home Accounting Jet fighter MIG 15. Legendary aircraft

Jet fighter MIG 15. Legendary aircraft

The design ideas of Mikoyan and Gurevich created one of the best aircraft in the world; this fighter, produced en masse, opened a wide path for Soviet aircraft construction in the jet age. Possessing excellent vertical maneuver and powerful weapons, the MiG-15 received a baptism of fire in Korea and rightfully became the best fighter of that time.

History of creation

In 1946, after being invited to the Kremlin, a group of OKB-155 designers became familiar with the requirements for building a machine with a jet engine capable of reaching transonic speed. A.I. Mikoyan and M.I. Gurevich understood that the creation of such an aircraft was possible if we used all the developments of previous years on the aerodynamics of a swept wing.

In parallel with such work, the design of an ejection seat and engine for a jet aircraft was developed. We didn’t have our own engine yet; we had to go to England for experience and Rolls-Royce Nene and Derwent engines. Having bought ten English engines in 1946 and 15 in 1947, Soviet engineers studied and made drawings of the engines. Soon receiving the designation RD-45, the converted English engine was put into production.

In the meantime, OKB-155 finally adopted the version of a simple fuselage with two air channels from the nose of the body to the engine located at the tail of the aircraft. The factory designation for this vehicle was I-310 and three prototypes were built in 1947, one of them was equipped with an RD-45F high-reliability engine.

According to the old tradition in last days outgoing 1947, OKB-155 pilot V.N. Yuganov tested a pre-production jet fighter in the air. A year passed and on December 30, 1948, the first production car was driven by the same V.N. Yuganova took off from the concrete strip of the factory airfield and performed an installation flight.

The quality of manufactured aircraft increased every day, and the product was subject to constant improvement during production. Designer V.Ya. Klimov prepared a modernized VK-1 engine, which was used to equip the new most widespread modification, which received the index . Before going into production, the vehicle's armament was replaced - two new HP-23 and one N-37 cannons were installed. After agreement with the Ministry of Defense, the design bureau developed a project for a new training aircraft MiG-15UTI and already in January 1949 the new machine was tested in flight. This “spark” has given more than one generation of pilots a ticket to the skies.

Aircraft design

The aerodynamic design of the new aircraft was a monoplane with a swept wing in the middle position and a rear cruciform tail. The oblique beam of the wing and its spar formed a niche in the form of a triangle into which the landing gear was retracted.

The wing was equipped with mechanization consisting of ailerons with trim tabs and flap flaps extending to a certain angle during landing and takeoff modes. On the cruciform tail, the stabilizer divided the rudder into upper and lower parts.

The fighter's power plant consisted of an RD-25F engine; in later modifications, starting with , a more powerful VK-1 was installed; the air flow was directed from the air intake in the bow through two channels that went around the pilot's cabin compartment to the engine located in the tail of the aircraft.

The three-wheel landing gear, retractable in flight, had lever-type shock absorbers. The nose strut was self-orienting, the braking system was air. The landing gear was retracted and deployed hydraulically. The control system had no cables; it was rigid, based on rods and rockers. On the latest modification of the machine, hydraulic boosters were introduced into the control system.

The armament was represented by three cannons in the bow under the air intake - one N-37 and two HP-23. The guns were placed on a retractable carriage and, using a special winch, were reloaded within 20 minutes. Additionally, it was possible to hang two bombs of one hundred kilograms each under the wing.

The fighter cabin is sealed with forced ventilation and equipped with an ejection seat. The glazing of the canopy opened good review, which is very important for air combat. Flight instruments are concentrated on the cockpit dashboard - attitude indicator AGI-1, speed indicator, altimeter, slip indicator and variometer, navigation instruments - remote gyromagnetic compass, approach system, radio compass and radio altimeter.

The RSIU-3 radio station was intended for communication with the ground and between aircraft; the aircraft was equipped with SRO-1 state identification equipment. On the left panel inside the cockpit there was an engine control lever, on the right panel there were switches for radio equipment and aircraft systems. In the middle there was a control handle with a brake lever and gun triggers. The pilot was comfortably located in the ejection seat.

Flight performance

Crew -1 person
Maximum ground speed - 1042 km/h
Maximum speed at an altitude of 5000 m - 1021 km/h, at an altitude of 10000 m - 974 km/h
Take-off speed - 230 km/h
Landing speed - 174 km/h
Range - 1335 km, with PTB - 1920 km
Practical ceiling - 15100 m
Rate of climb at the ground - 41 m/s
Climb time 10 thousand m - 6.8 minutes
Take-off distance - 605 m
Landing distance length - 755 m
Wing span - 10.08 m
Aircraft length - 10.10 m
Aircraft height - 3.7 m
Empty aircraft weight - 3247 kg
Normal take-off weight - 4917 kg
Fuel quantity - 1210 kg
Engine - TRD RD-45F
Thrust - 2270 kgf
Armament - one N-37 and two HP-23 cannons
Suspension points - 2

Features of air warfare in Korea

The Korean events deserve attention because they were the scene of a military clash of jet aircraft, which opened a new era in the history of aviation. Ours provided air support to units of the Chinese army. For the American air force, the appearance was unexpected; F-80 with a straight wing they had lower speed and turned into easy prey for our aircraft. The United States urgently transferred the newest to Korea F-86 Saber, which opposed Soviet aircraft in the air war. Our pilots did not have the right to fight and pursue the enemy over the territory of South Korea and the sea. But the Soviet pilots did not have the goal of destruction F-86, the main task was not to miss the next bomber raid B-29.

At that time, we did not have anti-g suits, but US pilots did, and this reduced our ability to conduct maneuverable air combat. Korean War veterans recalled that "Saber" had superiority at low altitudes, especially in turns, and Moment had an excellent rate of climb and often the battle ended after the first approach. Having attacked unsuccessfully, the Saber went down, and Moment tried to gain height. After which, each pilot used best qualities of our aircraft and as a result our Moment ended up at the top, and the American at the bottom.

The outcome of the battle was often influenced by the presence of "Saber" radio range finder, with which our planes were shot down from a long distance, about 2.5 km. This sad situation for Soviet pilots lasted until 1952, until the appropriate equipment was installed on our aircraft.

