The illustrated aircraft was the same white aircraft delivered during
a ceremony to pilot V.V. Rybalko of 122 IAP, but the pilot
that flew it later, appearing on the image, should be Nikolai Sheyenko.
The photo above was shot during spring or summer 1942.
The aircraft appears to be roughly repainted with paints of difficult
interpretation.
The slogan and the arrow are still visible.
Its characteristics look to be:
-
late type with slats, with radio mast, probably armed with two ShVAK 20
mm guns on the nose;
-
inert gas pipe should be visible on the left exhaust stacks;
-
white paint was overpainted with camo colors, probably in two steps; the
colors are difficult to identify, I suppose they were three shades of green
(AII green or 4B0 green on the tail, AMT-4 green and AII dark green on
the most of the uppersurfaces);
-
some white paint is visible on the tail leading edges and, perhaps, on
the wings;
-
the canopy struts are still white;
-
the photo shows some blackish shades on the rudder and wingroots, but they
could be photo artifacts;
-
the slogan " Za Partii Bolshevikov" (For the Bolshevik Party" ) is still
painted on both sides, as the large dark red arrow, and, probably, the
red point of spinner;
-
the propeller blades, as the rear part of the spinner, were originally
white, and were probably repainted with black or green;
-
underwing rockets are still installed;
-
the tail wheel is locked down, with canvas or rubber cover.
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