Sovietwarplanes

Hello everyone,

First, I would like to thank Massimo for his website, and the accurate information it contains.

My name is Cyrille, I am a member of the French   Memorial Flight Association (http://www.memorial-flight.com (http://www.memorial-flight.com)). Our main activity is the restoration of WWI aircrafts for flying. But we have also been doing static restoration of several airplanes on behalf of the Mus?e de l'Air et de l'Espace. Our latest project was the restoration of the Heinkel 162 n?120015.

We have just received the world's unique complete and original Polikarpov I-153. We are willing to restore to the aircraft with its original paint scheme, and to its original condition.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-erAjwhbDdIo/TXf7Mf3Q_-I/AAAAAAAAAms/FkZfwOrqESQ/s1600/I-153_1.jpg)

Our first investigations indicates that the airframe is probably the n?7277. However, some removable parts (cowling, etc) come from other airframes as they bear different hand painted or engraved numbers.
(http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/6250/numberr.jpg)

The aircraft is thought to have been captured by the germans in Ukraine in late 1941. However we do not have further information about that. Then the aircraft was probably part of the Beutepark n?5 of Nanterre (near Paris), and unlike the other aircrafts of the Beutepark, remained intact and was later given to the Mus?e de l'Air et de l'Espace. We have no photos of the I-153 before the 1950s. (The Beutepark contained captured aircrafts, so that pilots and mechanics could study them).
It has always been prestend in an approximate green/light blue paint scheme, with the tail code red 9.

We have been studying the fuselage a bit closer. Most of the fabric is NOT original. It was probably damaged so they cut the most damaged parts. This was done by the germans (red dope). However, they kept the original lacing ! So they sewn the newest fabric and kept an original perimeter with sample of the Aluminium dope ! (according to this website : AII Aluminium (aluminiovyi)). Moreover, most of the bottom fuselage fabric is original ! so we have big pieces of original fabric, with original color.

Now it seems clear that the aircraft was aluminium when captured. Therefore, we checked the metallic parts, and cowling. Under the green paint, we found a light grey/beige color which seems to be : AE-9 light grey.
So the Aircraft was aluminium (fabric) and grey (metallic parts) ! So probably like those :
(http://mig3.sovietwarplanes.com/colors/1937-40/AE-8_AE-9-rid.jpg)

The tail of the aircraft, however, bear a different serial number, so does the elevator... It seems that the aircraft has been completed with other aircraft parts. The tail fabric is original and the original color is green dope (AII (zashchitnyi) gloss camouflage green) ! But underneath there is an aluminium dope layer ! (same for the elevator).

The inside color of all metallic parts is a gloss grey/blue color (maybe A-14/A-14f steel grey) :
(http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/7831/insidecolor.jpg)

We are also sure that the aircraft has been deeply studied by the germans. The pneumatic bottle has been stamped "Unbrauchbar 13.1.42". And the fuselage fabric has red dope (typically German).
(http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/7421/bottle.jpg)

But we did find a precise clue. In the fuselage, we found a German wooden plywood part :
(http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/6007/woodgerman2.jpg)
It is written in German : "links unten" (literally : "lower left"). The pattern corresponds to a metallic plate covering the strut fixation on the lower left wing. We could think that the German wanted to expose the aircraft in a good condition. As they did not have the original plate, they made a wooden copy of it. The interesting thing is that this wooden part was painted green !
(http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/9618/woodgerman.jpg)
This would confirm that this green paint scheme was applied by the germans.

We also found an old cardboard with Paris city's coat of arms. This is interesting because this has been let by a Parisian worker, of the aircraft was maybe exposed inside Paris city.
(http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/142/coatofarmso.jpg)

So now you see that we have started a fascinating restoration. We are looking for some help about the paint scheme. If you have some relevant information that might help us, we would be pleased to read them from you.
We would also like to know in which unit the aircraft was used.

If you have any information ?

More photos are coming soon.

Hi Cyrille,

Thanks for posting those exciting news on this forum!
We may help to some extent but it would be much better if you connect with real experts in Russia.

I believe that everybody there would be honored to help with the restoration of your unique exhibit.

I have a couple of people in mind, so send me a personal message if you want to connect with them.

