The Mikoyan-Gourevitch Mig-15 is a Fighter plan with reaction builds in great series by the Soviet at the beginning of the Cold war. Realized after the delivery of twenty-five Turbojet S Rolls-Royce Tit, by the the United Kingdom, it appeared equal better Western achievements at the time of the Guerre of Korea, like the F-86 Saber. It made the reputation of its manufacturer who then became the principal manufacturer of fighter plan in the USSR, so that in Occident the term MiG quickly became synonymous with Soviet hunter in the familiar language.

History

If the Soviet aircraft industry produced splendid apparatuses during the Second world war, it is found somewhat outdistanced in the immediate future afterwards--war because of its delay in the propulsion with reaction, compared to the British and with the Americans. Some specimens of engines BMW-003 and Jumo 004 captured in Germany were copied and improved gradually under the name of RD-10 and RD-20. But these engines were not very reliable, too not very powerful and difficult to develop. The performances of the first Soviet jet fighters were thus in withdrawal compared to their Western equivalents.

With the end of the year 1946, a Soviet technical delegation, directed by S.T. Kichkine and including/understanding inter alia AD INTERIM Mikoyan and V.Ya. Klimov, went in the United Kingdom. It succeeds in buying some specimens of the most modern Turboréacteur S of the firm Rolls-Royce, namely the Derwent providing a push of 1590 kilograms and the Nene I and II, giving 2.040 and 2.270 kilograms. These engines using of the centrifugal compressors were easier to produce than their equivalents with inflow. This aubaine was quickly made profitable and the office of engineer Klimov quickly carried out certified copies of the three engines which became respectively RD-500, RD-45 and RD-45F. In March 1947, OKB 155 accepted the order to produce a hunter with sweptback wings using one of these new engines. In practice, work had started as of January with the project I-310 or S . The plane, although taking again many characteristics of the Mig-9 preceding, was also clearly inspired by the plans of the Focke-Wulf Your 183 which the Soviets had seized in 1945 with Berlin.

Work advanced quickly and the first S-1 prototype flew for the first time. December 19th 1947. It was followed by the S-2 which stole on April 5th 1948. S-1 was then modified, the wing before being advanced of 80 millimetres. The carried out comparison tests in June proved the superiority of this configuration. During these tests by the manufacturer, S-1 accomplished 38 flights and S-2 thirteen. The two planes were then sent to GK NII VVS (the research institute of the air forces) to be there tested by the soldiers from May 27th to August 28th. These official tests confirmed the positive appreciation of the plane which a resolution of the Council of Ministers decided to produce in mass, as of on March 15th. The cells were to be produced with the N°1 factory and the engines with the n°45. On the whole, nine factories will manufacture cells the Migone; they are the factories n°1, n°21, n°31, n°99, n°126, n°135, n°153, n°292 and n°3810. On the whole 13131 planes will be built all confused versions. A third prototype, S-3 which stole on June 17th, definitively fixes the characteristics of the production aircraft by introducing the ventral air-brakes, the equipment of extinction of the driving compartment and the increase in the anhedral of the aerofoil to attenuate the too great stability of the two other prototypes.

The plane had a very fine line, its aerofoil presenting an arrow of thirty five degrees, combined with the power of its engine. That ensured him of the outstanding performances, including compared to its Western adversaries. It was able, inter alia, to fly to more than thousand kilometers per hour. However, it had also some eccentricities to the level of its behavior in flight which made it sometimes dangerous for inexperienced pilots. In particular, in transonic flight, it tended to buck abruptly. It was nevertheless selected against its rival, the Lavotchkine La-168 and, as of on December 31st 1948, the first specimen of series flew and started to enter in service Soviet aviation. It accepted the name of Code NATO, Fagot and was also provided to the pilots North-Korean and Chinese who fought in Korea. The arrival of this modern and powerful hunter was a shock for the forces of the United Nations which had quickly to oppose the F-86 Saber to him in order to preserve the air superiority.

