The Shuttleworth Collection's Polikarpov Po-2 was built in 1944 in the Soviet Union. Its full operational history is unknown. It was included in a group of 30 Po-2s given to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946. In SFR Yugoslavia it flew first at the Military Air Force Academy at Pancevo before being transferred, in 1952, to the Yugoslav Air Club where it was used for glider towing and parachute training.

On 1 March 1958 it was registered YU-CLJ and flew at the Federal Aircraft Centre at Vršac until April 1961, then transferred to Murska Subota in Slovenia. Its working life ended in 1979 when it was donated to the Yugoslav National Museum who later sold it to Jim Pearce who brought it to the UK and registered it as G-BSSY in July 1990.

The aircraft was sold on to Pat Donovan in 1996 and shipped to Seattle where restoration began, but then it was taken to New Zealand in December 2000. Finally it was purchased for the Shuttleworth Collection in 2004 and following comprehensive restoration the aircraft flew for the first time with The Shuttleworth Collection on 10 January 2011, piloted by its then Choief Pilot, ‘Dodge’ Bailey.

The fuel tank holds 200 litres but there is no fuel gauge or fuel pump. The oil system, which has a mesh screen instead of an oil filter, is turned on by a tap behind the starboard cowl panel which is out of reach of the pilot.

The Polikarpov Po-2 (also U-2, for its initial 'uchebnyy' or 'training' role, served as a general-purpose Soviet biplane. It was nicknamed Kukuruznik (Russian: Кукурузник, from Russian "kukuruza" (кукуруза) for maize; thus, "maize duster" or "crop duster"). Its NATO reporting name was "Mule".
The U-2's 5-cylinder engine had an unusual exhaust manifold arrangement that gave the engine a peculiar rattling or popping sound and led to a number of nicknames. Wehrmacht troops nicknamed it Nähmaschine (sewing machine), and Finnish troops called it Hermosaha (Nerve saw). The Germans also called it Kaffeemuhle, which literally means "coffee grinder". The fabric and wood construction of the airplane made it extremely vulnerable to catching fire, resulting in a Russian nickname of Kerosinka, or kerosene lantern.

The reliable, uncomplicated concept of the Po-2's design made it an ideal trainer aircraft, as well as doubling as a low-cost ground attack, aerial reconnaissance, psychological warfare and liaison aircraft during war, proving to be one of the most versatile light combat types to be built in the Soviet Union. As of 1978 it remained in production for a longer period of time than any other Soviet-era aircraft.

From the beginning, the U-2 became the basic Soviet civil and military trainer aircraft, mass-produced in a "Red Flyer" factory near Moscow. It was also used for transport, and as a military liaison aircraft, due to its STOL capabilities. Also from the beginning it was produced as an agricultural aircraft variant. Although entirely outclassed by contemporary aircraft, it served extensively on the Eastern Front in World War II, primarily as a liaison, medevac and general-supply aircraft. It was especially useful for supplying Soviet partisans behind the German front line.The first trials of arming the aircraft with bombs took place in 1941.

During the defence of Odessa, in September 1941, the U-2 was used as a reconnaissance aircraft and as a light, short-range, bomber. From 1942 it was adapted as a light night ground attack aircraft.

The U-2VS (voyskovaya seriya - Military series) was created. This was a light night bomber, fitted with bomb carriers beneath the lower wing, to carry 50 or 100 kg bombs up to a total weight of 350 kg and armed with ShKAS or DA machine guns in the observer's cockpit. The U-2 became known as the aircraft used by the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, composed of an all-woman pilot and ground crew complement. The unit was notorious for daring low-altitude night raids on German rear-area positions. The women pilots observed that the enemy suffered a further degree of demoralization simply due to their antagonists being female. As such, the pilots earned the nickname "Night Witches" (German Nachthexen, Russian Ночные Ведьмы/Nočnye Ved’my). The unit earned numerous Hero of the Soviet Union citations and dozens of Order of the Red Banner medals; most surviving pilots had flown nearly 1,000 combat missions by the end of the war and took part in the Battle of Berlin.

It is one of the most produced aircraft, and may be the most produced biplane in history, with as many as 30,000 Po-2s built between 1928 and 1959.

Filmed at The Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden Airfield UK during the May Evening Airshow 2018.

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