Regarding the number 7277, it?s not in typical format for a plane number, so it?s probably a part number.  Again I know who to ask.


In 1940 it was a standard procedure to apply acoat of AII Aluminum before painting plane in green camouflage colour.  The purpose of AII Aluminum layer was to protect the fabric by reflecting UV light.

Gray colour on your 4th photo is most likely light gray AE-9.  All metal parts were painted in this colour.


Cheers,
Konstantin

PS:  Most important is not to rely on E. Pilawskii or his western followers!

Very impressive!  :o Please keep us informed of your progress with this project - the more photos, the better! Maybe Massimo could create a special page dedicated to the restoration of this aircraft.

Best regards;
John

Hi,

Thank you Konstantin for those informations.

About the number, we found it on several parts (9 at least), whether engraved or hand painted. So it is probably not a part number. Of course, We are not sure that 7277 is the serial number.
(see our news page : http://memorial-flight-news.blogspot.com/ (http://memorial-flight-news.blogspot.com/))

What do you think a typical serial number would look like ?

For the moment the only data plates we found are fixed on the tail (which is very probably not the one that belongs to this fuselage). And the number format looked like a serial number :
(http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/4711/tailnumber.jpg)

We still have to find the dataplate on the fuselage to confirm the number.

About the grey color, there is two dinstinct colours between outside and inside ! I will try to find references in a standard color chart. As some parts come from different airframes, there is slight differences about this inside color (some look more blue/green than the one on the picture).

If you can help us connecting with some experts, or if you know them, please e-mail me about this (see my profile).


John, I will post pictures concerning the restoration on this topic. I don't think Massimo should create a dedicated page, as there will be one on our main website very soon

Regards,

Cyrille

Hi Cyrille,
thank you very much for your highly interesting post.
So the plane was repainted by Germans. Could the green be Dunkelgrun 71?
About the beige-grey and blue-grey, I think that they are altered versions of AE-9 and A-14, as you have suggested in consideration of their use on the plane.
I suspect that oil colors become more yellowish when aged in the shadow than when aged exposed to light.
If I don't miss, there are pieces painted with AE-9 in a Finnish museum, and it doesn't look yellowish (at least on photos).
Regards
Massimo

Thanks, Cyrille - I've bookmarked both your main site and your news blog. This will be interesting!

John

Here are some detailed photos showing how the German sewn a new fabric and kept a border of the original fabric.
(http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/4563/originalfabric2.jpg)
(http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/1548/originalfabric4.jpg)

On the bottom, an big piece of the fabric is original.
(http://img858.imageshack.us/img858/5513/originalfabric.jpg)

On the tail, you can see the original green camouflage (here all the fabric is original).
(http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/521/originalfabric3.jpg)


Best Regards,

Cyrille MANILEVE

Merci, Cyrille!  Brilliant stuff - keep it coming!  It's great to see the original VVS colours.

Regards,

Jason

Very interesting images, Cyrille. Did you find the original markings too on the original fabric , or they were kept by souvenir hunters?
Regards
Massimo

Most of the original fabric was cut. We only have a border of original fabric all around the lacing and the bottom piece. No markings. We'll have to look at the wings, but they are in storage right now. But as many other parts, they probably come from other airplanes.

Regards,

Cyrille

Hi everyone !

Here are a few photos of the restoration updates :

We have started stripping down samples of fabric / metal parts, in order to see the different layers. The result is great, just take a look at the pictures.
As you can see, there is much more original fabric, than we thought.
(http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/5408/twofabrics.jpg)


As you can see, the fabric was a lot repaired by the French. And under the repairs, we can see the original german green color and star that did not decay (because quite protected from the sun).
(http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/6024/germanstar.jpg)


We also recovered the former red star, painted by the germans.
(http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/3141/twostars.jpg)


We removed the right cowling of the engine. Now we can see a good sample of the light grey/beige color (AE-9 light grey ?). This color is definitely different from the inside color (which is kind of grey/blue).
(http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/7840/greycolor.jpg)


On the cowling, we can only see the number "73".
(http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/4897/rightcowling.jpg)


Here is a picture showing how the german fabric was sewn on the original lacing.
(http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/9877/lacing.jpg)


Thanks to that we know how the lacing was done !


