For aircraft enthusiasts, MiG fighters, the Telecasters under the Jet aircraft.

[Blazer]

These two gents are Artem Mikoyan (in the dark clothes) and Mikhail Gurevich, the fathers of the design bureau M.i.G. (Mikoyan I Gurevich, Mikoyan and Gurevich) Who when this picture was taking probably had no idea that their designs would be as relevant today as they were when they first flew in the fifties.

MiG started out building propellor driven fighters for the Russian airforce in the Second world war but their fighters were no match for the far superior aircraft built by Yakovlev and Lavochkin (A name that will re-appear later in their history) and the western supplied fighters like the British Hawker Hurricane and the US Bell P36 Airacobra.

But when jet technology became available MiG came into its own. Having a moderate success with the MiG 9, which was their first purpose built jet-fighter. The MiG 9 was meant as a flying developing platform from which the MiG bureau would get valuable experience for what they would unleash on the world next.
http://www.aviation.ru/MiG/9/MiG-9.jpg

Using the experience gained with the MiG 9 the Mig Bureau then used the results of German experiments with swept wing designs to release the first MiG that would give the name "MiG" the notoriety it still has today: The I-310 or as many USAF pilots who flew in Korea got to know it, the MiG 15.


The whole idea of production here was functionality over everything else. Make it easy to fly, easy to repair, easy to produce, make it cheap to build, make it as durable as a tank, make it powerful and most of all make LOADS of it. When a MiG 15 was captured by the west they were at first baffled at how crude this fighter was, for example, it didn't have smooth wing sufaces, the nuts and bolts just stuck out, they weren't sanded smooth like American made jets. But all the same the MiG 15 was a powerful performer, using a durable engine in rugged airframe it proved that you didn't need refined building or state-of-the-art weapon systems, The Guns of the MiG could be loaded and shoved back into the gun bay by even the the most inexperienced crew members.

It's interresting to note that MiG's rival for the contract for a swept-wing fighter was the Lavochkin Bureau, which came with the similar named La 15 which also looked a lot like it's MiG produced rival with the exeption of it being a so called Shoulder decker (meaning that it has the wing in the upper part of the fuselage.) As before, the Lavochkin design performed superior to the MiG but problems with production meant that MiG won the contract, it was easier and faster to produce than the La 15.
http://www.totavia.com/pacman/images/pn_w0203.jpg
A Surviving La 15

Using the experience gained with the MiG 15 and using the recent devellopment in aeronautics. MiG produced one of its most succesfull fighters yet, the MiG 17.

While clearly a derative of the MiG 15, the MiG 17 differed in having redesigned wings with an increased swept angle, it also had a more powerful engine making it go faster than its older brother. The MiG 17 was a popular aircraft with the pilots who flew it, it had all the charicaristics that made the MiG 15 a winner and then some. Many of these saw action in Vietnam (the one pictured is a Vietnamese example) and in the middle east, proving once again that durability and functionality could out perform state-of-the-art technology. The USAF in particular found out in an emberassing manner that their "Shoot-and-forget-about-it" tactics, which were based on using radar guided and heat seeking anti-aircraft missiles like the Sparrow and the Sidewinder, didn't work when used in a dog fight over North Vietnam. Because the MiG 17 was used for strafing runs and bombardments on tree top level. Meaning that the mountainous landscape of Vietman wreacked havoc with Sparrow radar guided missiles and that the tropical heat coming from the Jungle below took care of the Heat seeking Sidewinder missile. One F4 Phantom pilot remarked that he could have shot many MiG 17 down if only they had equipped the Phantom with guns instead of missiles.

It was during that same Vietnam war that another MiG made contact with American fighters, that particular MiG became a real legend and is currently still in service nearly fifty years after it first flew.

The MiG 21

Nicknamed the Kalashnikov of the Jet fighters, the MiG 21 is the jet that has been built in the largest number ever. A total of 10,645 units were built in the USSR alone adding to 194 which were built under licence in Czechoslovakia, 657 by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. India and more than 2400 by Chengdu in China. Currently the MiG 21 is being produced by Israel Aerospace Industries who offers the design with upgraded avionics and more powerful engines, proving once again that durability and functionality are a winning combination.