Has proven itself to be excellent in intercepting bombers B-29, in the spring of 1951, on the Korean-Chinese border, Soviet pilots defeated a large group of these aircraft, and in October of the same year, the Americans suffered heavy losses during raids on North Korea and until the end of the war they no longer used bombers during the day. During the Korean events, 23 air duels were won by the Soviet pilot Evgeniy Popelyaev, it was he who forced the American pilot to make an emergency landing. F-86, which was subsequently transported to Moscow to the Central Aerodynamics Institute.

The appearance of ours in Korea caused a huge sensation in the Western press - it was called the “Korean surprise” and subsequently American pilots called this theater of operations “MiG Alley”

Video: MiG-15 fighter

A total of 15,560 vehicles were built in the Soviet Union and countries that produced the Mig-15 under license. It is the most produced military combat aircraft in the history of aviation. Over the years, it was in service with about 40 countries.

The MiG-15 (according to the NATO classification Fagot, version of the MiG-15UTI - Midget) is the first mass-produced Soviet fighter, which was designed by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the late 40s of the last century. It is the most popular jet combat aircraft in aviation. The fighter made its first flight on December 30, 1947, the first production aircraft took off exactly a year later on December 30, 1948. The first combat units to receive the MiG-15 were formed in 1949. In total, 11,073 fighter aircraft of all modifications were built in the USSR. They were quite widely exported to China, North Korea and the Warsaw Pact countries, as well as to a number of countries in the Middle East (Syria, Egypt). In total, taking into account aircraft that were produced under license in Czechoslovakia and Poland, the total number of fighters produced reached 15,560.

History of creation

Mastered in due time Soviet industry jet engines RD-10 and RD-20 by 1947 had completely exhausted their capabilities. There was an urgent need for new engines. At the same time in the West in the late 40s the best engines motors with a centrifugal compressor, which were also called the “Whittl turbine,” were considered. The power plant of this type was quite reliable, simple and undemanding to operate, and although these engines could not develop high thrust, this scheme became in demand in the aviation of many countries for several years.

It was decided to start designing a new Soviet jet fighter specifically for these engines. To this end, at the end of 1946, a delegation from the USSR went to England, which in those years was considered the leader of the world jet engine industry, which included the chief designers: engine designer V. Ya. Klimov, aircraft designer A. I. Mikoyan and a leading aviation specialist materials science S. T. Kishkin. The Soviet delegation purchased in Great Britain the most advanced Rolls-Royce turbojet engines at that time: Nin-I with a thrust of 2040 kgf and Nin-II with a thrust of 2270 kgf, as well as Derwent-V with a thrust of 1590 kgf . Already in February 1947, the USSR received Derwent-V engines (30 units in total), as well as Nin-I (20 units), and in November 1947, 5 Nin-II engines were also received.

Subsequently, new products from the English engine industry were quite successfully copied and put into mass production. “Nin-I” and “Nin-II” received the indexes RD-45 and RD-45F, respectively, and “Derwent-V” was called RD-500. Preparations for serial production of these engines in the USSR began in May 1947. At the same time, specialists from the Design Bureau of Plant No. 45, which worked on RD-45 engines, spent a total of 6 Nin engines, including 2 engines of the second version, on analysis of materials, drawing of drawings and long-term testing.

The appearance of new engines in the USSR made it possible to begin designing jet fighters belonging to a new generation. Already on March 11, 1947, the Council of Ministers of the USSR signed a resolution on experimental aircraft construction plans for the current year. As part of this plan, the design team headed by A. I. Mikoyan was approved for the creation of a front-line jet fighter with a pressurized cabin. The aircraft was planned to be built in 2 copies and presented for state tests in December 1947. In fact, work on a new fighter at OKB-155 of A. I. Mikoyan began back in January 1947.

The designed fighter was named I-310 and the factory code was “C”. The first prototype of the vehicle, designated S-1, was cleared for flight testing on December 19, 1947. After ground testing procedures, the aircraft, piloted by test pilot V.N. Yuganov, took off on December 30, 1947. Already at the first stage of testing, the new aircraft showed excellent results. In this regard, on March 15, 1948, the fighter, which received the designation MiG-15 and was equipped with an RD-45 engine, was put into production. The construction of the aircraft was carried out at plant No. 1 named after. Stalin. In the spring of 1949, military tests of a new front-line fighter began at the Kubinka airbase near Moscow in the 29th Guards Aviation Regiment. The tests lasted from May 20 to September 15, and a total of 20 aircraft took part in them.

Description of the MiG-15 design

The front-line jet fighter MiG-15 was a mid-wing fighter with a swept wing and tail, the design of the aircraft was all-metal. The fuselage of the aircraft had a round cross-section and was of semi-monocoque type. The rear fuselage was detachable, using internal flanges to accommodate engine installation and extensive servicing. In the forward part of the fuselage there was an engine air intake, which covered the cockpit on both sides.

The fighter's wing was single-spar and had an oblique transverse beam, which formed a triangular niche for the retractable landing gear. The wing of the aircraft consisted of 2 detachable consoles, which were connected directly to the fuselage of the aircraft. The power beams of the frames passed through the fuselage, which acted as a continuation of the power beam of the wing and spar.

The aircraft's wing had ailerons with sliding flaps on rail carriages and internal aerodynamic compensation. The flaps could be deflected up to 55° during landing, and up to 20° during takeoff. Four aerodynamic ridges were placed on top of the wing, which prevented the air flow from flowing along the wing and the flow from breaking off at the end of the wing during flight at high angles of attack. The fighter's tail was cruciform, the stabilizer and fin were double-spar. The rudder consisted of 2 parts located under and above the stabilizer.

The fighter's chassis was three-wheeled, with a nose strut and a lever suspension of the wheels. The landing gear, as well as 2 brake flaps in the rear part of the fuselage, were extended and retracted using a hydraulic system. The brakes were on the main landing gear wheels; the braking system was pneumatic. Control of the fighter was tough and consisted of rockers and rods. On latest versions For the MiG-15, hydraulic boosters were introduced into the aircraft control system. The power plant of the vehicle consisted of one RD-45F engine with a centrifugal compressor. The maximum engine thrust was 2270 kgf. The MiG-15 bis version of the fighter used a more powerful VK-1 engine.