On the tail, we managed to find the former red 9 number.
(http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1358/tailkz.jpg)
(http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/7610/former9.jpg)


Regards,

Cyrille

Hi Cyrille,
thank you for those very interesting images.
So, if I understand Well, Germans kept a damaged silver/grey plane, repaired it with new reddish fabric, repainted it with Russian green and markings, then the plane was repainted again in France with dark green and new markings?
Regards
Massimo :)

Well, the Germans did receive a silver/grey aircraft with probably heavily damaged fabric, and a lot of missing parts (removable parts). They did managed to make a complete aircraft, by picking those missing parts on other I-153s. The tail, for example. But the parts were not all painted the same way (the tail was probably russian green).
They repaired the fabric by sewing a new one on the remaining pieces of the original one. The new fabric was white (like all the others), but the Germans did use red dope (which was much easier to apply) to tighten the fabric. That's why it looks red.
Then they painted a new paint scheme : green & blue. They probably applied german colors, we have to check with a color chart. But it seems that they did not painted the parts that were russian green. So the aircraft was probably displayed with mixed green colors.
It seems that the number 9 red on the tail, was painted by the Russians.

We don't know when the museum received the aicraft. The earliest photos we have show the aircraft displayed in 1962. On those photos the fabric is damaged. The aircraft went into "restoration" in the museum in the late 1960s or in the 1970s (we don't exactly know). There, the museum repaired the fabric with tapes and patches. Then, they repainted the aircraft (They probably didn't took care of the exact green or blue), but kept the same paintscheme. So the latest paint we see on the aircraft is French.

On this picture on the left, you can see a stripped sample. We see the aluminium layer (Russian), then a green layer (German) and finally the dark green layer (French).
(http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/5408/twofabrics.jpg)

However, on the tail, as it was Russian green, the Germans did not repaint it. So you find the french dark green directly painted on the russian green (and red 9 number).
(http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/4711/tailnumber.jpg)


Best Regards,

Cyrille

Thank you Cyrille.
Regards
Massimo

Hi Cyrille,  :)

Do you have any information about the French Dark Green?
I am asking this because very similar dark green colour can be found on a Potez 540 fragment preserved in Museo del Aire Quatro Veintos, Madrid.

(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/klesnikov/SB%20Colours/aire_madrid2.jpg)

(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/klesnikov/SB%20Colours/aire_madrid1.jpg)

(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/klesnikov/SB%20Colours/Aquiteesperophoto4.jpg)

Dark Green is actually under olive green and it's visible close to the edges of the fragment.  The plane was most likely repainted in "Olive Green" in Spain.

From what I could find on the web, Dark green colour was called "Tableau Vert"

(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/klesnikov/SB%20Colours/Tableauvert-1.gif)

Is there any relationships between 1935 and late 1960es French Dark Green paints?

What colour is ?German Green? found on your I-153?  Olive green, or dark green, or something else?

Is there a possibility that your I-153 was painted with French paints when repaired first time during the war???
The plane was brought to France wrecked, it was repaired in France (probably by French mechanics) and painted with French paints? Logical???

Cheers,  8)
KL

Hi Konstantin,

Well at least we checked the German green : it is a RLM62. We don't know where the aircraft was painted (Germany, France ?). As the wooden panel is written in German, and has RLM62, we could think that it was repainted by German workers...
(http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/4892/germanrlm62.jpg)


So, as you understood, this RLM62 was repainted by the French (might be the museum). They were very probably not using standard military colors. I don't think there is any match between those colors. We know that the aircraft was then repaired (the fabric was damaged again) in the 1960s probably. So there might have been another repaint, but no confirmation yet.

Best regards ;)

Cyrille

Hi Cyrille, hi Konstantin,
RLM 63 looks very similar to the supposed AII green, at least in photos. It is confirmed that the rudder was painted with Russian paint?
Regards
Massimo

Yes Massimo, AII Green looks like RLM62. But we can see the difference. The vertical stabilizer was repainted by the Germans (we directly find the Aluminium layer under the RLM62 (which is itself below the French dark green).

The rudder was not repainted by the Germans. We directly find the russian AII green color under the French layer. So the rudder belongs to a russian green aircraft.

