Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
Encyclopedia
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (NATO reporting name
: Fresco) (China
:Shenyang J-5) (Poland
: PZL-Mielec Lim-6) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft
produced in the USSR from 1952 and operated by numerous air forces in many variants. Most MiG-17 variants cannot carry air-to-air missiles, but shot down many aircraft with its cannons. It is an advanced development of the very similar appearing MiG-15
of the Korean War
, and was used as an effective threat against supersonic fighters of the United States in the Vietnam War
. It was also briefly known as the "Type 38", by U.S. Air Force designation prior to the development of NATO codes.
and North American F-100 Super Sabre. The design would ultimately still prove effective into the 1960s when pressed into dogfights over Vietnam against supersonic types which were generally flown at subsonic speeds, and not optimized for subsonic maneuvering short-range engagements.
While the MiG-15 used a Mach sensor to deploy airbrakes because it could not safely exceed Mach 0.92, the MiG-17 was designed to be controllable at higher Mach numbers. Early versions which retained the original Soviet copy of the Rolls-Royce Nene VK-1 engine were heavier with equal thrust. Later MiG-17s would be the first Soviet fighter application of an afterburner
which offered increased thrust on demand by dumping fuel in the exhaust of the basic engine.
Though the MiG-17 still strongly resembles its forbear, it had an entirely new thinner and more highly swept wing
and tailplane for speeds approaching Mach 1. While the F-86 introduced the "all-flying" tailplane which helped controllability near the speed of sound, this would not be adopted on MiGs until the fully supersonic MiG-19. The wing had a "sickle sweep" compound shape with a 45° angle like the US F-100 Super Sabre near the fuselage (and tailplane), and a 42° angle for the outboard part of the wings. The stiffer wing resisted the tendency to bend its wingtips and lose aerodynamic symmetry unexpectedly at high speeds and wing loads.
Other easily visible differences to its predecessor were the three wing-fences
on each wing, instead of the MiG-15's two, the addition of a ventral fin and a longer and less tapered rear fuselage that added about 3 feet in length. The MiG-17 shared the same Klimov VK-1
engine and much of the rest of its construction such as the forward fuselage, landing gear and gun installation was carried over. The first prototype, designated I-330 "SI" by the construction bureau, was flown on the 14 January 1950, piloted by Ivan Ivashchenko.
In the midst of testing, pilot Ivashchenko was killed when his plane developed flutter which tore off his horizontal tail, causing a spin and crash on 17 March 1950. Lack of wing stiffness also resulted in aileron reversal which was discovered and fixed. Construction and tests of additional prototypes "SI-2" and experimental series aircraft "SI-02" and "SI-01" in 1951, were generally successful. On 1 September 1951, the aircraft was accepted for production, and formally given its own MiG-17 designation after so many changes from the original MiG-15. It was estimated that with the same engine as the MiG-15's, the MiG-17's maximum speed is higher by 40–50 km/h, and the fighter has greater manoeuvrability at high altitude.
Serial production started in August 1951, but large quantity production was delayed in favor of producing more MiG-15s so it was never introduced in the Korean War. It did not enter service until October 1952, when the MiG-19 was almost ready to be flight tested. During production, the aircraft was improved and modified several times. The basic MiG-17 was a general-purpose day fighter, armed with three cannon
s, 1 Nudelman N-37 37mm cannon and two 23mm with 80 rounds per gun, 160 rounds total. It could also act as a fighter-bomber
, but its bomb
load was considered light relative to other aircraft of the time, and it usually carried additional fuel tanks instead of bombs.
Although a canopy which provided clear vision to the rear neccesary for dogfighting like the F-86 was designed, production MiG-17Fs got a cheaper rear-view periscope which would still appear on Soviet fighters as late as the MiG-23. By 1953, pilots got safer ejection seats with protective face curtain and leg restraints like the Martin Baker seats in the west. The MiG-15 had suffered for its lack of a radar gunsight, but in 1951, Soviet engineers obtained a captured F-86 Sabre
from Korea and they copied the optical gunsight and SRD-3 gun ranging radar to produce the ASP-4N gunsight and SRC-3 radar. The combination would prove deadly over the skies of Vietnam against aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom whose pilots lamented that guns and radar gunsights had been omitted as obsolescent.
The second prototype variant, "SP-2" (dubbed "Fresco A" by NATO), was an interceptor
equipped with a radar
. Soon a number of MiG-17P ("Fresco B") all-weather fighters were produced with the Izumrud radar and front air intake modifications.
In early 1953 the MiG-17F day fighter entered production. The "F" indicated it was fitted with the VK-1F engine with an afterburner
by modifying the rear fuselage with a new convergent-divergent nozzle and fuel system. The afterburner doubled the rate of climb and greatly improving vertical maneuvers. But while the plane was not designed to be supersonic, skilled pilots could just dash to supersonic speed in a shallow dive, although the aircraft would often pitch up just short of Mach 1. This became the most popular variant of the MiG-17. The next mass-produced variant, MiG-17PF ("Fresco D") incorporated a more powerful Izumrud RP-2 radar, though they were still dependent on Ground Control Interception to find and be directed to targets. In 1956 a small series (47 aircraft) was converted to the MiG-17PM standard (also known as PFU) with four first-generation Kaliningrad K-5
(NATO reporting name
AA-1 'Alkali') air-to-air missile
s. A small series of MiG-17R reconnaissance aircraft were built with VK-1F engine (after first being tested with the VK-5F engine).
Several thousand MiG-17s were built in the USSR by 1958.
The next development, the MiG-19 was yet another derivative intended to reach supersonic speeds in level flight. The first prototype I-350 was based on the MiG-17 with an even greater wing and tail sweepback of 60 degrees, though the finalized design would look quite different from the original MiG-15.
Day-fighter variants (MiG-17, MiG-17F) were armed with two 23 mm NR-23 cannons (80 rpg) and one 37 mm N-37
cannon (40 rounds), which were mounted on a common bed under the central air intake. The gun bed could be easily wound down for maintenance. On radar-equipped variants (MiG-17P, MiG-17PF), the 37 mm N-37 was replaced with a third 23 mm NR-23 (carrying 100 rpg) to compensate for the weight aft of the radar. All variants could carry 100 kg (220 lb) bombs on two underwing pylons and some could carry 250 kg (551 lb) bombs; however, these pylons were usually used for 400 l (106 US gal) fuel tanks. The MiG-17R was armed with two 23 mm cannons. Most MiG-17s in third world service today fly as ground attack or trainer aircraft.
The only variant with air-to-air missiles was the MiG-17PM (or MiG-17PFU), which could carry four K-5
(NATO: AA-1 "Alkali"). It had no cannons. Some countries occasionally modified their MiG-17s to carry unguided rockets or bombs on additional pylons. MiG-17s in Cuba could be armed with AA-2 "Atoll" missiles.
