Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15

infobox Aircraft
name =MiG-15
MiG-15UTI
type =Fighter
manufacturer =Mikoyan-Gurevich

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 ( _ru. Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-15) (NATO reporting name Fagot) was a jet fighter developed for the USSR by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters, and it achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where early in the war, it outclassed all enemy fighters. The MiG-15 also served as the starting point for development of the more advanced MiG-17 which would oppose American fighters over Vietnam in the 1960s. The MiG-15 is believed to have been one of the most numerous jet aircraft ever made, with over 12,000 built. Licensed foreign production perhaps raised the total to over 18,000. [ [http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/mig15.htm Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (Ji-2) Fagot B] ]

Design and development

Most early jets were designed like piston-engined fighters with straight wings, limiting their high speed performance. German research during World War II had shown swept wings would perform better at transonic speeds, and Soviet aircraft designers were quick to take advantage of this information. Claims of Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich (lead designers of the "MiG" bureau) being heavily influenced by the Focke-Wulf Ta 183, however, have been discredited. Although the abortive late-war German jet had swept wings and bore a superficial resemblance to the later MiG-15, the two aircraft are very different in structure and general design. The Soviets did seize plans and prototypes for the Ta-183, but the majority of Focke-Wulf engineers were captured by Western armies. Currently, most sources acknowledge that the MiG-15 is an original design benefiting from German research, but conceived, designed, engineered, and produced by the Soviets.Gordon, Yefim. "Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15". Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-85780-105-9.]

The unusual MiG-8 "Utka" experimental canard aircraft, built right at the conclusion of World War II by the MiG design bureau, is said to have also been a major influence in the use of swept wings on later Mikoyan designs.

By 1946, Soviet designers were finding it impossible to perfect the German-designed HeS-011 axial-flow jet engine, and new airframe designs from Mikoyan were threatening to outstrip development of the engines to power them. Soviet aviation minister Mikhail Khrunichev and aircraft designer A.S. Yakovlev suggested to Premier Joseph Stalin the USSR buy advanced jet engines from the British. Stalin is said to have replied, "What fool will sell us his secrets?"

However, he gave his consent to the proposal and Mikoyan, engine designer Vladimir Klimov, and others travelled to the United Kingdom to request the engines. To Stalin's amazement, the British Labour government and its pro-Soviet Minister of Trade, Sir Stafford Cripps, were perfectly willing to provide technical information and a license to manufacture the Rolls-Royce Nene. This engine was reverse-engineered and produced as the Klimov RD-45, subsequently incorporated into the MiG-15. Rolls-Royce later attempted to claim £207 million in license fees, without success.Fact|date=February 2007

In the interim, on 15 April 1947, the Council of Ministers issued decree #493-192, which ordered the Mikoyan OKB to build two prototypes for a new jet fighter. As the decree called for a first flight as soon as December, designers at OKB-155 fell back on an earlier troublesome design, the MiG-9. The MiG-9 suffered from an unreliable engine and control problems; the first would be solved by the excellent new Klimov engine, and to solve the second, the designers began experimenting with swept wings and redesigning the tail. The resulting prototypes were designated I-310.

The I-310 was a clean, swept-wing fighter with 35° sweep in wings and tail, and exceptional performance, with a top speed of over 650 mph (1,040 km/h). Its primary competitor was the similar Lavochkin La-168. After evaluation, the MiG design was chosen for production. Designated MiG-15, the first production example flew on 31 December 1948. It entered Soviet Air Force service in 1949, and would subsequently receive the NATO reporting name "Fagot." Early production examples had a tendency to roll to the left or right due to manufacturing variances, and 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-15"bis" ("second"), entered service in early 1950 with a Klimov VK-1 engine, an improved version of the RD-45/Nene, plus minor improvements and upgrades. (Visible differences are: a headlight in air intake separator and horizontal upper edge of air brakes in MiG-15).

The MiG-15 arguably had sufficient power to dive at supersonic speeds, but could not do so because it did not feature an "all-flying" tail. As a result, the pilot's ability to control the aircraft deteriorated significantly as Mach 1 was approached. Later MiGs would incorporate 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 an interned ex-U.S. B-29, as well as the later Soviet B-29 copy, the Tu-4 "Bull". To ensure the destruction of such large bombers, the MiG-15 carried cannon armament: two 23 mm with 80 rounds "per" gun and a single 37 mm with 40. 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 neat pack that could be winched down out of the bottom of the nose for servicing and reloading, in principle allowing a preprepared pack to be switched in for rapid turnaround. (Some sources mistakenly claim the pack was added in later models.)

A variety of MiG-15 variants were built, but the most common was the MiG-15UTI (NATO reporting name Midget) two-seat trainer.