Hi Cyrille,
what about the color of instrument panel in this plane, please? From bw photos, often the panels were painted with a light color. And this one?
Regards
Massimo

Hi Massimo,
The instrument panel is painted in a very light color (nearly white). Do you have any idea of the color reference ?
(http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/6950/panel.jpg)

Best Regards,

Cyrille

AE-9? If I remember correctly, the cockpits of early I-16's were painted in this colour, or at least the metal parts, which would include the instrument panel.

John

Hi Cyrille, hi John,

I'm in doubt: if the color of the instrument panel is AE-9, what is the beige-ish grey? They are clearly different.

Regards
Massimo

The cockpits of late I-16's (M-63 engined) were painted AE-9, according to technical manual. IIRC it preserved the wood better.

On topic, fascinating pictures..

Neoking,

it seems your instrument panel is missing its front mask - following is supposed to be a wartime shot from scalemodels.ru

(http://s4.postimage.org/9r4jlbnqp/doska.jpg)

Thank you Neoking, to share with us the progression of the restoration, it's really amazing,
only those zone of AIIz are wonderfull...

Xan

Yes, the instrument panel is missing its front mask.

We have one picture of an aircraft captured, that does not have its front mask. I think this was quite common.
The panel was painted in this very light color, because the light from the bulbs would just be reflected to the whole panel, and the black front mask would just let the instruments and gauges appear and avoid the pilot being bothered by the dazzling light.

There is a 6-page text about I-153 restoration in the new, June, issue of the "Le Fana de l?Aviation" magazine!
Some really exclusive information about colours and plane history.

It's all in French!!!!  :o :-X

Cheers,
KL

Hi konstantin,
are you calling the french connection of the sovietwar planes forum at work?
Xan

Can you get the copy, here or "privately"?
Cheers,
Mario

Hi Xan and Mario,
I still don't have a hard copy and can't post scans.


It would be appreciated if "French connection" translates parts of the text or provide a review.  IMHO, page 5 is interesting:  it revails plane's history and it shows how Russian historians and researchers are willing to help.

Cheers,
KL

I will look for the "fana" today
Xan

Hello friends!
I bought the fana and the paper is really great!
I propose you to digitize the paper and his traduction with google traductor. If something is not understandable, I will try to translate it with my fantastic english  ;)

here the first part of the paper (it's quite long to correct the OCR!)

well, let's go on:

in google English:


The restoration of the only surviving Polikarpov I-153
The truth under the painting

The Museum of Air and Space (MFA) Bourget told the Memorial-Flight restoration of the original single-153 Polikarpov left in the world.

 This plane belongs to the museum halves the early 1950s. Road restoration of this type has a long mandatory preliminary investigative work, like that which was done with the Heinkel 162 (see Le Fana de l'Aviation No. 480).

We knew that this was taking 1-153 German war moved to Nanterre for reasons that remain to be discovered. Luckily he seemed to com-plete. Only the color green was above pects. It could have been applied previously to the museum, which suggested that below were the original colors.

During a first visit in February, it was found that the paint began to flake off because of the humidity in the shed that houses metal and textile aircraft of the Second World War, she left the show in wings a painted canvas or coated aluminum and green at the top of the vertical stabilizer, a different shade of green bottle whose aircraft is currently covered.

After removing the wings on March 5, 1-153 arrived in the workshop at Memorial Flight Dugny few days later. First priority: remove the four machine guns SchkAS to return to where they are stored MAE.
To access them, dismantling many covers removable metal was needed, which did appear several four-digit numbers painted in red on the inside of these plates and other stamped on the metal.
However, in the fuselage, the same issue was identified nine times on several pieces, the 7277 ...
Thanks to various articles published in Russia and in France by Mikhail Maslov, it is certain that the numbers belonged to the construction of F153 series 6000.7000, 8000 and 9000. However, it was clear that 1-153 was assembled with parts from several planes.
 Governments, for example, all come from different devices, the wings will be scrutinized later.

