About the book: 2012 / In the Soviet Union, a short, blunt-nosed plane, nicknamed “donkey” by the pilots, became a real symbol, as it seemed , the country's indestructible military power. The characteristic silhouette of the I-16 was seen by tens of thousands of people at air parades and was depicted on postage stamps and propaganda posters. In Nazi Germany, the brainchild of Willy Messerschmitt was also a symbol of the growing power of the Third Reich and the invincibility of its air force - the Luftwaffe. This book, based on declassified archival documents, eyewitness accounts and other sources, provides for the first time the most detailed history of the creation, testing, production and combat path of two iconic combat vehicles in the most little-known period - before the start of World War II. Particular attention is paid to the confrontation between two machines in the skies of Spain during the civil war in this country. (1936–1939).