Because Mikoyan-Gurevich never mass-produced the transition training versions of the later MiG-17 or MiG-19, the MiG-15UTI remained the sole Warsaw Pact advanced jet trainer well into the 1970s, the primary training role being fulfilled exclusively by Czechoslovak Aero L-29 "Delfin" and the L-39 Albatros jet trainers (save for Poland, which used their indigenous TS-11 "Iskra" jets). While China produced two-seat trainer versions of the later MiG-17 and MiG-19, the Soviets felt that the MiG-15UTI was sufficient for their needs and did not produce their own trainer versions of those aircraft.

Operational history

The MiG-15 was widely exported, with the People's Republic of China receiving MiG-15"bis" models in 1950. Chinese MiG-15s took part in the first jet-"versus"-jet dogfights after communist North Korea's invasion of South Korea. The swept-wing MiG-15 quickly proved superior to the first-generation, straight-wing jets of the United Nations air forces, such as the F-80 and Gloster Meteor, as well as piston-engined F-51 Mustangs and F4U Corsairs (although an American F-80 would score the first all-jet, air-to-air kill in history over a MiG-15). Only the F-86 Sabre with its highly trained pilots was a match for the MiG.

The F-86 was America's first swept-wing fighter and was introduced in December 1950. Although the Sabre could not match the MiG-15 in some performance areas, superior tactics and pilot training allowed Sabre pilots to achieve high kill ratios. Eager to obtain an intact MiG for testing, the United States offered a reward of US$100,000 and political asylum to any pilot who would defect with his airplane. [Friedman, Herbert A. [http://www.psywarrior.com/Moolah.html "Operation Moolah: The Plot to Steal a MiG-15".] ] Eventually, Lieutenant No Kum-Sok, who claimed to be unaware of the reward, landed at Kimpo Air Base in September 1953, allowing the first detailed evaluation of the aircraft. [Kum-Sok and Osterholm 1996]

This MiG-15 was minutely inspected and was test flown by several test pilots including Chuck Yeager. Yeager reported in his autobiography the MiG-15 had dangerous handling faults and claimed that during a visit to the USSR, Soviet pilots were incredulous he had "dived" in it, this supposedly being very hazardous.Yeager and Janos 1986, p. 208.] When this story got back to the Russian pilots Yeager claimed to have talked to, they angrily denounced it. In fact, although the MiG-15 did have some handling quirks and could, in principle, exceed flight limits in a dive, its airbrakes opened automatically at the red line limit, preventing it from going out of control. Lieutenant No's aircraft is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio.

Throughout the 1950s, Soviet and Warsaw Pact MiG-15s intercepted USAF reconnaissance aircraft, shooting down several.Fact|date=February 2007 MiG-15s of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) frequently engaged Republic of China (ROC) and U.S. aircraft in combat, and in 1958, a ROC fighter achieved the first air-to-air kill with an AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile, against a PLAAF MiG-15. [ [http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-9.html Raytheon (Philco/General Electric) AAM-N-7/GAR-8/AIM-9 Sidewinder] ] The MiG-15 also served with the Arab air forces during the 1956 Suez Canal Crisis and the 1967 Six-Day War.

A MiG-15 achieved an air-to-air kill on 13 June 1952, which remained a secret for many years. Its victim was a Swedish Air Force DC-3 signals reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea, which set off what has become known as the Catalina affair (after the shooting down of a Catalina flying boat sent out to search for the missing DC-3). [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A790049 The Catalina Affair] ]

The famous Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin died during a March 1968 training flight in a MiG-15UTI. Due to poor visibility and miscommunication with ground control, Gagarin crashed. [Doran 1998, p. 210–229.]

Production

The USSR built around 12,000 MiG-15s in all variants. It was also built under license in Czechoslovakia (as the S-102 and S-103) and Poland (as the Lim-1 and Lim-2 and biplace SB Lim-1 and SB Lim-2).

In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union delivered hundreds of MiG-15s to China, where they received the designation J-2. The Soviets also sent almost a thousand MiG-15 engineers and specialists to China, where they assisted China's Shenyang Aircraft Factory in building the MiG-15UTI trainer (designated JJ-2). China never produced a single-seat fighter version, only the two-seat JJ-2. [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/j-2.htm]

The designation "J-4" is unclear; some sources claim Western observers mistakenly labelled China's MiG-15"bis" a "J-4", while the PLAAF never used the "J-4" designation. Others claim "J-4" is used for MiG-17F, while "J-5" is used for MiG-17PF. [http://www.designation-systems.net/non-us/china.html] Another source claims the PLAAF used "J-4" for Soviet-built MiG-17A, which were quickly replaced by license-built MiG-17Fs (J-5s). [http://www.airtoaircombat.com/background.asp?id=41&bg=856] What is certain is, the service lives of the J-2 and J-4 in the PLAAF were short, as they were quickly replaced by the more capable J-5 and J-6.Fact|date=February 2007

