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Modification of MiG 15

Modifications fighter MiG-15 (1)

MiG-15 (JI) – aircraft equipped with sliding installation sight ASP-3N and a new peak with heavy armor. In 1950 passed state tests.

Telescopic sight plant were assessed as a result of violations of the flight navodki first sight.

MiG-15bis (SA-1, SA-2) – destroyer equipped with devices blind landing.

In order to allow flights day and night in simple and complicated meteorological conditions in 1950, two MiG-15bis were equipped with devices blind landing (OSP-48). Subsequently, were equipped with two more vehicles: SA-3 and SA-4. They differ mainly positioning devices in the cockpit. The complete set of equipment OSP-48 consisted of automatic radio ARK-5 “Cupid”, the radio marker MRP-48 “Dyatel, radar altimeter low altitude RV-2” Crystal “.

The rear tank of paraffin was replaced by a new, consisting of two distinct halves, between which the power hatch on the lid have been installed units MRP-48 and ABC-5. Camera AFAI-M was removed, along with control panel and electric motor to open stvorok fotolyuchka.

The plane passed state tests, and installation of a blind landing was put into serial production. In addition, in order to expedite the testing of military installations blind landing system that was equipped with 16 aircraft MiG-15, who received military trials with a positive assessment.

To enhance the combat capabilities of aircraft MiG-15bis were working to equip its various outboard weapons.

(1) describe the modification of MiG-15 is not included in the book: Shavrov VB The history of aircraft structures in the Soviet Union 1938 – 1950 estimates. 3rd ed., Corrected. Moscow: Engineering, 1994.

MiG-15bis (SD-21) – airplane, equipped with air jet system AS-21.

In March – April 1952, was remodeled one. Each wing of the console, between the rack chassis and lock suspended the fuel tank was found on one rail on which to strengthen the starting devices PU-21, designed to fire rockets S-21 (ARS-212). Target sight AP-21 provides pritselnuyu firing rockets at a range of 400 to 800 meters and firing artillery weapons – from 180 to 800 m. The sight AP-21 was developed based on the series sight ASP-3NM, while pritselnuyu shooting PU-21 and artillery weapons did not afford (to aim it was necessary to establish a kind of shooting). With the suspension of fuel tanks, rockets could be at the starting devices are suspended, but before firing tanks must be dropped.

31 May, 1952 aircraft was brought to public trials, which passed with positive results. In the combatant forces converted 150 aircraft.

MiG-15bis (SD-5) – aircraft, equipped with two blocks with eight rounds ARS-57 each.

In July 1952, the working drawings were produced and shipped to the plant ╧ 21. Remodeled was one that has passed the test. Is also testing SD-5E aircraft, equipped with two blocks, but with twelve rounds ARS-57 each.

MiG-15bis (SD-10) – the plane with two bombs protivosamoletnymi PROSAB-100. Is for testing 29 February, 1952 a month to test the aircraft was handed over to SD-25 with two PROSAB-250.

MiG-15bis (Fig. 89) – aircraft equipped with systems “Grad”. Protective system “Grad” was intended to raise air minefields in order to defeat compounds bombers or individual aircraft, as well as for violations of building bombers. It was developed in the OKB AS Yakovlev on the tactical and technical requirements of the Air Force ╧ 104, approved in 1952

A fighter MiG-15bis and equipped with a system of “Grad”, instead of aerial fuel tanks for the wing suspended two containers with 56 mines each. Container shape and size are similar to the serial podvesnomu fuel Baku, and is divided into seven compartments. The bottom of the container closed two pairs managed stvorok. The forced expulsion of mines of the compartments has pneumatic pusher, which were equipped with all the compartments of the container.

MiG-15bis equipped zagraditelnoy system ‘Castle’

Fig. 89. MiG-15bis equipped zagraditelnoy system “Grad”

After the end of 1952, the special flight tests in GK Research Institute of Air Force Two converted at the factory ╧ 1 MiG-15bis (╧ ╧ 135011 and 135039) were returned to EDO to address the identified deficiencies. Factory control tests took place from March 2 to 18 Apr., 1953 tests conducted leading pilot test F.L. Abramov.

Work on “Grad” were terminated in August 1953

MiG-15bis (SD-P) – aircraft, equipped with a braking parachute PT-2165-51 with 15 m2 area of the dome.

In 1951, to explore the possibility of using aircraft MiG-15bis from airfields with limited length of runway, drag chute PT-2165-51 and two versions of braking wheels were fitted with two aircraft available for that purpose military aircraft.

