MiG 21 'Fished'

Most widely produced modern jet fighter

Fighter Jets Main Page MiG 21 MiG 21

Specs

Armament: One NR-30 30mm cannon and K-13A air-to-air missiles
Engine: Tumansky R-11F-300 of 12,675 lbs. thrust
Maximum speed: 1,300 mph
Cruising speed: 550 mph
Range: 400 miles
Ceiling: 50,000 ft.
Span: 23 ft. 6 in.
Length: 51 ft. 9 in.
Height: 15 ft. 9 in.
Weight: 18,080 lbs. maximum

1st Lt. Robert A. Abbott, flying an F-105D Thunderchief, attacking a power station in Hanoi on April 30 1967, heard a disturbing, but unfortunately familiar, report come over his headset. The crew of an F-105F Wild Weasel, responsible for the SAM suppresion, had been hit by a missile fired from a North Vietnamese MiG-21, and they were ejecting.

Hoping to avoid an attack, he looked around for the MiGs, but it was too late. Suddenly his own aircarft was violently shaken by an explosion and Abbott couldn’t control it anymore. Another MiG-21 pilot, coming out of the sun, had fired an R-3 infrared missile, striking the F-105’s fuselage. Abbott ejected, only to be captured by North Vietnamese soldiers as soon as he touched the ground. Although Abbott didn’t knew at that time, he became the first victim of the pilot who would be the leading ace of the Vietnam War: Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Van Coc. Abbott was also one of dozens of American fighter pilots to be downed by the MiG-21 'Fishbed.'

The claims for aerial victories during the Vietnam War are confused and conflicting, but the USAF, by its own count, admits to the loss of fifty airplanes to MiG-21s. Read more about MiG-17 and MiG-21 Vietnamese aces.

The MiG-21F (NATO code-name "Fishbed") was a short-range day fighter-interceptor and the first major production version of the popular MiG-21 series. The E-5 prototype of the MiG-21 was first flown in 1955, and it made its first public appearance during the Soviet Aviation Day display at Moscow's Tushino Airport in June 1956.

More than 30 countries, including nations friendly to the United States, have flown the MiG-21. At least 15 versions of the MiG-21 have been produced, some outside the Soviet Union. Estimates place the number built at more than 10,000, a production total exceeding that of any other modern jet aircraft.

In the spring of 1966 the North Vietnamese Air Force (VPAF) began flying the MiG-21. The MiG-21 quickly proved to be a worthy opponent of the USAF's F-4 Phantom. Even so, between April 26, 1965, and Jan. 8, 1973, USAF F-4s and B-52s downed 68 MiG-21s.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:

Development began to meet autumn 1953 official requirements for short-range interceptor; tailed delta configuration selected for production late 1956 after flight testing of prototypes with swept and delta wings; Ye-6 pre-production prototype flew late 1957; MiG-21 production authorised 1958; deliveries began late that year; production completed except in China, where developed versions are manufactured by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) and Guizhou Aviation Industry (GAIC).

DESIGN FEATURES:

Diminutive tailed delta with clipped tips to mid-mounted wings; circular-section fuselage with prominent dorsal spine; nose intake with large three-position centrebody; swept tail, with large vertical surfaces and ventral fin; 2ų wing anhedral from roots; TsAGI section, thickness/chord ratio 5 per cent at root, 4.2 per cent at tip; leading-edge sweep 57ų; no wing leading-edge camber.

FLYING CONTROLS:

Manual operation, with autostabilisation in pitch and roll; hydraulically boosted inset ailerons; blown plain trailing-edge flaps, actuated hydraulically; forward hinged door type airbrake each side of underfuselage below wing leading-edge; third forward hinged airbrake under fuselage forward of ventral fin; airbrake actuated hydraulically; hydraulically boosted rudder and all-moving horizontal surface with two gearing ratios for varying combinations of altitude and airspeed; tailplane trim switch on control column; no tabs.

STRUCTURE:

All-metal; wings have two primary spars and auxiliary spar; semi-monocoque fuselage, with spine housing control pushrods, avionics, single-point refuelling cap and fuel tank; blister fairings on fuselage above and below each wing to accommodate retracted mainwheels.

LANDING GEAR:

Hydraulically retractable tricycle type, with single wheel on each unit; all units housed in fuselage when retracted. Forward retracting non-steerable nosewheel unit, tyre size 500 x 180 mm; inward retracting mainwheels which turn to stow vertically inside fuselage. Size 800 x 200 mm tyres on mainwheels, inflated to approximately 7.93 bars (115 lb/sq in), ruling out normal operation from grass runways. Pneumatic disc brakes on all three wheels supplied from compressed air bottles. Steering by differential mainwheel braking. Wheel doors remain open when legs are extended. Brake parachute housed inside acorn fairing at base of rudder.

POWER PLANT:

One Tumansky R-13-300 turbojet, rated at 41.55 kN (9340 lb st) dry and 64.73 kN (14550 lb st) with afterburning. Fuel tanks in fuselage, and two integral tanks in each wing, with total capacity of 2600 litres (687 US gallons; 572 Imp gallons), of which approx 1800 litres (475 US gallons; 396 Imp gallons) are usable within CG limits at low speed. Provision for carrying one finned external fuel tank, capacity 490 litres (130 US gallons; 108 Imp gallons) or 800 litres (211 US gallons; 176 Imp gallons), on underfuselage pylon and two 490 litre drop tanks on outboard underwing pylons. Two jettisonable solid propellant JATO rockets can be fitted under rear fuselage, aft of wheel doors.

ACCOMMODATION:

Pilot only, on zero/zero ejection seat with spring loaded arm at top which ensures that seat cannot be operated unless hood is closed. Canopy is sideways hinged, to starboard, and is surmounted by a small rearview mirror. Flat bulletproof windscreen. Cabin air-conditioned. Armour plating forward and aft of cockpit.

AVIONICS:

Search and track radar (NATO 'Jay Bird') in intake centrebody, with search range of 10.8 nm (20 km; 12.5 miles). Other standard avionics include VOR, ARK automatic radio compass, IFF and Sirena 3 radar warning system with an indicator marked in 45ų sectors in front of and behind the aircraft. Gyro gunsight maintains precision up to 2.75g. Automatic ranging can be fed into gunsight. Full blind-flying instrumentation, with attitude and heading indicators driven by remote central gyro platform.

ARMAMENT:

One twin-barrel 23 mm GSh-23 gun, with 200 rounds, in belly pack. Four underwing pylons for weapons or drop tanks. Typical loads for interceptor role include two AA-2/2D (K-13A) 'Atoll' air-to-air missiles on inner pylons and two radar homing AA-2C 'Atolls' or two UV-16-57 rocket packs (16 57 mm rockets) on outer pylons; or two drop tanks and two AA-2/2D or AA-2C 'Atoll'. Typical loads for ground attack role are four UV-16-57 rocket packs, two 500 kg and two 250 kg bombs; or four 240 mm S-24 air-to-surface rockets.

Sources:

National Museum of the USAF

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