MiG 17 Fresco

The strategic purpose of this, and most other Soviet fighters, was to shoot down US bombers, not engage in dogfights. This subsonic (.93 Mach) fighter was effective against slower, heavily loaded US bombers, as well as the mainstay American strategic bombers during the MiG-17's development cycle (such as the piston-engined B-36). Even if the target could have escpaed, doing so would have focred it to abort its bombing mission. By the time the USAF introduced supersonic strategic bombers such as the B-58 Hustler and FB-111, the MiG-17 became obsolete in PVO service and was supplanted by supersonic interceptors such as the MiG-21 and MiG-23.

Twenty countries flew MiG-17s. The MiG-17 became a standard fighter in all Warsaw Pact countries in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They were also bought by many other countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, that were neutrally aligned or allied with the USSR. As of late 2008. the MiG-17 flies today in several of the African air forces.

The North Vietnamese also flew the MiG 17 during the Vietnam War. The photo at left shows North Vietnamese pilots scrambling for their MiG 17s.

The MiG 17 in Vietnam

The Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964 gave the VPAF its premature baptism of fire. Most of the US combat aircraft at that time (F-105, F-4, F-8) were faster than the MiG-17 (whose top speed was Mach 0.9, while they were able to reach Mach 2). Further, the Phantom and Crusader carried air-to-air missiles, while the MiG only had cannons. It seemed insane to send out old jet aircraft, not much better than the MiG-15s that fought in Korea 15 years earlier. But in such "weakness" the VPAF tacticians found out the MiG-17's strength: the slow jet could easily out-maneuver any of its adversaries in close combat, and the heavy shells of 37 and 23 mm guns were able to break any of them into pieces. At that time, the air-to-air missiles were very inaccurate (e.g: the infrared missiles could lock-on the sun!), while in close combat the NR-37 and the NS-23 cannons of the MiG were much more reliable.

Additionally, the American fighter-bombers used the same incoming paths time after time. Such circumstances allowed the VPAF to position their MiG-17s in the right place to intercept the raiders, and then engage in close combat where the MiGs could exploit their advantages.

On April 3 1965 the VPAF had its chance when the USAF undertook a huge raid against the Ham Rong bridge (the "Dragon Jaws" in Vietnamese). 79 fighter-bombers arrived over the area, including 46 F-105D Thunderchiefs armed with 750m lb. bombs and AGM-12 Bullpup air-ground missiles; 21 F-100 Super Sabre acting as AAA supressors; plus 14 F-100s acting as MiG CAP and two RF-101C Voodoos to do damage assessment. But this first attempt was unsuccessful -the bridge remained intact. What's more, at least one F-100 and one RF-101 were shot down by the AAA and the VPAF appeared for the first time, with great success.

Two flights of four MiG 17s took off from Noi Bai airbase at 9:47. The first flight would act as decoy, while the second flight planned to engage the F-105s and F-100s. But at 10:08 the leader Pham Ngoc Lan spotted some targets of opportunity, unaware US Navy F-8 Crusaders covering the main force, and dived towards them, hitting one with 37 and 23 mm cannon fire. According to Lan, his victim burst into flames and crashed, but US Navy sources show that this Crusader survived and returned to its carrier, only to be written off upon landing. So, Lan's kill became the first air-to-air kill of the VPAF's MiG-17s and the first air victory of the conflict.

The USAF tried to destroy again the bridge the next day, April 4 1965. This time 48 Thunderchiefs attacked the bridge, and this time they hit the bridge, and forced its closure for some time , but “The Dragon” was still alive, and its “Jaws” kept on consuming US planes: at least one F-105 more was lost to anti-aircraft fire.

Even worst, the VPAF appeared again: another four MiG-17Fs of the 921st Fighter Regiment, made several runs against the US fighters from the sun, and two of the Vietnamese pilots (Tran Hanh and Le Minh Huan) scored kills against two F-105s, piloted by Alan Magnusson (MIA) and Carlyle Harris (POW). But the F-105s and the escorting F-100s retaliated, and shot down all the MiGs but one: the MiG-17 of Tran Hanh, who barely escaped the US fighters. He landed in Ke Tham valley, from where both plane and pilot were carried to Noi Bai airbase.

Experiences such as this taught the US Navy in particular that it needed to revise its fighter doctrine. In these bitter lessons were the seeds of the 1970s 'Top Gun' fighter pilot training progam and the hugely successful F-14 Tomcat.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:

Less than a year after the MiG-15 had been sanctioned for production (1948), the design bureau began work on a follow-on fighter that would approach the speed of sound, mainly through refinement of the basic airframe configuration. The first prototype received the designation I-330, and flew for the first time in January 1950. Claims that the I-330 managed to better Mach 1 during test flights are believed to be unsubstantiated, but the overall improvements in performance were important.

Following the loss of the first prototype, a second and further improved prototype took over, allowing testing to be completed in 1951, and production of the MiG-17 was given the go-ahead. Compared to the MiG-15, the MiG-17 had a lengthened fuselage with softer taper, larger area tail surfaces to benefit handling characteristics, and thinner section wings with rounded tips. Indeed, the wings were designed from scratch, with the inner leading-edges extended forward; this resulted in greater root chord and varying leading-edge sweepback (45o along inner portions, 42o on outer panels). A mark of identification was the MiG-17's three boundary layer fences on each wing.

Production began with a day fighter model (NATO `Fresco-A'), which retained the VK-1 engine. The later MiG-17PF introduced all-weather capability, housing Izumrud S-band radar in a 'bullet' radome at the entree of the nose air intake and in an extension on the upper lip of the intake. Subsequently, this S-band radar was superseded by an E/F-band version of `Scan Fix', which still gave neither a large antenna nor a wide angle of scan and is now thought obsolescent.

DESIGN FEATURES:

Cantilever mid-wing monoplane. Sweepback 45o at roots, 42o on outer panels. Anhedral 3o. Three boundary layer fences on each wing.

FLYING CONTROLS:

Split Fowler type flaps. Bulged rear airbrakes.

STRUCTURE:

The fuselage is a semi-monocoque structure. The tail unit has sharply swept surfaces. Fin tip dielectric aerial.

LANDING GEAR:

Retractable tricycle type. Mainwheel tires diameter 60 cm.

POWER PLANT:

One Klimov VK-1A turbojet engine, developing 33.83 kN (7605 lb st) with afterburning. Normal fuel load in internal tanks 1410 litres (372 US gallons; 310 Imp gallons). A 400 litre (106 US gallon; 88 Imp gallon) external tank may be fitted at half-span on each wing.

ACCOMMODATION:

Pilot only in pressurised cockpit with ejection seat. Rearward sliding canopy.

ARMAMENT:

One 37 mm Nudelmann-Suranov NS-37 cannon and two 23 mm Nudelmann-Rikhter NR-23 cannon, or three 23 mm cannon. Provision for four underwing packs of 8 x 55 mm air-to-air rockets or a total of 500 kg (1,102 lb) of bombs under the wings.

Sources:

National Museum of the USAF

The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Air Warfare, edited by Chris Bishop, 2001, Aerospace Publishing

Korean War Aces, by Robert F. Dorr, Osprey Aircraft of the Aces, 1995