At the bottom of the fuselage between frames 24 and 27 was placed hatch, which placed a special container with a drag chute (TP), exhaust and parachute cord. Container closed doors. TP cable attached to the castle, established in the slot back heel aircraft. Opening locks stvorok during landing and lock anchorage tether TP produced using a pneumatic system. Installing the MC has reduced the mileage of the aircraft twice.

They were tested, and in 1952 the factory ╧ 1 was built small series (10 aircraft).

MiG-15bis (SP-2) (Fig. 90) – fighter-interceptor with a radar station (RLS) Korshun. ”

In 1950, MiG-15 was modified by the installation of radar “Korshun” (used for the construction of a new head compartment). However, because of the delay fine-tuning the radar in the NII-17 fighter-interceptor SP-2 under the orders of MAP from 11 Aug., 1951 was converted under the wing angle strelovidnosti 45 ╟, becoming a MiG-17, which in the future and must be tested station Korshun “.

MiG-15bis (SJ) – with fighter wing design VP Yatsenko.

In order to eliminate “valezhki (spontaneous rolling off) aircraft at the factory ╧ 1 in 1952 have been developed, tested and put into production new wings increased rigidity of the VP Yatsenko. In March of that test in GK Research Institute of the Air Force new wing aircraft were equipped with three MiG-15bis.

MiG-15bis (Fig. 91) – aircraft equipped with a system in-flight refueling tanker aircraft from the Tu-4.

The system was developed in refueling LII MAP. In May 1952, the factory ╧ 153 have been converted, two MiG-15bis allocated for this purpose military aircraft. In 1953, began flight tests of refueling. Actively participate in the testing and refinement took engineers VY Euphorbia and SN Rybakov, as well as pilots test PI Kazmin, SF Mashkovsky and L. B. Chistyakov.

Fighter-interceptor SP-2 radar ‘Korshun’

Fig. 90. Fighter-interceptor SP-2 radar “Korshun”

Fighter MiG-15bis, a system equipped with refueling in flight

Fig. 91. Fighter MiG-15bis, a system equipped with refueling in flight

When creating and testing system was resolved several issues related to sustainable system hose – cone “in the flow and choice of its parameters, as well as the technique worked piloting fighter MiG-15bis in the contact and refueling tankers. Refueled by means of two hoses with cones produced from zakontsovok wing air tankers Tu-4, and fuel rods, installed at the top of the ring intake fighter MiG-15bis.

MiG-15bis “Burlaki (Fig. 92) – destroyer equipped with the system” Harpoon “. The use of podtsepki and hauling in flight bomber Tu-4 to increase the range fighter.

Develop a system to comply with EDO AS Yakovlev. The system consisted of towing winch with cable and receiver-cone mounted on the Tu-4 in the rear fuselage, and “Harpoon”, set in the bow of the aircraft MiG-15bis. Tow cable was manufactured in cone at 80 pm

Fighter MiG-15bis’ Burlaki ‘

Fig. 92. Fighter MiG-15bis “Burlaki”

Management system has a central console, located on the left board in the rear germokabine stern hand Tu-4. Installation of winches and related refining bomber Tu-4 ╧ 221001 were made OKB-30 on the technical conditions of the plant ╧ 115. Further development of fighter aircraft MiG-15bis ╧ 53210408 by installing “Harpoon” has been implemented plant ╧ 115.

“Harpoon” is a pneumatic cylinder rod which, together with the castle providing coupling and uncoupling by the action of compressed air to move. Full length “Harpoon” – 1372 mm, length of the protruding part – 945 mm. Before you start coupling rod lock come from the cylinder. Upon entering the castle “Harpoon” in the slot receiver, Cone was an automatic clutch, and then go inside the cylinder rod.

In connection with the installation of “Harpoon” and equipment for coupling with the MiG-15bis was withdrawn fotokinopulemet S-13. In the forward compartment of Coca optional second battery has been installed 12A-30 and chetyrehlitrovy air balloon, which was included in the network of primary air system.

After the factory flight tests (from 2 February to 26 April 1951) towing system was handed over to GK Research Institute of Air Force flight tests on government. They took place from 28 July to 24 August 1951 and ended with positive results. The system of towing showed robust coupling and uncoupling of aircraft in the air both by day and night, and was recognized as a new promising work of interest to the Air Force (as a possible solution escorting bombers). It was recommended to equip the five mass-produced fighter aircraft MiG-15bis and five bombers Tu-4 towing system for refining its tactical application.

In January 1952, the factory was built ╧ 153 series of five MiG-15bis fighters equipped with “Harpoon”. In order to carry out military tests at the plant ╧ 18 have been converted five aircraft buksirovschikov Tu-4. The tests took place from 9 July to 8 September 1952 in the 50 th aeronautical Army Far aviation airport Zyabrovka.

