Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15

From The Air Combat Wiki

Contents 1 Historical Data 2 History 2.1 Pre-Production 2.2 MiG-15 Fagot A 2.3 MiG-15 Developments 2.4 MiG-15UTI Midget 2.5 MiG-15bis Fagot B 2.6 MiG-15bis Developments 2.7 Foreign MiG-15s 2.7.1 Czechoslovakia 2.7.2 Poland 2.7.3 China 3 Version History 4 Individual Model Data 4.1 MiG-15 Fagot A 4.2 MiG-15bis Fagot B 4.3 MiG-15UTI Midget 5 Sources

Historical Data

Country: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Type/Role: Fighter, Interceptor, Ground-Attack and Photo Reconnaissance

Manufacturer: Mikoyan-Gurevich

Factories: State Aircraft Factory 1 (Moscow, USSR), Rudeho Letova (Prague, Czechoslovakia), Panstowe Zaklady Lotnicze (PZL) (Mielec, Poland), Lotnyczych Zakladach Remontowych (repair and refit only) (Poland), and Sheyang Aircraft Factory (repair and refit only) (Shenyang, China)

Company Designation: Project S (S = Strelowidnostji = Swept)

Military Designations: I-310, MiG-15, MiG-15bis, MiG-15UTI, S-102 (Czechoslovakia) , S-103 (Czechoslovakia), CS-102 (Czechoslovakia), Lim-1 (Poland), Lim-2 (Poland), SBLim-1 (Poland), SBLim-2 (Poland), J-2 (China), F-2 (Chinese export), FT-2 (Chinese export)

First Flight: 30 December 1947

Service Date: 30 December 1948

Units Equipped: ???

# Produced: ???

History

Pre-Production

During the Great Patriotic War the Soviet Central Aero-Hydrodynamics Institute (TsAGI) was given examples of lend-lease and captured German, Italian and Japanese aircraft for evaluation and technology mining, while the Ramenskoye Test and Research Center was responsible for flight testing captured German aircraft. When the war ended a bounty of captured German research material and preproduction aircraft helped boost the pool of technology available to Soviet designers.

Among the aircraft captured was the Focke Wulf Ta-183, a swept-wing, single-engine jet fighter with a T-tail and an estimated performance of almost 600 mph and a service ceiling of 47,000 feet. The Ta-183 was mostly made of wood and had a thin wing with a 35 degree sweep. The first prototype had been scheduled for its first flight in August 1945 and testing on the design had been vigorously pursued until the facilites were captured in May 1945. The Ta-183 was thoroughly studied and tested by TsAGI and served as an important influence on the specifications and development of the MiG-15.

In January 1946 the State Defense Committee issued a specification for a high-altitude, daylight interceptor with a top speed of Mach 0.9 and a service ceiling over 30,000 feet. The Lavochkin, Mikoyan-Gurevich, and Yakovlev design teams were asked to work closely with TsAGI and submit design proposals for fighters to meet this new spec.

A team of Mikoyen-Gurevich (MiG) scientists, led by Professors Savizkj and Sudez and including several captured German scientists, began wind tunnel testing on the swept wing, a time-consuming process that included upgrading the wing tunnel with captured German equipment and technology. The lead engineers on Project S (S was short for Strelowidnostji, or swept in english), were SA Khristianovich, GP Svishchev, JP Serebrisky and WW Streminsky.

At that time the only jet engine available was the axial-flow RD-10 (RD = Reaktivny Dvigatel = Reaction Engine), a copy of the Junkers Jumo 004, which had been used on the Me-262 jet fighter. It was expected that further development of the engine would increase power output from under 2000 to over 6000 lbs of thrust. However, the expectation of more than tripling the engine's original power rating was unrealistic and the project was delayed until a suitable replacement could be found.

Salvation to the project was found in the unlikely form of the British Empire, which had violently opposed a Bolshevik Russia until the German invasion of 22 June 1941. Against strong opposition from the Royal Air Force and the Defense Ministry, about 30 Rolls-Royce Derwent Mark V and 25 Rolls-Royce Nene Mark I engines were sold to the USSR. The enginese were distributed to various aircraft factories and a complete, factory new Nene was sent to the Klimov Design Bureau for unlicensed copying.

The Klimov team in Leningrad was given the task of producing a Soviet copy of the Nene, but almost the entire team was moved to the new Zavod 45 plant in Moscow on 30 October 1947. It was here that the final copy, designated the RD-45 engine, was produced. The RD-45 produced 5000 lbs thrust, but was a centrifugal-flow design and thus required a redesign of the Project S fuselage to accomodate the larger diameter. The Klimov team continued work on the RD-45 and soon produced the RD-45F, which introduced water injection to reduce the fuel consumption rate and improve the time between overhauls, two major problems with the original RD-45, and slightly increased power output to 5005 lbst.

