The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-3) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
fighter-interceptor used during
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 ...
. It was a development of the
MiG-1
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 (russian: Микоян-Гуревич МиГ-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II that was designed to meet a requirement for a high-altitude fighter issued in 1939. To minimize demand on strategic materia ...
by the OKO (opytno-konstruktorskij otdel — Experimental Design Department) of Zavod (Factory) No. 1 in Moscow to remedy problems found during the MiG-1's development and operations. It replaced the MiG-1 on the production line at Factory No. 1 on 20 December 1940 and was built in large numbers during 1941 before Factory No. 1 was converted to build the
Ilyushin Il-2
The Ilyushin Il-2 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...
.
On 22 June 1941, at the beginning of
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, some 981 were in service with the
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 ...
(VVS), the
Soviet Air Defence 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 ...
(PVO) and
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 ...
. The MiG-3 was difficult to fly in peacetime and much more so in combat. Originally designed as a high-altitude fighter-interceptor, combat over the
Eastern Front was generally at lower altitudes, where it was inferior to the German
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
as well as most of its Soviet contemporaries. It was also pressed into service as a fighter-bomber during the autumn of 1941 but it was equally unsuited for this. The losses suffered in combat were very high, in percentage the highest among all the VVS fighters, with 1,432 shot down.
[Bergström 2008, p. 132.] The survivors were concentrated in the PVO, where its disadvantages mattered less, the last being withdrawn from service before the end of the war.
Development
The large number of defects noted during flight testing of the
MiG-1
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 (russian: Микоян-Гуревич МиГ-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II that was designed to meet a requirement for a high-altitude fighter issued in 1939. To minimize demand on strategic materia ...
forced
Mikoyan
Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (russian: Российская самолётостроительная корпорация „МиГ“, Rossiyskaya samolyotostroitel'naya korporatsiya "MiG"), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, was a Russi ...
and
Gurevich to make a number of modifications to the design. Testing was done on a full-size aircraft in the T-1 wind tunnel belonging to the
Central Aero and Hydrodynamics Institute (TsAGI) to evaluate the problems and their proposed solutions. The first aircraft to see all of these changes applied was the fourth prototype of the I-200. It first flew on 29 October 1940 and was approved for production after passing its State acceptance trials. The first MiG-3, as the improved aircraft was named on 9 December, was completed on 20 December 1940 and another 20 were delivered by the end of the year.
[Gordon (2008), p. 100]
These changes included:
* The engine was moved forward 100 mm (4 in) to improve longitudinal stability.
* A new water radiator (OP-310) was fitted
* The first two modifications allowed an additional fuel tank to be fitted underneath the pilot's seat.
* The outer wing panel dihedral was increased by one degree to increase lateral stability.
* An additional oil tank was mounted under the engine.
* Piping was fitted to use cooled inert exhaust gasses in the fuel tanks to reduce the chance of fire.
* The back of the pilot's seat was armored with an plate (increased to in later models).
* The supercharger intakes were streamlined.
* The main landing gear was strengthened and the size of the main wheels was increased to 650 x 200 mm (25.5 x 7.87 in).
* The canopy glazing was extended aft to improve the view to the rear which allowed for the installation of a shelf behind the pilot for an RSI-1 radio (later upgraded to an RSI-4).
* The instrument panel layout was improved and a PBP-1A gunsight replaced the original PBP-1.
* Ammunition for the
ShKAS
The ShKAS (Shpitalny-Komaritski Aviatsionny Skorostrelny, Shpitalny-Komaritski rapid fire for aircraft; Russian: ШКАС - Шпитального-Комарицкого Авиационный Скорострельный) is a 7.62 mm calibre ...
guns was increased to 750 rounds per gun.
* Two additional underwing hardpoints were added to carry up to 220 kg (485 lb) of bombs, spray containers or
RS-82 rocket
RS-82 and RS-132 (Reaktivny Snaryad; Russian: Реактивный Снаряд; rocket-powered projectile) were unguided rockets used by Soviet military during World War II.
Development
Design work on RS-82 and RS-132 rockets began in the late 19 ...
s.
