https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-17
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (Russian: ?????? ? ??????? ???-17; NATO reporting
name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the USSR from 1952
and operated by numerous air forces in many variants. It is an advanced
development of the very similar looking MiG-15 of the Korean War. The MiG-17 was
license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 and Poland as the PZL-Mielec Lim-6.
MiG-17s first saw combat in 1958 in the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and later
proved to be an effective threat against more modern supersonic fighters of the
United States in the Vietnam War. It was also briefly known as the Type 38 by
U.S. Air Force designation prior to the development of NATO codes.
While the MiG-15bis introduced swept wings to air combat over Korea, the
Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau had already begun work on its replacement in 1949
(originally the MiG-15bis45) in order to fix any problems found with the MiG-15
in combat. The result was one of the most successful transonic fighters
introduced before the advent of true supersonic types such as the
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 and North American F-100 Super Sabre. The design would
ultimately still prove effective into the 1960s when pressed into subsonic
dogfights over Vietnam against much faster planes which were not optimized for
maneuvering in such slower speed, short-range engagements.
Though the MiG-17 still strongly resembles its forebear, it had an entirely new
thinner and more highly swept wing and tailplane for speeds approaching Mach 1.
While the F-86 introduced the "all-flying" tailplane which helped
controllability near the speed of sound, this would not be adopted on MiGs until
the fully supersonic MiG-19. The wing had a "sickle sweep" compound shape with a
tendency to bend its wingtips and lose aerodynamic symmetry unexpectedly at high
speeds and wing loads. Like its forebearer, the MiG-17 inherited a major design
deficit which caused its fuel tanks to develop an under-pressure condition if
more than half the fuel had been used which could lead to tank implosions,
crushing the main fuselage of the aircraft in mid-flight with almost always
fatal results. Roughly 30% of the fatal accidents of Soviet MiG-17 were
attributed to this problem.
Other easily visible differences to its predecessor were the addition of a third
wing fence on each wing, the addition of a ventral fin and a longer and less
tapered rear fuselage that added about one meter in length. The MiG-17 shared
the same Klimov VK-1 engine, and much of the rest of its construction such as
the forward fuselage, landing gear and gun installation was carried over.
Role
Fighter aircraft
National origin
Soviet Union
Manufacturer
Mikoyan-Gurevich
First flight
14 January 1950
Introduction
October 1952
Status
In limited service.
Primary users
Soviet Air Forces (historical)
People's Liberation Army Air Force (historical)
Polish Air Force (historical)
Vietnam People's Air Force (historical)
Number built
10,649 including Polish and Chinese variants
Developed from
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
Variants
PZL-Mielec Lim-6
Shenyang J-5
Developed into
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19
MiG-17s were designed to intercept straight-and-level-flying enemy bombers, not
for air-to-air combat (dogfighting) with other fighters. This subsonic (.93
Mach) fighter was effective against slower (.6-.8 Mach), heavily loaded U.S.
fighter-bombers, as well as the mainstay American strategic bombers during the
MiG-17's development cycle (such as the Boeing B-50 Superfortress or Convair
B-36 Peacemaker, which were both still powered by piston engines). It was not
however able to intercept the new generation of British jet bombers such as the
Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor, which could both fly higher. The USAF's
introduction of strategic bombers capable of supersonic dash speeds such as the
Convair B-58 Hustler and General Dynamics FB-111 rendered the MiG-17 obsolete in
front-line PVO service, and they were supplanted by supersonic interceptors such
as the MiG-21 and MiG-23.
MiG-17s were not available for the Korean War, but saw combat for the first time
over the Straits of Taiwan when the Communist PRC MiG-17s clashed with the
Republic of China (ROC, Nationalist China) F-86 Sabres in 1958.
In 1958, MiG-17s downed a US reconnaissance Lockheed C-130 Hercules over
Armenia, with 17 casualties
The MiG-17 was the primary interceptor of the fledgling VPAF in 1965,
responsible for their first aerial victories and seeing extensive service during
the Vietnam War. Some North Vietnamese pilots preferred the MiG-17 over the
MiG-21 because it was more agile, though not as fast; three of the 16 VPAF Aces
of the war (credited with shooting down five or more opposing aircraft) were
from MiG-17s. Those were: Nguyen Van Bay (seven victories), Luu Huy Chao and Le
Hai (both with six). The rest gained ace status in MiG-21s.
From 1965 to 1972, MiG-17s from the VPAF 921st and 923rd FRs would claim 71
aerial victories against U.S. aircraft: 11 Crusaders, 16 F-105 Thunderchiefs, 32
F-4 Phantom IIs, two A-4 Skyhawks, seven A-1 Skyraiders, one C-47
cargo/transport aircraft, one Sikorsky CH-3C helicopter and one Ryan Firebee
UAV., while VPAF lost 63 MiG-17s in air combat
The American fighter community was shocked in 1965 when elderly, subsonic
MiG-17s downed sophisticated Mach-2-class F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bombers
over North Vietnam. As a result of these experiences the U.S. Air Force
initiated project "Feather Duster" aimed at developing tactics that would enable
the heavier American fighters to deal with smaller and more agile opponents like
the MiG-17. To simulate the MiG-17 the U.S. Air Force chose the F-86H Sabre. One
pilot who participated in the project remarked that "In any envelope except nose
down and full throttle", either the F-100 or F-105 was inferior to the F-86H in
a dogfight. The project was generally successful in that the resulting tactics
effectively minimised the disadvantages of the F-105, F-100 and other heavy
American fighters while minimising the advantages of slower but more
manoeuvrable fighters such as the F-86 and the MiG-17.
Specifications (MiG-17F)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 11.264 m (37 ft)
Wingspan: 9.628 m (31 ft 7 in)
Height: 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
Empty weight: 3,919 kg (8,640 lb)
Loaded weight: 5,340 kg (11,770 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 6,069 kg (13,375 lb)
lbf)
Thrust with afterburner: 33.8 kN (7,423 lbf)
Performance
Maximum speed:
At sea level: Mach 0.89 (1,100 km/h; 684 mph)
At 3,000 m (9,840 ft) with reheat: Mach 0.93 (1,145 km/h; 712 mph)
imp gal; 110 US gal) drop tanks
Service ceiling: 16,600 m (54,450 ft) with reheat
Rate of climb: 65 m/s (12,800 ft/min)
Thrust/weight: 0.63
Maximum g-load: 8 g
Armament
Guns:
total)
Hardpoints: 2 pylons with a capacity of up to 500 kg (1,100 lb) of stores and
rockets
(some versions equipped with 3 x NR-23 autocannons and 2 x K-5 air-to-air
missiles)
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