The aircraft's armament was cannon and included a 37-mm NS-37 cannon, as well as a second 23-mm NS-23 cannon. All guns were located in the lower part of the aircraft fuselage. To facilitate the reloading process, the guns were mounted on a special removable carriage, which could be lowered down using a winch. Under the wing of the fighter it was possible to hang 2 additional fuel tanks or 2 bombs.

Combat use of vehicles in Korea

The pause in the combat use of fighters after World War II lasted only 5 years. Historians had not yet finished writing their works on past battles when new air battles unfolded in the skies over Korea. Many experts have called these fighting a kind of training ground for testing new military equipment. It was in this war that jet fighters and fighter-bombers fully tested their capabilities in the air for the first time. Particular importance was paid to the confrontation between the American Saber F-86 and the Soviet MiG-15.

The main opponents of the Korean War are the MiG-15 and Saber" F-86

During 3 years of combat operations in the skies over Korea, Soviet internationalist pilots from the 64th Fighter Air Corps conducted 1,872 air battles, in which they were able to shoot down 1,106 American aircraft, of which about 650 Sabers. At the same time, MiG losses amounted to only 335 aircraft.

Both the American Saber and the Soviet MiG-15 represented the first generation of jet fighters, both aircraft differed slightly in their combat capabilities. The Soviet fighter was 2.5 tons lighter, but the Saber compensated for the extra weight with a higher-torque engine. The aircraft's ground speed and thrust-to-weight ratio were almost identical. At the same time, the F-86 maneuvered better at low altitudes, and the MiG-15 gained an advantage in climb rate and acceleration at high altitudes. The American could also stay in the air for longer due to the “extra” 1.5 tons of fuel. The fighters conducted their main battles in transonic flight mode.

Different approaches among fighters were noted only in weapons. The MiG-15 had a much larger second salvo due to its cannon armament, which was represented by two 23 mm and one 37 mm cannon. In turn, the Sabers were armed with only 6 12.7 mm machine guns (at the very end of the war, versions with 4 20 mm guns appeared). In general, the analysis of the machines’ “questionnaire” data did not allow an inexperienced expert to make a choice in favor of a potential winner. All doubts could be resolved only in practice.

Already the first air battles demonstrated that, contrary to many forecasts, technical progress practically did not change the content and form of air combat. He preserved all the patterns and traditions of the past, remaining group, maneuverable and close. All this was explained by the fact that no revolution had occurred in the armament of aircraft. Cannons and machine guns from piston fighters, active participants in the last war, were migrated on board the new jet fighters. That is why the “lethal” distance for attacks remained almost the same. The relative weakness of a single salvo, as during World War II, forced it to be compensated by the number of guns of the fighters participating in the attack.

At the same time, the MiG-15 was created for air combat and fully corresponded to its intended purpose. The machine designers were able to preserve the ideas that were characteristic of the MiG-1 and MiG-3 aircraft: machine speed, altitude and rate of climb, which allowed the fighter pilot to focus on conducting a pronounced offensive battle. One of the most strengths The fighter had a higher destructive potential, which gave it a tangible advantage in the main stage of the battle - the attack. However, to win it was necessary to accumulate positional and information advantages in the previous stages of the air battle.

Straight-line flight, which combined oncoming approach to a target with an attack, became available to fighters only 30 years later - after the appearance of medium-range missiles and radars on aircraft. The MiG-15 combined approaching the target with a sharp maneuver and entry into the rear hemisphere. If the Saber noticed a Soviet fighter at a distance, it sought to impose a maneuverable battle on it (especially at low altitudes), which was disadvantageous for the MiG-15.

Although the Soviet fighter was somewhat inferior to the F-86 in horizontal maneuvering, this was not so noticeable as to completely abandon it if necessary. The activity of effective defense was directly related to the teamwork of a pair of pilots and the implementation of the “shield and sword” principle in battle. When one of the planes carried out an attack, and the second was providing cover. Experience and practice have shown that a coordinated and inextricably operating pair of MiG-15s is practically invulnerable in close maneuver combat. The experience that Soviet fighter pilots, including regiment commanders, received during the Great Patriotic War also played a role. Patriotic War. The stacked formation and the principles of group combat still worked in the skies of Korea.

Performance characteristics of the MiG-15:
Dimensions: wingspan – 10.08 m, length – 10.10 m, height – 3.17 m.
Wing area – 20.6 sq. m.
Aircraft weight, kg.
- empty – 3,149;
- normal take-off – 4,806;
Engine type - 1 turbojet engine RD-45F, maximum thrust 2270 kgf.
The maximum speed at the ground is 1,047 km/h, at altitude – 1,031 km/h.
Practical flight range – 1,310 km.
Service ceiling – 15,200 m.
Crew – 1 person.
Armament: 1x37-mm NS-37 cannon (40 rounds per barrel) and 2x23-mm NS-23 cannon (80 rounds per barrel).

Information sources:
- http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fighter/mig15.html
- http://www.opoccuu.com/mig-15.htm
- http://www.airforce.ru/history/localwars/localwar1.htm
- http://ru.wikipedia.org/

The tactics and nature of enemy air combat operations in May 1951 were significantly influenced by the numerical increase in the grouping of aircraft of the 64th Air Defense Corps with the arrival of units of the 303rd Air Division on MiG-15 bis aircraft.

Enemy aircraft reduced the activity of combat operations of small groups of fighter-bombers. Daytime reconnaissance and bomber flights stopped completely. The period of air battles between large groups of F-86 fighters and MiGs for air supremacy began. The change in combat tactics of American aviation was natural. They needed to restore the air supremacy that existed before April 1951 and collapsed with the advent of the regiments of the 324th and 303rd air divisions.

In addition, both American and Soviet military leaders needed data on the combat capabilities of their new fighters.

As a direct participant in air battles between MiG-15 and MiG-15 bis fighters with F-86 Saber fighters, I can assess the combat capabilities of the MiG-15 bis in comparison with the F-86 fighter.