In order to determine the characteristics of technology piloting aircraft MiG-15bis, with “Harpoon”, were carried out 12 flights, which showed the normal behavior of the aircraft at high speeds instrument, as well as in carrying out various shapes pilotazha.

The system provides multiple tow coupling and uncoupling MiG-15bis with the Tu-4 and towing fighters from working and engine, consisting of detachment and air squadron trains set for the Tu-4 military orders both by day and night. The fighters, being towed, maneuver bombers are not restricted. In the detachment and air squadrons train can be taken from level flight, climb, lower at speeds of up to 7 m / s and a turn to the lists of up to 10 … 15 ╟.

Since the Tu-4 bomber was outdated, it was recommended that further work out a system of towing with Tu-16 and Tu-95.

In the development of towing DB-115 has developed a system to refuel fighter aircraft MiG-15bis of the bomber Tu-4 with the automatic.

The tests were conducted refueling system manufacturer ╧ 115 in conjunction with LII with 24 Sept., 1954 to March 2, 1955 (leading airman SN Anokhin, pilot-test FI Burtsev, commander of TU-4 AA Efimov Engineer Operator AI Vershinin, leading engineers V. Stepanov (from the plant ╧ 115) and BC Elkin (from LII)). When testing the system was tested towing operation of all units, spent hauling method and made operational evaluation of its work. Tests have shown that the system can provide towing in flight at an altitude of 4000 meters refinement associated with the installation of the system, little aggravated flight technical data planes and their piloting complicated.

In 1956 the theme “Burlaki was closed as lost relevance.

MiG-15bis variant fighter-bomber – a serial MiG-15bis ╧ 2815311 equipped at the factory ╧ 21 additional weapons.

The technical documentation has been developed on the basis of the plan development activities for 1958 The aircraft was fitted two beams on the wings of the main pillars of the chassis and suspension bridges fuel tanks (PTB). This would include options for suspension:

* Two blocks ORO-57K with shells S-5K or C-5M (8 each);
* Two bombs caliber from 50 to 250 kg;
* Two launchers ORO-212K with shells S-1of.

In addition, the locks can be PTB are suspended PTB bombs or fire from 50 to 250 kg. Artillery weapons remains unchanged. For all types of weapons used by sight ASP-3N.

Factory flight tests were not conducted. Public flight tests took place from March 4th, 1959 to 30 June 1959, during which time 114 flights have been fulfilled. The aircraft will withstand the test and was recommended as a reference for the upgrading of planes, comprising armed fighter-bombardirovochnoy aviation.

MiG-15bis with increased braking schitkami (S = 0,8 m2) and duplicate management ejection was presented to the state tests 20 Mar., 1952, which successfully passed. Duplicate management and increased brake shields were put into serial production.

In August 1952, was completed installation of panels area 0.9 m2. As a result of factory flight tests found that a further increase in the area of brake panels impractical, as it did not give the desired effect.

MiG-15M (SDM) – radio aircraft target-based fighter aircraft MiG-15bis. The range of heights strikes 8000 … 13 000 m. The time recruiting the maximum height for the withdrawal of the military course of 17 … 18 min. The speed in level flight at a maximum altitude of 880 … 950 km / h. The total duration of the flight 55 minutes.

Outi MiG-15 (ST-2) – sparring fighter, equipped with instruments blind landing (OSP-48).

In connection with the installation of SWAP-48 was shot gun NR-23. The aircraft in 1950 passed state tests, and installation of equipment blind landing was introduced into serial production.

Outi MiG-15 (ST-8) – sparring fighter with a radar RP-1D “Emerald-3” and the sight of ASP-3NM.

In April – May 1954, ST-8 aircraft passed state tests with unsatisfactory results, as well as to the Air Force aircraft was a new requirement to install a second cabin surveillance indicator and sight associated with RLS. Work on the refurbishment of aircraft under a new station EDO began in late 1954, radar Emerald-3 “in contrast to the station” Emerald had two indicator. The plane was tested in 1955

Outi MiG-15 (ST-10) – flight test system for the protection of the pilot’s ejection from the lantern for safe escape the aircraft at high speeds.

Outi MiG-15 – aircraft control planes landing target Yak-25MSH.

From 7 to 22 Dec., 1959 and from I January to February 2nd, 1960 conducted flight tests of three remote experimental aircraft target Yak-25MSH with unmanned takeoff and landing, as well as station management embarkation installed on the aircraft MiG-15 UTI ╧ 106216. For testing as a backup switch to a second landing station management (pilot model) fitted to the aircraft ╧ 106220. The equipment of an ╧ 106216 were fired plant ╧ 918, a plane ╧ 106220 – by LII.