The study then showed that the fabric covering the greater part of the canvas sides of the fuselage is of Soviet origin, but German: it was tense with a typical red coat and stitched on the original features , leaving tails intact large enough canvas Soviet - the complexity of the lacing of the interlining of origin may be frightened German reparations when they attempted to repair it.
 Thus, the back and bottom of the device are still provided with their original canvas covered with a coating of aluminum color. Before 1941, "Chaika" were delivered gray aluminum. The painting received five layers of transparent coating of tension, then a final layer of coating pigmented with aluminum paint or IIA Al Aluminiovyi complemented the stabilizer. Covers and other metal parts were painted outdoors in bright gray-beige AE-9 while the metal parts inside the unit were covered with bright blue-gray paint (maybe A-14).

Apart from the fuselage, empennage elements have their original canvas. However, windows were roughly cut by the Germans on most fabric-covered items, probably to inspect the structure. They were closed with patches which also served to hide the different addicts to give a good look at I-153. Under these patches, there is therefore also the original color, not degraded. The fabric element of the tail was also covered with aluminum color, with the exception of the rudder. It was already hidden by green paint cellulose, Russian, Garlic zashchitnyl.

Once "fixed", the aircraft was painted entirely in green RLM 62 to TException lower surfaces. Strange, because the aircraft had large parts of its original coating. The repairmen had they not in their immediate possession of aluminum paint, or did they make up for that mission the unit to make it look new?

 However, it must be remembered that the rudder was green, and wore the identification number 9 (see below). We also know that the rudder was not painted by the Germans, and it is possible that they have repainted the plane to standardize its appearance. They are the ones who painted new Soviet star.

The I-153 was then recovered by the Air Museum in circumstances unknown to us, it surely is when the aircraft was painted green on top and blue underneath. Identification marks were also covered. Two photographs taken between 1954 and 1962, Chalais-Meudon where was then the museum show that the fabric of the fuselage was cut again and again repaired. These patches of canvas French are recognizable by their transparent coating of tension, not red, and strips of cloth on their serrated edges.

here's the second part.
the pics are very beautyfull and important to understand the paper, but I prefer if Neoking himself put them on line...


in English:

Secrets
aircraft updated

Etching delicate drift finally gave the secrets of the aircraft. On the right side, there appeared the figure 1 red with black, painted coarsely but clearly identifiable on the original foil and a red stripe outlined in black on the top.
The trace of a second number, a cover protecting the fixing axis of the rudder to the left of a red, suggesting that the plane was carrying a 2-digit code. Another stripping on the left side allowed to unveil the first digit: a red 2. In addition, a large German patch, once removed, freed most of that figure.
The aircraft is "21 red".

A detail can combine the No. 7277 to this drift. Can be seen in the middle, near the patch, the figures in this serial number in black. The most amazing is that this drift carries a manufacturer's plate with number 7396. It seems it was mounted on No. 7277 when the aircraft was unity in the USSR. Nevertheless, we can confirm that the aircraft is No. 7277.

On the left side of the drift, a new detail was clear: a "V" painted yellow on the front, which is the second part of the Roman numeral "IV" (the vertical bar being more severely degraded because it was not protected by the German linen, but is still visible).
It is this detail that allowed us to locate the aircraft on a photo taken after his capture, placed on a flatbed wagon low. It sees the "IV" is a number of German stock. Unfortunately, for legal reasons, we can not publish the photo. The identity of LI-153 is thus confirmed.

 The aircraft is stripped of most of its covers and its vertical stabilizer.
The rudder current numbered 9, painted green, probably comes from another 1-153. Similarly, this picture also allows us to understand why the engine cowlings are of different serial numbers of the cell. They too were reported.

Armed with this information, Memorial Flight made contact with Russian historians who too happy to work on an airplane symbol of their heritage, exhumed the true story of 1-153 of the Museum of Air and Space.

The Polikarpov 1-153 No. 7277 was built in the factory No. 1 in Moscow, and taken into account by the WAS (Soviet Air Force) January 24, 1940. It was equipped with the engine M-62 No. 1474 (built 31 December 1939) at the time of delivery. It is probable that he participated in the Winter War, between the Soviet Union to Finland on 30 November 1939 to March 13, 1940.
On 20 August 1940, he appeared in the number of 15 IAP, fighter air regiment based in Lithuania, part of the 8th SAD (Joint Air Division), attached to Military District of the Baltic.
 1 June 1941, this unit reversa majority of its 236th and 238th 1-153 to IPA. No. 7277 was then transferred at 238 DPI (6th SAD, the Baltic Military District), based on field-Pane Vezy [Ponovezh], Lithuania.