Meanwhile, work began on the first prototype in early 1947 at the State Aircraft Factory #1 at the Frunse Airfield in Moscow. The internal MiG designation for the prototype was S-01, while the Voenno-Vozdushne Sili (Soviet Army Air Forces, VVS for short) dubbed it the I-310 (I = Izdeliya = Production). The prototype was powered by one of the original Rolls-Royce Nene engines imported from the UK and had a full armament package of 1x 37 mm NS-37 cannon and 2x 23 mm NS-23 cannons mounted under the nose.

Upon completion, the S-01 prototype was transferred to the Ramenskoye airfield for factory testing under the direction of Konstantine Pavlovich Kovaljewskij. With company test pilot Viktor Nikolayevich Yuganov at the controls the S-01 prototype made its maiden flight on 30 December 1947. Because of poor weather in the Moscow area, the MiG team dismantled the S-01 prototype and shipped it by rail to the souther USSR, where the fair weather was more conducive to flight testing. These test revealed several problems, including the tendancy to "snake" when speed rose above 0.88 mach and poor handling at high angles of attack, which resulted in the fighter stalling and spinning during tight turns.

The second prototype, S-02 by internal MiG company designation, was completed on 27 May 1948 and was shipped to the Flight Experimental Institute of Civil Aviation (LII-GA). S-02 differed in several respects from S-01. The sweep of the horizontal tailplane was increased to 40 degrees and the design of the wing trailing edge was changed slightly, all intended to improve control at high-AOA. The tail pipe was shortened and speed brakes, operated by hydraulic jacks, were installed in the aft fuselage. An antenna fairing was added to the top of the fuselage and a frame running across the middle of the canopy was deleted. The landing gear doors were modified so that they opened whenever the landing gear was not fully retracted, a simplification of the previous system that kept the doors closed whenever the gear was not cycling. S-03 quickly followed, being delivered to LII-GA on 5 July 1948. During this phase of factory directed testing, the test pilots included VN Yuganov, IT Ivashechenko and SN Anokhin.

The S-03 prototype was assigned to the Science and Experimental Institute of the Soviet Air Force (NII-VVS) on 1 November 1948, with State Acceptance trials being conducted by Colonels Grigori Sedov, Jurji Antipov and Andrej G Kochetkov. In comparative testing against the Lavochkin La-174 design, the Lavochkin displayed better high-speed handling, but the MiG excelled in firepower, climb rate and maintenance serviceability rates. Acceptance trials continued into late 1948, with minor improvements being incorporated into the prototypes as problems were discovered. One such problem was that the gasses from the inboard NS-23 cannon were being ingested into the air intake and causing compressor stalls in the Nene engine, resulting in a modification of the gun mounting.

Finally, the design was cleared for mass production at the State Aircraft Factory #1 in late-1948 as the MiG-15 and the first production MiG-15 was flown on 30 December 1948 by company test pilot VN Yuganov.

MiG-15 Fagot A

The MiG-15 was produced in the USSR between late 1948 through early 1950. The MiG-15 was an all-metal, stressed-skin monoplane jet fighter with 35 degree swept wings and a 40 degree sweep to the horizontal T-shaped tail. Each wing had two airflow fences and employed Fowler type flaps with one setting for take-off (20 degrees) and another for landing (55 degrees). The flaps employed hydralically operated mechanical up-locks and pressurized air was stored in bottles, which could extend the flaps in an emergency. A mechanical flaps position indicator was provided in the form of a 2 inch long rod in the port side wing, between the wing fences, which extended upward whenever the flaps were extended. The rod was painted with either an all red color, red and white horizontal stripes, or black and white horizontal stripes. Some MiG-15s had a cutout on the inboard wing fence to allow the indicator rod to be more easily seen by the pilot in the cockpit.

A pair of speed brakes on the rear fuselage were extended with hydraulic jacks that were activated by a toggle switch in the cockpit on the port side console, beneath the radio controls. A green indicator lamp next to the switch would illuminate whenever the speed brakes were extended. Wheel brakes were pneumatically operated and fed by an air bottle, which also served as the air resevoir for the emergency landing gear extension system. The wheel brakes were activated by a small lever on the left side of the control stick.

The landing gear had mechanical "wheels down" indicator rods, similar to the flaps indicator. The main gear indicator was located further forward and outboard of the flaps indicator on the upper surface of the port wing, while the nose gear indicator was located on the left side of the upper nose such that it could be seen in the lower-left corner of the windscreen.

The tail section had been altered from the original prototype in having a 40 degree sweep to the horizontal stabilizer and the elevators and trim tabs were independantly operated. The tail pipe had been made shorter and the corner between the tail pipe and the tailplane had been made deeper and more curved. The rudder was larger and had a large trim tab on the trailing edge. An EKSR-46 flare dispenser was located on the starboard side of the tail and was used to fire colored signal flares for radioless interplane communications.