Airborne transmission station was carried out series of ground-based transmitting station MRV-2M and installed in a mobile lafete instead of weapons. Transmitting antennas were placed on the inhibitor. The first cabin was changed dashboard: instead of navigation devices and the sight was set sensor commands DK-16rs.

The results of flight tests showed that the aircraft target Yak-25MSH has better combat and tactical performance in comparison with the existing targets, and aircraft management UTI MiG-15 allows you to successfully implement its landing after the assignment.

Modifications MiG-15 fighter produced in large quantities by the manufacturer (see Table 1).

Table 1

Модификация истребителя Modifying fighter	Завод-изготовитель The manufacturer									Всего самолетов Total aircraft
	╧1 ╧ 1	╧21 ╧ 21	╧31 ╧ 31	╧99 ╧ 99	╧126 ╧ 126	╧135 ╧ 135	╧153 ╧ 153	╧292 ╧ 292	╧381 ╧ 381
МиГ-15 MiG-15	813	– —	– —	– —	1	– —	453	2	75	1344
МиГ-15бис MiG-15bis	1681	1784	225	– —	832	– —	2420	994	– —	7936
МиГ-15Пбис MiG-15Pbis	5	– —	– —	– —	– —	– —	– —	– —	– —	5
МиГ-15Рбис MiG-15Rbis	– —	364	– —	– —	– —	– —	– —	– —	– —	364
МиГ-15Сбис MiG-15Sbis	– —	– —	– —	– —	– —	– —	– —	49	– —	49
УТИ МиГ-15 Outi MiG-15	881	– —	– —	1117	– —	511	924	– —	– —	3433
Все модификации All modifications	3380	2148	225	1117	833	511	3797	1045	75	13131

The Evolution of Jet Fighters

The Evolution of Jet Fighters: A New Point of View

Walter J. Boyne

http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1984/jan-feb/boyne.html#boyne

WHEN the whistle of the jet engine was first heard in 1939, it was a clear but unrecognized commentary on a major reversal in design process. Prior to that time, airframe development had been limited by engine development; every new operational requirement was keyed to the often tortuous delays occasioned by the introduction of a new engine of greater horsepower. Oftentimes airframe designers were too optimistic and anticipated greater power than was actually realized; as a result, outstanding airplanes like the Boeing XB-15 and the Douglas XB-1 9 were underpowered and thus not brought into production. The basic reason was simple: the design of more powerful reciprocating engines was both more expensive and more time-consuming than the design of airframes that could employ them.

This dependence an engine power can be traced in the serial development of famous fighters like the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the British Supermarine Spitfire. The initial prototypes of these aircraft flew, respectively, with the Rolls-Royce Kestrel V engine of 695 horsepower and the Rolls-Royce Merlin “C” of 990 horsepower. The Messerschmitt quickly switched to a German engine, of course, and successive requirements for increased performance were met by introducing new subtypes of the Junkers Jumo and Daimler-Benz liquid-cooled V-12 engines. The last variant of more than 33,000 Bf 109s built, the K-6, was powered by a 1550-horsepower Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine that could, with methanol injection, reach 2000 horsepower for short periods. The Spitfire, of which 20,334 were built, had in its Mark 22 version a 2050-horsepower Rolls Royce Griffon. As an American yardstick for comparison, the North American XP-51 flew with a 1150-horsepower Allison, while the last version, the P-51H, had a 2218-horsepower Packard Merlin.

Thus, in the roughly ten years between the first flights of the European prototypes and the end of the war, conventional fighter demands were met by tailoring airframes to engines that had just about doubled in power.

More powerful piston engines were being brought into production in every country. Through greater volume, increased supercharging, and vastly greater complexity, the goal was to increase the horsepower limit. In England the Rolls-Royce Eagle, a 24-cylinder “H” style engine a was bench run in 1944 and ultimately achieved 3450 horsepower. In Germany, a 3900-horsepower BMW 803 engine was bench run; it was a 28-cylinder aircooled, four-row radial, similar to the Pratt & Whitney R-4360 in the United States. The latter was flown in a Goodyear F2G Corsair before V-J Day and ultimately, of course, became a workhorse engine in the Convair B-36, Boeing B-50 and other multiengine aircraft.

The largest piston engine ever built, however, the Lycoming XR-7755, was a liquid-cooled, 36-cylinder, four-row radial engine that was intended to generate 5000 horsepower. Not even bench run until after World War II, the XR-7755 represented a peak in reciprocating aircraft engine power but was never required, for which maintenance crews were undoubtedly very grateful.

As the piston engines increased in power, so to a greater degree did their mechanical complexity, weight, size, maintenance requirements, fuel consumption, and cost. By unusual engineering achievement, the jet engine arrived on the scene at a horsepower equivalent to where the reciprocating engine was peaking out. In addition, the jet engine had a relatively simple construction that did not require the same investment in heavy machinery and was relatively lightweight and low in cost. While initial fuel consumption was high and reliability low, the jet engine improved rapidly in both these areas.

