maximum true air speed at 5000 m, engine mode – Emergency: 564 km/h

Climb

• Climb rate at sea level: 14 m/s
• Climb rate at 3000 m: 13.3 m/s
• Climb rate at 6000 m: 7 m/s

Turn

• Maximum performance turn at sea level: 20.5 s, at 270 km/h IAS.
• Maximum performance turn at 3000 m: 25.5 s, at 270 km/h IAS.

IAR80

Speed

• Maximum true air speed at sea level, engine mode – nominal: 433 km/h
• Maximum true air speed at sea level, engine mode – emergency: 450 km/h
• Maximum true air speed at 4700, engine mode – nominal m: 511 km/h
• Maximum true air speed at 3800 m, engine mode – emergency: 514 km/h

Climb

• Climb rate at sea level: 14,1 m/s
• Climb rate at 3000 m: 13,6 m/s
• Climb rate at 6000 m: 9,7 m/s

Turn

• Maximum performance turn at sea level: 17.8 s, at 300 km/h IAS.

MC.202

Speed

• Maximum true air speed at sea level, engine mode – Combat: 500 km/h
• Maximum true air speed at 2000 m, engine mode – Combat: 543 km/h
• Maximum true air speed at 5000 m, engine mode – Combat: 604 km/h

Climb

• Climb rate at sea level: 17.3 m/s
• Climb rate at 3000 m: 15.1 m/s
• Climb rate at 6000 m: 10.6 m/s

Turn

• Maximum performance turn at sea level: 22.6 s, at 270 km/h IAS.
• Maximum performance turn at 3000 m: 28.2 s, at 270 km/h IAS.

I-153

Speed

• Maximum true air speed at sea level, engine mode – Boosted: 409 km/h
• Maximum true air speed at 1530 m, engine mode – Nominal: 411 km/h
• Maximum true air speed at 5000 m, engine mode – Nominal: 440 km/h

Climb

• Climb rate at sea level: 16 m/s
• Climb rate at 3000 m: 13.1 m/s
• Climb rate at 6000 m: 9.7 m/s

Turn

• Maximum performance turn at sea level: 11.9s, at 200 km/h IAS.
• Maximum performance turn at 3000 m: 15.3 s, at 200 km/h IAS.

Where can I fly the I-153?

For many sims, its not enough to just have the airplane. It needs things to do!

The I-153 represents a mixed bag right now with the aircraft available in the quick mission builder and in advanced quick mission battles for Moscow, Stalingrad and Kuban. You can, of course, fly it over any map with the standard free flight, 1v1, and multi-vs-multi aircraft quick mission scenarios including over the new Odessa map (which itself doesn’t yet have AQMB scenarios).

Right now its not represented in any Career mode operations. The Career modes for Odessa and Lenningrad will come with the full release of that product and I’m guessing that it will be added at least to Battle of Moscow if not some of the other careers at some point. It will definitely be implemented according to the devs so its just a matter of time.

I did a quick check online and I don’t yet see it on any multiplayer servers that I checked, however, that’s bound to change soon.

Final thoughts

While this new Great Battles release features a lot of variants of aircraft we already have, I have to say that it was the I-153 that was one of the few that I was really excited about getting. And here it is!

This was an airplane that I though was both inevitable in the early days and then had figured we’d never see. Instead it has managed to duck in under the wire as the series reached its twilight era. Though Great Battles has gone on a little longer than I would have guessed.

This is a well realized, fun to fly, underdog of an airplane to fly in the series and that endears it to me. It also has that short and stubby 1930s look that is so unique in aviation that holds a certain appeal. It doesn’t really have a direct opponent though it, together with the I-16, could credibly do battle on semi-even terms with some of the earlier monoplane fighters.

This one won’t appeal to everyone but I think it will be another cult hit among IL-2 fans and I hope it picks up a scripted campaign or two because I think it’d be really quite fun in those scenarios.

Screenshots