DISCONTINUED Valom 72003 Polikarpov TIS

The Polikarpov TIS was a prototype Soviet low-wing fighter aircraft from the Second World War. The prototype flight took place in 1941. The machine, however, never entered production. The drive was provided by two Mikulin AM-37 engines with a capacity of 1400 HP each. The length of the aircraft was 11.7 meters with a wingspan of 15.5 meters. The on-board armament consisted of two 20 mm cannons, two 12.7 mm machine guns and as many as six 7.62 mm machine guns. The machine was also supposed to be able to carry a load of bombs weighing up to 1000 kilograms.

The Polikarpov TIS was created in connection with an order from the Soviet Air Force in 1938 for a new, twin-engine and heavily armed escort and long-range fighter. It was also possible that the new fighter would be the basis for the development of a reconnaissance aircraft. After the first flights, despite the problems, the machine looked very promising and even the Soviet-German war did not completely stop working on it, although it undoubtedly slowed it down. However, in the course of subsequent flights, already during the war, it turned out that the Mikulin AM-37 engines do not work smoothly, do not achieve the initially assumed power, and the aircraft is unstable in flight, and has a moderately good rate of climb. Problems with the design, the death of the chief designer and the loss of interest in acquiring a machine of this class meant that the Polikarpov TIS never entered production.