The MiG-17P was equipped with the Izumrud-1 (RP-1) radar, while the MiG-17PF was initially fitted with the RP-1 which was later replaced with the Izumrud-5 (RP-5) radar. The MiG-17PM was also equipped with a radar, used to aim its missiles. Other variants had no radar.
In 1955, Poland
received a license for MiG-17 production. The MiG-17F was produced by the WSK-Mielec
factory under the designation Lim-5. The first Lim-5 was built on 28 November 1956 and 477 were built by 1960. An unknown number were built as the Lim-5R reconnaissance
variant, fitted with the AFA-39 camera. In 1959–1960, 129 MiG-17PF interceptors were produced as the Lim-5P . PZL-WSK also developed several Polish strike variants based on the MiG-17: the Lim-5M, produced from 1960; Lim-6bis, produced from 1963; and Lim-6M (converted in the 1970s); as well as two reconnaissance variants: the Lim-6R (Lim-6 "bis" R) and MR.
In China
, an initial MiG-17F was assembled from parts in 1956, with license production following in 1957 at Shenyang
. The Chinese-built version is known as the Shenyang J-5
(for local use) or F-5 (for export). According to some sources, earlier MiG-17s which had been delivered directly from the USSR were designated "J-4". From 1964, the Chinese produced a radar-equipped variant similar to the MiG-17PF, which was known as the J-5A (F-5A). The Chinese also developed a two-seat trainer
variant, the JJ-5 (FT-5 for export), which integrated the cabin of the JJ-2 (a license-built MiG-15UTI
) with the J-5. It was produced in 1966-1986, being the last-produced MiG-17 variant and its only twin-seater variant. The Soviets did not produce a two-seat MiG-17 as they felt that the training variant of the older MiG-15 was sufficient.
Many Soviet and licence-built examples remain in service to this day, though not all are currently active, making the MiG-17 one of the longest serving fighters ever built.
or Convair B-36 Peacemaker, which were both still powered by piston engines). Even if the target had sufficient warning and time to shed weight and drag by dropping external ordnance and accelerate to supersonic escape speeds, doing so would have inherently forced the enemy aircraft to abort its bombing mission. However, the USAF's introduction of strategic bombers capable of supersonic dash speeds such as the Convair B-58 Hustler and General Dynamics FB-111 rendered the MiG-17 obsolete in front-line PVO service and they were supplanted by supersonic interceptors such as the MiG-21
and MiG-23
.
MiG-17s were not available for the Korean War, but saw combat for the first time over the Straits of Taiwan when PRC
(Communist China) MiG-17s clashed with ROC
(Nationalist China) Sabres in 1958.
In 1958, MiG-17s downed a US reconnaissance Lockheed C-130 Hercules over Armenia, with 17 casualties.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the MiG-17 would find a new notoriety over the skies of Vietnam as the first of a handful of fighters such as the Hawker Hunter and Harrier which would demonstrate the effectiveness of using subsonic fighters to challenge and destroy supersonic fighters.
base at Son Dong for conversion to the MiG-17. By 1962 the first North Vietnamese pilots had finished their MiG-17 courses in the Soviet Union
and Red China, and returned to their units; to mark the occasion, the Soviets sent as a "gift" 36 MiG-17 fighters and MiG-15UTI trainers to Hanoi in February 1964. These airmen would create North Vietnam's first jet fighter regiment, the 921st. By 1965, another group of MiG pilots had returned from training in Krasnodar
, in the USSR, as well as from the PRC. This group would form North Vietnam's second fighter unit, the 923rd Fighter Regiment. While the newly created 923rd FR operated strictly MiG-17s, and initially these were the only types available to oppose modern American supersonic jets, more modern supersonic Soviet fighters would be later introduced as the 921st FR would operate both MiG-17s and MiG-21s (in 1969 the 925th FR MiG-19 unit would be formed).
Although US fighter-bombers had been engaged in combat since 1961, and some of the most experienced Americans such as James Robinson Risner
were Korean War aces, the North Vietnamese Air Force MiGs and their untried pilots lacked combat experience. The baptism of fire of the MiG-17 in this conflict occurred on 3 April 1965. That day two groups of MiGs took off from Noi Bai airbase. The first group comprised two jets and acted like a bait; the second was made-up of four MiG-17s and was the strike group. Their target were US Navy aircraft supporting an USAF 80-aircraft strike package trying the knock out Ham Rung bridge near Thanh Hoa. The MiG-17 leader, Lt. Pham Ngoc Lan, spotted a group of Vought F-8 Crusaders of the VF-211, USS Hancock, and shot-up the F-8E flown by Lt. Cdr. Spence Thomas, which would perform an emergency landing ashore at Da Nang. His wingman Phan Van Tuc claimed a second F-8, but this is not corroborated by USN loss listings.
On 4 April 1965, the USAF
conducted a "re-strike" on the Hàm Rồng
/Thanh Hoa bridge with 48 Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) loaded with 384 x 750 lb (340.2 kg) bombs. The Thunderchiefs were escorted by a MiG CAP
flight of North American F-100 Super Sabres from the 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS). Coming from above, four MiG-17s from the 921st Fighter Regiment (FR) tore through the escorts and dove onto the Thunderchiefs, shooting two of them down; the leader Tran Hanh downed F-105D 59-1754 of Major F. E. Benett, and his element leader Le Minh Huan downed F-105D 59-1764 of Captain J. A. Magnusson. The Super Sabres engaged with one firing a "AIM-9 Sidewinder
" air-to-air missile
which apparently missed (or malfunctioned), and another F-100D flown by Captain Donald Kilgus fired 20mm cannons, which also apparently missed, but in fact shot down and killed Tran Hanh's wingman Pham Giay. No other US airmen reported any confirmed aerial kills during the air battle. However, Tran Hanh stated that three of his accompanying MiG-17s had been shot down by the opposing USAF fighters.
During the 4 April 1965 engagement, four MiG-17s from the 921st FR had tangled with over 50 US jet fighter-bombers, consisting of F-105s and F-100s. Three F-100s from the MiGCAP, piloted by LTC Emmett L. Hays, CPT Keith B. Connolly, and CPT Donald W. Kilgus, all from the 416th TFS, engaged the MiG-17s. One Super Sabre fired an air-to-air missile and Connolly and Kilgus engaged with 20 mm cannon, with only Kilgus claiming a probable kill. The four attacking MiGs from the 921st FR were flown by Flight Leader Tran Hanh, Wingman Pham Giay, Le Minh Huan and Tran Nguyen Nam. Flight Leader Tran Hanh was the only survivor from the air battle and reportedly stated that his three MiG-17s were "... shot down by the F-105s." Based upon the report, the USAF F-100s very well could have been mistaken for F-105s, and the reported loss of three MiG-17s to those mistaken jet fighters would indicate that the USAF F-100 Super Sabres had obtained the first US aerial combat victories during the Vietnam War.
