Soviet I-16 Fighter Forced Landing in Open Field, Summer 1941
October 21, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes
Soviet I-16 fighter aircraft forced to land in an open field, inspected by German soldiers, summer 1941.
This World War II photograph captures a Soviet I-16 fighter aircraft after a forced landing in an open field during the early stages of the German invasion of the USSR in 1941. The aircraft came down “on its belly,” a common outcome when landing gear was damaged or pilots had to perform emergency landings under combat conditions.
A German soldier stands next to the downed aircraft, posing for the camera, illustrating the early period of Operation Barbarossa when German forces were advancing rapidly into Soviet territory. The I-16, a revolutionary monoplane fighter of the 1930s, had been a mainstay of the Soviet Air Force but was increasingly vulnerable to the modern Luftwaffe aircraft it faced.
The photograph provides insight into the harsh realities of air combat on the Eastern Front in 1941: damaged aircraft abandoned or captured, frontline soldiers documenting their encounters with enemy equipment, and the strategic challenges faced by Soviet pilots in the face of the German onslaught.
Technical photo data:
📍 Location: USSR
📅 Date: Summer 1941
📝 Event: Forced landing of Soviet I-16 fighter during Operation Barbarossa
📷 Author: Unknown German photographer
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