Sikorsky S-16

The Sikorsky S‑16 was a single‑seat, single‑engine biplane fighter constructed by the Russo‑Balt factory in Petrograd during World War I. Designed in 1915 by Igor Sikorsky while he was chief engineer at the company, the S‑16 was intended to replace older reconnaissance types with a true combat aircraft. It used a 120 hp Le Rhône rotary engine driving a two‑blade propeller, giving a top speed of about 150 km/h (93 mph) and a service ceiling of 4 000 m. The airframe featured equal‑span, staggered wings of wooden construction with fabric covering, and a series of synchronized forward‑firing machine guns mounted on the fuselage, an innovative feature for Russian aircraft at the time. Only a small batch of approximately 30 units entered service with the Imperial Russian Air Service, where they saw limited action on the Eastern Front before the 1917 Revolution halted further production. Despite its short operational life, the S‑16 demonstrated the feasibility of integrating engine, armament and aerodynamic design into a single‑seat fighter, influencing later Soviet designs such as the Polikarpov I‑15. It remains a milestone in early Russian military aviation and a testament to Sikorsky’s early engineering talent.

Russo-Balt

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Design & Classification