Category Mig

The inadequacies of the 1-200 (as recorded in various factory and mili­tary test reports) led to an intensive research program, including full – scale tests in the new T-101 and T-104 TsAGI large wind tunnels. The modifications introduced as a result of this effort did not remedy all the aircraft’s faults—and could not have, given its time constraints. But they certainly counted as improvements in several areas:

— the dihedral of the outer wing panels was increased from 5 to 6 degrees to improve stability

— the engine was moved 100 millimeters (3.9 inches) forward to off­set a tail-heavy trimming

— a new 250-1 (66-US gallon) fuel tank was introduced beneath the pilot’s seat to increase the aircraft’s range

— the fuel system was protected from fire by transferring inert gases (cooled exhaust gases) in the fuel tanks

— a second oil tank was added

— the engine cooling system was improved

— a new VISh-GlSh propeller was installed, enhancing efficiency by increasing the pitch range to 35 degrees

—larger main gear wheels were used (650 x 200 tires), enabing the MiG-3 to operate from grass strips; the gear doors were conse­quently modified

— the wheel brakes were improved

— an 8-mm-thick armor plate (later made 9-mm thick) was added to the back of the pilot’s seat

— the fuselage decking behind the cockpit was modified and glazed to improve aft vision

— the PBP-1 gunsight was replaced by the more advanced PBP-1A model

— an RSI-3 single-channel receiver was installed (later replaced by an RSI-4)

— the external weapon load was increased: four store stations under the wings thus enabled the MiG-3 to carry mixed loads of 8- to 100- kg (18- to 220-pound) bombs up to a maximum of 220 kg (485 pounds), two VАР-6М/ZAP-6 chemical/incendiary spray contain­ers, or eight unguided RS-82 rockets

The built-in armament was similar to that of the MiG-1 but was sometimes complemented by two 12.7-mm BK machine guns in slipper pods beneath the wing. With five weapons, firepower more than dou­bled, the weight of a salvo per second increasing from 1.38 to 3 kg (49 to 106 ounces). But those supplementary weapons pushed the takeoff weight of the MiG-3 up to 3,510 kg (7,738 pounds), increasing the wing loading to 201.3 kg/m2 (41 pounds per square foot).

A few MiG-3s were equipped with two 12.7-mm UBS machine guns. Tests were also conducted with two 20-mm ShVAK. cannons, but this weapon was not retained. Other MiG-3s flew unarmed as photo-

reconnaissance aircraft above the front line. The first MiG-3s rolled out of Aviakhim factory no. 1 in December 1940. At the end of that month eleven aircraft had been built. The production rate rose quickly: no fewer than 140 aircraft left the assembly line in January 1941. In June, on the eve of Operation Barbarossa, the factory operated around the clock and produced twenty-five aircraft per day. The first MiG-3s and MiG-1 s reached the IAPs (fighter aviation regiments) in April 1941.

On 4 December 1940 ten MiG-3s were set aside for combat training missions. These flights took place partly in Katcha, Crimea, where there are more sunny days than in the Moscow area. On 13 March 1941 during one of these missions test pilot Yekato lost his life. An investiga­tion revealed that the supercharger compressor wheel had come loose, going right through the fire wall and the front fuel tank before fatally wounding the pilot.

Because of the volatile situation in Europe in early 1941, the first series of modern Soviet fighters (Yak-1, LaGG-3, MiG-1, and MiG-3) •vere sent first and foremost to the border zones of the western USSR, especially to the air bases of Kaunas, Lvov, Byelstok, Kishinev, Byeltsy (Moldavia), and Eupatoria. As of 1 June 1941, three weeks before the German invasion, thirteen fighter regiments were equipped entirely with MiG-3s, and another six regiments had received partial comple-

merits. On 22 June 1941, the first day of Operation Barbarossa, MiG-ls and MiG-3s represented only 37 percent of the total number of opera­tional fighters; the other 63 percent were 1-15s, I-15bis, 1-153s, and even a handful of obsolete I-5s still used in training centers. But 89.9 percent of the new fighters were MiG-3s distributed in fighter regiments of the WS (air force), the PVO (air defense units), and the VMF (navy).

