Sikorsky S-16 (RBVZ S-XVI)

Biplane Fighter / Bomber Escort Aircraft

Russia | 1916

"The Sikorsky S-16 served solely with the Russian Empire air service during World War 1 and was taken on by the Soviet Union until their retirement in 1923."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 06/15/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

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Designed by Ukrainian aviation engineer Igor Sikorsky, the S-16 was developed to a Russian Empire requirement for a capable two-seat biplane fighter to serve as escort for the large, ponderous, multi-engined Ilya Muromets bomber. The bomber itself was a design from Sikorsky and the world's first four-engined bomber type when it appeared in 1913. Over 85 were built for the Imperial Russian Air Service and saw combat in World War 1 (1914-1918). The S-16 fighter appeared some years later and its production totals were much less. It was also recognized under the designation of RBVZ S-XVI which noted the manufacturer ("Russo-Baltic Wagon Works").

Externally, the S-16 featured a conventional arrangement for the period and was constructed largely of wood with fabric skinning. An equal-span biplane wing arrangement was selected which featured single bays and parallel struts. The fuselage held slab-sides and mounted the engine in a frontal compartment shrouded over in thin metal. The tail utilized a shallow vertical fin and low-set horizontal planes. The undercarriage constituted two main legs, via a strut network, and double-wheeled bogies were seated under the center mass of the aircraft. Interestingly, the crew of two was seated side-by-side in a staggered, open-air cockpit arrangement. Initially intended to carry a French Le Rhone engine of 100 horsepower, the S-16 was instead finalized with a Gnome air-cooled rotary engine of 80 horsepower driving a two-bladed wooden propeller unit due to limited supplies of the 100 horsepower form. This would ultimately derail the fighter's performance when compared to its contemporaries. Performance specifications included a maximum speed of 75 miles per hour and a rate-of-climb nearing 410 feet-per-minute.

Armament amounted to a single 7.7mm Lavrov (or British Vickers) type machine gun fitted over the engine cowling. The weapon was synchronized (with Lavrov synchronization gear) to fire through the spinning propeller blade marking the S-16 as one of the first combat aircraft of the war to feature this revolutionary trait. About 500 7.7mm rounds were afforded this gun.

First flight of an S-16 prototype occurred on February 6th, 1915 and service introduction came during January of 1916, the stock formed from a contract order for eighteen of the type. In practice, the line was agile enough but its underperforming engine would not allow it to become a classic of the war. Additionally, the events of 1917 and the immediate period following took the Russian Empire out of its war with Germany and forced the S-16 to be used in anger against Russians themselves during the Russian Revolution. The Soviet Union was born in place of the Empire during 1922 and those S-16 aircraft that remained in service were taken into the inventory of the newly-formed Soviet Air Force. These did not survive much longer for the line was retired in full in 1923.

Before its end, engineers attempted several experiments through the S-16 design including an additional machine gun installation (along the upper wing), floats for water-born landings and take-offs and different wing and engine fits.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Sikorsky S-16 (RBVZ S-XVI) Biplane Fighter / Bomber Escort Aircraft.

1 x Le Rhone air-cooled rotary engine developing up to 100 horsepower.
Propulsion

75 mph
120 kph | 65 kts
Max Speed

410 ft/min
125 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Sikorsky S-16 (RBVZ S-XVI) Biplane Fighter / Bomber Escort Aircraft.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

20.3 ft
6.20 m
O/A Length

27.6 ft
(8.40 m)
O/A Width

9.1 ft
(2.78 m)
O/A Height

904 lb
(410 kg)
Empty Weight

1,488 lb
(675 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Sikorsky S-16 (RBVZ S-XVI) Biplane Fighter / Bomber Escort Aircraft .

1 x 7.7mm Lavrov (or Vickers) machine gun synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Sikorsky S-16 (RBVZ S-XVI) family line.

S-16 - Base Series Designation

RBVZ S-XVI - Alternative Designation

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Sikorsky S-16 (RBVZ S-XVI). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 18 Units
Contractor(s): RBVZ / Sikorsky - Imperial Russia

[ Russia; Soviet Union ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 100mph

Lo: 50mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (75mph).

Graph Average of 75 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Production Comparison

18

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

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Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

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Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Going Further...
The Sikorsky S-16 (RBVZ S-XVI) Biplane Fighter / Bomber Escort Aircraft appears in the following collections:

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