MiG-3

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 oil cooler mounted under the exhaust collector, its exhaust flap open to the full angle.

— 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-

MiG-3 detail. (I) One of the two oil tanks. (2) Machine gun ammunition box. (3) One of the two fuselage fuel tanks, 1101 (29 US gallons). The oil cooler exhaust flap is open to the minimum angle.

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-

A few MiG-3s had their built-in armament supplemented with two 12 7-mm BK machine guns podded beneath the wing and firing outside the propeller disk.

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)

Three MiG-3s are delivered to their pilots at a VYS maintenance base in 1942.

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).