The guns package was located on a platform beneath the nose, which could be lowered with the installed hand-crank. A single 37 mm NS-37 cannon with 40 rpg was mounted on the right side and two 23 mm NS-23 cannons with 80 rpg were mounted on the left. The NS-37 cannon employed a short-recoil type system and fired a 37 x 195 round, which had a projectile weight of 735 grams and a muzzle velocity of 900 m/sec. The NS-37 gun weight 170 kg and had a rate of fire of 250-350 rounds per minute.

The NS-23 cannons employed a similar short-recoil system and fired a 23 x 115 round, with a projectile weight of 200 grams and a muzzle velocity of 690 m/sec. The NS-23 weighed about 50 kg and had a rate of fire of 550-700 rpm. An S-13 gun camera was mounted in the fairing above the air intake, slightly to the right of center. Initially the ASP-1B computing gun sight was used, which was later upgraded to the improved ASP-1N type. A BDK-2-48MIG bomb rack under each wing to carry either bombs, 250 liter or 300 liter drop tanks.

When the first production MiG-15s were assigned to front-line evaluation units a serious buffeting was discovered at the maximum speed of 0.92 mach, resulting in a downgrade in permissable top speed to 0.88 mach. Inspections revealed that the buffeting was caused by a manufacturing defect in which the wing profile dimensions were 4 mm out of spec, caused primarly by poor workmanship. Once the workers had gained some experience, manufacturing standards improved and the buffeting disappeared, allowing the max speed to be raised back up to 0.92 mach.

The first production batches had an avionics package that included an RPK-10M radio compass, a DGMK-3 direction finder, and an RSI-6K radio. As new and improved equipment b became available it was introduced into the production line, without any change in the basic designation. The RSI-6K radio was replaced on later models with the RSI-6M-I model. An SRU-O IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system was installed when it became available, with the blade antenna mounted on the top of the fuselage and an RV-2 radio altimeter was installed, with the the T-shaped antennas mounted under the port wing tip and above the NS-37 cannon fairing on the right side of the fuselage.

Other improvements incorporated into the production line included the addition of a BU-1U aileron boost system, an automatic engine starting system, and internal batteries to allow the engine to be started on the ground without the use of a starter cart. Due to these and other changes, the empty weight of the plane varied from batch to batch.

Once NATO identified the type, it was initially given the codename FALCON. However it was soon renamed FAGOT, probably due to a naming conflict with a NATO plane. Soviet pilots called it the Samoljot-Soldat (Aircraft of the Soldier), while Hungarian pilots dubbed it the Jaguar.

MiG-15 Developments

The low range of the MiG-15 on internal fuel led to attempts to use external tanks to increase range, with the result being designated MiG-15PB (PB = Podvyesnije Baki = Belly Tank). The system employed a pair of 250 liter "slipper" style dop tanks, which were mounted on the bomb racks, but produced less drag than standard teardrop style drop tanks. After successful trials, the system was incorporated into the standard MiG-15 production line and the PB designation was eliminated.

Another long-range development was designated the MiG-15S (S = Soprovozdenije = Escort) and was an extension of the PB system. In addition to the 250 liter slipper tanks, the wing pylons could mount 300 liter or 400 liter slipper tanks or 600 liter teardrop style tanks. As with the PB system, the S system was incorporated into the standard MiG-15 production line and the S designation was dropped.

The high-altitude escort role was filled by the MiG-15SV (SV = Soprovozdenije Vysoto = High Altitude Escort), which employed the now standard full range of external fuel tanks. To reduce weight, the NS-37 cannon was removed and the NS-23 cannons were replaced by NR-23 models. The NR-23 used the same 23 x 115 round as the NS-23, but it was somewhat lighter at 39 kg and had a much higher rate of fire of 850-900 rpm.

The MiG-15U (U = Ustanaovka = weapon swiveling device) had the standard weapons package replaced with a pair of 30 mm NR-30 cannons mounted in a system that would allow the guns to swivel vertically from +5 to -55 degrees off the standard boreline (some sources indicate 23 mm cannons in a +7 to -11 degree mount). However, the system required 15-20 hours of specialized training for each pilot and it was determined that the advantages were too few to warrant the extra expense so the project was cancelled.

MiG-15UTI Midget

With the MiG-15 in production, Mikoyan-Gurevich engineers started work on a two-seat variant for advanced fighter training, designated Project ST. The fuselage was 1 meter (3.28 feet) longer than the standard MiG-15 and the main fuel tank was reduced from 1250 to 760 liters capacity. To help offset this reduction a small, 78 liter auxilliary tank was installed under the front cockpit.