Perhaps even more important, from the standpoint of increasing absolute speeds, the jet engine eliminated the requirement for a propeller, with its inherent complexity and limitations.

Given the terrible urgency of wartime conditions, it is a tribute to both Sir Frank Whittle and Dr. Hans von Ohain that the inspired courses they pursued in the invention of the first jet engines were tolerated in their respective countries. At the time they were advocating the radical new style of power plant, the upper limit of piston engine development was not clearly perceived, while the need for thousands of more powerful engines was. Their genius attracted sufficient backing to enable the jet engine to come into being at exactly the time the reciprocating engine had reached its developmental limit.

The number of pioneers in the turbine engine field was very small; besides Whittle and von Ohain, the only contributor of comparable stature was Dr. Franz Anselm, who developed the axial-flow Junkers Jumo 004 used in the Messerschmitt Me 262, the world’s first operational jet fighter.

When the war ended, the piston engine fighter was still predominant, but the future was clearly signaled with the Me 262, the Arado Ar 234, the Gloster Meteor, and the Lockheed P-80.

After the war the situation changed dramatically; the piston engine was abandoned by designers first for fighters and then bombers; it was not long before transport and utility aircraft would also be turbine-powered. Engine and airframe designs were in abundance. Designers became encouraged by the fact that for the first time engine power was becoming available in greater increments, over a shorter development time, than ever before; engines and airframes could be designed almost in parallel.

The situation was exploited, and there was a flowering of designs in numbers that probably will never be seen again. Jet engines appeared to be relatively simple to manufacture in terms of machine capability, and everyone sought to get into the act. Allison, Curtiss-Wright, General Electric, Lycoming, Marquardt, Pratt & Whitney, Westinghouse, and others competed in what seemed to be virgin territory. Soon, however, the list began to dwindle as manufacturers found that the degree of engineering skill necessary to reach new levels of power and reliability was difficult to muster.

Airframe developers followed a similarly diverse course. The path of fighter progress was marked by a curious set of factors. Although the rapid development of engines enabled designers to overcome some discouraging new aspects of the fighter aircraft business, the specter of available power caused military requirements to be increased to levels that would have been considered absurd just a few years before. This had the effect of vastly increasing the development time necessary to bring an aircraft from concept to flightline because of the ever-increasing size, cost, and complexity. This combination of factors meant that not only would older fighters have a much longer service life than had been anticipated but that newer fighters would be procured in far smaller numbers than ever before.

To utilize the thrust expected to be available and meet the increased requirements, aerodynamicists were forced to evolve a whole series of new airframe innovations, almost always of greater and greater sophistication and complexity.

Thus, while sweptwings were adopted to enable aircraft to approach mach 1, it was necessary to apply the formulations of Whitcomb’s area rule to design airframes to slip smoothly through the supersonic region without excessive drag buildup. In a similar way, the need to combine long-range, good load-carrying capabilities, and high speed with reasonable takeoff and landing distances led to the development of variable-geometry aircraft. Other practices ranged from the subtle change of wing airfoil and camber to aerial refueling to the inclusion of a second crew member, always a problem in fighter pilot psychology. With these new advances came problems of structural strength, fatigue, corrosion, training, repair, etc.

One can trace this pattern of increased power, size, and complexity in the aircraft delivered to the United States Air Force. The Lockheed P-80, first operational USAF jet fighter, led to the F-94 Starfire, and ultimately to the F-104 Starfighter with its razor-thin wing, The sweptwinged North American F-86 was improved through a long series of design changes before being replaced by the far larger and heavier supersonic F-100. Convair entered the field with two much-advanced fighters, the delta-winged F-102 and F-106, before developing the controversial F-111, the first swing-wing aircraft in the USAF inventory. Northrop achieved success with the F-89 Scorpion before turning, in advance of all of the other manufacturers, to a lightweight fighter in the form of the F-5.

McDonnell Aircraft, after years of being a Navy supplier, evolved the long-range, supersonic F-101 Voodoo and followed this with the immortal F-4 Phantom II, perhaps the most important jet fighter in history.

Republic (subsequently a division of Fairchild Industries) created the F-84 almost in parallel with the P-80, and the design matured into a long line of rugged, successful warplanes. From these evolved the immortal Thud, the indefatigable F-105 that carried a major burden in the air war over North Vietnam.