Later MiGs like the Mig 23, 25, 27 and 29 ventured into more sophisticated designs The MiG 23 and 27 having swing wings, which move backwards to an increased angle making the jet go faster. The 25 is a hyperspeed interceptor capable of doing Mach 3. But as with the previous MiGs they also are easy to produce, easy to fly and easy to maintain. On Russian bases, the aircraft are being stored outdoors, no problem at all, no need to clear the runway of debree, a MiG can handle that no problem, which can't be said of an F18 Hornet for example, people have to clean the runways by hand on USAF bases.

MiG is still in business but their most recent ventures are in business aircraft which no doubt owe a lot to the experience made with the fighters. Whether or not this one will be a succes will be a question of time but I'm sure that the prospect of owning a Functional and durable, easy to fly and easy to maintain jet will make it a tempting consideration for any big spender wanting to have a private jet.

[mr natural]

I always thought that the Mig 21 was one of the coolest planes to ever fly. Thanks for that brief history.
-Mr. N.

[ne4tt]

Blazer,

Thanks for the great history lesson!

Jamie

[Telarkaster]

MIG = Tele of the skies? Yes, that is a valid comparison. Simple yet brutally effective.

I'll never forget seeing the nose and canopy assembly of a Mig 21 in the "Museum of Communism" in Prague (next to the Casino of all places!).

[Tim Armstrong]

I've had a lot of fun "flying" MiGs in simulator games on my computer...

Tim

[Dave Hopping]

I'm always glad when Blazer puts up pics of military hardware,and this series is particularly fascinating,since they're of the other side's hardware.Without straying too far into political territory,I'd want to mention that as interesting as the technical mindset is that produced these birds so different from European and American designs,one should remember they were produced by and for groups at war with the West.......
On November 21,1952 Soviet-piloted MiG-15s identical to the one pictured above,except for Communist Chinese Air Force markings attacked a flight of US Navy F2Hs flying a bombing mission from the USS Kearsarge over Yang Dok,North Korea,shooting down the rearmost F2H,piloted by LCDR Robert C. Hopping,my dad's older brother.Clearly too injured to eject,Hopping keyed his radio,said "I'm going in",and his plane went into a vertical dive,hitting the ground nose first with the canopy closed.

[Buckocaster51]

That's a shame about your uncle. We too often forget what those planes were really built for.

Did you know that "Kearsarge" is the only name to be shared by both a battleship (BB-5) and an aircraft carrier (CV-12)? It is also the only USN battleship not named after a state.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program...

[Blazer]

Originally Posted by Telarkaster

MIG = Tele of the skies? Yes, that is a valid comparison. Simple yet brutally effective.

That was proven once again when a MiG 25 Foxbat was captured in 1976 when Viktor Belenko, a Soviet MiG-25 pilot, defected to the United States via Japan.


Prior to having an example to examine, the Western inteligence thought that the MiG 25 was a multi-role fighter bomber equipped with the latest in Sovyet technology, a real threat to Western airforces. But when they actually got a "Foxbat" in their hands, it turned out a purpose built Interceptor, it wasn't a multi role fighter bomber, it was incredibly fast but it wasn't versatile. The Engines were a rudamentary affair, the build quality was rough but incredibly durable and the "Latest of Sovyet Technology" turned out to have vacuüm tubes.

Even the Most advanced MiG of the time turned out to be a sturdy, simple to produce and easy to maintain plane, Functionality once again churned out a winner. The MiG 25 Foxbat was a one trick pony but it did that trick so well.

A couple of years ago, US forces in Iraq found that the Iraqi airforce had burried its planes in the desert. Among the planes they recovered were a reasonable number of MiG 25's and the Americans were baffled by the condition of the aircraft, assemble them and they were airworthy.

[Ricky D.]

"The Engines were a rudamentary affair, the build quality was rough but incredibly durable and the "Latest of Sovyet Technology" turned out to have vacuüm tubes.
"

I'm told that vacuum tubes are largely unaffected by the EMP that accompanies a the detonation of a nuclear weapon. Perhaps their use in this application is for that reason.

[Dave Hopping]

Hmmm.......
Now if McDonnell-Douglas and DeHavilland were to build '25s under license(licence?),would the US version have 6L6s and the UK EL-34s?