The MiG-17 was the primary interceptor of the fledgling Vietnam People's Air Force
in 1965, scoring its first aerial victories and seeing extensive combat during the Vietnam War
, the aircraft frequently worked in conjunction with MiG-21s and MiG-19s. Many historians believe that some North Vietnamese pilots, in fact, preferred the MiG-17 over the MiG-21 because it was more agile, though not as fast; however, of the 16 NVAF Aces
of the war, 13 of them attained that status while flying the MiG-21. Only three North Vietnamese Airmen gained Ace status
while flying the MiG-17. Those were: Nguyen Van Bay
(7 victories), Luu Huy Chao and Le Hai (both with six).
The MiG-17 was not originally designed to function as a fighter-bomber
, but in 1971 Hanoi
directed that United States Navy warships were to be attacked by elements of the North Vietnamese Air Force. This would require the MiG-17 to be fitted with bomb mountings and release mechanisms. Chief Engineer
of the NVAF ground crews, Truong Khanh Chau, was tasked with the mission of modifying two MiG-17s for the ground attack role; after three months of work, the two jets were ready. On 19 April 1972, two pilots from the 923rd FR took their bomb laden MiG-17s and attacked the US Navy destroyer
USS Higbee (DD-806) and light cruiser
USS Oklahoma City
(CLG-5). Each MiG was armed with two 250 kg (550 lb) bombs. Pilot Le Xuan Di managed to hit the destroyer's aft 5" gun mount, destroying it, but inflicting no fatalities, as the crewmen had vacated the turret earlier due to a malfunction with the gun system. The other attacker from the two-plane sortie was flown by Nguyen Van Bay
, an airman who would later end the war with seven confirmed air victories, all accomplished with his MiG-17. On this day however, his fighter either managed to slightly damage the USS Oklahoma City, or miss it entirely, depending upon the source. Each pilot had completed their drop of two bombs each and returned to base. After the war, Truong Khanh Chau became the director of the Vietnam Institute for Science and Technology
in 1977.
From 1965 to 1972, MiG-17s from the NVAF 921st and 923rd FRs would claim 71 aerial victories against US aircraft: 11 Crusaders, 16 F-105 Thunderchiefs, 32 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs, two Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, seven Douglas A-1 Skyraiders (propeller driven strike aircraft), one C-47 cargo/transport aircraft, one Sikorsky CH-3
C helicopter and one Ryan Firebee
UAV.
The American fighter community was shocked in 1965 when elderly, subsonic MiG-17s downed sophisticated Mach-2
-class F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bombers over North Vietnam. To redress disappointing combat performance against smaller, more agile fighters like the MiGs, the Americans established dissimilar air combat training
(DACT) in training programs such as "TOPGUN"
, which employed subsonic Douglas A-4 Skyhawk aircraft to mimic more manoeuvrable opponents such as the MiG-17. The US Navy also set Adversary squadrons equipped with the nimble A-4 at each of its fighter and attack Master jet bases to provide DACT.
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. The MiG-17 still flies today in the air forces of Burkina Faso, China (JJ-5 Trainer) Mali, Mozambique, North Korea, Pakistan (JJ-5 Trainer), Republic of the Congo, Somaliland, Sudan, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
According to the FAA there are 27 privately owned MIG-17s in the U.S.
during the Suez Crisis
of 1956, plus hundreds more served, and were mostly destroyed, in the Egyptian and Syrian Air Forces during the Six-Day War
of 1967 as well as the War of Attrition
, the 1973 Yom Kippur War
, and the 1982 Israeli Invasion of Lebanon.
and were flown by a mixed group of local Nigerian and mercenary
pilots from East Germany, Soviet Union
, South Africa
, the United Kingdom
, and Australia
during the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War
.
during the 1971 insurgency and were used for bombing and ground attack in the brief insurgency. Four North Korean MiG-17 aircraft were involved in the EC-121 shootdown incident
, where they managed to shoot down an American EC-121 Warning Star
.
Lockheed C-130 was shot down by four MiG-17 fighters when it flew into Soviet
airspace near Yerevan, Armenia while on a Sun Valley
SIGINT mission, with all 17 crew killed.
In addition to tracking the dog fights staged between the various MiG models against virtually every fighter in U.S. service, and against SAC's B-52 Stratofortress and B-58 Hustlers to test the ability of the bombers’ countermeasures systems. They also performed radar cross-section and propulsion tests that contributed greatly to improvements in U.S. aerial performance in Vietnam.
I-300
MiG-17 ("Fresco A")
MiG-17A
MiG-17AS
MiG-17P ("Fresco B")
MiG-17F ("Fresco C")
MiG-17PF ("Fresco D")
MiG-17PM/PFU ("Fresco E")
MiG-17R
MiG-17SN
Shenyang J-5
Some withdrawn aircraft were converted to remotely controlled targets.
: Afghan Air Force
. Around 100 MiG-17F acquired by the Afghan Air Force from 1957.
: Albanian Air Force
- 20 aircraft, including 8 Chinese-made JJ-5 trainers, were acquired. All Albanian fighters are in storage, retired from active service, due to lack of spare parts
: Algerian Air Force
: People's Air and Air Defence Force of Angola
.
: Bangladeshi Air Force
: Bulgarian Air Force
:
: Royal Cambodian Air Force
- 16 aircraft, including five MiG-17s and 11 Shenyang J-5
were received from the Soviet Union and China in 1967-1968, later all were destroyed on the ground in 1971.
: see also Shenyang J-5
: Congolese Air Force
: Cuban Air Force
: Czechoslovakian Air Force - two MiG-17F for evaluation purposes (EP-01 and EP-02), 34 MiG-17PF all-weather interceptors. All retired before 1970.
: East German Air Force
: Egyptian Air Force
: Ethiopian Air Force
. All retired.
: Indonesian Air Force
- Using MiG-17F and MiG-17PF. All of the aircraft acquired in 1961. Used during the preparation of Operation TRIKORA in 1962 to take Western New Guinea, now Papua and Papua Barat, from the Netherlands. Some of the aircraft were used intensively in Air Forces / TNI-AU Acrobatic Team in 1962 for air show events around Indonesia. All aircraft were grounded in 1969. None have been in service since 1970.
: Iraqi Air Force
: Hungarian Air Force
: Libyan Air Force
: MiG-17 in service.
: Mongolian Air Force
- Between in 1970-1977 received than 17 aircraft
: Royal Moroccan Air Force
: MiG-17 in service.
: Nigerian Air Force
: North Korean Air Force - J-5 still in service.
: Pakistan Air Force
JJ-5 Trainer in service.
: Romanian Air Force
- 12 MiG-17PF and 12 MiG-17F entered service in 1955 and 1956, respectively.
: Somali Air Corps
: Sri Lankan Air Force
- All retired from service.
: Syrian Air Force
: Tanzanian Air Force - J-5 in service.
: Ugandan Air Force
: Vietnam People's Air Force
: Yemen Air Force
: Air Force of Zimbabwe
JJ-5 Trainer in service.