State acceptance testing of two production aircraft was conducted between 27 January and 26 February 1941. They were found to be over heavier than the MiG-1, which reduced maneuverability and field performance. Time to decreased by over a minute and the service ceiling proved to be less. The MiG-3 was faster at sea level and at altitude. While the ranges reached by both aircraft were farther than that of the older aircraft, they were still less than the required. Mikoyan and Gurevich protested against the range results as their calculations showed that the MiG-3 could reach based on a
specific fuel consumption (SFC) of 0.46 kg/km (1.64 lb/mile). During the State acceptance trials the SFC was 0.48 kg/km (1.71 lb/mile) but the operational trials conducted earlier showed a SFC of 0.38 kg/km (1.35 lb/mile). They blamed the deficiency on a failure to use an altitude correction and that the engines had not been properly adjusted. They went as far as arranging for two more flights between Leningrad and Moscow to prove that the MiG-3 could fly 1,000 km (621 mi). Two production aircraft were flown on ranges of and , flying at 90% of maximum speed and at an altitude of , contradicting the report of the NII VVS (''Naoochno-Issledovatel'skiy Institoot Voyenno-Vozdooshnykh Seel''—Air Force Scientific Test Institute).
[Gordon (2008), p. 101]
Despite the teething problems with the MiG-3, in 1941, one of the aircraft's designers—
Mikhail Gurevich—was awarded the
State Stalin Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
for his contribution to Soviet aviation.
[Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 232.]
A number of reports had been received about poor quality aircraft received by the regiments which pointed directly at the NII VVS as it was responsible for monitoring the quality of the aircraft delivered to the VVS. On 31 May 1941 the People's Commissariat of Defense decreed that the NII VVS had been negligent. A number of senior managers were demoted and the head of the Institute, Major General A. I. Filin was summarily executed.
[
A number of MiG-3s were found to have unacceptable performance at high altitudes despite having been designed as a high-altitude interceptor. The oxygen supply was often insufficient and the stall and ]spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
characteristics were very dangerous, especially to inexperienced pilots. This was demonstrated on 10 April 1941 when three pilots of the 31st Fighter Regiment of the Air Defenses (IAP PVO) attempted to intercept a German high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft over Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
, Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
flying at . All three aircraft entered irrecoverable spins and the pilots were forced to bail out
A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy.
A bailout differs from the term ''bail-in'' (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global sy ...
, one being killed. The NII VVS sent an engineer to investigate and he found that the pilots had flown very few hours on the MiG-3 and that that was their first high-altitude sortie. Other problems included insufficient fuel and oil pressure {{unreferenced, date=May 2016
Oil pressure is an important factor in the longevity of most internal combustion engines. With a forced lubrication system (invented by Frederick Lanchester), oil is picked up by a positive displacement oil pump and ...
at altitude due to problems with the pumps.
Comparison with other fighters
The MiG-3's top speed of at [Gordon (2008), p. 126] was faster than the of the German Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
F-2 in service at the beginning of 1941 and the British Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
V's . At lower altitudes the MiG's speed advantage disappeared as its maximum speed at sea level was only [ while the Bf 109F-2 could do .][ Unfortunately for the MiG-3 and its pilots, aerial combat over the Eastern Front generally took place at low and medium altitudes where it had no speed advantage.][Pilawskii, p. 81]
The MiG's loaded weight of was greater than the Bf 109F-2's and it was less maneuverable in the horizontal plane than the Bf 109 due to its higher wing loading
In aerodynamics, wing loading is the total mass of an aircraft or flying animal divided by the area of its wing. The stalling speed of an aircraft in straight, level flight is partly determined by its wing loading. An aircraft or animal with a ...
. This lack of maneuverability was exacerbated by the MiG-3's poor climb performance, its instability at high speeds (which can make aerial gunnery difficult due to the point of aim "wandering" and requiring constant pilot input to remain on target), and its underpowered armament.[
The MiG-3's standard armament was one ]UBS
UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...
machine gun and two ShKAS machine gun
The ShKAS (Shpitalny-Komaritski Aviatsionny Skorostrelny, Shpitalny-Komaritski rapid fire for aircraft; Russian: ШКАС - Шпитального-Комарицкого Авиационный Скорострельный) is a 7.62 mm calibre ...
s, all mounted in the engine cowling and synchronized to fire through the propeller arc. In contrast, most versions of the German Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
that it encountered had one cannon
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 ...
