The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17;
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
: Fresco) is a high-subsonic
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
as the
Shenyang J-5
The Shenyang J-5 (Chinese: 歼-5) (NATO reporting name ''Fresco'') is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5 and was originally designated ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
as the
PZL-Mielec Lim-6
The Lim-6 (NATO reporting name Fresco) was a Polish attack aircraft used between 1961 and 1992 by the Polish Air Force. It was a variant of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17, which was produced in Poland as the Lim-5.
Development
In 1955 Poland bough ...
. The MiG-17 is still being used by the
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
n air force in the present day and has seen combat in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
.
The MiG-17 was an advanced modification of the
MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
aircraft produced by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Production of the MiG-17 was too late for use in that conflict and was first used in the
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). In this conflict, the PRC shelled the islands of Kinme ...
in 1958. While the MiG-17 was designed to shoot down slower American bombers, it showed surprising success when used by North Vietnamese pilots to combat American fighters and fighter-bombers during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, nearly a decade after its initial design. This was due to the MiG-17 being more agile and maneuverable than the American
F-4 Phantom
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...
and
F-105 Thunderchief
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Viet ...
, which were focused on speed and long range combat, as well as the fact that MiG-17 was armed with a gun, which initial models of the F-4 Phantom lacked.
Design and development
While the MiG-15bis introduced swept wings to air combat over Korea, the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau had already begun work on its replacement in 1949 (originally the MiG-15bis45) in order to fix any problems found with the MiG-15 in combat.
The result was one of the most successful transonic fighters introduced before the advent of true supersonic types such as the
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...
and
North American F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...
. The design would ultimately still prove effective into the 1960s when pressed into subsonic dogfights over Vietnam against much faster planes which were not optimized for maneuvering in such slower speed, short-range engagements.
While the MiG-15 used a Mach sensor to deploy airbrakes because it could not safely exceed Mach 0.92, the MiG-17 was designed to be controllable at higher Mach numbers. Early versions which retained the original Soviet copy of the
Rolls-Royce Nene
The Rolls-Royce RB.41 Nene is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine. The Nene was a complete redesign, rather than a scaled-up Rolls-Royce Derwent"Rolls-Royce Aero Engines" Bill Gunston, Patrick Stephens Limited 1989, , p.111 w ...
engine, the
Klimov VK-1
The Klimov VK-1 was the first Soviet jet engine to see significant production. It was developed by and first produced by the GAZ 116 works. Derived from the Rolls-Royce Nene, the engine was also built under licence in China as the Wopen WP-5. ...
were heavier with equal thrust. Later MiG-17s would be the first Soviet fighter application of an
afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...
which burned extra fuel in the exhaust of the basic engine to give extra thrust.
Though the MiG-17 looks very similar to the MIG-15 it had a new thinner and more highly
swept wing
A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction.
Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigate ...
and tailplane for speeds approaching Mach 1. While the
F-86 introduced the
"all-flying" tailplane, which made the aircraft more controllable near the speed of sound, this would not be adopted on MiG aircraft until the fully supersonic MiG-19. The wing sweep was 45° ( like the U.S. F-100 Super Sabre) near the fuselage and 42° for the outboard part of the wing.
[Crosby 2002, p. 212.] The stiffer wing resisted the tendency to bend its wingtips and lose aerodynamic symmetry unexpectedly at high speeds and wing loads.
Other easily visible differences to its predecessor were the addition of a third
wing fence
Wing fences, also known as boundary layer fences and potential fences are fixed aerodynamic devices attached to aircraft wings. Often seen on swept-wing aircraft, wing fences are flat plates fixed to the upper surfaces parallel to the wing ch ...
on each wing, the addition of a ventral fin and a longer and less tapered rear fuselage that added about one meter in length. The MiG-17 shared the same
Klimov VK-1
The Klimov VK-1 was the first Soviet jet engine to see significant production. It was developed by and first produced by the GAZ 116 works. Derived from the Rolls-Royce Nene, the engine was also built under licence in China as the Wopen WP-5. ...
engine, and much of the rest of its construction such as the forward fuselage, landing gear and gun installation was carried over.
The first prototype, designated I-330 "SI" by the construction bureau, was flown on the 14 January 1950, piloted by Ivan Ivashchenko.
![MiG 17 tail Vietnam](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/MiG_17_tail_Vietnam.JPG)
In the midst of testing, pilot Ivan Ivashchenko was killed when his aircraft developed flutter which tore off his horizontal tail, causing a spin and crash on 17 March 1950. Lack of wing stiffness also resulted in aileron reversal which was discovered and fixed. Construction and tests of additional prototypes "SI-2" and experimental series aircraft "SI-02" and "SI-01" in 1951, were generally successful. On 1 September 1951, the aircraft was accepted for production, and formally given its own MiG-17 designation after so many changes from the original MiG-15. It was estimated that with the same engine as the MiG-15's, the MiG-17's maximum speed is higher by 40–50 km/h, and the fighter has greater manoeuvrability at high altitude.
Serial production started in August 1951, but large quantity production was delayed in favor of producing more MiG-15s so it was never introduced in the Korean War. It did not enter service until October 1952, when the MiG-19 was almost ready to be flight tested. During production, the aircraft was improved and modified several times. The basic MiG-17 was a general-purpose day fighter, armed with three
cannons
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...