The MiG-15 bis fighter, in my opinion, had slight advantages over the F-86 in vertical maneuver, ceiling, height and weapons, while being inferior in horizontal maneuver, critical speed and range.

So, the critical speed: MiG-15 bis - 0.92 M, after which a “dead fall” occurred - the plane became uncontrollable; F-86–0.95 M, after which shaking began. Armament: MiG-15 bis - 3 guns (one 37 mm and two 23 mm), sight - semi-automatic; F-86–6 12.6 mm machine guns, sight - machine gun with range finder. Vertical speed and ceiling. - MiG-15 bis - vertical speed is slightly higher, ceiling 16,000 m; F-86 - vertical speed up to an altitude of 7000 m is equal, then less, the ceiling is about 15,000 m. In a horizontal maneuver: MiG-15 bis - weaker; F-86 - turn time is somewhat shorter (good wing mechanization). In terms of flight range: the F-86 has approximately 1200 km.

Compared to Saber, there is a significant disadvantage in flight characteristics The MiG-15 is a very poor gliding aircraft. The gliding of an aircraft, especially in air combat, is very necessary for a pilot, in some cases when shooting at an enemy aircraft, and especially necessary when the enemy is shooting at your aircraft.

The reason for the poor gliding of the MiG is the aerodynamic knives on the planes of the aircraft, installed for better lateral stability at low and especially at high flight speeds (“fallen air”).

In turn, instead of aerodynamic knives, the Saber has slats for better stability of the aircraft on planes, which do not interfere with sliding at all, and increase the stability of the aircraft.

Electronic, flight and navigation equipment on the F-86 aircraft is more advanced than on the MiG-15 bis.

Comparing the combat capabilities of the two aircraft, we can say that the characteristics of the fighters are very similar. Therefore, success in an air battle between the MiG-15 bis and the F-86 depended only on the skill and courage of the pilots, the choice of maneuver and interaction in group combat.

Everyone knows that one of the main ways to gain air superiority has been and remains the method of destroying enemy aircraft in the air. In my opinion, this method will exist as long as the warring parties have aviation.

With a qualitative change in aircraft - an increase in speed, heights, weapons - close-in air combat cannot be avoided; only the nature of air combat will change. Air combat between fighters for air supremacy has been observed in all wars. recent years and, in my opinion, always will be. If not everywhere, then in the main direction of combat operations of ground forces or the main strategic direction, aviation is obliged to cover these objects from air strikes, following one of the basic principles of armed struggle - concentrating the main forces on the main direction. The opposing side will also seek to use its aircraft. Consequently, the build-up of fighter aviation forces is inevitable on both sides, which will certainly lead to air battles between groups of fighters. Whichever side has more good fighters and pilots, fully trained to conduct free air battles, will gain air supremacy.

With admission jet aviation to arm the Air Force units, many aviation theorists argued that there would be no more maneuvering and group battles. They even advocated that fighter planes should only be armed with missiles, and that guns were not needed.

The Korean War refuted this. Nowadays similar arguments are also being born - the time of air battles of large groups of fighters with the advent of supersonic aircraft is irrevocably passed.

My opinion is that there will be no major fighter air battles for air supremacy only when great forces Only one side has aviation, and the other side has no fighter aviation or only a few regiments, like we have today, once a mighty aviation power.

I would also like to say that pilots of many fighter aviation regiments gained experience in air combat in Korea, but this experience is not the same. Some regiments took part in the battles of 1950, others at the end of the Korean War. Some fought for 2-3 months, others for about a year. Therefore, it often turned out that for some “Saber” was a “paper tiger”, for others it was a very strong opponent.

I would like to remind you that the pilots of the 196th Air Regiment, as well as the 176th Guards, participated directly in hostilities for exactly 10 months: from April 1, 1951 to February 1, 1952. No other unit spent so much time in battle. Some of the regiment's pilots flew 160–180 combat missions and conducted 40–50 air battles. Therefore, I, who know the opinion of my comrades, take the liberty of asserting that I am expressing the point of view of both mine and the majority of the pilots of the 196th Air Regiment.

We received the first information about air battles between MiG-15 aircraft and F-86 fighters while at the rear airfield from participants in the battles, Senior Lieutenant Naumenko (12) from the 29th Guards Regiment and Lieutenant Colonel Kolyadin from the 151st Air Division.

In their speeches to the pilots of the 196th Regiment, these comrades gave us information about the actions of American aviation, to put it mildly, that was not entirely truthful, assessing it subjectively, especially in matters of combat work. They downplayed the combat capabilities and performance of American pilots. According to their assessment, the combat capabilities of the F-86 aircraft were in no way superior to those of the MiG-15, not to mention the advantage over such aircraft as the F-80 and F-84. These guys then gave a very low rating to the American pilots (13):

enter battle with a large numerical advantage;

air combat is sluggish;

fly in small groups;

if there is no tactical advantage, they do not engage in battle;

tend to attack from behind the clouds from the direction of the sun.

As a result, out of all the variety of tactical techniques, we were recommended to use an oblique loop in an air battle with Sabers.

After the first air battles, we realized that American aircraft dominated the combat area. Conducts intensive combat operations in small groups of F-80s, F-84s, and single bombers under the cover of F-86s, preventing the transportation, movement and supply of troops. The actions of the F-80, F-84 are covered by the patrolling of small groups of F-86 at altitudes of 7-8 thousand m. During the combat operations of the pilots of the 196th Air Regiment, their opinion differed sharply from the assessment of the activities of American aviation received from the pilots of the 29th Guards regiment and the 151st Air Division. We entered into battle with pilots well trained for combat operations on F-86 aircraft, flying during the day in normal and adverse weather conditions.

I firmly declare that group air battles between MiG-15 and F-86 aircraft took place on equal terms. In the first group air battles, success was more with the Saber pilots. Starting from June - July 1951, pilots of the 196th Air Regiment carried out air battles on MiG-15 bis aircraft, and in most cases these battles ended in displacing the enemy from the protected area, which means a free exit from the battle, that is, without losses. .