Technical description

The fuselage of Mig-15 is of construction semi Monocoque out of metal. It is divided into two parts on the level of the trailing edge of the aerofoil, by a simple unbolting, which gives access easily the engine for the heavy maintenance actions. The front part is made up of thirteen Cadre S and three additional, dependant between them by four Longeron S, the higher panel and the floor of the cockpit. Two elliptic air-flues connect the frontal air intake to the compressor of the engine while passing on both sides from the cockpit. This last is pressurized by the compressor of the engine and is equipped with an ejector seat. The pilot is protected by a thick armor-plated windshield from 64 millimetres, a head-rest and two thick steel front plates of ten millimetres. In the low part of the nose, it has a gyroscopic collimator ASP-1N. It reaches the plane by the back of the canopy in the shape of bubble which is actuated by a system of crank. In the fuselage nose section one finds also the armament of three guns gathered in a drawer located on the lower part of the cockpit which can drop, to even be replaced, to ensure the fast supply in ammunition. The gun of 37 mm, NS-37, on the right, is supplied with forty blows, the NR-23 of 23 mm left, are it to eighty. More forwards the housing of the caster of nose is which is closed by two trap doors. It carries a single wheel with a tire of 480x200, not equipped with brake. Finally with the top, in front of the windshield, a small compartment where the electronic material of the plane is embarked, namely, the radio PSI-6 and a radio compass, RPKO-10M.

The fuselage tail section makes up of fifteen frameworks, plus an oblique to distribute the efforts, dependant by ten members. In addition to engine RD-45F, rather broad because of its compressor of the centrifugal type, seat two fuel tanks adding up take 1.460 liters. The back empennage consists of a drift presenting an arrow of 56°, equipped with a directional rudder for 20° on both sides of the axis and with a stabilizing horizontal plan of cantilever type of which the low part is interdependent of the structure of the drift. It is also out of arrow, but with 40° and carries two elevators, that of left having an adjustable compensator. On both sides of the conduit of the engine, two Aérofrein S assembled in residences isolated from the interior of the fuselage can be directed hydraulically with 55° to slow down the plane at the time of marked piqués.

The aerofoil is the great aerodynamic innovation of the plane. The Soviets, taking as a starting point the German work of the end of the war, will explore the field of the sweptback wings. The fact of making oblique the leading edge of the wing will appear the means simplest to solve the phenomena of local compressions appearing with the approach of the Mur of the sound. With 35°, the first project of the OKB-155 is still timid with respect to the angle to adopt. The experiment will prove besides that a higher value facilitates the transonic mode, studies which will lead to the design of the Mig-17. The structure, there still, is metal, being pressed on a member before and another oblique dependant between them by the Nervure S. the interior part of the wings makes it possible to place the two legs of the principal landing gear, they also with single wheel, but of 660 X 160 and equipped with oil and air brake and shock absorber. They retract towards the fuselage, followed by shutters which seal housing. A visual mechanical indicator, on the top of the wing, makes it possible to confirm their locking in low position. A similar system exists on the shutters. This typical system of the Soviet planes makes it possible to the pilot to visually check in the event of failure of the electric indicators in the cockpit. Outside the landing gear, a point of BD2-48MiG carrying is used to go up either of the bombs of 50 or 100 kilograms, or of the external reservoirs of 260 liters.

On their trailing edge, the wings carry each one two surfaces of control, namely a shutter moving of 0,2 meters backwards and being directed with 20° on takeoff and 55° with the landing, and a directional Aileron of 15° to the bottom and the top, that of left carrying an adjustable compensator. Two aerodynamic partitions are present on the suction face of each wing to avoid a loss of control surface efficiency, the flow of air tending to escape towards wing tip. These partitions will become as typical Soviet, unquestionable airframe manufacturers Western saying in joke as their goal is to prevent that the air makes " défection". From the aerodynamic point of view, the wing uses a profile TSAGI S-10 with its root and a TSAGI Sr-3 at its ends. It has a relative thickness of 10%.

The Migone

The production aircraft n°101003, indicated Mig-1 (SV), is used as testing ground, for a series of modifications intended to improve the operational possibilities of the Migone. Guns NS-23KM once yield the place to NR-23, capable of a rate of shooting and half higher and collimator ASP-1N is replaced by a ASP-3N. The console of starting of the engine, used before on the ground, is embarked on the aircraft, on the level of the thirteenth framework of tapered and the RD-45 is modified in order to be démarrable up to five thousand meters. The elevators are modified aérodynaniquement and the ailerons see their movement assisted by the assembly of a hydraulic actuating cylinder B7 in the fuselage. The wing is re-examined to authorize a speed of 900 km/h in lower part of five hundred meters, which was before interdict because of risks of unhooking. The tanks are also pressurized to supply the engine with a constant pressure. Only the assembly of the jack of assistance for the ailerons will be applied to about thirty Mig-15 series 20. The remainder of the modifications will be put into practice on a new plane, the Mig-15bis , which is motorized by very new Klimov Vk-1, more powerful with 2700 kilograms of push. The plane is launched in production by a ministerial order dated June 10th 1950. It eliminates or reduces the majority of the defects of youth of Mig-15 and brings higher performances. The assembly of the new engine, a little more cumbersome required to reduce the height of the back tank, decreasing the internal capacity while carburizing of sixty liters. The Vk-1 engine being of greedier, autonomy is in retreat. In addition to the modifications tested on the Migone (SV), one introduced in the course of series of other improvements, like one canopée giving a better field of view, the possibility of using a G-suit, air-brakes increased and a detector of threat Sirena 2 .