, one Nudelman N-37 37 mm cannon and two 23 mm with 80 rounds per gun, 160 rounds total. It could also act as a
fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...
, but its
bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
load was considered light relative to other aircraft of the time, and it usually carried additional fuel tanks instead of bombs.
Although a canopy which provided clear vision to the rear necessary for dogfighting like the F-86 was designed, production MiG-17Fs got a cheaper rear-view periscope which would still appear on Soviet fighters as late as the
MiG-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generatio ...
. By 1953, pilots got safer ejection seats with protective face curtain and leg restraints like the
Martin-Baker seats in the west. The MiG-15 had suffered for its lack of a
radar gunsight
A radar gunsight is a type of gunsight for aerial combat that combines a gyro gunsight with a small radar. They were introduced just after World War II and used into the 1960s. After that, more complex sighting systems and heads up displays re ...
, but in 1951, Soviet engineers obtained a captured
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...
from Korea and they copied the optical gunsight and SRD-3 gun ranging radar to produce the ASP-4N gunsight and SRC-3 radar. The combination would prove deadly over the skies of Vietnam against aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom whose pilots lamented that guns and radar gunsights had been omitted as obsolescent.
[Davies, Peter. ''USN F-4 Phantom II Vs VPAF MiG-17: Vietnam 1965-72.'' London: Osprey, 2009. .]
The second prototype variant, "SP-2" (dubbed "Fresco A" by NATO), was an
interceptor
Interceptor may refer to:
Vehicles
* Interceptor aircraft (or simply "interceptor"), a type of point defense fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft
* Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, a police car
* ...
equipped with a
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
. Soon a number of MiG-17P ("Fresco B") all-weather fighters were produced with the
RP-1 Izumrud radar and front air intake modifications.
In early 1953 the MiG-17F day fighter entered production. The "F" indicated it was fitted with the VK-1F engine with an
afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...
by modifying the rear fuselage with a new convergent-divergent nozzle and fuel system. Early VK-1F engines that were specifically modified to equip the MIG-17F had issues during prolongued normal afterburner usage, due to the insufficient heat resistance of the alloys used for the external nozzle body and stator vanes. Because of this, early 1953-1955 production planes had a special afterburner unit that used a separate tank filled with 90%
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
for consumption in the afterburner due to its lower combustion temperature. This engine variant was labeled VK-1F(A). Later production jets used a normal system with on-board fuel. The afterburner doubled the rate of climb and greatly improved vertical maneuvers. But while the plane was not designed to be supersonic, skilled pilots could just dash to supersonic speed in a shallow dive, although the aircraft would often pitch up just short of Mach 1. This became the most popular variant of the MiG-17. The next mass-produced variant, MiG-17PF ("Fresco D") incorporated a more powerful Izumrud RP-2 radar, though they were still dependent on Ground Control Interception to find and be directed to targets. In 1956 a small series (47 aircraft) was converted to the MiG-17PM standard (also known as PFU) with four first-generation
Kaliningrad K-5
The Kaliningrad K-5 (NATO reporting name AA-1 ''Alkali''), also known as RS-1U or product ShM, was an early Soviet air-to-air missile.
History
The development of the K-5 began in 1951. The first test firings were in 1953. It was tested (but not ...
(
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
AA-1 'Alkali')
air-to-air missile
The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back)
An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...
s. A small series of MiG-17R reconnaissance aircraft were built with VK-1F engine (after first being tested with the
VK-5F engine).
5,467 MiG-17, 1,685 MiG-17F, 225 MiG-17P and 668 MiG-17PF were built in the USSR by 1958. Over 2,600 were built under licence in Poland and China.
License production
In 1955,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
received a license for MiG-17 production. The MiG-17F was produced by the
WSK-Mielec factory under the designation Lim-5 (an abbreviation of ''licencyjny myśliwiec'' – licence-built fighter). The first Lim-5 was built on 28 November 1956 and 477 were built by 1960. Apart from Poland, a number were exported to Bulgaria, designated as MiG-17F. An unknown number were built as the Lim-5R
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
variant, fitted with the AFA-39 camera. In 1959–1960, 129 MiG-17PF interceptors were produced as the Lim-5P. WSK-Mielec also developed several Polish
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
* Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
variants based on the MiG-17: the
Lim-5M, produced from 1960;
Lim-6bis, produced from 1963 (totalling 170 aircraft). Additionally some Lim-5Ps were converted in the 1970s into attack Lim-6Ms whereas other Lim-5, Lim-6bis and Lim-5P aircraft were modified for reconnaissance role as the Lim-6R, Lim-6bis R and Lim-6MR.
In the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(PRC), an initial MiG-17F was assembled from parts in 1956, with license production following in 1957 at
Shenyang
Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
. The Chinese-built version is known as the
Shenyang J-5
The Shenyang J-5 (Chinese: 歼-5) (NATO reporting name ''Fresco'') is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5 and was originally designated ...
(for local use) or F-5 (for export). Similarly the MiG-17PF was manufactured there as the J-5A (F-5A for export). Altogether 767 of these single-seater variants were built.