Variants

*I-310 : Prototype.
*MiG-15 : First production version.
*MiG-15P : Single-seat all-weather interceptor version of the MiG-15"bis".
*MiG-15SB : Single-seat fighter bomber version.
*MiG-15SP-5 : Two-seat all-weather interceptor version of the MiG-15UTI.
*MiG-15T : Target-towing version.
*MiG-15"bis" : Improved single-seat fighter version.
*MiG-15"bis"R : Single-seat reconnaissance version.
*MiG-15"bis"S : Single-seat escort fighter version.
*MiG-15"bis"T : Single-seat target-towing version.
*MiG-15UTI : Two-seat dual-control jet trainer.
*J-2 : Chinese designation of the MiG-15 single-seat fighter.
*JJ-2 : Chinese designation of the MiG-15UTI two-seat jet trainer.
*J-4 : Chinese designation
*Lim-1 : MiG-15 jet fighters built under license in Poland.
*Lim-1A : Polish-built reconnaissance version of the MiG-15 with AFA-21 camera.
*Lim-2 : MiG-15"bis" built under license in Poland, with Lis-2 (license VK-1) engines.
*Lim-2R : Polish-built reconnaissance version of MiG-15"bis" with a place for a camera in the front part of the canopy.
*SB Lim-1 : Polish Lim-1 converted to equivalent of MiG-15UTI jet trainers, with RD-45 jet engines.
*SB Lim-2 : Polish Lim-2 or SBLim-1 converted to jet trainers with Lis-1 (VK-1) jet engines.
*SBLim-2A or -2Art: Polish-built two-seat reconnaissance version, for correcting artillery.
*S-102 : MiG-15 jet fighters built under license in Czechoslovakia.
*S-103 : MiG-15"bis" jet fighters built under license in Czechoslovakia.
*CS-102 : MiG-15UTI jet trainers built under license in Czechoslovakia.

Operators

Multicol; AFG: 42, including 38 MiG-15UTI, were delivered to the Royal Afghan Air Force from 1951, serving through 1979. [ [http://www.worldairforces.com/Countries/afghanistan/afg.html Afghanistan (AFG), World Air Forces - Historical Listings] ] ; ALB: 80 or more have served with the Albanian Air Force since 1955, including Soviet, Czech and Chinese-built examples. The initial allotment of 10 MiG-15 fighters delivered in 1955 was followed by 24 MiG-15UTI trainers from that year on. These were supplemented by Czech Avia CS-102 trainers, with four being acquired. Further fighter deliveries comprised 26 MiG-15bis examples. Once Albania switched to Chinese support, deliveries of 24 F-2 fighters and 15 FT-2 trainers commenced from 1965. These aircraft remained in service through the late 1990s. [ [http://www.worldairforces.com/Countries/albania/alb.html Albania (ALB), World Air Forces - Historical Listings] ] .; DZA; ANG; BUL; BFA; CAM; CHN: Still operates locally built examples as trainers.; COG; CUB; CZS; DDR; EGY; FIN: Only operated the MiG-15UTI.; GUI; GNB; HUN; IDN: Acquired its MiG-15s in 1961. Used MiG-15UTI and other MiG-15 as trainers during the preparation of Operation TRIKORA in 1962 in Western New Guinea (now Papua and Papua Barat). The aircraft were grounded in 1969 and removed from service in 1970.

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; IRQ; LBA; MAD; MLI; MGL; MAR; MOZ; NGA; PRK: Still operates MiG-15UTI as a trainer.; flag|North Vietnam; flag|North Yemen; PAK; POL; ROM: Operated a total of 514 MiG-15, MiG-15bis, MiG-15 UTI, S-102 and CS-102 from 1952 until 1992; SOM; flag|South Yemen; USSR; SRI; SUD; SYR; TAN; UGA; USA: In the 1980s, the United States purchased a number of Shenyang J-4s along with Shenyang J-5s from China via the Combat Core Certification Professionals Company; these aircraft were employed in a "mobile threat test" program at Kirtland Air Force Base, operated by the 4477th "Red Hats" Test and Evaluation Squadron of the United States Air Force.; VIE; YEM

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pecifications (MiG-15"bis")

aircraft specification

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet
crew=MiG-15bis=1, MiG-15UTI=2
length main=10.11 m
length alt=33 ft 2 in
span main=10.08 m
span alt=33 ft 1 in
height main=3.70 m
height alt=12 ft 2 in
area main=20.6 m²
area alt=221.74 ft²
airfoil=TsAGI S-10 / TsAGI SR-3
empty weight main=3,580 kg
empty weight alt=7,900 lb
loaded weight main=4,960 kg
loaded weight alt=10,935 lb
max takeoff weight main=6,105 kg
max takeoff weight alt=13,460 lb)