Each cockpit contained full instrumentation and controls, the only difference being the lack of a gunsight in the rear cockpit. The controls in the front cockpit would automatically disconnect whenever the rear controls were used, allowing instructors to take instant control of the plane from a student. Each cockpit was separately pressurized, with a glass screen between the two cockpits. The forward canopy was hinged on the right side, while the rear canopy opened by sliding backwards. An SPU-2P intercom was used for communications between the two cockpits.

Under the designation I-312T the new variant was put through State Acceptance Trials, which it easily passed. The plane went into production during late 1949 and was variously referred to as the UTMiG-15, the UMiG-15 and the UTIMiG-15 before the Air Force settles on MiG-15UTI as the official designation.

Initial batches were armed with a single 12.7 mm UBK-E machine gun on the port side of the weapons bay. This WWII era weapon was replaced in later batches with the A-12.7 machine gun with 150 rounds of ammunition. Some MiG-15UTIs were armed with a single NR-23 cannon with 80 rpg to give pilots a more realistic expectation of what to expect in combat. Lacking a gun on the starboard side, the superfluous gun blast panel was deleted.

The MiG-15UTI was progressively updated with improved equipment alongside the production single-seat fighters. Early batched lacked the SRU-O IFF blade antenna on the fuselage spine and the RV-2 radio altimeter system, while later models added these instruments to provide up-to-date pilot training.

Several MiG-15UTIs converted for use as flying test-beds for various piece of equipment. These were designated MiG-15UTI-LL (LL = Letajushtshaja Laboratorija = Flying Laboratory) and were used to test ejection seats and to set international parachute records, with the "jumper" being ejected from the plane. Either the front or rear cockpit was modified, depending on the test being conducted.

Another modification of the Midget was the MiG-15UTI ST-7, which was intended to train pilots in the use of the RP-1 RP-1 Izumrud-1 radar system. The radar antennas were mounted in the nose in the same manner as the SP-5/MiG-15P, with the search antenna under an fairing on the upper lip of the air intake and the tracking antenna mounted under a dome in the center of the air-intake splitter. The guns and most of the plane's armor was removed to save weight and the S-13 gun camera was relocated to the starboard side of the nose, as per the MiG-15P. Only a few examples were produced.

When discovered by NATO it was given the code-name MIDGET, while Soviet pilots called it the Babushka (Grandmother) and Matushka (Good Old Woman). The MiG-15UTI served as a trainer for MiG-17 and MiG-19, both of which lacked their own two-seat variants.

Countries that have used the MiG-15UTI include Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Egypt, Finland, Guinea, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco, Nigeria, North Korea, North Yemen, Poland, Romania, Somalia, South Yemen, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam.

MiG-15bis Fagot B

After successfully copying the Rolls-Royce Nene in the form of the RD-45 and RD-45F engines, Klimov set to work on improving the basic design. The resulting VK-1 engine employed larger combustion chambers, turbine blades and tail pipe confined within the original dimensions of the Nene/RD-45. The new engine produce 5,950 lbs of thrust, almost 20% more than the RD-45F (5,005 lbst), and passed State Acceptance Trials in November 1948. The VK-1 was quickly followed by the VK-1A, which slightly improved reliability, fuel consumption and power output to 5,952 lbst.

With official acceptance of the new engine, Mikoyan-Gurevich started work on Project SD, an improved version of the MiG-15 using the new engine. The first SD prototype flew during September 1949 with Jurji Antipov at the controls. After State Acceptance Trials proved successful, the plane was ordered into production as the MiG-15bis, with production beginning in early 1950.

The first MiG-15bis production run was virtually identical to the last MiG-15, with the exceptions being the new engine, an weight reduction program that made the new plane almost 200 lbs lighter, and larger speed brakes. Other external differences included the deletion of the radio antenna fairing on top of the fuselage, the relocation of several access panels, and a larger tail bumper that was located further aft than on the MiG-15.

Internal fuel capacity was increased by 160 liters by using a larger main fuselage tank. The new variant used the then standard wing tank system that allowed for use of 250, 300 and 400 liter slipper tanks or 600 liter teardrop tanks. Because of their weight when full, 600 liter drop tanks were limited to use from long, hard runways and pilots were prohibited from landing with full 600 liter tanks.