Operational history
![Underside view of an Egyptian aircraft](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Underside_view_of_an_Egyptian_aircraft.JPEG)
MiG-17s were designed to intercept straight-and-level-flying enemy bombers, not for
air-to-air combat
Air combat manoeuvring (also known as ACM or dogfighting) is the tactical art of moving, turning and/or situating one's fighter aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on another aircraft. Air combat manoeuvres ...
(
dogfighting
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...
) with other fighters. This subsonic (Mach .93) fighter was effective against slower (Mach .6-.8), heavily loaded U.S. fighter-bombers, as well as the mainstay American strategic bombers during the MiG-17's development cycle (such as the
Boeing B-50 Superfortress
The Boeing B-50 Superfortress is an American strategic bomber. A post–World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, it was fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller tail fin, and ot ...
or
Convair B-36 Peacemaker
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" is a strategic bomber that was built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 is the largest mass-produced Reciprocating engine, piston-engined aircraft ever built. It ...
, which were both still powered by piston engines). It was not however able to intercept the new generation of British jet bombers such as the
Avro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) is a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe and ...
and
Handley Page Victor
The Handley Page Victor is a British jet-powered strategic bomber developed and produced by Handley Page during the Cold War. It was the third and final '' V bomber'' to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two being the Avro ...
, which could both fly higher. The USAF's introduction of strategic bombers capable of supersonic dash speeds such as the
Convair B-58 Hustler
The Convair B-58 Hustler, designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Convair, was the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight.
The B-58 was developed during the 1950s for the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air ...
and
General Dynamics FB-111
The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons c ...
rendered the MiG-17 obsolete in front-line
PVO service, and they were supplanted by supersonic interceptors such as the
MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...
and MiG-23.
MiG-17s were not available for the Korean War, but saw combat for the first time over the Straits of Taiwan when the Communist PRC MiG-17s clashed with the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(ROC, Nationalist China) F-86 Sabres in 1958.
MiG-17s downed a reconnaissance aircraft in the
1958 C-130 shootdown incident over Armenia, with 17 casualties.
["The Shootdown of Flight 60528."](_blank)
''National Vigilance Park- NSA/CSS'' via ''nsa.gov,'' 15 January 2009. Retrieved: 15 September 2012.
Vietnam War
In 1960, the first group of approximately 50 North Vietnamese airmen were transferred to the PRC to begin transitional training onto the MiG-17. By this time the first detachment of Chinese trained MiG-15 pilots had returned to North Vietnam, and a group of 31 airmen were deployed to the
Vietnam People's Air Force
The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF, ), formally refers itself as the Air Defence - Air Force (ADAF, ) or the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF, ), is the Air force, aerial warfare service branch of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North V ...
(VPAF) base at Son Dong for conversion to the MiG-17. By 1962 the first North Vietnamese pilots had finished their MiG-17 courses in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and the PRC, and returned to their units; to mark the occasion, the Soviets sent as a "gift" 36 MiG-17 fighters and MiG-15UTI trainers to Hanoi in February 1964. These airmen would create North Vietnam's first jet fighter regiment, the 921st. By 1965, another group of MiG pilots had returned from training in
Krasnodar
Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...
, in the USSR, as well as from the PRC. This group would form North Vietnam's second fighter unit, the 923rd Fighter Regiment. While the newly created 923rd FR operated only MiG-17s, and initially these were the only types available to oppose modern American supersonic jets before MiG-21s and MiG-19s were introduced into North Vietnamese service (the 925 FR regiment was formed in 1969, flying MiG-19s).
![MiG-17 shot down by F-105D 3 June 1967](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/MiG-17_shot_down_by_F-105D_3_June_1967.jpg)
American fighter-bombers had been in theatre flying combat sorties since 1961, and the U.S. had many experienced pilots from the Korean War and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, such as World War II veteran
Robin Olds
Robin Olds (July 14, 1922 – June 14, 2007) was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the United States Air Force (USAF). He was a " triple ace", with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. Que ...
. Untried MiGs and pilots of the VPAF would be pitted against some of the most combat experienced airmen of the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
(USAF) and
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
. On 3 April 1965 six MiGs took off from
Noi Bai Air Base in two groups of two and four respectively, with the first acting as bait and the second being the shooters. Their target were U.S. Navy aircraft supporting an USAF 80-aircraft strike package trying to knock out the
Thanh Hóa Bridge
The Thanh Hóa Bridge (Vietnamese: Cầu Hàm Rồng, Hàm Rồng Bridge), spanning the Song Ma river, is situated northeast of Thanh Hóa (), the capital of Thanh Hóa Province in Vietnam. The Vietnamese gave it the nickname Hàm Rồng (''Dra ...
. The MiG-17 leader, Lt. Pham Ngoc Lan, attacked a group of
Vought F-8 Crusader
The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), and for the Frenc ...
s of
VF-211 from and damaged an F-8E flown by Lt. Cdr. Spence Thomas, who managed to land the aircraft at
Da Nang Air Base
Da Nang Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Đà Nẵng) (1930s–1975) (also known as Da Nang Airfield, Tourane Airfield or Tourane Air Base) was a French Air Force and later Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility located in the city ...
. A second F-8 was claimed by his wingman Phan Van Tuc, but this is not corroborated by USN loss listings.
