The I-5 was a single-seat biplane developed in the late 1920s. Between 1931 and 1936 it was the Soviet Union’s primary fighter. It was retired from active service in 1936 and went on to become the standard advanced training aircraft of the VVS before being brought out of retirement in 1941 to replenish VVS losses from Operation Barbarossa. In 1942, when production of Soviet aircraft got back on its feet, they were finally retired and replaced by more modern ground-attack aircraft. In total 803 were built.