Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (Russian: ?????? ? ??????? ???-15; USAF/DoD
designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft
developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the
first successful jet fighters to incorporate swept wings to achieve high
transonic speeds. In combat over Korea, it outclassed straight-winged jet day
fighters, which were largely relegated to ground-attack roles, and was quickly
countered by the similar American swept-wing North American F-86 Sabre. The
MiG-15 and F-86 Sabre were often considered to be the best fighter aircraft of
the Korean War.

When refined into the more advanced MiG-17, the basic design would again
surprise the West when it proved effective against supersonic fighters such as
the Republic F-105 Thunderchief and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in the
Vietnam War of the 1960s.

The MiG-15 is believed to have been one of the most produced jet aircraft; in
excess of 13,000 were manufactured. Licensed foreign production may have raised
the production total to almost 18,000. The MiG-15 remains in service with the
Korean People's Army Air Force as an advanced trainer.

The Soviet Union's first swept-wing jet fighter had been the underpowered
Lavochkin La-160, which was otherwise more similar to the MiG-9. The Lavochkin
La-168, which reached production as the Lavochkin La-15, used the same engine as
the MiG but used a shoulder mounted wing and t-tail; it was the main competitive
design. Eventually, the MiG design was favoured for mass production. Designated
MiG-15, the first production example flew on 31 December 1948. It entered Soviet
Air Force service in 1949, and subsequently received the NATO reporting name
"Fagot". Early production examples had a tendency to roll to the left or to the
right due to manufacturing variances, so aerodynamic trimmers called "nozhi"
(knives) were fitted to correct the problem, the knives being adjusted by ground
crews until the aircraft flew correctly.

An improved variant, the MiG-15bis ("second"), entered service in early 1950
with a Klimov VK-1 engine, another version of the Nene with improved metallurgy
over the RD-45, plus minor improvements and upgrades. Visible differences were a
headlight in the air intake separator and horizontal upper edge airbrakes. The
23 mm cannon were placed more closely together in their undercarriage. Some
"bis" aircraft also adopted under-wing hardpoints for unguided rocket launchers
or 50–250 kg (110–550 lb) bombs. Fighter-bomber modifications were dubbed "IB",
"SD-21", and "SD-5". About 150 aircraft were upgraded to SD-21 specification
during 1953–1954.

The MiG-15 arguably had sufficient power to dive at supersonic speeds, but the
lack of an "all-flying" tail greatly diminished the pilot's ability to control
the aircraft as it approached Mach 1. As a result, pilots understood they must
not exceed Mach 0.92, where the flight surfaces became ineffective.
Additionally, the MiG-15 tended to spin after it stalled, and often the pilot
could not recover. Later MiGs incorporated all-flying tails.

The MiG-15 was originally intended to intercept American bombers like the B-29.
It was even evaluated in mock air-to-air combat trials with a captured U.S.
B-29, as well as the later Soviet B-29 copy, the Tupolev Tu-4. To ensure the
destruction of such large bombers, the MiG-15 carried autocannons: two 23 mm
with 80 rounds per gun and a single 37 mm with 40 rounds. These weapons provided
tremendous punch in the interceptor role, but their limited rate of fire and
relatively low velocity made it more difficult to score hits against small and
maneuverable enemy jet fighters in air-to-air combat. The 23 mm and 37 mm also
had radically different ballistics, and some United Nations pilots in Korea had
the unnerving experience of 23 mm shells passing over them while the 37 mm
shells flew under. The cannon were fitted into a simple pack that could be
winched out of the bottom of the nose for servicing and reloading, allowing
pre-prepared packs to be rapidly swapped out. (Some sources mistakenly claim the
pack was added in later models.)



Role
Fighter aircraft

National origin
Soviet Union

Manufacturer
Mikoyan-Gurevich

First flight
30 December 1947

Introduction
1949

Status
In limited service with the Korean People's Army Air Force

Primary users
Soviet Air Forces (historical)

People's Liberation Army Air Force (historical)
Korean People's Army Air Force
(current)

Number built
13,130 in the USSR + at least 4,180 under license

Developed into
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17

The MiG-15 was widely exported, with the People's Republic of China (PRC)
receiving MiG-15bis models in 1950. Its baptism of fire occurred during the last
phases (1946–49) of the Chinese Civil War. During the first months of 1950, the
aviation of Nationalist China attacked from Taiwan the communist position in
continental China, especially Shanghai. Mao Zedong requested the military
assistance of the USSR, and the 50th IAD (?????????????? ???????????, ???;
Istrebitelnaya Aviadiviziya; Fighter Aviation Division) equipped with the
MiG-15bis was deployed in the southern part of the PRC. On 28 April 1950,
Captain Kalinikov shot down a P-38 of the Kuomintang, scoring the first aerial
victory of the MiG-15. Another followed on 11 May, when Captain Ilya Ivanovich
Schinkarenko downed the B-24 Liberator of Li Chao Hua, commander of the 8th Air
Group of the nationalist Air Force.