On 4 April 1965, the USAF made another attempt on the Thanh Hóa Bridge with 48
Republic F-105 Thunderchief
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vie ...
s of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) loaded with 384 x bombs. The Thunderchiefs were escorted by a
MIGCAP
Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense are ...
flight of F-100 Super Sabres from the
416th Tactical Fighter Squadron
The 416th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The squadron was inactivated on 1 July 1993.
The squadron was first activated ...
(416th TFS). Coming from above, four MiG-17s from the 921st Fighter Regiment bypassed the escorts and dove onto the Thunderchiefs, shooting two of them down; the leader Tran Hanh downed F-105D BuNo. ''59-1754'' of Major F. E. Benett, and his element leader Le Minh Huan downed F-105D BuNo. ''59-1764'' of Captain J. A. Magnusson.
[Toperczer 2001, pp. 30–31.] The Super Sabres engaged; one AIM-9 Sidewinder was fired and missed (or malfunctioned),
[Anderton 1987, p. 71.] and another F-100D flown by Captain Donald Kilgus fired 20 mm cannons, scoring a probable kill. Tran Hanh's wingman Pham Giay went down and was killed. No other U.S. airmen reported any confirmed aerial kills during the air battle; Tran Hanh stated that three of his accompanying MiG-17s had been shot down by the opposing USAF fighters.
Three F-100s from the MiGCAP, piloted by LtCol Emmett L. Hays, Capt Keith B. Connolly,
and Capt Donald W. Kilgus, all from the 416th TFS, had engaged the MiG-17s. The four attacking MiGs from the 921st FR were flown by Flight Leader Tran Hanh, Wingman Pham Giay, Le Minh Huan and Tran Nguyen Nam. Flight Leader Tran Hanh was the only Vietnamese survivor from the air battle and believed that the others in his flight were "... shot down by the F-105s."
[Toperczer 2001, p. 31.] Based upon the report, the USAF F-100s could have been mistaken for F-105s, and the loss of three MiG-17s was attributed to Super Sabres,
the first aerial victories of any American aircraft in the war. The F-100s themselves would never again encounter MiGs, being relegated to
close air support
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...
. They were replaced in the MiGCAP role by faster and longer range but less manoeuvrable
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and B ...
s.
USAF Chief of Staff General
John P. McConnell was "hopping mad" to hear that two Mach-2-class F-105s had been shot down by Korean War-era subsonic North Vietnamese MiG-17s.
In 1965, the NVAF had only 36 MiG-17s and a similar number of qualified pilots, which increased to 180 MiGs and 72 pilots by 1968. The Americans had at least 200 USAF F-4s and 140 USAF F-105s, plus at least 100 U.S Navy aircraft (F-8s, A-4s and F-4s) which operated from the aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin, plus scores of other support aircraft. The Americans had a multiple numerical advantage.
The MiG-17 was the primary interceptor of the fledgling VPAF in 1965, responsible for their first aerial victories and seeing extensive service during the Vietnam War. Some North Vietnamese pilots preferred the MiG-17 over the MiG-21 because it was more agile, though not as fast; three of the 16 VPAF
Aces of the war (credited with shooting down five or more opposing aircraft) were from MiG-17s. Those were:
Nguyen Van Bay
Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese name, Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. wiktionary:nguyên, Nguyên (元)is a different word and surname.
By some estimates 39 perc ...
(seven victories), Luu Huy Chao and Le Hai (both with six). The rest gained ace status in MiG-21s.
MiG-17/J-5 aerial combat victories in the Vietnam War 1965–1972
This table lists VPAF and Chinese air-to-air kills. Sources include Hobson p. 271 and Toperczer (#25) pp. 88–90.
![Luu Huy Chao & Le Hai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Luu_Huy_Chao_%26_Le_Hai.JPG)
VPAF flew their interceptors with guidance from ground controllers, who directed the MiGs to ambush American formations. The MIGs made fast attacks against US formations from several directions (usually the MiG-17s performed head-on attacks and the MiG-21s attacked from the rear). After shooting down a few American planes and forcing some of the F-105s to drop their bombs prematurely, the MiGs did not wait for retaliation, but disengaged rapidly. This "
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
in the air" proved very successful
The MiG-17 was not originally designed to function as a fighter-bomber, but in 1971 Hanoi directed that United States Navy warships were to be attacked by elements of the VPAF. This would require the MiG-17 to be fitted with bomb mountings and release mechanisms. Chief Engineer of the VPAF ground crews, Truong Khanh Chau, was tasked with the mission of modifying two MiG-17s for the ground attack role; after three months of work, the two jets were ready. On 19 April 1972, two pilots from the 923rd FR took their bomb laden MiG-17s and attacked the U.S. Navy
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
and
light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
. Each MiG was armed with two bombs. Pilot Le Xuan Di managed to hit the destroyer's aft 5" (127 mm) gun mount, destroying it, but inflicting no fatalities, as the crewmen had vacated the turret earlier due to a malfunction with the gun system.
From 1965 to 1972, MiG-17s from the VPAF 921st and 923rd FRs would claim 71 aerial victories against U.S. aircraft: 11 Crusaders, 16 F-105 Thunderchiefs, 32 F-4 Phantom IIs, two A-4 Skyhawks, seven A-1 Skyraiders, one
C-47
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...
cargo/transport aircraft, one
Sikorsky CH-3
The Sikorsky S-61R is a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King, the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R. The S-61R served in the United States ...