As with the previosus model the MiG-15bis underwent numerous detail and equipment changes throughout its production life, which caused the weight and performance to vary between production batches. Changes in the planes equipment included:

• Early production examples had the starboard RV-2 radio altimeter antenna located on the fuselage, above the NS-27 cannon fairing, while later variants had the antenna relocated under the right wing root, just inboard of the first wing fence.
• Early examples lacked the SRU-O IFF blade antenna on top of the fuselage, which was present on most planes.
• Early planes used the RSI-6M radio, which was replaced by the R-800 radio.
• Early batches were equipped with te RPKO-10M radio compass, which was soon replaced by the ARK-5 radio compass used on most planes.
• All MiG-15s and early MiG-15bis fighters had the HF radio antenna cable connected directly to the radio aerial mast, while later MiG-15bis batches had the wire connected to a small button on the fuselage, directly behind the aerial mast.
• Early models used the ASP-1N gunsight used on the late MiG-15, but this was later replaced with the improved ASP-3N gunsight.
• All MiG-15s and early MiG-15 bis fighters had the landing light mounted in the upper half of the air intake splitter, later examples moved it to the underside of the left wing root and the air intake splitter location was faired over.
• Late models used a modified nose wheel similar to that used on the MiG-17.
• Early models had two separate gun blast panels under the nose, while later batches used a single, large gun blast panel to cover the two positions.

During 1951 the guns package was upgraded significantly. The NS-23 cannons were replaced with the same NR-23 cannons used on the MiG-15SV and the NS-37 cannon was replaced with an N-37 model. The N-37 used a smaller 37 x 155 round (vs 37 x 195) firing the same 735 gram projectile weight, resulting in a lower 690 m/sec muzzle velocity, which matched that of the 23 mm cannons. The gun was gas operated and produced a rate of fire of 400 rpg. Most importantly, it weighed only 103 kg, 67 kg less than the NS-37. The smaller round allowed the 37 mm ammunition capacity to be slightly increased from 40 to 45 rounds.

A gun selector switch allowed the guns to fire the guns all at the same time, just the N-37, or just the NR-23 cannons. The gun camera could be toggled on or off for each mode. Soviet engineers estimated that it would require only two hits from the N-37 cannon or eight NR-23 hits to down a B-29, B-50 or B-36 bomber and that a single 37 mm or two 23 mm hits would down a fighter, such as the F-80, F-84, or F-86.

NATO gave the improved model the code-name FAGOT B, and ammended their designation of the MiG-15 to Fagot A. Hungarian pilots dubbed the improved model the Sas (Eagle).

MiG-15bis Developments

Mikoyan-Gurevich modifed a MiG-15 to meet Marshal Govorov's Air Defense Forces (PVO) 1949 requirement for an all-weather interceptor capable of detecting, intercepting, and shooting down a target without ever making visual contact. dubbed the SP-1 (S = Strelowidnostji = Swept, P = Perekhavachik = Interceptor), the plane utilized the Korshun (Vulture) radar system, which employed a single antenna for search and tracking. However, because it used a single antenna, the Vorshun radar required the pilot to manually track the target.

The Korshun antenna was mounted on the upper half of the air intake splitter, with a cone-shaped radome, which reduced air intake by only 20%. The RV-2 radio altimeter antennas were relocated under the wings, outboard of the wing fences, and the S-13 gun camera was relocated to the starboard side of the nose. The two 23 mm cannons were removed and the two-piece nose-wheel doors gave way to a single-piece unit.

During testing the SP-1 failed to live up to expectations and the project was cancelled. However, the lessons learned on the SP-1 were later applied to the MiG-17PF and MiG-19PM all-weather interceptors.

Developed alongside the SP-1, the SP-5 used the Izumrud (Emerald) radar system developed by a team under Viktor Tikhomirov. The Izumrud system used separate tracking and search antennas, which allowed it to track targets automatically. The RP-1 search antenna was mounted under a small fairing on the upper lip of the air intake and the tracking antenna was located in the middle of the air splitter. The radar system could locate targets up to 12 km distant and could track targets within 2 km. A set of colored lights in the cockpit indicated to the pilot that he was within 3000 m (green) and when he was within 500 m (red).

To save weight armament the 37 mm cannon was deleted, leaving the plane with the two 23 mm cannons on the left side of the nose. Flight test commenced in 1950 and the system proved successful enough to warrant a small batch of production interceptors as the MiG-15P (P = Perekhvachik = Interceptor).

Before the 600 liter external tanks had been adopted as standard, they were used in a special configuration known as the MiG-15bisS. As with the MiG-15S, the S designation was dropped when the 600 liter tanks became a standard field option on the main production fighter. With the two 600 liter tanks, the MiG-15bisS had a range of 2,520 km (1,566 miles) and a ceiling of 43,963 feet.

The MiG-15bisF was a photographic reconnaissance version that was built in small numbers for exclusive use by the VVS. The guns package of the standard fighter was removed to save weight and a pod was mounted under the nose that contained either an AFA-1M or an AFP-21KT camera. The MiG-15bisF was popular with pilots and was nicknamed the Fotobis.

An alternate photo-recon variant was the MiG-15bisR (R = Rasvedtchik = Reconnaissance). The outboard 23 mm cannon was retained and a dual camera installation of both an AFA-1M and an AFP-21KT camera were mounted in the nose, necessitating a slight reduction in main fuel tank capacity. The MiG-15bisR usually opeated with 600 liter drop tanks and was equipped with an NFP-02 night-illumination flare dispenser to allow for night photo-reconnaissance missions.

