ICM I-16 type 10 with Chinese pilots

In 1929, a training unit for Chinese pilots was established in Nanjing. This event had a positive impact on the further development of the Chinese Air Force. Since the early 1930s, the Chinese government paid great attention to military aviation. However, it was unable to establish mass production of its combat aircraft. During the conflicts with Japan, the pilots of the Chinese Air Force fought with planes produced in America, Britain, the Soviet Union, and Italy. The Chinese fighter aircraft fleet also included I-16 type fighters, which were delivered to the Chinese Air Force by the USSR in 1938-1939. In the air battles over China, the pilots of the Chinese Air Force proved to be brave and tenacious air fighters, managing to inflict significant damage on the Japanese Air Force despite its clear superiority.