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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19

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The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (Russian: ) (NATO reporting name Farmer) is a third-generation Soviet, single-seater jet engined fighter aircraft. It was the first Soviet production aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight.

Contents

History

On April 20, 1951, OKB-155 was given the order to develop MiG-17 into a new fighter called I-340 powered by two Mikulin AM-5 non-afterburning jet engines (a scaled-down version of the Mikulin AM-3) with 4,410 lbf (19.6 kN) of thrust. I-340 was supposed to attain 725 mph (1,160 km/h) at 6,560 ft (2,000 m) (Mach 0.97), 675 mph (1,080 km/h) at 33,000 ft (10,000 m) (Mach 1.0), climb to 33,000 ft (10,000 m) in 2.9 minutes, and have a service ceiling of no less than 55,000 ft (17,500 m). The new fighter, internally designated SM-1, was designed around the SI-02 airframe (a MiG-17 prototype) modified to accept two engines in a side-by-side arrangement. The aircraft was completed in March 1952. The aircraft suffered from poor cockpit pressurization and the engines proved temperamental with frequent flameouts and surges with rapid throttle movements. The engines were upgraded to AM-5A with 4,740 lbf (21.1 kN) of thrust each, which exceeded the power output of Klimov VK-1F in afterburner while providing better fuel economy. SM-1 was barely supersonic, reaching 745 mph (1,193 km/h) at 16,400 ft (5,000 m) - Mach 1.03. This performance was deemed insufficient for the new supersonic fighter and an afterburning version of the engines, AM-5F, was proposed. While not implemented, AM-5F served as the basis for the Tumansky RD-9 which powered production aircraft. Further development of the twin-engine concept resulted in a government request for I-360, internally designated SM-2, which was also powered by the AM-5F engines but featured a highly swept wing.

On August 15, 1953, the Mikoyan Gurevich OKB was given a new order to create a frontline fighter. The OKB was asked to create two designs -- a single-engined version with Klimov VK-7 and a twin-engine version with Mikulin AM-9F's. The twin-engine fighter, internally designated SM-9 but also assigned the production name MiG-19 was based on the earlier SM-2 prototype. The first airframe, SM-9/1 flew on January 5, 1954. The afterburner did not light in the first flight but in the second flight the aircraft reached Mach 1.25 at 26,400 ft (8,050 m). This was improved to Mach 1.44 in subsequent flights. Based on this promising performance, MiG-19 was ordered into production on February 17, 1954, even though government acceptance trials did not start until September of that year. The first production aircraft rolled off the assembly line in March of 1955.

Initial enthusiasm for the aircraft was dampened by several problems. The most alarming of these was the danger of mid-air explosion due to overheating of the fuselage fuel tanks located between the engines. Deployment of airbrakes at high speeds caused a high-G pitch up. Elevators lacked authority at supersonic speeds. The high landing speed of 145 mph (230 km/h), compared to 100 mph (160 km/h) in MiG-15, combined with absence of a two-seat trainer version slowed the pilot transition to the type. Handling problems were addressed with the second prototype, SM-9/2, which added a third ventral airbrake and introduced all-moving tailplanes with a damper to prevent pilot-induced oscillations at subsonic speeds. It flew on September 16, 1954, and entered production as the MiG-19S.

A total of approximately 8,500 MiG-19s were made, mainly in the USSR but also in the People's Republic of China (as the Shenyang J-6) and Eastern Europe. The aircraft saw service with a number of other national airforces including those of Cuba, North Vietnam, Egypt, Pakistan and North Korea. The aircraft saw combat during the Vietnam War, the 1967 Six Day War and the 1971 Bangladesh War.

In the USSR it was superseded by the MiG-21. The Shenyang J-6 remained a staple of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force, and has also been developed into the Nanchang Q-5 (NATO reporting name 'Fantan') attack aircraft. Despite its age, the MiG-19 and its descendants exhibit good handling characteristics at low altitude and a surprisingly high rate of climb, and their heavy cannon armament (a one-second burst from 3x 30 mm NR-30 cannons had a projectile mass of 40 lb (18 kg)) makes them formidable adversaries in close combat.

MiG-19 intercepts

During service with PVO Strany and in East Germany, MiG-19 were involved in multiple intercepts of Western reconnaissance aircraft. The first documented encounter with Lockheed U-2 took place in the autumn of 1957. The MiG-19 pilot reported seeing the aircraft but could not make up the 7,000 foot difference in altitude. When Francis Gary Powers's U-2 was shot down in the May 1, 1960, incident, one pursuing MiG-19P was also hit by the salvo of S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) missiles, killing the pilot Sergei Safronov. In a highly controversial incident, on July 1, 1960, MiG-19 shot down an RB-47H (S/N 53-4281) reconnaissance aircraft in the international airspace over the Arctic Circle with 4 of the crew killed and 2 captured by the Soviets and released in 1961. In another tragic incident, on January 28, 1964, MiG-19 shot down a T-39 Sabreliner which strayed into East German airspace while on a training mission with all three crew killed.

MiG-19 variants

MiG-19 with drop tanks.
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MiG-19 with drop tanks.''

Although there are Chinese-built trainer versions of the Shenyang J-6, the Soviets believed that the MiG-19's handling was easy enough that no conversion trainer (other than the MiG-15UTI) was needed; all Soviet production MiG-19 variants are single-seat only.

Operators

Operators of the MiG-19
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Operators of the MiG-19

Specifications (MiG-19S)

External links

Related content

 

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