At the time of the operation Bar-triggered Barossa June 21, 1941 - so 18 months after delivery of the 1-153 No. 7277 -, 13001-153 3001-153 hunting and assault in service with VVS. In total, within the Air Force of the Baltic, 284 1-153 were divided into six regiments.

Facing the District was then the Baltic Luftflotte 1 of Generaloberst Keller. His hunting consisted of Jagdgeschwader (wing) 54 Bf 109E and F, and the bombing of Kampfgeschwadern KG 1, KG 76 and KG 77, Ju 88 over all.

German bombers attacked airfields in the district nine in the morning of June 22 and another 11 in the afternoon. Some were strafed and bombed six to seven times. Ground, Army Group North attacked Marschall von Leeb from East Prussia to Lithuania. This group of armies, Panzer Grup-pe 4 of the 16th Army General Hoepner found himself facing the Soviet 8th Army, and returned to Lithuania and Latvia to rush to the cities of Kaunas, Memel and Riga. The ground was well taken Panevezys 26 j uin 1941, 7277 and one of its counterparts bearing the code tactics "25 red" were captured.

The photo showing IT-153 No. 7277 "21 red" on a car was probably taken at the outset of these planes to a park that centralizing these devices. During Operation Barbarossa, the Germans created four new Beutepark der Luftwaffe (Beutepark d.Lw.), whose No. 7 jn located in Vilnius (Vilna) in Lithuania. These parks distributed aircraft caught, either to other farms specialized in the dismantling of the aircraft (Zerlegebetrieb), as No. 5 of Nanterre, either to aircraft factories for the rehabilitation of theft, such as Vienna, Austria, which took care of 1-153 for Finland, a new ally of the Germans.
An unanswered question
Before finishing the Beutepark d.Lw.5 of Nanterre, No. 1-153 7277 1-153 thus crossed soon Finland. Indeed, the nine planes donated by the Germans in November and December 1942 (17 months after their capture) come mostly from two Soviet regiments, the 238 and 46. These two units were widely separated from each other
 (Panevezys in Lithuania for 238, and Mlinov in Ukraine for 46), and their aircraft were very different colors, aluminum for the 238, green and blue for the 46th IPA (production airplanes later). But the 7277 has no parts of No. 6514 and No. 7046, from the 15th IPA, which were respectively the "IT-23" and "IT-25" Finnish! It is quite possible, but not yet confirmed, that the drift of our plane with the code "9 White on green background (not" red 9 "present) comes from a 1-153 of the 46th IAP captured in Ukraine.

The four wings still keep their secrets, but at least three of them are colored aluminum with Soviet red stars black circle of the first series of 1-153.

After this junction with 1-153 Finnish Polikarpov went to this park # 5 of Nanterre, since he was appointed, with a MiG-3, as Russian equipment destined for the "mus?etechnique" of Beutepark d.Lw.5.

During the insurrection of Paris and its suburbs in mid-August 1944, the former aviation park Nanterre-La Folie was guarded by 250 soldiers under the command of Major Biesenberger.
From August 16, 1944, Italian workers Park No. 5 were evacuated and sent to Varennes, near Saint-Florentin. They were followed by men who Biesenberger retreated eastward in Vesoul.
Park and workshops SNCF (French Railways) were kept attached by Oberleutnant Koning and his 59 soldiers who turned it into the fulcrum, the Stiltzpunk?92 L, becoming one of the strong points for the protection of Grof Paris.
Under repeated attacks by some 300 FFI since 17 August, the Germans left the Beutepark d.Lw.5 the night of 19 to 20 August 1944 for Mount Valerian.
 At the liberation of Paris August 25, 1944, the French transformed this park central Establishment of Air Materiel (ECMA), Nanterre, and became again Zerlegebetrieb Montupet foundries. A school of mechanics in the Air Force was created to September 19, 1945.