C helicopter and one
Ryan Firebee
The Ryan Firebee is a series of target drones developed by the Ryan Aeronautical Company beginning in 1951. It was one of the first jet-propelled drones, and remains one of the most widely used target drones ever built.
Development
Ryan Fireb ...
UAV., while VPAF lost 63 MiG-17s in air combat According to Russian sources, from 1965 to 1972, MiG-17s from the VPAF shot-down 143 enemy aircraft and helicopters, while VPAF lost 75 MiG-17s through all causes and 49 pilots were dead
The American fighter community was shocked in 1965 when elderly, subsonic MiG-17s downed sophisticated
Mach-2-class F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bombers over North Vietnam. As a result of these experiences the U.S. Air Force initiated project "Feather Duster" aimed at developing tactics that would enable the heavier American fighters to deal with smaller and more agile opponents like the MiG-17. To simulate the MiG-17 the U.S. Air Force chose the F-86H Sabre. One pilot who participated in the project remarked that "In any envelope except nose down and full throttle", either the F-100 or F-105 was inferior to the F-86H in a dogfight.
[Davis, Larry H]
"We interview Les Waltman."
''Sabre-pilots.org.'' Retrieved: 19 July 2011. The project was generally successful in that the resulting tactics effectively minimised the disadvantages of the F-105, F-100 and other heavy American fighters while minimising the advantages of slower but more manoeuvrable fighters such as the F-86 and the MiG-17.
Other MiG-17 users
![MiG-17F](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/MiG-17F.JPG)
Twenty countries flew MiG-17s. The MiG-17 became a standard fighter in all
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
countries in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They were also bought by many other countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, that were neutrally aligned or allied with the USSR. The MiG-17 still flies today in the air forces of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mali, Madagascar, Sudan, and Tanzania, and by extension through the Shenyang J-5, North Korea. JJ-5s trainers are still in limited use in China as well.
Middle East
The
Egyptian Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية المصرية, El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīya), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all milit ...
received its first MiG-17s in 1956, deploying them against the Israeli invasion of the
Sinai
Sinai commonly refers to:
* Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God
Sinai may also refer to:
* Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
during the early stages of the
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
. When Britain and France launched air attacks against Egyptian air bases on 1 November 1956, Egyptian president
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
ordered the Egyptian Air Force not to oppose the Anglo-French air strikes, and where possible to evacuate its aircraft to
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
or Saudi Arabia, so while Egypt lost large numbers of aircraft, including MiG-17s, losses of pilots were relatively low. The losses were quickly replaced after the end of the war, and by June 1957 Egypt had about 100 MiG-17s.
[Gordon 2002, p. 67] Syria also operated the MiG-17, receiving 60 MiG-17Fs in 1957.
The two air forces gradually switched the MiG-17 to ground-attack duties in the early 1960s, as the MiG-21 supplemented it in the interceptor role.
From 1962, Egyptian forces became involved in the
North Yemen Civil War
The North Yemen Civil War ( ar, ثورة 26 سبتمبر, Thawra 26 Sabtambar, 26 September Revolution) was fought in North Yemen from 1962 to 1970 between partisans of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom and supporters of the Yemen Arab Republic. The ...
, supporting the
republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
government, with Egyptian MiG-17s flying ground attack operations.
The MiG-17 formed a major part of the Arab air strength during the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
in June 1967.
[Gordon 2002, p. 72] The war started with a
massive airstrike by Israel against Egyptian, Jordanian, Syrian and Iraqi airbases, with more than 150 Egyptian aircraft destroyed or damaged. Egypt's surviving MiG-17s were heavily deployed in ground attacks against Israeli forces in the Sinai.
The Soviet Union again replaced Egypt's losses after the war, and Egypt was soon involved in the
War of Attrition
The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...
, a sustained series of armed clashes on and over Sinai, with Egypt's MiG-17s continuing to be used in the ground attack role. While the MiG-17 was slower and shorter-ranged than the
Sukhoi Su-7
The Sukhoi Su-7 ( NATO designation name: Fitter-A) is a swept wing, supersonic fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in 1955. Originally, it was designed as a tactical, low-level dogfighter, but was not successful in this role. On the ...
that was the other main component of Egypt's ground-attack forces, the MiG-17 was more manoeuvrable and sustained lower losses. From 1970, Egypt deployed detachments of MiG-17s to Sudan to support government forces during the
First Sudanese Civil War
The First Sudanese Civil War (also known as the Anyanya Rebellion or Anyanya I, after the name of the rebels, a term in the Madi language which means 'snake venom') was a conflict from 1955 to 1972 between the northern part of Sudan and the sou ...
. The MiG-17 continued in use in the
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
. Mig-17s were used during the
Ofira Air Battle
The Ofira Air Battle was one of the first air battles of the Yom Kippur War. On 6 October 1973, Egypt launched a massive surprise attack on Israel that included over 200 Egyptian aircraft participating in an opening airstrike. The Israeli Air F ...
by Egypt. Egyptian and Syrian Mig-17s retired shortly after these wars.
Africa
At least 24 of them served with the
Nigerian Air Force
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
It is one of the largest in Africa, consisting of about 15,000 personnel and aircraft including eight Chinese Che ...
and were flown by a mixed group of Nigerian and
mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
pilots from East Germany, Soviet Union, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Australia during the 1967–70
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...