The MiG-15ISh (ISh = Istrebityel-Shturmovik = Fighter-Assault aircraft) was an unsuccessful attempt to replace with the IL-10M ground-attack plane from WWII with the speed of a modern jet. The wing pylons were increased in size and faired up over the front of the wing into the outboard wing fences. Each pylon could carry three bomb racks, for a total of six FAB 50 or six FAB 100 bombs. Additionally, the pylons could each carry a single ARS-212 and TSR-190 unguided missile or an ORO-47K rocket pod with 8x 57 mm unguided rockets each. Flight and armament trials left the MiG-15ISh short of VVS requirements and the project was cancelled.

In further attempts to expand the range of their fighter force, the VVS experimented with aerial refueling using the MiG-15bis. The first attempt was the GARPUN system developed by a design team headed by Alexander Yakovlev. The GARPUN system involved a simple tow system, in which a pair of MiG-15bis fighters were towed behind a Tu-4 Bull, the Soviet copy of the B-29 Superfortress. However, without the engine running there was no cockpit heating and pilots suffered from the extreme cold on even the shortest flights, so the project was abandoned.

The next attempt to extend range involved the conversion of Tu-4 Bulls into aerial tankers fitted with a pair of booms on the wings, similar to the drogue system used by most air forces. Betwen 1952-1955 at least twelve Tu-4s were modified and some MiG-15bis fighters were equipped with a refueling probe on the left side of the nose. The system worked well enough to be used operationally in a limited fashion, without any special designation given to the modified MiG-15bis fighters.

Foreign MiG-15s

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia imported the MiG-15 and the Letectvo CSLA (Czech Air Force) redesignated it the S-102 (S = Stihac = Fighter). In 1951, after the MiG-15 had given way to the MiG-15bis on Soviet production lines, licensed production of the S-102 begam at the Rudeho Letova factory in Prague. Less than a year later local production of the RD-45F commenced at the Czech Motorlet factory under the designation M-05, with the first examples being delivered in 1952. The entire production facility was moved in 1953 to the Aero Vodochody plant outside Prague.

Imported MiG-15bis fighters were designated S-103 by the Czech Air Force and production of the S-103 began at Aero Vodochody in 1954. Local production of the VK-1A was performed under the designation M-06 a about 5000 were built.

The Aero Vodochody plant did more than copy the Soviet fighter, they developed a unique variant known as the MiG-15SB (SB = Stihac Bombardovaci = Fighter-Bomber). The SB variant added two weapons pylons under each wing, one on each side of the drop tank pylons. The pylons were capable of carrying LR-130 rockets, SR-55 rocket pods, 260 lb RBK-250 bombs, or OFAB-100M high-explosive incendiary bombs.

The MiG-15SB was simultaneously fitted with two gun sights: a PBP-1B optical sight and an ASP-3N gyro gun sight. A pair of RATO (rocket assisted take-off) pods could be mounted on the aft fuselage to reduce take-off distance when operating with a full bomb and fuel load.

At the request of the North Vietnamese Air Force, a pair of MiG-15SBs were modified to carry a pair of K-13 (AA-2) Atoll air-to-air missiles on rails mounted to the inboard weapons pylons. The NS-37 cannon was removed and an infrared sensor was mounted inside the empty cannon fairing. Test results with the first conversion were not satisfactory and the project was cancelled before the second MiG-15SB could be fully converted.

Another Czech variant was the MiG-15T (T = Tahac = Tug), which as the name implies was used as a target tug for training anti-aircraft gunners. The L-03 generator was used to operate a winch, which reeled the target out for training, then reeled it back in for landing.

The Czech version of the MiG-15UTI two-seat trainer was the CS-102 (CS = Cvicny Stihac = Training Fighter). Production began at the Aero Vodochody plant during 1955 and a large number of those produced were exported to other Warsaw Pact countries, Iraq and Indonesia. Many of the Czech built Midgets had a V-shaped shell ejection port for the 12.7 mm UBK-E machine gun and a larger gun fairing.

The Czech Air Force also modified a CS-102 for use in ejection seat testing, in the same manner as the Soviet MiG-15UTI-LL. A Czech-built VS-1BRI ejection seat, which was intended for use in te Aero L-39 Albatross trainer, was installed in the rear cockpit and several tests were made before the plane crash during one test, killing test pilot Rudolf Duchon. A second CS-102 was modified for ejection seat testing and by 1977 it had completed about 115 successful ejection flights.