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
: Fresco) (China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
:Shenyang J-5) (Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
: PZL-Mielec Lim-6) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
produced in the USSR from 1952 and operated by numerous air forces in many variants. Most MiG-17 variants cannot carry air-to-air missiles, but shot down many aircraft with its cannons. It is an advanced development of the very similar appearing MiG-15
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was a jet fighter developed for the USSR by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters, and it achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where early in the war, it outclassed all straight-winged enemy fighters in...
of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and was used as an effective threat against supersonic fighters of the United States in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. It was also briefly known as the "Type 38", by U.S. Air Force designation prior to the development of NATO codes.
Development
While the MiG-15bis would be destined to introduce swept wings to air combat over Korea, by 1949, the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau had already begun work on its replacement, originally the MiG-15bis45, which would fix any problems found with the MiG-15 in combat. The result was one of the most successful transonic fighters introduced before the advent of true supersonic types such as the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 is a Soviet second-generation, single-seat, twin jet-engined fighter aircraft. It was the first Soviet production aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight. A comparable U.S...
and North American F-100 Super Sabre. The design would ultimately still prove effective into the 1960s when pressed into dogfights over Vietnam against supersonic types which were generally flown at subsonic speeds, and not optimized for subsonic maneuvering short-range engagements.
While the MiG-15 used a Mach sensor to deploy airbrakes because it could not safely exceed Mach 0.92, the MiG-17 was designed to be controllable at higher Mach numbers. Early versions which retained the original Soviet copy of the Rolls-Royce Nene VK-1 engine were heavier with equal thrust. Later MiG-17s would be the first Soviet fighter application of an afterburner
AfterBurner
The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs.Originally, portablemonopoly.net was a website created to petition Nintendo to put some kind of light in their Game Boy Advance system...
which offered increased thrust on demand by dumping fuel in the exhaust of the basic engine.
Though the MiG-17 still strongly resembles its forbear, it had an entirely new thinner and more highly swept wing
Swept wing
A swept wing is a wing planform favored for high subsonic jet speeds first investigated by Germany during the Second World War. Since the introduction of the MiG-15 and North American F-86 which demonstrated a decisive superiority over the slower first generation of straight-wing jet fighters...
and tailplane for speeds approaching Mach 1. While the F-86 introduced the "all-flying" tailplane which helped controllability near the speed of sound, this would not be adopted on MiGs until the fully supersonic MiG-19. The wing had a "sickle sweep" compound shape with a 45° angle like the US F-100 Super Sabre near the fuselage (and tailplane), and a 42° angle for the outboard part of the wings. The stiffer wing resisted the tendency to bend its wingtips and lose aerodynamic symmetry unexpectedly at high speeds and wing loads.
Other easily visible differences to its predecessor were the three wing-fences
Wing fence
Wing fences, also known as boundary layer fences and potential fences are fixed aerodynamic devices attached to aircraft wings. Not to be confused with wingtip fences, wing fences are flat plates fixed to the upper surfaces parallel to the airflow. They are often seen on swept-wing aircraft...
on each wing, instead of the MiG-15's two, the addition of a ventral fin and a longer and less tapered rear fuselage that added about 3 feet in length. The MiG-17 shared the same Klimov VK-1
Klimov VK-1
-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9-External links:* *...
engine and much of the rest of its construction such as the forward fuselage, landing gear and gun installation was carried over. The first prototype, designated I-330 "SI" by the construction bureau, was flown on the 14 January 1950, piloted by Ivan Ivashchenko.
Serial production started in August 1951, but large quantity production was delayed in favor of producing more MiG-15s so it was never introduced in the Korean War. It did not enter service until October 1952, when the MiG-19 was almost ready to be flight tested. During production, the aircraft was improved and modified several times. The basic MiG-17 was a general-purpose day fighter, armed with three cannon
Autocannon
An autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...
s, 1 Nudelman N-37 37mm cannon and two 23mm with 80 rounds per gun, 160 rounds total. It could also act as a fighter-bomber
Fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fixed-wing aircraft with an intended primary role of light tactical bombing and also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. This term, although still used, has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial...
, but its bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
load was considered light relative to other aircraft of the time, and it usually carried additional fuel tanks instead of bombs.
Although a canopy which provided clear vision to the rear neccesary for dogfighting like the F-86 was designed, production MiG-17Fs got a cheaper rear-view periscope which would still appear on Soviet fighters as late as the MiG-23. By 1953, pilots got safer ejection seats with protective face curtain and leg restraints like the Martin Baker seats in the west. The MiG-15 had suffered for its lack of a radar gunsight, but in 1951, Soviet engineers obtained a captured F-86 Sabre
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
from Korea and they copied the optical gunsight and SRD-3 gun ranging radar to produce the ASP-4N gunsight and SRC-3 radar. The combination would prove deadly over the skies of Vietnam against aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom whose pilots lamented that guns and radar gunsights had been omitted as obsolescent.
The second prototype variant, "SP-2" (dubbed "Fresco A" by NATO), was an interceptor
Interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up...
equipped with a radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
. Soon a number of MiG-17P ("Fresco B") all-weather fighters were produced with the Izumrud radar and front air intake modifications.
In early 1953 the MiG-17F day fighter entered production. The "F" indicated it was fitted with the VK-1F engine with an afterburner
AfterBurner
The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs.Originally, portablemonopoly.net was a website created to petition Nintendo to put some kind of light in their Game Boy Advance system...
by modifying the rear fuselage with a new convergent-divergent nozzle and fuel system. The afterburner doubled the rate of climb and greatly improving vertical maneuvers. But while the plane was not designed to be supersonic, skilled pilots could just dash to supersonic speed in a shallow dive, although the aircraft would often pitch up just short of Mach 1. This became the most popular variant of the MiG-17. The next mass-produced variant, MiG-17PF ("Fresco D") incorporated a more powerful Izumrud RP-2 radar, though they were still dependent on Ground Control Interception to find and be directed to targets. In 1956 a small series (47 aircraft) was converted to the MiG-17PM standard (also known as PFU) with four first-generation Kaliningrad K-5
Kaliningrad K-5
The Kaliningrad K-5 , also known as RS-1U or product ShM, was an early Soviet air-to-air missile.-History:...
(NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
AA-1 'Alkali') air-to-air missile
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
s. A small series of MiG-17R reconnaissance aircraft were built with VK-1F engine (after first being tested with the VK-5F engine).
Several thousand MiG-17s were built in the USSR by 1958.
The next development, the MiG-19 was yet another derivative intended to reach supersonic speeds in level flight. The first prototype I-350 was based on the MiG-17 with an even greater wing and tail sweepback of 60 degrees, though the finalized design would look quite different from the original MiG-15.