.
Asia
Four were hurriedly supplied by the USSR to
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
during the
1971 insurgency and were used for bombing and ground attack in the brief insurgency.
Soviet Union
In 1958, a US Air Force Lockheed C-130
was shot down by four MiG-17 fighters when it flew into Soviet airspace near
Yerevan, Armenia
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
while on a
Sun Valley Signal intelligence
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
mission, with all 17 crew killed.
United States
![4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron MiG 17 MiG 21 and two F-5s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/4477th_Test_and_Evaluation_Squadron_MiG_17_MiG_21_and_two_F-5s.jpg)
A number of U.S. federal agencies undertook a program at
Groom Lake
Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport ...
to evaluate the MiG-17 to help fight the Vietnam War, as the kill ratio against North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s was only 2:1. The program was code-named
HAVE DRILL (see also
Have Doughnut), involving trials of two ex-
Syrian
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...
MiG-17F Frescos, acquired and provided by Israel, over the skies of Groom Lake. These aircraft were given USAF designations and fake serial numbers so that they may be identified in DOD standard flight logs.
In addition to tracking the dog fights staged between the various MiG models against virtually every fighter in U.S. service, and against SAC's B-52 Stratofortresses and B-58 Hustlers to test the ability of the bombers’ countermeasures systems, they also performed radar cross-section and propulsion tests that contributed greatly to improvements in U.S. aerial performance in Vietnam.
According to the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
, there are 17 privately owned MiG-17s in the US. Several MiG-17s have been seized due to questions over the legality of their import into the country.
Variants
![MiG-17PF 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/MiG-17PF_5.jpg)
;I-330
:Prototype.
;MiG-17 ("Fresco A")
:Basic fighter version powered by VK-1 engine ("aircraft SI").
;MiG-17A
:Fighter version powered by VK-1A engine with longer lifespan.
;MiG-17AS
:Multirole conversion, fitted to carry unguided rockets and the K-13 air-to-air missile.
;MiG-17P ("Fresco B")
:All-weather fighter version equipped with Izumrud radar ("aircraft SP"). 225 built.
;MiG-17F ("Fresco C")
:Basic fighter version powered by VK-1F engine with afterburner ("aircraft SF"). 1,685 built.
;MiG-17PF ("Fresco D")
:All-weather fighter version equipped with Izumrud radar, 3 x 23 mm NR-23 cannons and VK-1F engine ("aircraft SP-7F"). 668 built.
;MiG-17PM/PFU ("Fresco E")
:Fighter version equipped with radar and
K-5 (NATO: AA-1 "Alkali") air-to-air missiles ("aircraft SP-9").
;MiG-17R
:Reconnaissance aircraft with VK-1F engine and camera ("aircraft SR-2s")
;MiG-17SN
:Experimental variant with twin side intakes, no central intake, and nose redesigned to allow 23mm cannons to pivot to engage ground targets. Not produced.
;PZL-Mielec Lim-5
:Polish variant of MiG-17
;S-104
:Czechoslovak variant of MiG-17
;
Shenyang J-5
The Shenyang J-5 (Chinese: 歼-5) (NATO reporting name ''Fresco'') is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5 and was originally designated ...
:Chinese variant of MiG-17
Some withdrawn aircraft were converted to remotely controlled targets.
Operators
Current operators
;
*
North Korean Air Force
The Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force (KPAAF; ; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍 航空 및 反航空軍 ) is the unified military aviation force of North Korea. It is the second largest branch of the Korean People's Army comprising an estimated ...
– 106
Shenyang F-5s and 135
Shenyang FT-5s are in service.
However, reports of dire levels of serviceability suggest an airworthiness rate of less than 50%.
Former operators
;
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
*
Afghan Air Force
The Air Force of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, is the air force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The Royal Afghan Air Force was e ...
received its first MiG-17s in 1957, and operated at least 50 in 1979. Remained in service in 1982.
[Gordon 2002, p. 74]
;
*
Albanian Air Force
The Albanian Air Force ( sq, Forca Ajrore e Republikës së Shqipërisë - Air Force of the Republic of Albania) is the air force of Albania and one of the branches of the Albanian Armed Forces.
History
Early history
In 1914 the governmen ...
– operated both Soviet-built MiG-17 and Chinese-built F-5s.
;
*
Algerian Air Force
The Algerian Air Force (AAF) ( ar, القُوَّاتُ الجَوِّيَّةُ الجَزَائِرِيَّةُ, links=, lit=, translit=al-Quwwāt al-Ǧawwiyyah al-Ǧazāʾiriyyah, french: Forces aériennes algériennes, links=, lit=, translit ...
– operated 60 MiG-17Fs from the 1960s. Some remained in service as trainers in the late 1980s.
[Gordon 2002, p. 75]
;
*
Angolan Air Force
The National Air Force of Angola or FANA ( pt, Força Aérea Nacional de Angola) is the air branch of the Armed Forces of Angola.
With an inventory of more than 300 aircraft, FANA is (on paper) one of the largest and strongest air forces of A ...
;
*
Bulgarian Air Force
The Bulgarian Air Force ( bg, Военновъздушни сили, Voennovazdushni sili) is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and p ...
– operated MiG-17Fs, 17-PFs and 17-Rs.
