| DI-6/TsKB-11 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Kochyerigin DI-6i | |
| Role | Fighter Type of aircraft |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Manufacturer | Factory No.39 |
| Designer | Sergei Aleksandrovich Kochyerigin |
| First flight | 30 September 1934 |
| Primary user | Soviet Air Force |
| Number built | 222 |
Kochyerigin DI-6 (internal designationTsKB-11;Russian:Кочеригин ДИ-6/ЦКБ-11) was a two-seat fighter biplane produced in the Soviet Union in the 1930s.
The DI-6 was a conventional single-bay biplane of mixed construction with cable-retracted main landing gear. The pilot and the tail gunner sat in tandem cockpits, the pilot's open, and the gunner's partially enclosed. To maximize the gunner'sarc of fire, the rear cockpit was set lower in the fuselage than the pilot's.
The DI-6 was developed atTsKB as a fighter that would also be capable of ground attack when fitted with different armament. Originally intended to use a liquid-cooled V-12 engine, problems with its development led to the choice of theWright R-1820radial engine instead. The first flight took place on 30 September 1934, and testing began in earnest in early 1935, with State Acceptance Trials following between May and November. Despite a number of weaknesses discovered during testing, the type was ordered into production, and deliveries to the Soviet Air Force commenced in the spring of 1937. Problems including excessive vibration, and a poor field of fire for the gunner, were never adequately resolved, and the various fixes implemented to cure these and other problems eventually added around 160 kg (350 lb) to the aircraft's weight. Production continued until 1939.
Pre-GlasnostWestern sources often reported these aircraft as having participated in theBattle of Khalkhin Gol against Japan in 1939, and even in theWinter War againstFinland in 1939–1940, but more recent scholarship has failed to uncover any evidence that it was deployed in either case.[1]
A replica DI-6 is displayed in Victory Park, at theMuseum of the Great Patriotic War inMoscow.
Data fromShavrov 1985[2]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