Design
Nudelman N-37
The N-37 was a powerful, 37 mm aircraft cannon used by the Soviet Union. It was designed by V. Ya. Nemenov of A.E. Nudelman's OKB-16 to replace the wartime Nudelman-Suranov NS-37, entering service in 1946...
cannon (40 rounds), which were mounted on a common bed under the central air intake. The gun bed could be easily wound down for maintenance. On radar-equipped variants (MiG-17P, MiG-17PF), the 37 mm N-37 was replaced with a third 23 mm NR-23 (carrying 100 rpg) to compensate for the weight aft of the radar. All variants could carry 100 kg (220 lb) bombs on two underwing pylons and some could carry 250 kg (551 lb) bombs; however, these pylons were usually used for 400 l (106 US gal) fuel tanks. The MiG-17R was armed with two 23 mm cannons. Most MiG-17s in third world service today fly as ground attack or trainer aircraft.
The only variant with air-to-air missiles was the MiG-17PM (or MiG-17PFU), which could carry four K-5
Kaliningrad K-5
The Kaliningrad K-5 , also known as RS-1U or product ShM, was an early Soviet air-to-air missile.-History:...
(NATO: AA-1 "Alkali"). It had no cannons. Some countries occasionally modified their MiG-17s to carry unguided rockets or bombs on additional pylons. MiG-17s in Cuba could be armed with AA-2 "Atoll" missiles.
The MiG-17P was equipped with the Izumrud-1 (RP-1) radar, while the MiG-17PF was initially fitted with the RP-1 which was later replaced with the Izumrud-5 (RP-5) radar. The MiG-17PM was also equipped with a radar, used to aim its missiles. Other variants had no radar.
Licence production
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
received a license for MiG-17 production. The MiG-17F was produced by the WSK-Mielec
PZL-Mielec
PZL Mielec , formerly WSK-Mielec and WSK "PZL-Mielec" is the Polish aerospace manufacturer, based in Mielec...
factory under the designation Lim-5. The first Lim-5 was built on 28 November 1956 and 477 were built by 1960. An unknown number were built as the Lim-5R reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
variant, fitted with the AFA-39 camera. In 1959–1960, 129 MiG-17PF interceptors were produced as the Lim-5P . PZL-WSK also developed several Polish strike variants based on the MiG-17: the Lim-5M, produced from 1960; Lim-6bis, produced from 1963; and Lim-6M (converted in the 1970s); as well as two reconnaissance variants: the Lim-6R (Lim-6 "bis" R) and MR.
In China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, an initial MiG-17F was assembled from parts in 1956, with license production following in 1957 at Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
. The Chinese-built version is known as the Shenyang J-5
Shenyang J-5
The Shenyang J-5 , originally designated Dongfeng-101 - , and also Type 56 before being designated J-5 in 1964, is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5...
(for local use) or F-5 (for export). According to some sources, earlier MiG-17s which had been delivered directly from the USSR were designated "J-4". From 1964, the Chinese produced a radar-equipped variant similar to the MiG-17PF, which was known as the J-5A (F-5A). The Chinese also developed a two-seat trainer
Trainer (aircraft)
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows...
variant, the JJ-5 (FT-5 for export), which integrated the cabin of the JJ-2 (a license-built MiG-15UTI
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was a jet fighter developed for the USSR by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters, and it achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where early in the war, it outclassed all straight-winged enemy fighters in...
) with the J-5. It was produced in 1966-1986, being the last-produced MiG-17 variant and its only twin-seater variant. The Soviets did not produce a two-seat MiG-17 as they felt that the training variant of the older MiG-15 was sufficient.
Many Soviet and licence-built examples remain in service to this day, though not all are currently active, making the MiG-17 one of the longest serving fighters ever built.
Operational history
MiG-17s were designed to intercept straight and level flying enemy bombers, not for air to air combat (Dog-fighting) with other fighters. This subsonic (.93 Mach) fighter was effective against slower (.6-.8 Mach), heavily loaded US fighter-bombers, as well as the mainstay American strategic bombers during the MiG-17's development cycle (such as the Boeing B-50 SuperfortressBoeing B-50 Superfortress
The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...
or Convair B-36 Peacemaker, which were both still powered by piston engines). Even if the target had sufficient warning and time to shed weight and drag by dropping external ordnance and accelerate to supersonic escape speeds, doing so would have inherently forced the enemy aircraft to abort its bombing mission. However, the USAF's introduction of strategic bombers capable of supersonic dash speeds such as the Convair B-58 Hustler and General Dynamics FB-111 rendered the MiG-17 obsolete in front-line PVO service and they were supplanted by supersonic interceptors such as the MiG-21
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to...
and MiG-23
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is considered to belong to the Soviet third generation jet fighter category, along with similarly aged Soviet fighters such as the MiG-25 "Foxbat"...
.
MiG-17s were not available for the Korean War, but saw combat for the first time over the Straits of Taiwan when PRC
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(Communist China) MiG-17s clashed with ROC
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(Nationalist China) Sabres in 1958.
In 1958, MiG-17s downed a US reconnaissance Lockheed C-130 Hercules over Armenia, with 17 casualties.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the MiG-17 would find a new notoriety over the skies of Vietnam as the first of a handful of fighters such as the Hawker Hunter and Harrier which would demonstrate the effectiveness of using subsonic fighters to challenge and destroy supersonic fighters.
Vietnam War
In 1960, the first group of approximately 50 North Vietnamese airmen were transferred to the People's Republic of China (PRC) to begin transitional training onto the MiG-17. By this time the first detachment of Chinese trained MiG-15 pilots had returned to North Vietnam, and a group of 31 airmen were deployed to the People's Liberation Army Air ForcePeople's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China...
base at Son Dong for conversion to the MiG-17. By 1962 the first North Vietnamese pilots had finished their MiG-17 courses in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Red China, and returned to their units; to mark the occasion, the Soviets sent as a "gift" 36 MiG-17 fighters and MiG-15UTI trainers to Hanoi in February 1964. These airmen would create North Vietnam's first jet fighter regiment, the 921st. By 1965, another group of MiG pilots had returned from training in Krasnodar
Krasnodar
Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
, in the USSR, as well as from the PRC. This group would form North Vietnam's second fighter unit, the 923rd Fighter Regiment. While the newly created 923rd FR operated strictly MiG-17s, and initially these were the only types available to oppose modern American supersonic jets, more modern supersonic Soviet fighters would be later introduced as the 921st FR would operate both MiG-17s and MiG-21s (in 1969 the 925th FR MiG-19 unit would be formed).
Although US fighter-bombers had been engaged in combat since 1961, and some of the most experienced Americans such as James Robinson Risner
James Robinson Risner
James Robinson "Robbie" Risner was a general officer and professional fighter pilot in the United States Air Force.Risner is a double recipient of the Air Force Cross, the second highest military decoration for valor that can be awarded to a member of the United States Air Force...
were Korean War aces, the North Vietnamese Air Force MiGs and their untried pilots lacked combat experience. The baptism of fire of the MiG-17 in this conflict occurred on 3 April 1965. That day two groups of MiGs took off from Noi Bai airbase. The first group comprised two jets and acted like a bait; the second was made-up of four MiG-17s and was the strike group. Their target were US Navy aircraft supporting an USAF 80-aircraft strike package trying the knock out Ham Rung bridge near Thanh Hoa. The MiG-17 leader, Lt. Pham Ngoc Lan, spotted a group of Vought F-8 Crusaders of the VF-211, USS Hancock, and shot-up the F-8E flown by Lt. Cdr. Spence Thomas, which would perform an emergency landing ashore at Da Nang. His wingman Phan Van Tuc claimed a second F-8, but this is not corroborated by USN loss listings.
