Legendarnyy R-5. Aviarazvedchik, shturmovik, bombardirovschik, raketonosec, torpedonosec.

Etot aviashedevr H.H.Polikarpova stal samym massovym dovoennym samoletom VVS Krasnoy Armii, osnovoy sovetskoy razvedyvatel'noy i legkobombardirovochnoy aviacii. Letaya dnem i noch'yu, zimoy i letom, na kolesah, lyzhah, poplavkah i dazhe gusenicah, R-5 uchastvoval fakticheski vo vseh voynah i vooruzhennyh konfliktah stalinskoy epohi - ot ohoty za basmachami v Sredney Azii do Ispanii, gde zasluzhil pochetnoe prozvische "rasante" ("britva"), ot Hasana do Halhin-Gola, ot Kitaya do Finlyandii, s pervogo i do poslednego dnya Velikoy Otechestvennoy. Na "grazhdanke" R-5 byl nezamenim pri sozdanii pervyh pochtovyh trass i osvoenii Arktiki (imenno eti bezotkaznye biplany letali na l'dinu k chelyuskincam, snabzhali otdalennye zimovki i polyarnye stancii), a na voyne stal pervoy po-nastoyaschemu mnogocelevoy mashinoy: aviarazvedchikom, shturmovikom, legkim bombardirovschikom, torpedonoscem, raketonoscem, letayuschim ognemetom, pervym nositelem oruzhiya massovogo porazheniya (kak himicheskogo, tak i bakteriologicheskogo), poplavkovym gidroplanom, desantnym samoletom, buksirovschikom planerov, vozdushnym tankerom, samoletom svyazi.