In October 1941 the German breakthrough threatened the ОКБ and factory no. 1. They were hastily moved to Kuybyshev, a major port on the Volga River. Two months later, the fate of the MiG-3 was sealed. Its AM-35A engine was built in the same factory as the AM-38, which powered the Ilyushin 11-2 Shturmovik ground attack aircraft. This model now received priority so that the production rate of this aircraft could be accelerated. Without an engine, the MiG-3 was dead. Stalin had intervened personally. In a cable that became famous in the Soviet aircraft industry but was unknown in the West (until now), Stalin stern­ly accused two factory managers of slowing down production. On 23 December 1941 the MiG-3 program was terminated; however, all air­craft then on the assembly line were to be completed, the last one rolling out of the factory at the beginning of 1942. A total of 3,120 MiG – 3s had been delivered in just over one year. After the OKB and factory no. 1 returned to Khodinka in March 1942, fifty MiG-3s were assembled from components that had been hidden away at the time of the evacua­tion. These aircraft were allotted to the Moscow PVO.

Early in the war MiG-3s often operated in a less than optimal flight envelope. This high-altitude interceptor was used first as a "frontal fighter” for low- and medium-altitude interception and even for close – support missions below 5,000 m (16,400 feet), flight levels where Ger­man fighters were superior in terms of performance. But at that time the Soviets had to make the most of what they had. the German attacks on their airfields at daybreak on 22 June 1941 had had a devas­tating impact. But once mastered by its pilot the MiG-3 regained the

А гаге photograph, taken in 1942, shows a MiG-3 fitted with launch rails for RS-82 rockets. This aircraft belonged to the 12 IAP (12th fighter aviation regiment) of the Moscow PVO (air defense)

upper hand when operating above 5,000 m thanks to its outstanding speed and ceiling—but there the German fighters would not dare to cross swords with it. So MiG-3s were usually assigned to PVO units for high-altitude interception of bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. They even flew as night fighters. It was in a MiG-3 that A. I. Pokiyshkin, future air marshal, gained the first of his fifty-nine kills when he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109E. It was also in a MiG-3 that A. N. Katrisht, future general-colonel, distinguished himself dur­ing night missions.

To conclude, we ought to mention the surprising proposal made just after the German invasion by S. P. Suprun, the test pilot responsi­ble for the 1-200 state acceptance trials during the summer of 1940. Since Soviet fighter regiments had already sustained heavy losses on the ground (mostly) and in the air, Suprun suggested that two fighter regiments equipped with MiG-1 s and MiG-3s be staffed mostly by facto­ry test pilots, GosNII VYS (state scientific research institute of the air force) test pilots, and military pilots in charge of acceptance flights. Two regiments were formed as a result—Suprun’s 401 IAP, assigned to the western front near Smolensk, and the 402 IAP under the command of P. M. Stefanovskii, a test pilot of great skill, on the northwestern front.

Specifications

Span, 10.2 m (33 ft 5.6 in); length, 8.25 m (27 ft 0.8 in); height, 3.3 m (10 ft 9.9 in); wheel track, 2.78 m (9 ft 1.4 in); wing area, 17.44 m2 (187.72 sq ft); empty weight, 2,699 kg (5,950 lb); takeoff weight, 3,350 kg (7,385 lb); fuel, 385 kg (849 lb); oil, 55 kg (121 lb); wing loading, 92 kg/m2 (39.3 lb/sq ft).

Performance

Max speed, 640 km/h at 7,800 m (346 kt at 25,600 ft); max speed at sea level, 505 km/h (273 kt); climb to 8,000 m (26,250 ft) in 10.28 min; ser­vice ceiling, 12,000 m (39,400 ft); range at 550 km/h (297 kt) with 70% W and 10% fuel reserve, 820 km (510 mi); takeoff roll, rated power, no flaps, 305 m (1,000 ft); rated power, 15° flaps, 268 m (880 ft); full power, no flaps, 234 m (770 ft); landing roll, 400 m (1,310 ft).