On 4 April 1965, the USAF
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
conducted a "re-strike" on the Hàm Rồng
Hàm Rồng
Hàm Rồng is a commune and village in Năm Căn District, Ca Mau Province, in Vietnam....
/Thanh Hoa bridge with 48 Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) loaded with 384 x 750 lb (340.2 kg) bombs. The Thunderchiefs were escorted by a MiG CAP
CAP
Cap may refer to:* Cap, a form of headgear* Lid ** Bottle cap, a closure to seal bottles** Screw cap, a closure to seal bottles or jars* Cap , a statistic representing an athlete's appearance in a select team game...
flight of North American F-100 Super Sabres from the 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS). Coming from above, four MiG-17s from the 921st Fighter Regiment (FR) tore through the escorts and dove onto the Thunderchiefs, shooting two of them down; the leader Tran Hanh downed F-105D 59-1754 of Major F. E. Benett, and his element leader Le Minh Huan downed F-105D 59-1764 of Captain J. A. Magnusson. The Super Sabres engaged with one firing a "AIM-9 Sidewinder
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried mostly by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. The missile entered service with United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service with many air forces...
" air-to-air missile
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
which apparently missed (or malfunctioned), and another F-100D flown by Captain Donald Kilgus fired 20mm cannons, which also apparently missed, but in fact shot down and killed Tran Hanh's wingman Pham Giay. No other US airmen reported any confirmed aerial kills during the air battle. However, Tran Hanh stated that three of his accompanying MiG-17s had been shot down by the opposing USAF fighters.
During the 4 April 1965 engagement, four MiG-17s from the 921st FR had tangled with over 50 US jet fighter-bombers, consisting of F-105s and F-100s. Three F-100s from the MiGCAP, piloted by LTC Emmett L. Hays, CPT Keith B. Connolly, and CPT Donald W. Kilgus, all from the 416th TFS, engaged the MiG-17s. One Super Sabre fired an air-to-air missile and Connolly and Kilgus engaged with 20 mm cannon, with only Kilgus claiming a probable kill. The four attacking MiGs from the 921st FR were flown by Flight Leader Tran Hanh, Wingman Pham Giay, Le Minh Huan and Tran Nguyen Nam. Flight Leader Tran Hanh was the only survivor from the air battle and reportedly stated that his three MiG-17s were "... shot down by the F-105s." Based upon the report, the USAF F-100s very well could have been mistaken for F-105s, and the reported loss of three MiG-17s to those mistaken jet fighters would indicate that the USAF F-100 Super Sabres had obtained the first US aerial combat victories during the Vietnam War.
The MiG-17 was the primary interceptor of the fledgling Vietnam People's Air Force
Vietnam People's Air Force
The Vietnam People's Air Force is the air force of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese Air Force and the absorbed Republic of Vietnam Air Force following the re-unification of Vietnam in 1975.-Beginning-1964 :The first Vietnamese aircraft were two trainers, a de Havilland...
in 1965, scoring its first aerial victories and seeing extensive combat during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the aircraft frequently worked in conjunction with MiG-21s and MiG-19s. Many historians believe that some North Vietnamese pilots, in fact, preferred the MiG-17 over the MiG-21 because it was more agile, though not as fast; however, of the 16 NVAF Aces
ACeS
ACeS is a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offers GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China and India. The company operates the Garuda 1...
of the war, 13 of them attained that status while flying the MiG-21. Only three North Vietnamese Airmen gained Ace status
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
while flying the MiG-17. Those were: Nguyen Van Bay
Nguyen Van Bay
Nguyen Van Bay was a jet fighter ace for the Vietnam People's Air Force during the Vietnam War. Piloting a MiG-17F while assigned to the 923rd Fighter Regiment, Bay claimed 7 aerial combat victories while engaged against aircraft of the USAF and USN: 2 F-8s, 1 F-4B, 1 A-4C and 1 F-105D...
(7 victories), Luu Huy Chao and Le Hai (both with six).
The MiG-17 was not originally designed to function as a fighter-bomber
Fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fixed-wing aircraft with an intended primary role of light tactical bombing and also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. This term, although still used, has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial...
, but in 1971 Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
directed that United States Navy warships were to be attacked by elements of the North Vietnamese Air Force. This would require the MiG-17 to be fitted with bomb mountings and release mechanisms. Chief Engineer
Chief Engineer
In marine transportation, the chief engineer is a licensed mariner in charge of the engineering department on a merchant vessel. "Chief engineer" is the official title of someone qualified to oversee the entire engine department; the qualification is colloquially called a "chief's...
of the NVAF ground crews, Truong Khanh Chau, was tasked with the mission of modifying two MiG-17s for the ground attack role; after three months of work, the two jets were ready. On 19 April 1972, two pilots from the 923rd FR took their bomb laden MiG-17s and attacked the US Navy destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
USS Higbee (DD-806) and light cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
USS Oklahoma City
USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5)
USS Oklahoma City was one of 27 United States Navy light cruisers completed during or shortly after World War II, and one of six to be converted to guided missile cruisers. She was the first US Navy ship to be named for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...
(CLG-5). Each MiG was armed with two 250 kg (550 lb) bombs. Pilot Le Xuan Di managed to hit the destroyer's aft 5" gun mount, destroying it, but inflicting no fatalities, as the crewmen had vacated the turret earlier due to a malfunction with the gun system. The other attacker from the two-plane sortie was flown by Nguyen Van Bay
Nguyen Van Bay
Nguyen Van Bay was a jet fighter ace for the Vietnam People's Air Force during the Vietnam War. Piloting a MiG-17F while assigned to the 923rd Fighter Regiment, Bay claimed 7 aerial combat victories while engaged against aircraft of the USAF and USN: 2 F-8s, 1 F-4B, 1 A-4C and 1 F-105D...
, an airman who would later end the war with seven confirmed air victories, all accomplished with his MiG-17. On this day however, his fighter either managed to slightly damage the USS Oklahoma City, or miss it entirely, depending upon the source. Each pilot had completed their drop of two bombs each and returned to base. After the war, Truong Khanh Chau became the director of the Vietnam Institute for Science and Technology
Science and technology
Science and technology is a term of art used to encompass the relationship between science and technology. It frequently appears within titles of academic disciplines and government offices.-See also:...
in 1977.