History of the creation of the MiG-15bis

MiG-15 "SL" and VK-1 engine

In 1946, the engine-building design bureau V.Ya. Klimova began developing an improved version of the RD-45F engine, which was a copy of the British Nene II. The VK-1 turbojet engine developed by Klimov had almost the same dimensions and weight as the RD-45F, and had 20% more thrust. Factory and state tests of the engine were carried out on four production MiG-15s, which received the factory code “SL”. At the beginning of 1949, state tests of the engine were completed, and on May 14, by decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 1887-697, the VK-1 engine with a 100-hour resource was put into mass production.

MiG-15bis "SD"

In accordance with MAP order No. 386 of May 20, 1949, OKB-155 was instructed to modify the MiG-15 for the VK-1 engine. The aircraft was supposed to be presented for state tests in the summer of 1949, however, due to the delay in receiving the production MiG-15 for modification, the aircraft was presented for state tests only in early autumn.

MiG-15 No. 105015 equipped with the VK-1 turbojet engine received the factory code “SD”. Although the dimensions of the RD-45F were similar, due to the larger diameter of the extension pipe, it was necessary to slightly change the design of the tail section. The wing structure was also strengthened, and a 40 mm wide “knife” strip (from “deadwood”) was riveted along the trailing edge of the wing; on the right aileron there was the same “knife” 30 mm wide. On the SD aircraft, a BU-1 hydraulic booster was installed in the aileron control, in the toe of the left wing console. Elevator compensation was increased by 22%, and the noses of the elevators and yaws were thicker.

Another major change was the new weapons; the NS-23KM guns were replaced by the NR-23, which had a higher rate of fire. The installation of these guns was tested on the MiG-15 SV. As on the later series of the MiG-15, the SD fighter had an ASP-3N sight. The plane could carry two 50 or 100 kilogram bombs or two 250 liter PTBs.

Factory tests of the SD fighter took place from July 22 to September 9, 1949. After their completion, the aircraft was sent to the Air Force Research Institute. State tests began on September 14, but soon after the start of the tests, the engine’s tendency to surge and “itching” - high-frequency shaking that occurred in combat modes, at an altitude of more than 8,000 meters was revealed. The tests were interrupted three times to install a new engine, and state tests were successfully completed only with the fourth VK-1, although the identified problem was never completely resolved.

The Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated June 10, 1950 approved the Act based on the results of state tests and the launch of the fighter into series under the designation MiG-15bis.

The Korean conflict had been going on for nearly six months on the morning of November 30, 1950, when a U.S. Air Force B-29 Superfortress bomber raiding an air base in North Korea was damaged by a fighter that was moving too fast for it to be destroyed. were able to identify it, but the bomber’s gunner did not have time to detect it at all using the guidance system of his machine gun.

Lockheed F-80 square-wing fighter jets escorting the bomber made a token pursuit, but as the unidentified fighter accelerated, it quickly became a dot and then disappeared altogether.

The bomber crew's report caused an organized panic in the American chain of command. Although the pilots' description of the intruding aircraft did not match any aircraft used in that theater of war, American intelligence officials quickly made an educated guess. They said it was a MiG-15 fighter, most likely taking off from an air base in Manchuria. Before this incident, analysts believed that Stalin had only authorized the use of MiGs to protect Shanghai from Chinese Nationalist bomber raids. This MiG was a grim omen: Chinese involvement in Korea was increasing and Soviet technology was spreading.

For the crews in the cockpits of the hulking “Superfortresses,” this aircraft, rapidly cutting through their formations, became a source of suffocating fear. "In my opinion, everyone was scared," says former B-29 pilot Earl McGill, describing the noticeable lack of radio communication while flying his four-engine Boeing plane, the aircraft that ended the Second World War. world war- shortly before the attack on the Namsi airbase, located near the border between North Korea and China. “During preparation for the first mission, we were provided with information about the interception that took place. I was as scared that day as I've ever been in my life, even when I was flying combat missions in B-52s (in Vietnam)." There used to be a lot of dark humor in conversations in the airmen's duty room. “The guy who gave the route briefing looked like a funeral home employee,” adds McGill. He conducted this briefing wearing a special top hat, which is also worn by undertakers.

On one catastrophic day in October 1951 - nicknamed "Black Tuesday" - MiGs shot down six of the ten Superfortresses. McGill's first encounter with these aircraft was typically short. “One of the shooters saw him. Only a small silhouette was visible,” McGill recalls. “That’s when I saw him... - the shooters opened fire on him.” Centralized system firing on a bomber provided some protection from fighters, McGill emphasizes.

The pilot of the MiG-15 aircraft, Porfiry Ovsyannikov, was then the target at which the shooters of the B-29 bomber fired. “When they started shooting at us, smoke was coming out, and just think, was the bomber set on fire, or was there smoke from the machine guns?” he recalled in 2007, when historians Oleg Korytov and Konstantin Chirkin interviewed him to create an oral history stories of combat pilots who took part in World War II, as well as in the Korean War (These interviews are posted on the website lend-lease.airforce.ru/english). Russian historians asked Ovsyannikov to evaluate the small arms of the B-29 aircraft. His answer: “Very good.” However, MiG pilots could open fire from a distance of about 700 meters, and from this distance, as McGill emphasizes, they were able to attack a group of B-29 bombers.

“The MiG-15 aircraft came as a very big surprise to us,” says Robert van der Linden, curator of the National Air and Space Museum. Compared to the North American A-86 Saber, which was rushed into service after the advent of the MiG-15, we can say that “the MiGs were faster, they had a better rate of climb and more firepower,” he notes. And the pilots who flew the Saber fighters knew this.

"You're absolutely right, it was humiliating," says retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles "Chick" Cleveland, recalling his first encounter with a MiG-15 fighter. He flew Sabers in Korea in 1952 with the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. A few weeks earlier, the squadron commander, famed World War II ace George Andrew Davis, was killed in combat with a Soviet fighter. (Davis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor). At that moment, Cleveland, having made a sharp turn to get away from the MiG, exceeded the parameters for stalling the Sabers and a short time went into a tailspin - according to him, all this happened “in the midst of an air battle.” Cleveland, despite the mistake he made, was able to stay alive and then became an ace of the Korean War, having 5 confirmed downed MiGs, as well as two unconfirmed ones. Today he is president of the American Fighter Aces Association, and he still has respect for the enemy he fought 60 years ago. “Oh, it was a beautiful airplane,” he says on the phone from his home in Alabama. “You have to remember that in Korea this little MiG-15 was able to successfully do what all those Focke-Wulfs and "Messerschmitts" during the Second World War - he squeezed the bomber aircraft of the United States of America out of the airspace. Beginning in November 1951, B-29s remained on the ground during daylight hours and flew combat missions only at night.

