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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1039.PDF
FLIGHT, 3 August 1956 185 RED ROUND-UP A Synthesis of the Post-war Development of Russian Aircraft Design TEN years ago the aeronautical ability of the Russian nationwas fairly well known throughout the world, as must alwaysbe the case with any power which has just come through a major war. Nevertheless,as the uncertain peace degenerated into the cold war Russian aviation became more and more of an enigma to Western intelligence staffs. Only slight relief was provided by the knowledge—particularly of the Mig-15—gained in Korea. To the Western man-in-the-street true information upon Soviet work was scant in the extreme, and the situation was not helped by the widespread publication of numerous "new types" which existed only in the minds of over-enthusiastic Western journalists. This journal did its utmost in this difficult period to avoid giving credence to reports unless—as the Law has it—the truth was clear "beyond reasonable doubt". For the removal of doubt nothing can equal a fly-past of actual aircraft. Each year, on May Day, the Soviet Union organizes a great parade through Moscow's Red Square, accompanied by a display of military air power. Further demonstrations of Russian prowess in the air are made at the annual Red Air Day, late in June. Particularly since the end of the Stalin regime these occa- sions have provided a most welcome series of first-hand glimpses of new designs of aircraft, and in the last three years even proto- types have been displayed. Furthermore3 the intelligence gained in 1954 and 1955 was washed into the background by the flood of new things on which Western observers feasted their eyes just over a month ago. Accounts of what transpired at this most memorable 1956 Aviation Day and its associated festivities were published in our issues of June 29 and July 6. What we intend to do now is to attempt—and it is no more than an attempt—to collate the in- formation on new aircraft into the semblance of a coherent account of what Russian designers have been up to in the past few years. Certainly we must watch our Russians if we are not to be left hopelessly behind. At the moment we have no doubt that America is technologically ahead of the Soviet Union in most things of a scientific or engineering nature, but our new-found friends in the East are going to set a cracking pace, and it would run contrary to most of the West's ingrained psychological heritage if they should outclass us in quality. Of course, Russia has her problems like every other country. Perhaps the "Bison" has an indicated limit of 600 km/hr, and maybe the Yak-25 is unpopular and difficult to fly; we wouldn't know. Nevertheless, everything the Russians have shown the West has worked superbly and been timed to perfection, bespeaking excellent mechanical reliability and a level of pilot-training which can hardly be inferior to our own. In fact, it seems difficult to deny that not only has the Soviet Union a first-rate air force, but an aircraft industry which is technologically on a par with those of the best Western nations. Fighters. The old piston-engined Red Air Fleets were always fullof single-seat fighters. It is fair to describe their design as uninspired; in general they were smaller than their Western equivalents and almosttheir only telling advantage was that they were cheap to make and operate. This sort of policy also characterized the first jet fighters,which in certain cases were litde more than jet developments of exist- ing piston-engined designs. By the end of 1947, however, the British Government had suppliedRolls-Royce Derwent and Nene engines against a cash purchase by the Soviet Union. Receipt of these reliable and finely engineered turbojetswas a matter of no small consequence, and it initiated the development of a whole series of "Nene derivatives" (generally ascribed to V. Ya.Klimov and designated VK-1). By the Korean armistice Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Guryevichhad been working together for some fifteen years. During the latter seven years of this period they had been jointly responsible for one ofthe best and most famous fighter families in the world, based upon the renowned Mig-15, which first went into service in 1949. Between13,000 and 15,000 (almost unbelievably large numbers) are reported to have been constructed in factories throughout the Communist world. The Mig-15 was first met in Korea, in 1950, where its performanceexasperated opposing pilots flying the F-86 Sabre, which was then by far the best of the Western fighters. Eventually the latter gainedthe upper hand as a result of better pilot-training and experience, aero- dynamic modifications to the Sabre, and intensive efforts whichimproved the serviceability of the superior American electronic equip- ment. The basic Mig-15 was fully described by us on July 25, 1952,and a cut-away drawing and cockpit diagram were exclusively pub- lished by us on January 28, 1955. Noteworthy features of the basic -15 are: the intake duct to theengine bifurcated around the cockpit and then split into four by the tnid-mounted wing; considerable sweep on all surfaces; armament oftwo 23 mm and one 37 mm cannon mounted, with ammunition tanks, on a demountable tray under the cockpit; a straightforward stressed- skin structure; an exceptional amount of high-quality welding, both inthe airframe and accessory systems; and the employment of manual controls, with both aerodynamic and mass balance. Many thousandsof these aircraft are still in front-line service with all the Communist countries and with Egypt, and two-seat trainer and other versions exist. Mikoyan and Guryevich improved the -15 into the Mig-17 during theearly part of the Korean campaign. In this aircraft major and minor aerodynamic improvements matched the increased thrust of an improvedVK-1 engine, which, in the latest versions (which are still in produc- tion) incorporate an afterburner. It is possible that in a dive theMig-17 can exceed the speed of sound, and its operational equipment is known to be more advanced and complete than that of its predecessor.Armament—in fact the whole front-end—is identical to that of the Mig-15. At least four versions are in use. While this machine was beginning to come through the factories,about three years ago, the Mikoyan-Guryevich team were hard at work on its successor. In the design of this machine, known as the Mig-19,they set their sights very high. Aerodynamically they pulled out all the stops to produce an aircraft capable of truly supersonic operationunder active-service conditions, drawing upon the knowledge gained from extensive tunnel-testing and also from actual flight trials withsupersonic research aircraft. But it was in the field of propulsion that the most notable decision was taken: the Mig-19 was designed to havetwo engines mounted side-by-side in the fuselage. Such a choice was made practicable only by the promise of the avail-ability of an outstanding turbojet, wholly Russian in design, delivering some 8,000 lb thrust yet with a diameter no greater than about 32in.It is of paramount importance to note that Russia—aided by many brilliant German engineers—has mastered the gas turbine in no uncer-tain manner, and her latest units are undoubtedly formidable achieve- ments. Without the particular engine just mentioned there would beno Mig-19 and no Yak-25 either, since, perhaps excepting the still- experimental Gyron Junior, no other engine in the world could meetthe requirements. Certainly all experienced pilots of high-speed fighters must envy the Mig-19 pilot his duplicated powerplants. To accom-modate the twin engines the rear fuselage is slightly bulged laterally, and the engine-bay skin is unpainted and polished-^-doubdess to radiateheat, for there cannot be much room for cooling air. The sweep angle on the leading edge is almost 60 deg (the same asthat of the P.I), which has probably allowed the thickness/chord ratio
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