From 1965 to 1972, MiG-17s from the NVAF 921st and 923rd FRs would claim 71 aerial victories against US aircraft: 11 Crusaders, 16 F-105 Thunderchiefs, 32 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs, two Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, seven Douglas A-1 Skyraiders (propeller driven strike aircraft), one C-47 cargo/transport aircraft, one Sikorsky CH-3
Sikorsky S-61R
The Sikorsky S-61R is a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King, the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R...
C helicopter and one Ryan Firebee
Ryan Firebee
The Ryan Firebee was a series of target drones or unmanned aerial vehicles developed by the Ryan Aeronautical Company beginning in 1951. It was one of the first jet-propelled drones, and one of the most widely-used target drones ever built....
UAV.
The American fighter community was shocked in 1965 when elderly, subsonic MiG-17s downed sophisticated Mach-2
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
-class F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bombers over North Vietnam. To redress disappointing combat performance against smaller, more agile fighters like the MiGs, the Americans established dissimilar air combat training
Dissimilar air combat training
Dissimilar air combat training was introduced as a formal part of US air combat training after disappointing aerial combat exchange rates in the Vietnam War.Traditionally, pilots would undertake air combat training against similar aircraft...
(DACT) in training programs such as "TOPGUN"
United States Navy Fighter Weapons School
The United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program , more popularly known as TOPGUN, is the modern-day evolution of the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School which was originally established on March 3, 1969 at the former Naval Air Station Miramar in California...
, which employed subsonic Douglas A-4 Skyhawk aircraft to mimic more manoeuvrable opponents such as the MiG-17. The US Navy also set Adversary squadrons equipped with the nimble A-4 at each of its fighter and attack Master jet bases to provide DACT.
Other MiG-17 users
Twenty countries flew MiG-17s. The MiG-17 became a standard fighter in all Warsaw PactWarsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
countries in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They were also bought by many other countries, mainly in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, that were neutrally aligned or allied with the USSR. The MiG-17 still flies today in the air forces of Burkina Faso, China (JJ-5 Trainer) Mali, Mozambique, North Korea, Pakistan (JJ-5 Trainer), Republic of the Congo, Somaliland, Sudan, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
According to the FAA there are 27 privately owned MIG-17s in the U.S.
Middle East
MiG-17s were sold and/or imported to many Middle Eastern countries and saw action in nearly all of the Arab-Israeli conflicts starting when 12 of them served with the Egyptian Air ForceEgyptian Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF , is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The EAF is headed by an Air Marshal . Currently, the commander of the Egyptian Air Force is Air Marshal Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed...
during the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
of 1956, plus hundreds more served, and were mostly destroyed, in the Egyptian and Syrian Air Forces during the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
of 1967 as well as the War of Attrition
War of Attrition
The international community and both countries attempted to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The Jarring Mission of the United Nations was supposed to ensure that the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 242 would be observed, but by late 1970 it was clear that this mission had been...
, the 1973 Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
, and the 1982 Israeli Invasion of Lebanon.
Africa
At least 24 of them served with the Nigerian Air ForceNigerian Air Force
The Nigerian Air Force is the air arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces.It is one of the largest in West Africa, consisting of about 15,000 personnel and aircraft including 15 Chengdu F-7s, and 24 Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets, armed helicopters, and military transport aircraft. However in recent years...
and were flown by a mixed group of local Nigerian and mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
pilots from East Germany, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
during the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967–15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra...
.
Asia
Four were hurriedly supplied by the USSR to Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
during the 1971 insurgency and were used for bombing and ground attack in the brief insurgency. Four North Korean MiG-17 aircraft were involved in the EC-121 shootdown incident
EC-121 shootdown incident
The EC-121 shootdown incident occurred on 15 April 1969 when a United States Navy Lockheed EC-121M Warning Star on a reconnaissance mission was shot down by North Korean MiG-17 aircraft over the Sea of Japan...
, where they managed to shoot down an American EC-121 Warning Star
EC-121 Warning Star
The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star was a United States Navy and United States Air Force airborne early warning radar surveillance aircraft. A military version of the Lockheed Constellation, it was designed to serve as an airborne early warning system to supplement the Distant Early Warning Line,...
.
Soviet Union
Similarly in 1958, a US Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Lockheed C-130 was shot down by four MiG-17 fighters when it flew into Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
airspace near Yerevan, Armenia while on a Sun Valley
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
SIGINT mission, with all 17 crew killed.
United States
A number of U.S. federal agencies undertook a program at Groom Lake to evaluate the MiG-17 to help fight the Vietnam War, as North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s had a kill rate against them of 9:1. The program was code-named HAVE DRILL, involving trials of two ex-Syrian MiG-17F Frescos over the skies of Groom Lake. These aircraft were given USAF designations and fake serial numbers so that they may be identified in DOD standard flight logsIn addition to tracking the dog fights staged between the various MiG models against virtually every fighter in U.S. service, and against SAC's B-52 Stratofortress and B-58 Hustlers to test the ability of the bombers’ countermeasures systems. They also performed radar cross-section and propulsion tests that contributed greatly to improvements in U.S. aerial performance in Vietnam.
Variants
- Prototype.
MiG-17 ("Fresco A")
- Basic fighter version powered by VK-1 engine ("aircraft SI").
MiG-17A
- Fighter version powered by VK-1A engine with longer lifespan.
MiG-17AS
- Multirole conversion, fitted to carry unguided rockets and the K-13 air to air missile.
MiG-17P ("Fresco B")
- All-weather fighter version equipped with Izumrud radar ("aircraft SP").
MiG-17F ("Fresco C")
- Basic fighter version powered by VK-1F engine with afterburner ("aircraft SF").
MiG-17PF ("Fresco D")
- All-weather fighter version equipped with Izumrud radar and VK-1F engine ("aircraft SP-7F").
MiG-17PM/PFU ("Fresco E")
- Fighter version equipped with radar and K-5Kaliningrad K-5The Kaliningrad K-5 , also known as RS-1U or product ShM, was an early Soviet air-to-air missile.-History:...
(NATO: AA-1 "Alkali") air-to-air missiles ("aircraft SP-9").
MiG-17R
- Reconnaissance aircraft with VK-1F engine and camera ("aircraft SR-2s")
MiG-17SN
- Experimental variant with twin side intakes, no central intake, and nose redesigned to allow 23 mm cannons to pivot to engage ground targets. Not produced.
Shenyang J-5
Shenyang J-5
The Shenyang J-5 , originally designated Dongfeng-101 - , and also Type 56 before being designated J-5 in 1964, is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5...
Some withdrawn aircraft were converted to remotely controlled targets.
Operators
Afghan Air Force
The Afghan Air Force , formerly the Afghan National Army Air Corps and Afghan National Army Air Force , is one of seven "corps" of the military of Afghanistan, responsible for air defense and air warfare. It was officially established in 1924 and for most of its history has functioned as a small...
. Around 100 MiG-17F acquired by the Afghan Air Force from 1957.
