Can you imagine 8,000 fighter-planes being built in just six short years? Well, that is just what happened in the Soviet Union during the Vietnam War. The MiG-17 ‘s were made in Russia by 1958. In addition, over 3,000 more planes were built in Poland, Czechoslovakia and China. The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 is a high-subsonic fighter from Russia from 1952 and used by a lot of different air forces around the world.
The MiG-17 is mostly known for its incredible ability to make sharp turns (but not at any speeds above 2000 knots). Its wings were shaped like triangles, called a swept wing. This type of wing helped the aircraft go faster and be more aerodynamic. MiG-17s were designed to intercept straight-and-level-flying enemy bombers, not for air-to-air combat or dogfighting with other fighters. The weapons of the MiG-17 contains three NR-23 23mm Cannon, four 8x57mm rocket pods and two type 250kg bombs. This subsonic fighter was effective against slower, heavily loaded U.S. fighter-bombers, as well as, against the American strategic bombers of the day.
The MiG-17 was more advanced than the very similar appearing MiG-15 of the Korean War. The MiG-15 had suffered without radar gunsight, but in 1951, Soviet engineers found a captured F-86 Sabre from Korea and they copied the optical gunsight and gun ranging radar to produce better gunsight and radar. The combination used for the MiG-17 was deadly over the skies of Vietnam. MiG-17s were not available for the Korean War, but saw combat for the first time over Taiwan when the Communist Chinese clashed with the Republic of China F-86 Sabres in 1958. Also, in 1958, MiG-17s downed a US reconnaissance Lockheed and C-130 Hercules over Armenia. The MiG-17 was a successful jet for the Soviet, and a deadly adversary to the US. In later years, the reign of the MiG-17s came to an end with the arrival of the American aircraft hero, the F-8 Crusader.
MiG-17F Specifications:
General
- Length: 37 ft. 3 in.
- Wingspan: 31 ft. 7 in.
- Height: 12 ft. 6 in.
- Wing Area: 243.2 sq. ft.
- Empty Weight: 8,646 lbs.
- Crew: 1
Performance
- Power Plant: 1× Klimov VK-1F afterburning turbojet
- Range: 745 miles
- Max Speed: 670 mph
- Ceiling: 54,500 ft.