;
*
Burkina Faso Air Force
;
*
Royal Cambodian Air Force
The Royal Cambodian Air Force ( km, កងទ័ពជើងអាកាស, Kângtoăp Cheung Akas, ) is the branch of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces which is charged with operating all military aircraft in Cambodia.
Organisation
The Royal ...
– 16 aircraft, including five MiG-17s and 11
Shenyang J-5
The Shenyang J-5 (Chinese: 歼-5) (NATO reporting name ''Fresco'') is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5 and was originally designated ...
s were received from the Soviet Union and China in 1967–1968, later all were destroyed on the ground in 1971.
**
***
Khmer Air Force
The Khmer Air Force (french: Armée de l'air khmère; AAK), commonly known by its americanized acronym KAF (or KhAF) was the air force component of the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), the official military of the Khmer Republic during the Cam ...
**
Democratic Kampuchea
Kampuchea ( km, កម្ពុជា ), officially known as Democratic Kampuchea (DK; km, កម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ) from 5 January 1976, was a one-party totalitarian state which encompassed modern-day Camb ...
***
Kampuchean Revolutionary Army
The Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea ( km, កងទ័ពរំដោះកម្ពុជា, RAK) were the Armed Forces of Democratic Kampuchea.
History
During the Democratic Kampuchea days, the 68,000-member Khmer Rouge-dominated CPNLAF ...
;
*
People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...
*
People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF; ) is the naval aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
Overview
Historically, the PLANAF's main role has been to provide the navy's warships with air defense coverage. Part of ...
;
*
Congolese Air Force
The Congolese Air Force (french: Force Aérienne Congolaise) is the air branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of the Congo, in the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville).
Former Cold War air force
After achieving independence from Fr ...
[Gordon 2002, p. 79]
;
*
Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force
The Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force ( es, Defensa Anti-Aérea y Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria) commonly abbreviated to DAAFAR in both Spanish and English, is the air force of Cuba.
History
Background
The Cuban Army Air Force was ...
[Gordon 2002, pp. 79, 81]
;
*
Czechoslovak Air Force
The Czechoslovak Air Force (''Československé letectvo'') or the Czechoslovak Army Air Force (''Československé vojenské letectvo'') was the air force branch of the Czechoslovak Army formed in October 1918. The armed forces of Czechoslovakia ce ...
[Gordon 2002, pp. 81–82]
;
![MiG-17-2008-Peenemunde-tail](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/MiG-17-2008-Peenemunde-tail.jpg)
*
Air Forces of the National People's Army
The Air Forces of the National People's Army (german: Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee; LSK) was the Air Force of East Germany. As with the , the , and the Border Troops, it was a military branch of the National People's Army (NVA). ...
[Gordon 2002, p. 82]
;
*
Egyptian Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية المصرية, El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīya), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all milit ...
[Gordon 2002, p. 86]
;
*
Ethiopian Air Force
The Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) () is the air service branch of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. The ETAF is tasked with protecting the national air space, providing support to ground forces, as well as assisting civil operations during natio ...
;
*
Guinea Air Force
The Guinean Armed Forces (french: Forces armées guinéennes) are the armed forces of Guinea. They are responsible for the territorial security of Guinea's border and the defence of the country against external attack and aggression.
Guinea's ...
;
*
Guinea-Bissau Air Force
The Guinea-Bissau Air Force ( pt, Força Aérea da Guiné-Bissau) is the air force arm of the military of Guinea-Bissau.
History
On leaving Bissalanca by 1973–74, the Portuguese Air Force left three North American T-6Gs.Cooper and Weinert 201 ...
– In storage since 1991, aircraft thought to be inoperational.
;
*
Hungarian Air Force
The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are organised into a single ...
[Gordon 2002, p. 87]
;
*
Indonesian Air Force
The Indonesian Air Force ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU), literally "''Indonesian National Military-Air Force''") sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF, is the aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The ...
;
*
Iraqi Air Force
The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...
;
![MiG-17 of the Malagasy Air Force](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/MiG-17_of_the_Malagasy_Air_Force.jpg)
*
Malagasy Air Force
The Malagasy Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Madagascar People's Armed Forces.
History
The Malagasy Air Force was founded in 1960 with mainly former French aircraft such as Douglas DC-3s, Max Holste MH.1521 Broussards and Dassault ...
– 4 delivered in 1975 from North Korea.
;
*
Malian Air Force
The Mali Air Force is the air force of Mali.
History
The Mali Air Force (french: Armée de l'air du Mali) was founded in 1961 with French-supplied military aid. This included MH.1521 Broussard utility monoplane followed by two C-47 transports ...
;
*
Mongolian People's Army Air Force[Gordon 2002, p. 89]
;
*
Royal Moroccan Air Force
The Royal Moroccan Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الملكية; ber, Adwas ujenna ageldan; french: Forces Royales Air) is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces.
History
The Moroccan air force was formed on 14 May 1956 as the ...
;
*
Mozambique Air Force
The Mozambique Air Force ( pt, Forca Aérea de Moçambique; FAM) is the air force of Mozambique. From 1985 to 1990 it was known as the People's Liberation Air Force (''Força Aérea Popular de Libertação''; FAPL).
Overview
Due to Mozambique's ...