In early 1944 the GKO (state committee for defense) “gave comrades Yakovlev, Lavochkin, Mikoyan, and Sukhoi the responsibility to build jet aircraft.” During the meeting held in Mikoyan’s office to discuss this project, all the department managers (who knew very well that the USSR did not have a jet engine in production) decided to power their new fighter with a package unit consisting of a piston engine—a 1,214- kw (1,650-ch) VK-107A—and a special booster nozzle designed at the central institute for aeroengine construction (TsIAM) by a team led by Professor К. V. Kholshchyevnikov. In this rather odd assembly, the power delivered by the piston engine was shared between two “con­sumers": a propeller 3.1 m (10 feet, 2 inches) in diameter, and a com­pressor intended to feed a combustion chamber. This assembly was known as a VRDK (Vozdushno-Reaktivmy-Dopolnitelniy Kompressor: jet – propelled auxiliary compressor) or booster. For takeoff and cruise situ­ations, the main consumer was the propeller. During these flight modes the compressor (driven by a reduction gear) ran at idle, and no fuel was pumped into the seven burners of the combustion chamber When dash speed was needed fuel was injected into the burners and ignited by spark plugs. The compressor was then clutched at its maxi­mum speed, and the revolution speed of the propeller was reduced. This power package offered a total of 2,061 kW (2,500 ch) at 7,000 m (22,960 feet) that is, 1,067 kW (1,450 ch) from the VK-107A at rated power and 994 kW (1,350 ch) from the VRDK equivalent.

It was also possible to regulate the VRDK power by means of the adjustable nozzle at the rear of the combustion chamber. This nozzle was fitted with two eyelids controlled by hydraulic jacks. The VRDK was cooled by a water-vapor system that protected the fuselage struc­ture and the cockpit against overheating. The water tank had a capacity of 78 1 (20.6 US gallons). The VRDK and the VK-107Aboth ran on gaso­line. The VRDK operated like the compressor’s second stage of a super­charged piston engine, increasing the aircraft’s ceiling.

The wing had a trapezoidal planform and a thin profile. The fuel system was made up of three self-sealing bladder tanks, one in the fuselage in front of the cockpit (412 1 [109 US gallons]) and two in the center section of the wing (100 1 [26 US gallons] each). The main gear

The first 1-250 prototype or N-l was rolled out on 26 February 1945 just eleven months after the project received the go-ahead.

The 1-250 combined power unit (J) Oil cooler (2) Engine exhaust pipe (3) VK-107A piston engine (4) Fuel tanks of 412 and 200 1 (5) Engine supercharger air-bleed. (6) Reduction gearbox (7) Compressor drive shaft (8) Compressor (9) Water jacket. (JO) Fuel injectors (JJ) Combustion chamber. (J2) Adjustable-area nozzle.

was of the levered-suspension type with lower arms leading the leg. The most original features here were the doors, which permanently closed the wheel wells except at the very moment of the gear retrac­tion or extension (a first in the USSR).

The N-l prototype was armed with three 20-mm ShVAK (G-20) cannons—one mounted between the cylinder blocks and bring through the propeller hub, the others flanking the engine. Each of these weapons could Are 100 rounds, a flgure eventually improved to 160.

The preliminary design of the 1-250 was approved on 28 March 1944. At the same time, Sukhoi set to work on a similar aircraft, the Su-5 (1-107), which also had a combination power plant. But its performance was disappointing, and flight tests of the Su-5 were stopped on 15 July 1945. On 26 October 1944 the full-scale 1-250 mock – up was examined in great detail and endorsed; on 30 November almost all the sets of drawings were complete. As the war continued into 1945, OKB officials elected to build not an experimental prototype but instead an operational combat fighter.

Deputy chief engineer M. I. Guryevich had this to say in the OKB house newsletter:

We are now starting work on the N, an entirely new type of air­craft that greatly departs from our previous designs. We are going to reach speeds never achieved before. We are going to use new formulas, new materials. We shall have to create new systems. There is not a single sector, a single department of our OKB that will escape the difficult problems we shall have to face. We must give up all of the old configurations and all of the systems we are

used to and create new ones. We are forging ahead in a new way, the only one enabling us to achieve levels that have never before been attained and that we could hardly have dreamed possible.

The N-l was rolled out on 26 February 1945, less than one year after the project received the go-ahead, and the N-2 followed three months later. The initial prototype was first flown on 3 March 1945 by A. P. Deyev, and the VRDK was fired as early as the third flight. The

increase in speed proved to be significant: it was about 100 km/b (54 kt) faster than the best piston-engine fighter flying at the time. The only modification made involved a slight increase of the fin area.

