December Mystery Airplane

During WW II, the Red Air Force realized the importance of having dual-control fighter trainers. Thus, production versions of the Polikarpov I-16UTI, Lavochkin La-5UTI and La-7UTI, and the Yakovlev Yak-7V were built to provide transition training for front line pilots. Each of these, over 1,600 Polikarpov I-16UTI's for example, gave new pilots the chance to experience the flight characteristics of front-line combat aircraft before they met the Luftwaffe. Dual-control fighter trainer development continued after "The Great Patriotic War" for the new jets.

A dual-control version of the Mikoyan-Gu...