The UTI MiG-15P was a CS-102 that was converted during 1959 to train pilots with the RP-5 Izumrud-5 radar system, which was used in the MiG-17PFs then being delivered to the Czech Air Force. The forward section of the fuselage was modified to use the nose section of the MiG-19S and the radar installation of the MiG-17PF. Although no gun was installed, there was a teardrop-shaped gun fairing on the left underside of the nose. Unlike other CS-102s, the IFF antenna was deleted and there was no S-13 gun camera. The plane was initially flown with 300 liter slipper tanks, but was later upgraded to carry 400 liter tanks. After a successful training career, the sole UTI MiG-15P was delivered to the Praha-Kbely airfield and put on permanent display.

Poland

The Polish government reached an agreement with the USSR for license production of the MiG-15 in May 1951, at the Panstwowe Zaklady Lotnicze (PZL) factory at Mielec. Detailed construction documents were provided and a sample MiG-15 (serial number 113074) was sent to serve as a pattern aircraft. All imported MiG-15s retained their VVS designations, while those built by PZL were designated Lim-1 (Lim = Licencyjny mysliwiec = License fighter).

The first Lim-1 flew on 22 July 1951 with Eugeniusz Pniewski at the controls. During 1952 another six Lim-1s were constructed, using parts supplied by the USSR. Full series production with locally made parts began in 1953, with a total of 227 planes being made in 12 production batches until production ceased on 1 September 1954. During that time the RD-45F engine was license built at the WSK factory in Rzeszow as the Lis-1 (Lis = Licencyjny silnik = License engine).

Several Lim-1s were converted into target tugs, with the lower/central NS-23 cannon being replaced with target towing equipment.

The Lim-pol tora (Lim-one and a half) was the unofficial designation given to Lim-1s, which had been modified to use the avionics package of the MiG-15bis. Lim-1s were converted at the Lotniczych Zakladach Remontowych (LZR = Aviation Repair) factory to use the R-800 radio, the ARK-5 radio compass, the RV-2 radio altimeter, and t he SRU-O IFF system.

The Lim-2 was the Polish version of the MiG-15bis, with production at PZL beginning in 1954. It was identical to the MiG-15bis in every respect. Similarly, the MiG-15bisF photo-recon variant was built by PZL as the Lim-2R.

Poland began receiving MiG-15UTI trainers in 1951 and when the MiG-15 was replaced in front-line service it was decided to convert some of the planes to the MiG-15UTI standard at the LZR factory. These were designated SBLim-1 (SB = Szkolno-Bojowy = Training Combat) and a number of them were later converted to use the engine and rear fuselage section of the MiG-15bis and redesignated SBLim-2s.

During 1965 several SBLim-1 trainers were converted for use as Forward Air Control (FAC) aircraft at the LZR plant in Bydgoszcz. The rear cockpit controls were replaced with a navigation panel and the armament was upgraded to 2x 23mm NR-23 cannons with 80 rpg. During 1968 several SBLim-2s were similarly converted, with some fitted with an AFA-39 camera pod in the right-side gun mount and most carrying an AFA-BAD/215 camerra mounted between the gun ammo boxes. These conversions were originally designated SBLim-1 Art and SBLim-2 Art (Art = Artyleryjski = Artillery), which was later shortened to SBLim-1A and SBLim-2A.

Still later, some of the SBLim-2As were reconverted back into trainers with the original dual control equipment replacing the nav panel in the rear cockpit. However, these retained the 2x NR-23 cannon armamanent of the SBLim-2A and were thus designated SBLim-2M instead of reverting to the original SBLim-2 designation.

As with the Soviet and Czech Air Forces, several MiG-15UTI trainers were converted to test the VSI-BRI ejection seat. One test example was Red 002, which had a PZL I-22 trainer nose section mounted above the fuselage, performed high-speed taxi runs while the ejection tests were carried out with a weigted dummy in the seat to prevent injury to a pilot.

China

In October 1951 the Soviets reached an agreement with the Chinese government to send 847 experts and advisors to help gear up the country's nascent aircraft industry with the goal of producing MiG-15bis fighters at the Shenyang Aircraft Factory by the end of 1957. The first stage was to turn Shenyang into a repair and refit facility and between 1951-1954 about 534 MiG-15s were overhauled there. Planes that were repaired at Shenyang can be identified by the additon of a small access panel on the port side of the nose on the air intake ring.

The first parts to be built at Shenyang was the VK-1A engine, under the designation WP-5A. However, by the time Shenyang got close enough to be a full-scale production facility, it was decided to concentrate on the newer MiG-17. As a result, all Chinese MiG-15bis fighters were imported under the designation J-2, but from then on they were overhauled and repaired locally.

When the J-2 was supplanted by the J-5 (MiG-17F), the existing J-2s were re-exported as F-2s and the MiG-15UTIs were re-exported as the FT-2 to Albania, Bangladesh, North Korea, North Vietnam, Pakistan, Sudan, and Tanzania.