These fighters were the workhorse aircraft that provided the USAF with a worldwide capability from Korea to Vietnam, and they represent the main lines of development in response to the increased power of turbine engines. Interspersed with these aircraft were others designed to fill special niches. For various reasons, they failed to achieve operational status. Among the more interesting of these were the last fighter from Curtiss, the four-engined F-87 Blackhawk; the improbable,-looking XF-85 Goblin, designed to be carried in the belly of a B-36; the mixed-power, inverse taper-wing Republic XF-91; and the fast, capable, humpbacked North American F-107.

Two other revolutions in aircraft design, both quite as important as the development of the jet engine, were also going on, but their effects have somehow been generally overlooked because they were so much slower in coming to maturity.

First was the almost painful evolution of the effective air-to-air missile. Expectations had been high for the rocket-powered missile ever since the first LePrieur rockets were launched from Nieuport l7s during World War I. Somehow, missiles never reached their full potential until Vietnam, but even there their utility was vastly limited by the rules of engagement. Not until the most recent generation of missiles and fighter tactics did the concept of the missile-equipped jet fighter reach maturity.

The second revolution was in the multiple application of computers, not only to onboard use but also to the design of the aircraft and its systems. Airborne computers were not “user friendly” even through the McDonnell Douglas F-4s. Space, weight, and the crew inputs necessary for optimum use were all excessive by today’s standards. Perhaps even more important was the fact that only in the post F-4 generation of fighters, in the General Dynamics F-16 and the McDonnell Douglas F-15 and F-18, has there been sufficient use of computers in the basic design process.

As a result of these two revolutions, airframe design has for the first time entered the jet age and caught up with the jet engine in development potential. One can assume that computers of the future will enable simultaneous development of airframes, engines, and missiles that will avoid the timing mismatches of the past.

The evolution of fighter aircraft since World War II has been a fascinating process. From the straight wings of the P-80 through the sweptwings of the F-84F, past the swing wings of the F-111 and beyond the melded body and wings of the F-16, one can look to a future that might include such things as vertical takeoff, vectored maneuverability, and so on. The fighters of the future will undoubtedly be neither so numerous nor so diverse as the fighters of the past, but they will embody successive developments and will depend, as always, on capable crews that fly them for ultimate success.

National Air and Space Museum
Washington, D.C.

---

Contributor Walter J. Boyne (B.S., University of California, Berkeley; M.B.A., University of Pittsburgh) is presently Director of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and has held several previous roles on the museum staff. He is a retired USAF colonel, the author of several books and numerous magazine articles, and a previous contributor to the Review.

Aborted Russian Jet Gu-VRD Plan

Gu-VRD: “History: Designed by M.I.Gudkov (who was one of three partners who designed the Lavochkin LaGG-3) in 1943 around the prototype Lyulka turbojet engine the RTD-1/VDR-2, the Gu-VRD was the USSR’s first real attempt at a jet powered fighter. With no influence from the West, the Gu-VRD had many interesting features such as the stepped layout with the engine placed in the bottom of the fuselage aft of the nose and below the cockpit, with the exhaust exiting under the rear of the wing root, it also had a unique intake design consisting of a tipped nose with four separate intakes to the engine. The rest of the aircraft was of a standard Russian design, based on the LaGG-3. The project documentation was submitted to the Scientific Research Institute of the Air Force (NII VVS) on 10/3/1943, on the 17/4/1943 Department Chief I.I.Safronov wrote ‘ Apparently, the aircraft would fly with the claimed speed, but the problem is that as of today there is no engine, just the name of it’s designer (Lyulka). Hence, the emphasis is to be on the engine’. By 1943 Lyulka had designed and partially tested the prototype RDT-1/VDR-2 engine, with a thrust of around 700 kg, but then work on this engine stoped to concentrate on a new engine the VDR-3/S-18 which would not be ready for another two years. In the summer of 1943 the Gudkov bureau was closed down after another of Gudkov’s prototypes the Gu-37 crashed on the 12/6/1943 killing test pilot A.I.Nikashin.With this the Gu-VDR jet fighter project came to an end, with nothing to show apart from one prototype engine.