One question remains unanswered for lack of reliable evidence and official documents before returning to the Museum of Air and Space in the early 1950s, how to survive 1T-153 No. 7277?
 In August 1944 the Germans had destroyed or transferred their art museum ... Who saved this 1-153 Nanterre? A legend was created, but we are still looking for the truth! A reader knows it?
The restoration will begin once the historical and technical investigations carried out.

I'm sorry I take out the french paper because of the writer's rights...
If someone is interest send me a PM
However, the paper is done by the memorial flight, and neoking will be able much netter than I to answer...

Xan

Well done, xan! Thank you very much for sharing that with us!

John

good news, neoking gave me permission to scan the pics who are really great.
I'll do it tomorrow.
I tols me too a really english version , such as a rusian one was going on...
Xan

Here are the pics (too beutyfull to stand until tomorrow!)

The plane is the n?7277 with some parts of an another one I-153.
the interior color seems to be A-14:

(http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2011/06/02//110602010445534318253675.jpg) (http://www.casimages.com)

behind the first cover (deutch, as shows the red protective) appears the original color AII aluminium

(http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2011/06/02//110602010445534318253676.jpg) (http://www.casimages.com)

Getting off the cowl appears the grey paint for metal part, AE-9

(http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2011/06/02//110602010445534318253677.jpg) (http://www.casimages.com)

and last but not least: the original code, the "21" in the rudder:

(http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2011/06/02//110602010445534318253678.jpg) (http://www.casimages.com)

(http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2011/06/02//110602010446534318253679.jpg) (http://www.casimages.com)

you can also see the yelow IV number put by the deutch wo permit to identificate the plane in a pic.


if the n?7277 were coded "21" , her's the 25 who permit to make us an idea how did the plane look like:

(http://nsm05.casimages.com/img/2011/06/02//110602010446534318253680.jpg) (http://www.casimages.com)

That's all falks!
thanks to neoking to let us see thoose pics!

Xan

Very interesting pictures, Xan!  Thank you (and Neoking) for posting!

Regards,

Jason

Hi Xan,
thank you for posting these scans and the translation. Really an excellent article.
Regards
Massimo

Oh I'm realy stupid!
I forgot to scan the last sentence:

"special thanks to Sergey Chekunov, Konstantin Lesnikov, Andrey Mikhailov, Massimo Tessitori, MikhailTimin and Yuri Svoyski"

sorry

Xan

Here two news pics from the forum "aviation ancienne" thanks to marc_91:

the pic of the plane who couldn't be edited in the "fana"

(http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/3073542822447F0E90D65B61.jpg)
(see the yellow "IV" in the tail)

and an another plane of the same squadron:

(http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/6499913058744AE33590D6D8.jpg)

Xan

Thanks Xan for posting the pic of the I-153 #7277.

If any of you know where the original picture is or if it comes on ebay again (was sold on ebay a few years ago), please contact us.  :)

Many thanks to Neoking and xan for sharing these excellent articles and pictures with us.Greetings.

Martin

Hi, I just added 3 photos of the engine bay on Memorial Flight's website :
go to www.memorial-flight.com and click "news button"

;)

Thanks neoking!
Xan

Great pictures, Neoking!  Now maybe someone will have enough information to make a kit in 1/32nd scale for the Chaika.  But then again, we're still waiting for an accurate kit in 1/72nd scale.

Regards,

Jason

hi neoking,
is there any knews about the I-153 ?

Xan

From "BorisV", by way of the forum on Musa Zekoreev's web site, some pages from a French aviation magazine showing the I-153 restoration:
http://propjet.ucoz.ru/_fr/0/4297109.jpg
http://propjet.ucoz.ru/_fr/0/8584606.jpg
http://propjet.ucoz.ru/_fr/0/8306593.jpg
http://propjet.ucoz.ru/_fr/0/4064604.jpg
http://propjet.ucoz.ru/_fr/0/2592120.jpg
http://propjet.ucoz.ru/_fr/0/4382167.jpg

Also, a good image of an I-153 cowling and propeller, from ebay.de:
(http://s8.postimage.org/y4p4x2cox/I_153_205.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/y4p4x2cox/)

John

Hi John,
thank you for the intersting scans.
The last photo seems to show a plane with a dark cowling, maybe red?
Regards
Massimo