and two machine guns (although the Bf 109F used during Operation Barbarossa had a 15 mm MG 151/15, meaning that it was armed little better than the MiG). To remedy this problem, 821 aircraft were built with one 12.7 mm UBK machine gun in a pod under each wing in mid-1941. This lowered its speed by about at all altitudes, which was unpopular with the pilots, some of whom removed the pods. One hundred aircraft were equipped with a pair of UBS machine guns in lieu of the ShKAS weapons. Another 215 aircraft also had just the UBS machine guns but were fitted to carry six RS-82 rocket
RS-82 and RS-132 (Reaktivny Snaryad; Russian: Реактивный Снаряд; rocket-powered projectile) were unguided rockets used by Soviet military during World War II.
Development
Design work on RS-82 and RS-132 rockets began in the late 19 ...
s. A total of 72 aircraft mounted a pair of 20 mm ShVAK cannon
The ShVAK ( ru , ШВАК: Шпитальный-Владимиров Авиационный Крупнокалиберный, Shpitalnyi-Vladimirov Aviatsionnyi Krupnokalibernyi, "Shpitalny-Vladimirov Aviation Large-calibre") was a 20 mm autocann ...
. A wide variety of armaments were experimented with by various units at the requests of their pilots or to make up shortages.
Production
The NKAP (''Narodnyy komissariat aviatsionnoy promyshlennosti''—People's Commission of the Aircraft Industry) announced its 1941 production plan on 9 December 1940. Zavod Nr. 1 in Moscow-Chodinka would be required to build a total of 3,500 in 1941. Zavod Nr. 43 in Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
would begin construction of the MiG-3 and complete one hundred aircraft by the end of the year and Zavod Nr. 21 in Gor'kiy would start to plan construction of an upgraded version of the MiG-3, although this last program was canceled shortly afterwards. 140 were delivered in January 1941 and Zavod Nr. 1 was on pace to exceed its quota with 496 delivered in July, 562 in August and 450 in September. In October the German advance on Moscow forced the Zavod Nr. 1, and its OKO, to evacuate to Kuybyshev where production resumed under unsuitable conditions. However, shortly afterwards, Stalin sent a telegram to the directors of the plants building the Ilyushin Il-2
The Ilyushin Il-2 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...
and the MiG-3 demanding more Il-2 production, resulting in MiG-3 production being terminated in favor of the Il-2, with a final thirty aircraft built in 1942 from spares. An additional factor in cancellation of the MiG-3 was that its Mikulin AM-35
The Mikulin AM-35 was a 1930s Soviet piston aircraft engine. Derived from the AM-34FRN, the AM-35 entered production in 1940 and was used on the MiG-1 and MiG-3 World War II fighters as well as the Petlyakov Pe-8 heavy bomber.
Description
T ...
A engine was closely related to the Il-2's AM-38 allowing production to be quickly switched from one to the other.
MiG-3 production at Zavod Nr. 1 had already been planned to be reduced from a NKAP order of 27 August that required the factory to produce 420 fighters in September, declining to 100 in December with Il-2 production ramping up to 250 in December while the former aircraft repair plant at Khodynka Aerodrome
Khodynka (russian: links=no, Ходынский, ''Khodynskiy''), officially Frunze Central Aerodrome, often referred to as Tsentralny (), was an airport in Moscow, Russia, located northwest of the centre of the city.
History
The founding of the ...
was to be transferred to the NKAP, redesignated as Zavod Nr. 165, and begin production of MiG-3s. The German advance disrupted these plans for Zavod 165 and it never produced a single MiG-3.
Operational history
MiG-3s were delivered to frontline fighter regiments beginning in the spring of 1941 and were a handful for pilots accustomed to the lower-performance and docile Polikarpov I-152 and I-153
The Polikarpov I-153 ''Chaika'' (Russian ''Чайка'', "Seagull") was a late 1930s Soviet biplane fighter. Developed as an advanced version of the I-15 with a retractable undercarriage, the I-153 fought in the Soviet-Japanese combats in Mong ...
biplanes and the Polikarpov I-16
The Polikarpov I-16 (russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain ope ...
monoplane. It remained tricky and demanding to fly even after the extensive improvements made over the MiG-1. Many fighter regiments had not kept pace in training pilots to handle the MiG and the rapid pace of deliveries resulted in many units having more MiGs than trained pilots during the German invasion German invasion may refer to:
Pre-1900s
* German invasion of Hungary (1063)
World War I
* German invasion of Belgium (1914)
* German invasion of Luxembourg (1914)
World War II
* Invasion of Poland
* German invasion of Belgium (1940)
* G ...