;
*
Nigerian Air Force
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
It is one of the largest in Africa, consisting of about 15,000 personnel and aircraft including eight Chinese Che ...
;
*
Yemen Arab Republic Air Force – 13 MiG-17s donated by the USSR in November 1967.
;
*
Polish Air Force
The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...
[Gordon 2002, p. 90]
*
Polish Navy
;
*
Romanian Air Force
The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...
;
*
Somali Aeronautical Corps – In 1967, 30 MiG-17 and MiG-17F were delivered by the Soviet Union.
In 1991 the Air Force was dissolved.
;
*
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force – First ten MiG-17Fs delivered from the USSR in January 1969. Eight additional aircraft were delivered in 1971.
;
*
Soviet Air Forces
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
*
Soviet Air Defense Forces
The Soviet Air Defence Forces (russian: войска ПВО, ''voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony'', ''voyska PVO'', ''V-PVO'', lit. ''Anti-Air Defence Troops''; and formerly ''protivovozdushnaya oborona strany'', ''PVO strany'', lit. ''Anti-Air De ...
*
Soviet Naval Aviation
Soviet Naval Aviation (AV-MF, for ''Авиация военно-морского флота'' in Russian, or ''Aviatsiya voyenno-morskogo flota'', literally "aviation of the military maritime fleet") was the naval aviation arm of the Soviet Nav ...
;
*
Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
removed out of service after the
1971 Communist JVP Insurrection. Now preserved in
SLAF Ratmalana museum.
;
![MIG-17-hatzerim-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/MIG-17-hatzerim-1.jpg)
*
Syrian Air Force
)
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 16 October
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War
* Six-Day War
* Yom Kippur War
...
;
*
Ugandan Air Force
Ugandan People's Defence Force Air Force, more commonly known as Ugandan Air Force, is the branch of the Uganda People's Defence Force that deals with the air warfare. It headquarters is located at Entebbe, Uganda. The current air force commander ...
– Some ex-Czech; serviceability doubtful.
;
![4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron MiG-17F in flight](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/4477th_Test_and_Evaluation_Squadron_MiG-17F_in_flight.jpg)
* Formerly used for evaluation in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
, however in January 2014 a camouflaged example was seen operating near Edwards AFB, possibly as a training vehicle at the USAF Test Pilot School where MiG-15s are routinely operated.
;
*
Vietnam People's Air Force
The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF, ), formally refers itself as the Air Defence - Air Force (ADAF, ) or the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF, ), is the Air force, aerial warfare service branch of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North V ...
Specifications (MiG-17F)
See also
References
Bibliography
* Anderton, David A. ''North American F-100 Super Sabre.'' Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1987. .
* Belyakov, R.A. and J. Marmain. ''MiG: Fifty Years of Secret Aircraft Design''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. .
* Butowski, Piotr (with Jay Miller). ''OKB MiG: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft''. Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1991. .
* Conboy, Kenneth. ''The War in Cambodia 1970-75''(Men-at-Arms series 209). Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd, 1989. .
*
* Crosby, Francis. ''Fighter Aircraft''. London: Lorenz Books, 2002. .
* Davies, Peter E. ''North American F-100 Super Sabre.'' Ramsbury, Wiltshire, UK: The Crowood Press, 2003. .
* Gordon, Yefim. ''Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17: The Soviet Union's Jet Fighter of the Fifties.'' Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing, 2002. .
*
Gunston, Bill. ''The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995''. London: Osprey, 1995. .
* Hobson, Chris. ''Vietnam Air Losses, United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia 1961-1973.'' Midland Publishing (2001) England. .
* Koenig, William and Peter Scofield. ''Soviet Military Power''. Greenwich, Connecticut: Bison Books, 1983. .
* Michel III, Marshall L. ''Clashes: Air Combat Over North Vietnam 1965-1972.'' Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 2007, First edition 1997. .
* Nicolle, David. "Bearing the Brunt: Thirty Years if MiG-17 Service with the Egyptian and Syrian Air Forces". ''
Air Enthusiast
''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to '' Air International'' maga ...
'', November–December 1995, No. 60. pp. 12–27. .
* Olynyk, Dr. Frank. ''US Post World War 2 Victory Credits''. Self-published, 1999.
* Olds, Christina and Rasimus, Ed. ''Fighter Pilot; Robin Olds, Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds.'' 2010, St. Martin's Griffin, New York. .
*
* Robinson, Anthony. ''Soviet Air Power''. London: Bison Books, 1985. .
* Sweetman, Bill. ''Modern Fighting Aircraft: Volume 9: MiGs.'' New York: Arco Publishing, 1984. .
* Sweetman, Bill and Bill Gunston. ''Soviet Air Power: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Warsaw Pact Air Forces Today''. London: Salamander Books, 1978. .
* Toperczer, István. ''MiG-17 And MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War (Osprey Combat Aircraft #25)''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Limited, 2001. .
* Wilson, Stewart. ''Combat Aircraft since 1945''. Fyshwick, Australia: Aerospace Publications, 2000. .
External links
MiG-17 FRESCO from Global Security.orgMiG-17 Fresco from Global AircraftMiG 17: Home of a True FighterLethal Snakes - Russian viewpoint Mig-17 tactics
Blueprints 3-view
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MiG-017
1950s Soviet fighter aircraft
Single-engined jet aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1950