Version History

Individual Model Data

MiG-15 Fagot A

Max Speed = 652 mph at sea level, 641 mph at 16,405 ft

Time to Alt = 2.5 min to 16,405 ft

Range (internal) = 730 miles at 32,810 ft

Empty Weight = 7,767 lb

Loaded Weight Clean = 10,941 lb

Wingspan = 33 feet 1 in

Length = 32 feet 11.25 in

Height = 12 ft 1.67 in

Wing Area = 221.75 sq ft

Source = Green, William, and Swanborough, Gordon; The Complete Book Of Fighters; Smithmark Publishers Inc.; New York; 1994.

Wingspan = 33 ft 1 in

Length = 36 ft 3.5 in

Engine = 5,450 lb thrust RD-45

Armament = 1x 37mm and 2x 23mm cannons and provision for two 1,000 lb bombs or a load of rockets

Max Speed = 668 mph at sea level

Service Ceiling = 51,000 ft

Source = Batchelor, John, and Cooper, Brian; Fighter; Charles Scribner's Sons; New York; 1973.

Engine = 1x RD-45F with 5,005 lbs thrust

Wingspan = 33 ft 1 in

Length = 36 ft 3 in

Height = 11 ft 2 in

Weight = 12,566 lbs

Max Speed = 664 mph at 40,000 ft

Ceiling = 50,000 ft

Range = 1220 miles

Armament = 2x 23 mm cannons and 1,100 lbs of bombs

Source = Angelucci, Enzo; The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft 1914 to Present; Crescent Books; New York; 1990.

MiG-15bis Fagot B

Wingspan = 33 feet 3 inches

Length = 33 feet 4 inches

Height = 10 feet 10 inches

Empty Weight = 8,115 lbs

Maximum Weight = 12,288 lbs

Engine = 1x 5,950 lbs thrust VK-1A Turbojet

Armanent = 1x 37 mm N-37 cannon and 2x 23 mm NR-23 cannons

Maximum Speed = 650 mph

Service Ceiling = 49,729 feet

Range = 1,228 miles

Source = Stapfer, Hans-Heiri; MiG-15 In Action; Squadron/Signal Publications; Carrollton, TX; 1991.

Max Speed = 667 mph at sea level, 688 mph at 9,840 ft

Time to Alt = 1.95 min to 16,405 ft

Range (internal) = 826 miles

Empty Weight = 8,115 lbs

Loaded Weight = 11,861 lbs

Wingspan = 33 ft 1 in

Length = 35 ft 7.5 in

Height = 12 ft 1.67 in

Wing Area = 221.75 sq ft

Source = Green, William, and Swanborough, Gordon; The Complete Book Of Fighters; Smithmark Publishers Inc.; New York; 1994.

Engine = VK-1 at 5,952 lbs thrust

Armament = 1x N-37 with 40 rpg and 2x NR-23 with 80 rpg

Wingspan = 33 feet 0.75 in

Length = 36 ft 3.25 in

Max Take-off Weight = 12,566 lbs

Max Level Speed = 668 mph

Range = 1,155 miles

Source = Taylor, Michael J.H.; Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation; Crescent Books; New York; 1989.

Engine = 5,932 lbs thrust VK-1

Max Speed = 669 mph at sea level and 605 mph at 35,000 ft

Ceiling = 50,800 ft

Internal Range = 826 miles

Armament = 1x NS-37 and 2x NR-23 cannons

Source = Franks, Norman; Aircraft Versus Aircraft; Grub Street; London; 1999.

MiG-15UTI Midget

Wingspan = 33 feet 3 inches

Length = 36 feet 7 inches

Height = 10 feet 10 inches

Empty Weight = 8,260 lbs

Maximum Weight = 11,938 lbs

Engine = 1x 5,000 lbs thrust RD-45F Turbojet

Armament = 1x 12.7 mm machine gun or 1x 23 mm cannon

Maximum Speed = 628 mph

Service Ceiling = 48,766 feet

Range = 885 miles

Source = Stapfer, Hans-Heiri; MiG-15 In Action; Squadron/Signal Publications; Carrollton, TX; 1991.

Sources

Angelucci, Enzo; The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft 1914 to Present; Crescent Books; New York; 1990.

Batchelor, John, and Cooper, Brian; Fighter; Charles Scribner's Sons; New York; 1973.

Franks, Norman; Aircraft Versus Aircraft; Grub Street; London; 1999.

Green, William, and Swanborough, Gordon; The Complete Book Of Fighters; Smithmark Publishers Inc.; New York; 1994.

Stapfer, Hans-Heiri; MiG-15 In Action; Squadron/Signal Publications; Carrollton, TX; 1991.

Taylor, Michael J.H.; Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation; Crescent Books; New York; 1989.