: Albanian Air Force
Albanian Air Force
The Albanian Air Force is the national Air Force of the Albanian military. Currently it operates under the Albanian Joint Forces Command and it is regrouped in the Albanian Air Brigade...
- 20 aircraft, including 8 Chinese-made JJ-5 trainers, were acquired. All Albanian fighters are in storage, retired from active service, due to lack of spare parts
: Algerian Air Force
Algerian Air Force
The Algerian Air Force is the aerial arm of the Algerian People's Military.- Inventory :- External links : http://www.algaf.bravehost.com/index.htm http://www.avions-militaires.net/dossiers/armee-air/dza.php...
: People's Air and Air Defence Force of Angola
People's Air and Air Defence Force of Angola
The National Air Force of Angola is the air branch of the Armed Forces of Angola.FAN was established, after the independence of Angola from Portugal, on January 21, 1976 as the People's Air and Air Defence Force of Angola and initially made use of the...
.
: Bangladeshi Air Force
: Bulgarian Air Force
Bulgarian Air Force
The Bulgarian Air Force is a branch of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, to provide aerial support and to assist the Land Forces in case of war. The Bulgarian Air...
:
: Royal Cambodian Air Force
Royal Cambodian Air Force
The Royal Cambodian Air Force is the branch of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces which is charged with operating all military aircraft in Cambodia.-Organization:...
- 16 aircraft, including five MiG-17s and 11 Shenyang J-5
Shenyang J-5
The Shenyang J-5 , originally designated Dongfeng-101 - , and also Type 56 before being designated J-5 in 1964, is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5...
were received from the Soviet Union and China in 1967-1968, later all were destroyed on the ground in 1971.
: see also Shenyang J-5
Shenyang J-5
The Shenyang J-5 , originally designated Dongfeng-101 - , and also Type 56 before being designated J-5 in 1964, is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5...
- People's Liberation Army Air ForcePeople's Liberation Army Air ForceThe People's Liberation Army Air Force is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China...
- People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force. J-5 trainers still in limited service. Single seat fighters have been retired and sold to other countries.
: Congolese Air Force
Congolese Air Force
The Former Congolese Air Force was a military force in the Republic of the Congo-Brazzaville. Political tensions have now declined with the fall of the Cold War in Africa and most of the fighters were scrapped in 2001.-Former Cold War air force:...
: Cuban Air Force
: Czechoslovakian Air Force - two MiG-17F for evaluation purposes (EP-01 and EP-02), 34 MiG-17PF all-weather interceptors. All retired before 1970.
: East German Air Force
: Egyptian Air Force
Egyptian Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF , is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The EAF is headed by an Air Marshal . Currently, the commander of the Egyptian Air Force is Air Marshal Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed...
: Ethiopian Air Force
Ethiopian Air Force
The Ethiopian Air Force is the air arm of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and is tasked with protecting the air space, providing support to the ground forces as well as assisting during national emergencies.- Early years :...
. All retired.
: Indonesian Air Force
Indonesian Air Force
The Indonesian Air Force is the air force branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.The Indonesian Air Force has 34,930 personnel equipped with 110 combat aircraft including Su-27 and Su-30.-Before Indonesian independence :...
- Using MiG-17F and MiG-17PF. All of the aircraft acquired in 1961. Used during the preparation of Operation TRIKORA in 1962 to take Western New Guinea, now Papua and Papua Barat, from the Netherlands. Some of the aircraft were used intensively in Air Forces / TNI-AU Acrobatic Team in 1962 for air show events around Indonesia. All aircraft were grounded in 1969. None have been in service since 1970.
: Iraqi Air Force
Iraqi Air Force
The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...
: Hungarian Air Force
Hungarian Air Force
The Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army.- 1918 to Pre–World War II :Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, a small air arm was established operating surviving aircraft from Hungarian factories and training schools...
: Libyan Air Force
Libyan Air Force
The Libyan Air Force is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the 2011 Libyan civil war, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000, with an inventory of 374 combat capable aircraft operating from 13 military airbases in...
: MiG-17 in service.
: Mongolian Air Force
Military of Mongolia
The military of Mongolia has four branches: general purpose forces, border defense forces, internal security forces, and air force. This is a peace-time structure...
- Between in 1970-1977 received than 17 aircraft
: Royal Moroccan Air Force
Royal Moroccan Air Force
The Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces.-History:...
: MiG-17 in service.
: Nigerian Air Force
Nigerian Air Force
The Nigerian Air Force is the air arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces.It is one of the largest in West Africa, consisting of about 15,000 personnel and aircraft including 15 Chengdu F-7s, and 24 Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets, armed helicopters, and military transport aircraft. However in recent years...
: North Korean Air Force - J-5 still in service.
: Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
JJ-5 Trainer in service.
- Polish Air ForcePolish Air ForceThe Polish Air Force is the military Air Force wing of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej...
- Polish NavyPolish NavyThe Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
: Romanian Air Force
Romanian Air Force
The Romanian Air Force is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, four air bases and an air defense brigade...
- 12 MiG-17PF and 12 MiG-17F entered service in 1955 and 1956, respectively.
: Somali Air Corps
Somali Air Corps
The Somali Air Force is the air force of Somalia. The Somali Aeronautical Corps was the name of the Somali Air Force during the pre-independence period. After 1960, when Somalia gained independence, the name changed to the Somali Air Force...
- Soviet Air ForceSoviet Air ForceThe Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
- Soviet Naval AviationSoviet Naval AviationSoviet Naval Aviation was a part of the Soviet Navy.- Origins :...
- Soviet Anti-Air Defence
: Sri Lankan Air Force
Sri Lankan Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force is the air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force with the assistance of the Royal Air Force . The SLAF played a major role throughout the Sri Lankan Civil War...
- All retired from service.
: Syrian Air Force
Syrian Air Force
The Syrian Air Force is the Aviation branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948.-History:The end of World War II led to a withdrawal of the United Kingdom and France from the Middle East, and this included a withdrawal from Syria...
: Tanzanian Air Force - J-5 in service.
: Ugandan Air Force
: Vietnam People's Air Force
Vietnam People's Air Force
The Vietnam People's Air Force is the air force of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese Air Force and the absorbed Republic of Vietnam Air Force following the re-unification of Vietnam in 1975.-Beginning-1964 :The first Vietnamese aircraft were two trainers, a de Havilland...
: Yemen Air Force
Yemen Air Force
-North and South Yemen:The Yemen Air Force, known as al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Yamaniya, was established in 1926. During the mid-1950s, the Imam of Yemen established a private fleet that was run by the military. Later, the Russians delivered MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters, followed by MiG-21s to the...
: Air Force of Zimbabwe
Air Force of Zimbabwe
The Air Force of Zimbabwe is the air force of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. It was known as the Rhodesian Air Force until 1980. The Air Force of Zimbabwe saw service in the Mozambican Civil War in 1985 and the Second Congo War of 1998–2001....
JJ-5 Trainer in service.
