Tupolev I-14

The Tupolev I-14, also designated ANT-31, was a Soviet fighter of the 1930s: a single-engined, single-seat monoplane with retractable undercarriage and heavy armament, and one of the most advanced fighters of its time. A team led by Pavel Sukhoi at the Tupolev design bureau produced it after the Soviet Air Force asked in 1932 for a high-speed monoplane fighter. It had a metal monocoque fuselage and corrugated metal wings, and first flew on 27 May 1933 with an imported Bristol Mercury radial engine. It proved agile but difficult to handle, and a second prototype, the I-14bis, performed better with a Wright Cyclone. Production versions used the Shvetsov M-25, but the rival Polikarpov I-16 was preferred and production stopped after 18 had been built.