Inevitably, the history of the MiG-15 returns to duels with Sabers, and this rivalry determined the outcome of the air war in Korea. However, the connection between MiGs and Sabers began during the previous war. Both drew inspiration from concepts that emerged from the desperate search for weapons designs at the end of World War II, when the Allied air forces gained numerical superiority over the German air force. In a desperate situation, the Luftwaffe High Command held a competition. The winner of the “Extraordinary Fighter Competition” was the aircraft presented by the head of the design bureau of the Focke-Fulf company, Kurt Tank, and received the designation TA-183; it was a model jet fighter with a single engine and a high T-tail. In 1945, British troops entered the Focke-Wulf plant at Bad Eilsen and confiscated blueprints, models, and wind tunnel data, which they promptly shared with the Americans. And when Berlin fell, Soviet troops began to analyze the material in the German Ministry of Aviation and found there a complete set of drawings for the TA-183 aircraft, as well as invaluable data regarding wing tests. Less than two years later and just a few weeks apart, the United States of America and Soviet Union introduced a single-engine jet with 35-degree wings, a short fuselage and a T-tail. These two planes were so similar to each other in Korea that American pilots, eager to take credit for some MiG, mistakenly shot down several Saber planes.

None of these fighters were a copy of the Tank model. Primitive aeronautical research, as well as the limited availability of engines and materials used at the time, inevitably led to similarities in the designs being developed. The first jet aircraft developed by the Moscow-based Mikoyan and Gurevich (MiG) design bureau was the MiG-9. The MiG-9's primitive engine—a twin BWM engine captured in Germany—proved insufficient for the MiG-15's intended performance, but Moscow had virtually no experience building superior examples. Instead, the MiG-15 was originally equipped with the Nene engine from Rolls-Royce - magnificent in its innovation and thoughtlessly supplied to the USSR by the British.

Wanting to bring a thaw to Anglo-Soviet relations, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee invited Soviet scientists and engineers to the Rolls-Royce plant to study how the excellent British engines were made. In addition, Atlee offered licensed production to the USSR, and this was in response to a solemn promise to use these engines only for non-military purposes. This proposal shocked the Americans, who made loud protests. What about the Soviets? Ukrainian-born Soviet aviation historian Ilya Grinberg believes that “Stalin himself could not believe it. He said: “Who in their right mind would sell us such things?” Greenberg, a professor of technology at the State University of New York at Buffalo, emphasizes that the presence of Artem Mikoyan himself in the delegation - the “Mi” from the name “MiG” “- should have served as a warning regarding the consequences of the proposed deal: Rolls-Royce engines delivered to the USSR in 1946 were urgently installed on MiG-15 aircraft and successfully passed flight tests. By the time this fighter was ready for mass production, managed to solve all the engineering problems associated with Rolls-Royce Nene engine technologies, and as a result, its copy appeared under the designation Klimov RD-45. The British, according to Greenberg, complained about a violation of the licensing agreement, but "the Russians simply told them: look, we made some changes, and now this can be considered our own development."

But, as in the case of the post-war Soviets copying cars from Western Europe, the engines produced in the USSR were inferior in quality to the originals. The period from the start of using Klimov engines to their failure was measured in hours. “Based on the state of the Soviet aircraft industry at that time, one could assume that quality control at MiG enterprises was inferior to the level that existed in the West,” notes Greenberg. Materials for those exposed high pressure parts did not meet standards. Tolerances were insufficient. In fact, some problems on MiG aircraft were associated with wings that did not fully meet the requirements. Greenberg describes an archival photograph production line on installing engines on the first generation of MiG-15 fighters. “What can I say here? - he remarks hesitantly. “These are not at all people in white overalls in high-tech production.”

However, by this time, another Soviet design bureau, headed by Andrei Tupolev, had copied down to the last rivet two Boeing B-29 aircraft that made an emergency landing on Soviet territory during World War II. Greenberg claims that the production precision achieved under the Tupolev project was transferred to work on the MiG program. In fact, “the project to copy the B-29 pulled forward not only the Soviet aviation industry", he emphasizes. Although MiGs continued to be inexpensive to manufacture and unreasonably spartan, the final version of the aircraft, flown in 1947, proved to be rugged and reliable.

The first wave of F-86 fighter pilots from the 4th Airlift Wing included World War II veterans. Obviously, they had to confront inexperienced Chinese pilots at the controls of the MiG-15, trained by Russian specialists. However, it soon became clear that the North Korean MiGs were not flown by recent graduates of flight schools. Saber fighter pilots called the mysterious MiG-15 pilots “honchos,” which means “bosses” in Japanese. Today we know that the cockpits of most North Korean MiGs were manned by battle-hardened Soviet Air Force pilots.

Chick Cleveland describes meeting MiG pilots whose skills involved more than just classroom training. Cleveland was approaching the Amnokkan River at an altitude of approximately 12,000 meters when a MiG flying at high speed appeared ahead of it. Both aircraft were approaching Mach speed as they flew next to each other. “I said to myself: This is no longer a drill, now everything is for real.” Taking advantage of the Sabers' superiority in speed and turning radius, he used acceleration and ended up on the tail of the MiG. “I got very close to him and it was like he was sitting next to me in the living room.”

Remembering at that moment the stories of World War II pilots who, in the midst of dogfights, forgot to press the trigger, Cleveland looked down for a moment to check the position of the toggle switches on his Saber. “When I looked up again, this MiG was no longer in front of me.” Cleveland looked forward, backward “and around him throughout the entire horizon” - nothing. There was only one chilling possibility left. “I turned my F-86 slightly and, sure enough, it was right underneath me.” It was a clever attempt to change roles by the MiG pilot, who sharply limited the fuel supply and, having slowed down, found himself below and then behind the enemy who was graying on his tail. “I gradually became a fox, and he turned into a dog,” Cleveland says, laughing. However, after several maneuvers, Saber regained its position and was again on the tail of Russian pilot, which was forced to resort to “classic MiG tactics” - it began to sharply gain altitude. Cleveland fired several bursts at the engine and fuselage of the MiG, after which it slowly moved to the left, dived down and went towards the ground. Given the characteristics of the MiG, a high-speed dive indicated a crash rather than an escape strategy.