. By 1 June 1941, 1,029 MIG-3s were on strength, but there were only 494 trained pilots.
In contrast to the untrained pilots of the 31st Fighter Regiment, those of the 4th Fighter Regiment were able to claim three German high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft shot down before war broke out in June 1941. However high-altitude combat of this sort was to prove to be uncommon on the Eastern Front where most air-to-air engagements were at altitudes well below . At these altitudes the MiG-3 was outclassed by the Bf 109 in all respects, and even by other new Soviet fighters such as the Yakovlev Yak-1
The Yakovlev Yak-1 (russian: Яковлев Як-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 197 ...
. Furthermore, the shortage of ground-attack aircraft in 1941 forced it into that role as well, for which it was totally unsuited.
Pilot Alexander E. Shvarev recalled: "The Mig was perfect at altitudes of 4,000 m and above. But at lower altitudes it was, as they say, 'a cow'. That was the first weakness. The second was its armament: weapons failure dogged this aircraft. The third weakness was its gunsights, which were inaccurate: that's why we closed in as much as we could and fired point blank."[Drabkin 2007, p. 46.]
On 22 June 1941, most MiG-3s and MiG-1s were in the border military districts of the Soviet Union. The Leningrad Military District
The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.
Hi ...
had 164, 135 were in the Baltic Military District
The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet armed forces in the Baltic states, formed briefly before the Operation Barbarossa, German invasion during the World War II. After end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added ...
, 233 in the Western Special Military District
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
, 190 in the Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...
and 195 in the Odessa Military District
The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...
for a total of 917 on hand, of which only 81 were non-operational. An additional 64 MiGs were assigned to Naval Aviation, 38 in the Air Force of the Baltic Fleet
, image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg
, image_size = 150
, caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign
, dates = 18 May 1703 – present
, country =
, allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present)
...
and 26 in the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet
Chernomorskiy flot
, image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet
, dates = May 13, ...
.
The 4th and 55th Fighter Regiments had most of the MiG-3s assigned to the Odessa Military District and their experiences on the first day of the war may be taken as typical. The 4th, an experienced unit, shot down a Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...
reconnaissance bomber, confirmed by postwar research, and lost one aircraft which crashed into an obstacle on takeoff. The 55th was much less experienced with the MiG-3 and claimed three aircraft shot down, although recent research confirms only one German Henschel Hs 126
The Henschel Hs 126 was a German two-seat reconnaissance and observation aircraft of World War II that was derived from the Henschel Hs 122. The pilot was seated in a protected cockpit under the parasol wing and the gunner in an open rear cockp ...
was 40% damaged, and suffered three pilots killed and nine aircraft lost. The most unusual case was the pair of MiG-3s dispatched from the 55th on a reconnaissance mission to Ploieşti that failed to properly calculate their fuel consumption and both were forced to land when they ran out of fuel.
Most of the MiG-3s assigned to the interior military districts were transferred to the PVO where their lack of performance at low altitudes was not so important. On 10 July 299 were assigned to the PVO, the bulk of them belonging to the 6th PVO Corps at Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, while only 293 remained with the VVS,[ and 60 with the Naval Air Forces,] a total of only 652 despite deliveries of several hundred aircraft. By 1 October, on the eve of the German offensive towards Moscow codenamed Operation Typhoon
The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive e ...
, only 257 were assigned to VVS units,[ 209 to the PVO,] and 46 to the Navy, a total of only 512, a decrease of 140 fighters since 10 July, despite deliveries of over a thousand aircraft in the intervening period. By 5 December, the start of the Soviet counter-offensive that drove the Germans back from the gates of Moscow, the Navy had 33 MiGs on hand, the VVS 210, and the PVO 309. This was a total of 552, an increase of only 40 aircraft from 1 October.