In mid-May 1945 Deyev was killed during a flight test. The struc­tural load factor was somehow exceeded, and the tailplane disintegrat­ed at an altitude far too low for the pilot to bail out. The N-2 trials were conducted by a pilot from the LII, A. P. Yakimov, and later by two young ОКБ pilots, A. N. Chemoburov and I T Ivashchenko. During the first stages of the factory tests, the N-2 remained unarmed Flight tests showed that, at top speed, the plane’s yaw stability was inade­quate. The fin area was increased accordingly. Takeoff roll was limited to 400 m (1,310 feet) with the VRDK in operation; but otherwise it took far too long to become airborne owing to the propeller’s small diame­ter. The N-2 was destroyed during a crash landing, with Chernoburov at the controls.

In June 1945 the production factory was instructed to build ten I- 250s in time for a Red Square flyover on 7 November in celebration of the twenty-ninth anniversary of the October Revolution. ОКБ test pilot I. T. Ivashchenko organized an accelerated training program for a batch of air force pilots under the command of Col. P. F. Chupikov. Nine I-250s were completed in time; unfortunately, the weather was so bad in Moscow on 7 November that the flyover had to be canceled.

Sixteen I-250s were delivered in record time to Baltic fleet aviation units at Skultye, near Riga. The first production I-250s had saber­shaped propeller blades; they were replaced later on by conventional

The N-2 the second 1-250 prototype, was rolled out in 1945 The fin was modified once more, and the tail wheel no longer retracts This aircraft was painted dark blue and embellished with a yellow streak.

This photograph of the N-2 shows the adjustable-area nozzle, two eyelids controlled by hydraulic jacks.

The production version of the 1-250 is sometimes referred to as the MiG-13. In fact, only sixteen aircraft of the type were delivered to the Baltic fleet aviation units.

The air intake duct for both the engine supercharger and the VRDK is visible below the engine mount of the MiG-13 Note also the saber-shaped blades of the propeller.

blades. The production 1-250 with serial number 3810102 (381 = facto­ry number, 01 = first series, and 02 = second machine in the series) passed its factory tests in July 1947. Its acceptance trials were carried out at the Nil WS test center between 9 October 1947 and 8 April 1948 with I. M. Sukhomlin at the controls.

All production I-250s—referred to as MiG-13s in some ОКБ docu­ments—were withdrawn from service in May 1948.

The following details refer to the 1-250 N-l.

Specifications

Span, 9.5 m (31 ft 1.9 in); length, 8.185 m (26 ft 10.2 in); wheel track, 2.75 m (9 ft 0.3 in); wheel base, 4.995 m (16 ft 4.6 in); wing area, 15 m2 (161 5 sq ft); empty weight, 2,587 kg (5,702 lb); takeoff weight, 3,680 kg (8,110 lb); fuel, 450 kg (992 lb); oil, 80 kg (176 lb); water, 78 kg (172 lb), wing loading, 245 kg/m2 (50.2 lb/sq ft); max operating limit load factor, 6.5.

Performance

Max speed, 825 km/h at 7,000 m (446 kt at 22,960 ft), max speed at sea level, 620 km/h (335 kt); climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft) with VRDK in 3 9 min, without VRDK in 4.6 min; service ceiling with VRDK, 11,960 m (39,230 ft), without VRDK 10,500 m (34,440 ft); landing speed, 150 km/h (81 kt); range with VRDK, 920 km (570 mi), without VRDK 1,380 km (857 mi); takeoff roll with VRDK, 400 m (1,310 ft); landing roll, 515 m (1,690 ft).

The following details refer to the production 1-250 (MiG-13)

Specifications

Span, 9.5 m (31 ft 1.9 in); length, 8.185 m (26 ft 10.2 in); wheel track, 2.75 m (9 ft 0.3 in), wheel base, 4 995 m (16 ft 4.6 in); wing area, 15 m2 (161.5 sq ft); empty weight, 3,028 kg (6,674 lb); takeoff weight, 3,931 kg (8,664 lb); fuel, 590 kg (1,300 lb); oil, 80 kg (176 lb); water, 78 kg (172 lb); wing loading, 262.1 kg/m2 (53.7 lb/sq ft).

Performance

Max speed not recorded; unstick speed, 200 km/h (108 kt); landing speed, 190-195 km/h (103-105 kt).

During the second half of 1941, to improve the aircraft’s maximum speed at high altitude, the ОКБ engineers equipped a MiG-3 with a Mikulin AM-37, an engine then under development that was rated at

1,030 kW (1,400 ch) at 5,000 m (16,400 feet). Matching the new engine was no problem because both the AM-35A and the AM-37 had the same design dimensions and attachment points Test pilot A I Zhukov made a few flights with this reengined MiG-3. But in the end the whole program was canceled, development of the AM-37 having proved too difficult. In some ОКБ documents the MiG-3 with the AM – 37 engine is referred to as the MiG-7.