With the MiGs challenging United States air superiority, the Americans tried their best to get their hands on Soviet technology, but they only managed to obtain a flyable MiG-15 in September 1953, when North Korean defector pilot Noh Geum-seok (No Kum-Sok) landed his fighter at Kimpo Air Base in South Korea. Flights on the Korean MiG were supposed to clearly demonstrate what kind of machines American pilots were forced to deal with. To evaluate the Soviet fighter, the best pilots of the United States Air Force - Captain Harold "Tom" Collins, from the test division of Field Wright Air Force Base and Major Charles Yeagger (Charles "Chuck" Yeagger) were sent to Kadena Air Force Base. in Japan. On September 29, 1953, the first Western pilot took off in the mysterious MiG. This flight confirmed the expected excellent qualities, but also revealed less pleasant characteristics of the MiG-15 aircraft. “A defector pilot told me that the MiG-15 tends to stall when accelerating at even one G, and also goes into a tailspin from which it often cannot recover,” Collins noted in a 1991 interview for a collection of memoirs. "Test flights at Old Wright Field." " White stripe was marked on the front panel, which was used to center the steering handle when attempting to recover from a spin. He said that he saw his instructor go into a tailspin and then die.”

Test flights showed that the speed of the MiG-15 did not exceed Mach 0.92. In addition, the aircraft's control system was ineffective when diving and performing sharp maneuvers. During air combat in Korea, American pilots watched as MiG-15 fighters approached the limits of their capabilities, after which they suddenly high speed fell into a tailspin and collapsed, often losing wings or tail units.

Soviet pilots were as familiar with the characteristics of the Sabers as American pilots were with the capabilities of the MiGs. "You won't make me attack them on maximum speed turn,” emphasized Soviet MiG-15 pilot Vladimir Zabelin in one of his oral presentations, translated in 2007. “In that case, he could easily be on my tail.” When I myself got behind them, they knew that they could get away from me only as a result of horizontal maneuvers... Usually I attacked them, being behind and a little lower... When he began the maneuver, I tried to intercept him. If I didn't knock him down during the first third of the turn, I was forced to stop attacking and move away."

The Finnish Air Force purchased MiG-21 aircraft from the Soviet Union in 1962, and also received four training aircraft MiG-15 so that their pilots could become familiar with the exotic characteristics of the MiG cockpit. Retired test pilot Colonel Jyrki Laukkanen concluded that the MiG-15 was a well-handled and maneuverable aircraft “as long as you knew its limitations and stayed within the limits of safe piloting.” Basically, you had to keep your speed no higher than Mach 0.9 and no lower than 126 knots (186 kilometers per hour); otherwise, controllability began to be lost.” Landing could be difficult due to the hand-pumped air brakes, which quickly lost their effectiveness. "If they warmed up, then you had no other steering or braking options other than turning off the engine and seeing where you ended up - it usually ended up on the grass."

Laukkanen believes that there were certain oddities in the MiG-15 cockpit. “The artificial horizon of the MiG-15 was unusual.” The upper part of this device, representing the sky, was brown, while the lower part, usually representing the earth, was blue. This device was made in such a way that when ascending, the airplane symbol went down. “It worked as if it had been assembled upside down,” Laukkanen marvels. “But that wasn’t the case.” The fuel indicator on the MiG-15 was also, in his opinion, “particularly unreliable,” so Finnish pilots learned to determine fuel quantities using watches. As chief test pilot, Laukkanen logged more than 1,200 flight hours in the delta-wing MiG-21. (He was also the only Finn to fly solo in a P-51 Mustang fighter). “In my opinion, the MiG-15 did not have any special mystique,” he says. - My favorite plane, which I, unfortunately, did not have the opportunity to fly, was the F-86 Saber.

A more objective indicator of the relative strength of MiG and Saber fighters is the number of enemy aircraft shot down, but this kind of data on the ratio of losses is difficult to obtain. For example, at the end of the Korean War, Chick Cleveland had four MiGs shot down, two presumably shot down and four damaged MiGs. “When was the last time he saw a MiG in a deadly high-speed dive downwards? My wingman and I pursued him as he descended and attempted to disappear into the clouds at an altitude of about 700 meters. I was sure that he would not be able to do this. But we did not see the aircraft eject or impact the ground, and therefore it was counted as suspected.” After careful investigation by another Saber pilot half a century later, his "probable" MiG was eventually replaced by a confirmed downer by the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records. In 2008, he belatedly began to be called an ace.

The Soviet method of confirming the results, according to Porfiry Ovsyannikov, was not particularly accurate. “We would make attacks, come home, land, and I would make a report,” he said. - We took part in an air battle! I attacked the B-29. And it's all. In addition, the enemy spoke openly about this and reported data on the radio: “In such and such a place, our bombers were attacked by MiG fighters. As a result, one of our planes fell into the sea. The second was damaged and crashed upon landing in Okinawa.” Then the film from the camera mounted on the gun was developed, and we studied it. It showed that I opened fire at close range. As for the other pilots, some did it and some didn't. They believed me, that’s all.”

Immediately after the end of the war, data on the superiority of the Sabers were greatly exaggerated. It was reported that 792 MiGs were shot down, while the US Air Force admitted the loss of only 58 Sabers. The Soviets, for their part, admitted the loss of about 350 MiGs, but they claimed that they shot down an incredibly large number of F-86 aircraft - 640, which amounted to most fighters of this type stationed in Korea. “All I can say is that the Russians are terrible liars,” says Saber pilot Cleveland. “At least in this case.”

In 1970, the United States Air Force conducted a study under code name"Sabre Measures Charlie", and the number of losses in air battles involving MiGs was increased to 92 - resulting in a seven-to-one loss ratio for the F-86. After the collapse of the USSR, the archives of the Soviet air force became available to scientists, and as a result, the loss of Soviet MiG fighters in Korea was established at 315 aircraft.