Chinese MiG-15s took part in the first jet-versus-jet dogfights during the
Korean War. The swept-wing MiG-15 quickly proved superior to the
first-generation, straight-wing jets of western air forces such as the Lockheed
P-80 Shooting Star and the British Gloster Meteor, as well as piston-engined
P-51 Mustangs and Vought F4U Corsairs with the MiG-15 of First Lieutenant Semyon
Fyodorovich Khominich scoring the first jet-vs-jet victory in history when he
bagged the F-80C of Frank Van Sickle, who died in the encounter (the USAF
credits the loss to North Korean flak). Only the F-86 Sabre was a match for the
MiG.

The MiG-15's performance amazed its Western opponents. The British Chief of the
Air Staff said "Not only is it faster than anything we are building today, but
it is already being produced in very large numbers The Russians, therefore,
have achieved a four year lead over British development in respect of the
vitally important interceptor fighter". The MiG-15 proved very effective in its
designed role against formations of B-29 heavy bombers, shooting down numerous
bombers. In a match-up with the F-86, the results were not as clear-cut, and
Americans claimed that the F-86 had the advantage in combat kills. The Soviet
64th IAK claimed 1,106 UN aircraft destroyed in the Korean War, compared to
Allied records that 142 Allied aircraft were downed by Soviet MiG-15 pilots.
Western experts do acknowledge many Soviet pilots earned bigger individual
scores than their American counterparts due to a number of factors, though
overall figures of NATO were probably overstated.

For many years, the participation of Soviet aircrews in the Korean War was
widely suspected by the UN forces, but consistently denied by the Soviet Union.
With the end of the Cold War Soviet pilots who participated in the conflict have
begun to reveal their role. Soviet aircraft were adorned with North Korean or
Chinese markings and pilots wore either North Korean uniforms or civilian
clothes to disguise their origins. For radio communication, they were given
cards with common Korean words for various flying terms spelled out phonetically
in Cyrillic characters. These subterfuges did not long survive the stresses of
air-to-air combat, however, as pilots routinely communicated (cursed) in
Russian. Soviet pilots were prevented from flying over areas in which they might
be captured, which would indicate that the Soviet Union was an active combatant
in the war.

The USSR never acknowledged that its pilots ever flew over Korea during the Cold
War. Americans who intercepted radio traffic during combat confirmed hearing
Russian-speaking voices, but only the Communist Chinese and North Korean
combatants took responsibility for the flying. Until the publishing of recent
books by Chinese, Russian and ex-Soviet authors, such as Zhang Xiaoming, Leonid
Krylov, Yuriy Tepsurkaev and Igor Seydov, little was known of the actual pilots.
The Americans recognized the techniques of their opponents whom they called
"honchos", and dubbed "MiG Alley" the site of numerous dogfights in the
northwestern portion of North Korea where the Yalu River empties into the Yellow
Sea.

Specifications (MiG-15bis)

General characteristics
Crew: 1 or 2
Length: 10.102 m (33 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 10.085 m (33 ft 1 in)
Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 20.6 m² (221.7 ft²)
Airfoil: TsAGI S-10 / TsAGI SR-3
Empty weight: 3,681 kg (8,113 lb)
Loaded weight: 5,044 kg (11,177 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 6,106 kg (13,458 lb) with 2 × 600 l (130 imp gal; 160 US
gal) drop tanks
Fuel capacity: 1,420 l (310 imp gal; 380 US gal)
Powerplant: 1 × Klimov VK-1 centrifugal-flow turbojet, 26.5 kN (5,950 lbf)

Performance
Maximum speed:
At sea level: Mach 0.87 (1,076 km/h; 669 mph)
At 3,000 m (9,840 ft): Mach 0.9 (1,107 km/h; 688 mph)

Cruise speed: Mach 0.69 (850 km/h; 528 mph)
Range: 2,520 km (1,565 mi; 1,362 nmi) at 12,000 m (39,360 ft) with 2 × 600 l
(130 imp gal; 160 US gal) drop tanks
Service ceiling: 15,500 m (50,840 ft)
Rate of climb: 51.2 m/s (10,080 ft/min)
Wing loading: 296.4 kg/m² (60.8 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.54

Armament

2 × 23 mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 autocannon in the lower left fuselage (80
rounds per gun, 160 rounds total)
1 × 37 mm Nudelman N-37 autocannon in the lower right fuselage (40 rounds total)
2 × 100 kg (220 lb) bombs, drop tanks, or unguided rockets on 2 underwing
hardpoints




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