A few months before the start of World War II, at the dawn of the jet era, members of the MiG design department started to gather and test various ideas for future aircraft. For this purpose, they decided to build an experimental prototype: an unconventional canard, or tail-first, machine (canard is French for duck). This is how Mikoyan and Gurye­vich justified their enterprise in a note enclosed with the preliminary design:

The canard-tailed aircraft we have designed and that is now being built is an experimental machine intended to check the maneuverability and steadiness in flight of that type of aircraft and to verify the characteristics of highly swept wings. We have chosen the pusher-prop formula because it will enable us to check the low-speed handling with a wing that will not be blown by the propeller. This point is of special interest for aircraft pow­ered by jet engines. The Utka ["duck”] will be a useful tool with which to examine thoroughly all the problems of handling, taxi­ing, takeoff, and landing (including go-around and touch-and-go) without any propeller slipstream effects on control surfaces.

In conceptualizing the Utka or MiG-8, the ОКБ project engineers had in mind the installation of a jet engine on an airframe of the same layout so that its hot exhaust gases would keep away from all structural elements. The design was prepared in close cooperation with a team of TsAGI technicians. The MiG-8 had a high wing braced by V-shaped struts with a two-spar fabric-covered wooden structure that displayed a 12 percent constant thickness ratio. The wing’s forward sweep angle was 20 degrees at the leading edge with a 2-degree anhedral. The fuse­lage, fins, rudders, and canard surfaces were made of wood.

The Utka was fitted with a fixed tricycle landing gear (a first for a MiG aircraft). The cabin had room for three people, with the pilot in front. Lateral and forward visibility was excellent because of the high position of the wing and the fact that the engine was in the rear. The engine bay and the fuselage were aerodynamically well matched.

The elevator was controlled by a rod and a bellcrank, while the rudder and ailerons were controlled by cables. The two duralumin fuel tanks had a total capacity of 195 1 (51 US gallons) and were located in the center section of the wing. The 18-1 (4.7-US gallon) oil tank was located behind the cabin. The air-cooled Shvetsov-Okromeshko M-11F radial engine offered 81 kw (110 ch) and was entirely cowled with the

exception of the cylinder heads. The two-bladed, fixed-pitch propeller was made of wood and measured 2.36 m (7 feet, 8.9 inches) in diame­ter. Gear legs were constructed of welded metal with pneumatic shock absorbers; the front wheel (300 x 150 initially) had an oleo strut. The wheels of the main gear (500 x 150) were fitted with pneumatic brakes. Later, the wheel sizes were standardized at 500 x 150. The Utka was flown in 1945 for the first time by test pilot A. I. Grinchik. The two fins were then located at the wing tips, and the leading edge was fitted with protruding slots. The two fins were later moved to midspan. The rud­ders were fitted with balance weights, and the leading edge slots were removed. The ОКБ also tried out wing tips with a strong anhedral.

The MiG-8 was remarkable for its outstanding stability, refusing to spin even when used at great angles of attack. Many OKB pilots such as A. N. Grinchik, A. I. Zhukov, A. N. Chernoburov, and chief engineer E. F. Nashchyekin spent a great deal of time at its controls. Because of its outstanding flying qualities, safety and ease of handling, and low man­ufacturing costs, the OKB tried to sell the aircraft to Aeroflot, hut the offer was not taken into account. The plane served as the design bureau’s liaison aircraft for several years.

Specifications

Span, 9.5 m (31 ft 1.9 in); span of the canard surfaces, 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in); length, 6.995 m (22 ft 11.4 in); wheel track, 2.5 m (8 ft 2.4 in); wheel base, 2.996 m (9 ft 10 in); wing area, 15 m2 (161.5 sq ft); empty weight, 642 kg (1,415 lh); takeoff weight, 997 kg (2,197 lb); max take­off weight, 1,150 kg (2,535 lb); fuel, 140 kg (309 lh); oil, 14 kg (31 lh), wing loading, 66.5/76.7 kg/m2 (13.6/15.72 lb/sq ft); aircraft balance, 8% MAC.

Performance

Max speed, 205 km/h (111 kt); landing speed, 77 km/h (42 kt), range, 500 km (310 mi).