Country of origin:

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Description:

[MiG 15] single-seat fighter

[MiG-15UTI] two-seat advanced trainer

Power Plant:

One 5,000 lbst Klimov RD-45F centrifugal flow turbojet

Specifications:

Armament:

One 23 mm Nudelman cannon; or one 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine gun; up to 500 kg (1,102 lb) of bombs or drop tanks on underwing stations.

History:

The name MiG is made up of the last two names of the two men who for many years headed the design bureau of that name, Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan and Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich. The MiG Bureau was founded on 25 December 1939 at State Aircraft Factory No 1 on the outskirts of Moscow and commenced the design of a series of single-seat fighter aircraft, the first to go into production being the MiG 3. Late in World War II Soviet forces captured German research workers, information and aircraft, an example of which was the Ta-183, a single-seat single-engine fighter with a T-tail with a jet engine and swept back wings.

In January 1946 the State Defence Committee issued a specification for a high-altitude day interceptor fighter, and MiG, Yakovlev and Lavochkin all submitted proposals. At the time the only engine available was the RD-10, a copy of the Junkers Jumo 004, which was under further development. Power required was 6,000 lbst and, as this was not expected to be available for some years, efforts were made to reduce the weight of the aircraft to 4,536 kg (10,000 lb).

Attempts were made by clandestine means to build a Rolls Royce Nene when, inexplicably, the British Government, despite opposition from the RAF and the British Defence Ministry, shipped 30 examples of the Rolls Royce Derwent V and 25 examples of the Nene Mk I to Moscow under a trade agreement. Soon the engine was placed in production un-licensed for a new range of Soviet aircraft. This meant a change from an axial-flow engine to a centrifugal-flow, which was of greater diameter and required the redesign of the fuselage of Project S, as the MiG 15 was known.

The prototype (MiG designation S-01 – Soviet Air Force designation I-310) was flown for the first time on 30 December 1947 at Ramenskoye airfield by Victor Yuganov. However, the Soviet weather in the middle of winter was not conducive to testing and the aircraft was taken south where the weather was not as much of a problem. Two further prototypes (S-02 and S-03) were built and comparison tests were made against the Lavochkin 174.

In 1948 Project S entered production as the MiG 15 at State Aircraft Factory I, the first production aircraft flying on 30 December 1948. The MiG 15 was an all metal stressed-skin monoplane jet fighter with a 35 degrees swept wing with powered ailerons and modified Fowler flaps. It had a tricycle undercarriage and a 5,000 lbst RD45 turbojet built by Klimov. It received the NATO reporting name ‘Fagot’ and received much development during its production life. Smaller and lighter than its US counterpart, the North American F-86A Sabre, and less sophisticated from the equipment point of view, but with an appreciably better thrust-to-weight ratio, the MiG 15 was to prove in operations in Korea that it could out-climb and out-manoeuvre all models of the Sabre but lost out in a dive due to its Mach 0.92 limitation. Further, in combat, the superior training of allied pilots, particularly as many were veterans of World War II, resulted in a kill ratio of 3 to 1 in favour of the American aircraft. The single-seat variant was known by NATO as the “Fagot” and the two-seater as the “Midget”, whereas in the Soviet the MiG 15 UTI was known as the “Babushka” (grandmother).

In 1949 the MiG 15bis (Fagot B) appeared with a 5,950 lbst VK-1 turbojet, this being an improved Nene. Fuel capacity was increased from 1,250 litres (275 Imp gals) to 1,410 litres (310 Imp gals), and to meet the heavy fuel consumption, underwing tanks of up to 600 litres (132 Imp gals) each were installed, one under each wing.

Built in substantial numbers, and in a variety of models, it was licence-built in Czechoslovakia, Poland and China. Developed over a number of years, variants included the MiG 15bis, ‘UTI, ‘15P, ‘15R, ‘15T, ‘15SB etc; in Czechoslovakia it was known as the S-102; in Poland as the Lim-1; and in China as the FT-2. The total number built is not known but certainly exceeded 8,000.

The type saw service with some 19 eastern bloc air forces for many years, as well as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Cuba etc. During the Cold War the type was involved in many border incidents, one being on 29 April 1952 when a French DC-4 was attacked in the Berlin corridor; on 11 May 1952 US Navy aircraft was fired on over the sea of Japan; and on 18 November 1952 three USN Grumman F9F Panthers were attacked by four Mig 15s over the sea of Japan, resulting in the shooting down of two of the MiGs.

In 1949 an advanced trainer variant was flown, being basically a two-seat conversion. Initial aircraft had a single UBK-E 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine gun in the port side, but a few had the NR-23 23 mm cannon. Although the single-seat fighter was produced in some numbers in Poland, the UTI was not, and most of the training fleet was imported from Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. However, when single-seaters were being phased out a number were converted to SBLim 1 configuration at the Polish Aviation Repair Factory. Later a number were fitted with the rear fuselage of the Lim-2 (MiG 15bis) and designated SBLim², having enlarged speed brakes and an enlarged tail bumper.

A number over the years were fitted with cameras and used in the reconnaissance role; and others were fitted with two NR23 cannon. The main differences between the single and two-seat variants was the stretch of the fuselage by one metre (3.28 ft) and the capacity of the main fuel tank in the fuselage being reduced from 1,250 litres (275 Imp gals) to 760 litres (167 Imp gals). To make up for this loss of capacity, two additional 78 litre (17 Imp gal) tanks were located under the front cockpit. The MiG 15UTI had a long history in service and lasted more than 40 years in the trainer role, particularly as no two-seat variants of the MiG 17 and MiG 19 were built.

Over the years since the type was retired from military service some 16 examples of the SBLim1 trainer series have been imported into Australasia from Poland for warbird enthusiasts, and a number have been restored to airworthiness and allotted civil registrations, including: VH-BPG (c/n 1A6007), VH-DIE (c/n 3804), VH-XIG (c/n 612782), VH-ADY (c/n 1A9006), VH-LJP (c/n 712277), VH-LKW (c/n 1A06036), VH-REH (c/n 08007), VH-EKI (c/n 10926), VH-RAM (c/n 622055), and VH-LSN (c/n 1A06015), the latter being lost in an accident in March 1993 near Canberra. For some years these have been seen at aviation events around the country.

Others are on display in museums. In 1995 one was restored at Bankstown, NSW for a Dunedin, New Zealand syndicate, becoming VH-NZM (c/n 20016-01) for a period before becoming ZK-MIG in 1996. After some time attending airshows in New Zealand it was exported in 2001 to Guam. A MiG 15B single-seater (serial 2458) is in the collection of the Australian War Memorial at Canberra, ACT.