Aborted Ruussian Jet Gu-VRD

Gu-VRD: “History: Designed by M.I.Gudkov (who was one of three partners who designed the Lavochkin LaGG-3) in 1943 around the prototype Lyulka turbojet engine the RTD-1/VDR-2, the Gu-VRD was the USSR’s first real attempt at a jet powered fighter. With no influence from the West, the Gu-VRD had many interesting features such as the stepped layout with the engine placed in the bottom of the fuselage aft of the nose and below the cockpit, with the exhaust exiting under the rear of the wing root, it also had a unique intake design consisting of a tipped nose with four separate intakes to the engine. The rest of the aircraft was of a standard Russian design, based on the LaGG-3. The project documentation was submitted to the Scientific Research Institute of the Air Force (NII VVS) on 10/3/1943, on the 17/4/1943 Department Chief I.I.Safronov wrote ‘ Apparently, the aircraft would fly with the claimed speed, but the problem is that as of today there is no engine, just the name of it’s designer (Lyulka). Hence, the emphasis is to be on the engine’. By 1943 Lyulka had designed and partially tested the prototype RDT-1/VDR-2 engine, with a thrust of around 700 kg, but then work on this engine stoped to concentrate on a new engine the VDR-3/S-18 which would not be ready for another two years. In the summer of 1943 the Gudkov bureau was closed down after another of Gudkov’s prototypes the Gu-37 crashed on the 12/6/1943 killing test pilot A.I.Nikashin.With this the Gu-VDR jet fighter project came to an end, with nothing to show apart from one prototype engine.

MiG

MiG http://www.neam.co.uk/JetHistory/ussr.html

At the turn of the century, there are more MiG fighters in service around the world than any other type, about 20 percent of the world’s total. MiG was founded as an independent design department in December 1939 by Artem Mikoyan. He had worked as a mechanic in the 1920s before graduating from a military academy in 1937. He worked briefly in the late 1930s for Nikolai Polikarpov, a famous Soviet aviation designer. When Mikoyan began his independent work in 1939, he joined forces with Mikhail Gurevich, an accomplished aeronautical engineer who had recently visited the United States to negotiate a license to build a Soviet version of the Douglas DC-3. Mikoyan and Gurevich’s first design was the I-200 high altitude interceptor that eventually bore the name MiG-1. Although the MiG-1 was an excellent aircraft, the Soviet Air Force used it sparingly since high altitude interceptors were not in demand at a time when the Soviet Union was facing German strategic bombing attacks. Few MiG interceptors, in fact, saw action during World War II, and it was only in the postwar era that the organization, known by then as the Experimental Design Bureau No. 155 (OKB-155), grew rapidly in size and influence.

Using engine technology captured from the Germans after the war, Mikoyan and Gurevich produced the first Soviet jet fighter, the MiG-9. Later that same year, in August, Joseph Stalin ordered Mikoyan and Gurevich to have ten of these aircraft prepared for a fly-past in Moscow during a national parade. Fearing for their lives if the order was not fulfilled, engineers worked around the clock for two whole months to produce ten MiG-9s in time for the October demonstration. Ironically, the actual parade was canceled due to poor weather. But the MiG-9 entered service with the Soviet Air Force soon after.

The MiG design bureau became vry productive the Soviet Union’s most famous high-speed jet fighters. These included the MiG-15, the MiG-17 (capable of supersonic speeds), the MiG-19 (the first mass-produced Soviet supersonic fighter), and the MiG-21. The design bureau produced more than 9,000 MiG-21s in as many as 32 versions for the Soviet Air Force. Several countries including China, Czechoslovakia, and India also produced their own domestic versions of the MiG-21.

The last major fighters under Mikoyan and Gurevich’s leadership were designed in the 1960s. These included the MiG-23, the first operational variable geometry jet fighter in the Soviet forces, and the Mach 3-capable MiG-25 interceptor. Mikoyan died in 1970 and was succeeded by his deputy Rostislav Belyakov. Gurevich retired earlier in 1964.

With Belyakov at the helm, the MiG design bureau produced several new fighter aircraft for the Soviet Air Force. These included the MiG-29 attack light interceptor and the all-weather MiG-31 fighter interceptor, both of which first flew in the 1970s.

In May 1995, the Russian government established the MAPO-MiG (Moscow Aircraft Production Association-MiG) by combining production plants with the MiG design bureau. In December 1999, the Russian government renamed MAPO MiG as the new MiG Aircraft Building Corporation and promised further shakeups that could possibly include a merger with arch rival Sukhoi.

Latterly, MAPO MiG has turned to export sales of modernized versions of the MiG-29. Despite a distinct lack of government interest, it has continued developing advanced fighter concepts, including the mysterious 1.42 multifunctional fifth generation fighter, said to be capable of outperforming the American F-22 Raptor. The 1.42 (also known as the 1.44I) took off on its first flight in February 2000 and is competing with a similar Sukhoi design to satisfy requirements for a future generation of Russian fighter aircraft.

Chinese supersonic interceptor J8

The development is based on Russian Ye-152A. It is powered by twin engines.