If you limit the statistics to a certain period, you can draw important conclusions. Author and retired Air Force Colonel Doug Dildy notes that when the MiG-15 was flown by Chinese, Korean and newly arrived Soviet pilots, the statistics actually showed a nine-to-one loss ratio in favor of the Sabers. But if we take the statistics of the battles of 1951, when the Americans were opposed by Soviet pilots who fought against the Luftwaffe during the Great Patriotic War, then the loss ratio is almost completely equalized - 1.4 to 1, that is, only slightly in favor of the Sabers.

Evidence from the Korean air war provides support for this interpretation. When the honchos returned to the Soviet Union, the less experienced Soviet pilots who replaced them could no longer compete on equal terms with the F-86 pilots. The Chinese lost a quarter of the first generation of MiGs in dogfights with the upgraded version of the Sabres, which forced Mao Zedong to suspend MiG flights for a month. The Chinese received modernized MiG-15bis fighters in the summer of 1953, but at that time they were already planning to sign a ceasefire agreement. The MiG-15 aircraft were soon replaced by MiG-17s, which received the necessary improvements - mainly by cloning technology from two captured F-86 Saber fighters.

By the spring of 1953, the Soviet pilots remaining in Korea began to avoid collisions with American aircraft. Stalin died at that time, the truce in Panmunjom seemed inevitable, and no one wanted to be the last victim of the war. Ilya Grinberg summarizes the opinions of people who were in the cockpit of this solid fighter: “Soviet pilots at the controls of the Mig-15 viewed air battles in Korea simply as a job that had to be done. Ultimately, they did not defend their homeland there. They considered the Americans adversaries, but not enemies.”

While the outstanding aircraft of the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau was making a name for itself in the West, Soviet citizens had almost no idea what the name meant. The F-86 Saber became a symbol of American air superiority in 1950s pop culture—it was included in movie scripts, on magazine covers, and on stencils on metal school lunch boxes. However, in those years the MiG-15 fighter remained a mystery to the Soviet public. “We didn’t even understand what the name meant, and we didn’t find out much later than you think,” notes Greenberg. - In any Russian aviation magazine you can see an image of a MiG-15, but the signature will always be this: a modern jet fighter.”

In the mid-1960s, in an inexplicable and typical Soviet bureaucratic change of policy, the fighter, stripped of its secrecy, ended up in public parks. “I remember very well when the MiG-15 was displayed in our district park,” says Greenberg. The plane was not placed on a pedestal and was not part of some kind of monument, as is often done now, but it was simply driven into the park and brake pads were placed under the wheels. “I remember very well how excited I was when I saw this MiG for the first time. We children climbed on it and admired its cabin and all its instruments.”

And ten years earlier, information about the successes of the MiG-15 in Korea gradually began to spread among pilots of the air forces of the Warsaw Pact countries, as well as some states in Africa and the Middle East. The fighter was eventually used by the air forces of 35 countries.

The newest best military aircraft of the Russian Air Force and the world photos, pictures, videos about the value of a fighter aircraft as a combat weapon capable of ensuring “superiority in the air” was recognized by the military circles of all states by the spring of 1916. This required the creation of a special combat aircraft superior to all others in speed, maneuverability, altitude and the use of offensive small arms. In November 1915, Nieuport II Webe biplanes arrived at the front. This was the first aircraft built in France that was intended for air combat.

The most modern domestic military aircraft in Russia and the world owe their appearance to the popularization and development of aviation in Russia, which was facilitated by the flights of Russian pilots M. Efimov, N. Popov, G. Alekhnovich, A. Shiukov, B. Rossiysky, S. Utochkin. The first domestic cars of designers J. Gakkel, I. Sikorsky, D. Grigorovich, V. Slesarev, I. Steglau began to appear. In 1913, the Russian Knight heavy aircraft made its first flight. But one cannot help but recall the first creator of the aircraft in the world - Captain 1st Rank Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky.

Soviet military aircraft of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War sought to hit enemy troops, their communications and other targets in the rear with air strikes, which led to the creation of bomber aircraft capable of carrying a large bomb load over considerable distances. The variety of combat missions to bomb enemy forces in the tactical and operational depth of the fronts led to the understanding of the fact that their implementation must be commensurate with the tactical and technical capabilities of a particular aircraft. Therefore, the design teams had to resolve the issue of specialization of bomber aircraft, which led to the emergence of several classes of these machines.

Types and classification, latest models of military aircraft in Russia and the world. It was obvious that it would take time to create a specialized fighter aircraft, so the first step in this direction was an attempt to arm existing aircraft with small offensive weapons. Mobile machine gun mounts, which began to be equipped with aircraft, required excessive efforts from pilots, since controlling the machine in maneuverable combat and simultaneously firing from unstable weapons reduced the effectiveness of shooting. The use of a two-seater aircraft as a fighter, where one of the crew members served as a gunner, also created certain problems, because the increase in weight and drag of the machine led to a decrease in its flight qualities.

What types of planes are there? In our years, aviation has made a big qualitative leap, expressed in a significant increase in flight speed. This was facilitated by progress in the field of aerodynamics, the creation of new, more powerful engines, structural materials, and electronic equipment. computerization of calculation methods, etc. Supersonic speeds have become the main flight modes of fighter aircraft. However, the race for speed also had its negative sides - the takeoff and landing characteristics and maneuverability of the aircraft sharply deteriorated. During these years, the level of aircraft construction reached such a level that it became possible to begin creating aircraft with variable sweep wings.

For Russian combat aircraft, in order to further increase the flight speeds of jet fighters exceeding the speed of sound, it was necessary to increase their power supply, increase the specific characteristics of turbojet engines, and also improve the aerodynamic shape of the aircraft. For this purpose, engines with an axial compressor were developed, which had smaller frontal dimensions, higher efficiency and better weight characteristics. To significantly increase thrust, and therefore flight speed, afterburners were introduced into the engine design. Improving the aerodynamic shapes of aircraft consisted of using wings and tail surfaces with large sweep angles (in the transition to thin delta wings), as well as supersonic air intakes.