The Migone will be the most produced version the Migone, with more than eight thousand specimens, only in the USSR. Several modifications will be made on the basic model and will give sometimes place to a series production. The first answers a request of the government of April 25th 1950 to develop an alternative of escort with long operating range of the MiG hunter. For this fact the OKB-155 modifies the wing to place there points of D4-48 fastener which can then embark releasable reserves of six hundred liters, instead of the preceding points of carrying. The Mig-15bis n°53210114 moreover is equipped with an oxygen reserve for the pilot with eight liters, instead of six. The official tests are carried out from September 14th to 25th 1950 and an autonomy of two thousand two hundred kilometers is reached. But the plane is rejected, because the soldiers estimate that the cruising speed, limited to 650 km/h because of the tanks, is insufficient to escort the bombers of the time. With the end of the year, the aerodynamics of the tanks is improved and one changes the points of fastener for of D4-50, which makes it possible to support a sufficient speed of 820 km/h. The derivative is thus launched in production with the factory n°292. Another improvement carried out by this last factory, in 1951, to reduce the length of runway necessary to the operational use of the plane: two Mig-15bis production aircraft will be used for these experiments and will be indicated Mig-15bis (SA). They are equipped with a brake chute PT-2165-51, and brakes modified which make it possible to decrease by half the landing distance. In 1952, some planes equipped in a similar way will be built with the factory n°1.

The Migone

Summary of the alternatives

• S-1 first prototype, first flight, December 19th 1947 by V.N.Youganov, driving Tit I.
• S-2 second prototype, first flight, April 5th 1948 by S.N.Anokhine, driving Tit II.
• prototype last S-3, first flight June 17th 1948, by I.T.Ivachtchenko, appearance of the air-brakes, extinguisher in the driving compartment, modified control surfaces, and reduction in the dihedron of the aerofoil of -1° with -2° to decrease longitudinal stability.
Mig-15
• (S) - first version of hunting per good weather.
Mig-15
• (SV) - modification tested on the production aircraft n° 101003, guns NS-23KM replaced by drawing NR-23 once and half more quickly, hydraulic actuating cylinder B-7 in the fuselage to witness the movement of the ailerons high speed, collimating ASP-1N replaced by ASP-3N.
• Mig-15 (KNOWN) - modification of the armament, reduced to two guns SH-3 of 23 mm, but directional of + 11° with -7° in site. A plane the n°109035 was modified and tested starting from January 25th 1951. But, although the solution had certain advantages, it was not retained for a series production.
Mig-15
• (SA) - Four Mig-15 (SA-1, -2,-3 and -4) was modified with a Vk-1 engine and an instrumentation OSP-48, allowing the instrument flying.
Mig-15bis
• (SD) - second version of hunting per good weather, integrating the modifications of the SV, and the new engine Klimov Vk-1 of 2700 kilograms push.
Mig-15SB
• - hunter bomber.
Mig-15P
• - hunter all-time derived from the (a)
Mig-15T
• - tug boat of target
Mig-15bisR
• - version of recognition of the (a) , reserves of 600 liters under the wings, one of the guns of 23 mm replaced by a vertical camera, 364 specimens.
Mig-15bisS
• - hunter of escort, reserves of 600 liters under the wings, 49 specimens, in 1951.
Mig-15UTI
• - two-seater plane of drive
Mig-15SP-5
• - two-seater hunter all-time
• J-2 - Chinese production
• JJ-2 - two-seater of Chinese production.
• Lim-1 - production under license in Poland of the Migone.
• Lim-1A - production under license in Poland of Mig-15 with camera AFA-21
• Lim-2 - production under license in Poland of the Migone.
• Lim- 2R - production under license in Poland of Mig-15bis, version attacks with the ground-recognition with place for camera in face of the canopy
• Lim-2A - production under license in Poland of Mig-15bis, two-seater version attacks with the ground-recognition
• SB Lim-1 - production under license in Poland of Mig-15UTI with engine RD-45.
• SB Lim-2 - production under license in Poland of Mig-15UTI with engine VK-1
• S-102 - production under license in Czechoslovakia of the Migone.
• S-103 - production under license in Czechoslovakia of the Migone.
• CS-12 - production under license in Czechoslovakia of the Migone.

See too

External bonds

• Site of the group aircraft

• http://vectorsite.net/avmig15_1.html

Simple: Mig-15 Faggot