Creation of Tu95, the Bear

Kevin Myers: Put the cold war back on ice and get those skies growling: “But by evil mischance, three B-29s made emergency landings in the Soviet Far East. The aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev decided to reverse-engineer the B-29. That is to say every single screw, every singe valve, every single light-bulb, every single switch and toggle and ashtray and button – over a million parts in all – were painstakingly and perfectly copied, and then assembled in the greatest act of flattery in industrial history. So confident was Tupolev of the soundness of the Boeing design that his version was put directly into production, without any test flights, and over 4,000 Tu-4 Bull bombers were manufactured for the Soviet air forces. Opposing them were 2,000 identical B-29s of the USAF. It was the only time in history that two world powers equipped their rival fleets with precisely the same bomber.
The creation of the B-29 had been the most complex project in aviation history, and the capture of the B-29s enabled Tupolev to learn in a few weeks what had taken the US many years to discover: the steepest aviation learning-curve ever.

However, the Tu-4 could not reach the USA, and if there’s one thing that dear old Stalin wanted, it was the ability to turn New York into a Siberia. So after various intermediary experiments, Tupolev produced the Tu-95, which basically consisted of the B-29/Tu-4 fuselage, but with huge new swept-back wings and four colossal turboprop engines.
The resulting Soviet/US fusion was one of the most extraordinary aerial confections ever. The Tu-95 had a range of over 10,000 miles, could cruise at 500mph at an altitude of 50,000 feet carrying a nuclear bomb. With air-to-air refuelling, the Bear – as a horrified NATO called it – could reach anywhere on Earth. Like its American counterpart, the B-52 Stratofortress, the Tu-95 has continued to operate in the Russian Air Force while several iterations of bomber design have come and gone. Part of the reason for this longevity was its suitability, like the B-52, for modification to different missions. Whereas the Tu-95 was originally intended to drop nuclear weapons, it was subsequently modified to perform a wide range of roles, such as the deployment of cruise missiles, maritime patrol (Tu-142 Bear-F), AWACS platform (Tu-126) and even civilian airliner (Tu-114). During and after the Cold War, the Tu-95’s utility as a weapons platform has only been eclipsed by its usefulness as a diplomatic icon. When a patrolling Tu-95 appears off the coast of the United States or one of its allies, it may not be the technological menace that it was in its heyday, but it is still a potent and visible symbol of the Russian capability to project military power over great distances.

The Soviet Union did not assign official “popular names” to its aircraft, although unofficial nicknames were common. Unusually, Soviet pilots found the Tu-95/Tu-142’s NATO reporting name, ‘Bear,’ to be a fitting nickname, given the aircraft’s large size, ‘lumbering’ maneuverability and speed, and large arsenal. It is often called Bear in Russian service. An anecdotal story states that it was actually a Russian crew who had the privilege of assigning the NATO reporting name; during the aircraft’s Paris Airshow debut, a Western reporter asked the crew what the plane’s name was. The pilot responded, “it can’t be anything but a bear.“

MiG-21I ;Analog

MiG-21I “Analog”: “AnalogFlying test-bed for research and development of Tu-144 passenger airplane wing. Two prototypes were built. First was used to develop elevon control system for tailless aircraft. All four elevon sections were based all over wingspan. The second was tested at the Gromov Flight Research Institute. The wing leading edge was testing with sweepback of 78. In the grotto behind the cockpit and on the top of the fin special cameras were set up. In the nose and tail part of the aircraft a 290 kg remote mass balance weight was used to change the centre-of-gravity. On 18 April 1968 the maiden flight was performed by test pilot O.V.Gudkov. Till the end of 1969 140 flights were performed, the altitude of 19000 m and speed of 2120 km/h to 2,06M were reached. After completion of main test program during performing of aerobatic flying on the first prototype FRI test pilot V.Konstantinov crashed, the second prototype was handed over to Monino Air Force Museum after carrying out of tests and training of Tu-144 pilots. On the basis of an MiG-21I be ordered activities on creation armoured attack (shturmovick) an MiG-21LSH under the scheme «tailless aircraft».”
http://www.m-triad.net/cgi-bin/spboard/board.cgi?id=aero&action=view&gul=16&page=27&go_cnt=0

Origins of German jet power

Origins of German jet power: “HeS 3B July of 1939 saw the first flight tests, using an He 118, of von Ohain’s HeS 3B centrifugal turbojet.
HeS 3B Cutaway view of the Heinkel HeS 3B in the Deutsches Museum. Picture shows a rebuilt example after the war. HeS 3B In 1939 the HeS 3B produced a thrust of 450 – 500 kp. The axial low-pressure compressor had eight blades while the centrifugal-flow compressor had 16. He 178 A second HeS 3B was fitted to the He 178 prototype which made the first true purely on turbojet power on august 27, 1939.
Although no spectacular performer, the succes of the He 178 made an enormous impact on the RLM and swelled the ranks of jet aircraft protagonists. Video First flight of the He-178 (6.6Mb).
http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Ejqmgrdyk/jetpower/He-178.mpg