Over the winter of 1941–42 the Soviets transferred all of the remaining MiG-3s to the Navy and PVO so that on 1 May 1942 none were left on strength with the VVS. By 1 May 1942, Naval Aviation had 37 MiGs on strength, while the PVO had 323 on hand on 10 May. By 1 June 1944, the Navy had transferred all its aircraft to the PVO, which reported only 17 on its own strength, and all of those were gone by 1 January 1945. Undoubtedly more remained in training units and the like, but none were assigned to combat units by then.
Even with the MiG-3's limitations, Aleksandr Pokryshkin
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
, the third-leading Soviet, and Allied, ace of the war, with 53 official air victories (plus six shared), recorded a number of those victories while flying a MiG-3 at the beginning of the war. He later recalled:
“Its designers rarely succeeded in matching both the fighter's flight characteristics with its firepower… the operational advantage of the MiG-3 seemed to be obscured by its certain defects. However, these advantages could undoubtedly be exploited by a pilot able to discover them”.
Variants
There were several attempts to re-engine the aircraft with the engine it was originally designed for, the Mikulin AM-37
The Mikulin AM-37 was a Soviet aircraft piston engine designed prior to Russia's entry into World War II. An improved version of the Mikulin AM-35 V-12 engine, it was only produced in small numbers because of its unreliability.
Development
Desig ...
. This was designated the MiG-7, and one MiG-3 was converted to evaluate the engine in May 1941. It proved to have poor longitudinal stability and the powerplant itself still had a number of problems. The German invasion the following month caused the cancellation of the development of the AM-37 as Mikulin's resources were required for the AM-35 and AM-38 engines already in production.[Belyakov and Marmain, pp. 31–32]
To improve the low-level performance of the MiG-3, one aircraft was tested with the AM-38 engine used by the Il-2 in July 1941. It proved to be faster than the normal MiG-3 at sea level and was more maneuverable as well. It was recommended for production after passing its State acceptance trials in September, provided that a cure for the engine's tendency to overheat in ambient temperatures above was found. However the sole prototype was shot down on 5 October during flight tests and it was decided not to proceed with the idea as all AM-38 production was allocated to the Il-2. Ironically, later in the war, about 80 MiG-3s were reengined with AM-38s to make them airworthy again. Many of these were rearmed with two 20 mm ShVAK cannon as well.
On 13 May 1941 the NKAP ordered the OKO to convert a MiG-3 to use the Shvetsov ASh-82
The Shvetsov ASh-82 (M-82) is a Soviet 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial aircraft engine developed from the Shvetsov M-62. The M-62 was the result of development of the M-25, which was a licensed version of the Wright R-1820 Cyclone.
Desi ...
A radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
then entering production. The resulting aircraft had a variety of names, including I-210, MiG-3-82, Samolyot IKh or Izdeliye 65. The design was a failure, but was promising enough to continue the program as the I-211.
A variety of other tests and other projects were conducted using MiG-3s. Leading edge slats
Slats are aerodynamic surfaces on the leading edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft which, when deployed, allow the wing to operate at a higher angle of attack. A higher coefficient of lift is produced as a result of angle of attack and speed, ...
were evaluated in 1941 although they were not fitted on production aircraft, but were used by the I-210. A six-bladed propeller was fitted on one aircraft to increase thrust at high altitude to enable the fighter to catch the high-flying Junkers Ju 86
The Junkers Ju 86 was a German monoplane bomber and civilian airliner designed in the early 1930s, and employed by various air forces on both sides during World War II. The civilian model Ju 86B could carry ten passengers. Two were delivered to S ...
P aircraft then overflying Moscow. A new propeller hub was made that mounted six standard VISh-61 blades, but nothing more is known of the project. Four aircraft were converted to carry AFA-I cameras for evaluation and a fifth was then converted to evaluate all the improvements learned from the first four. It was approved for use after trials at the NII VVS. To improve their service ceiling
With respect to aircraft performance, a ceiling is the maximum density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions, as determined by its flight envelope.
Service ceiling
Service ceiling is where the rate of climb drops below a pres ...
two aircraft were lightened down to a weight of , but no further details are known other than one reached a height of .
There was also a proposal in 1941 to use the MiG-3 as part of a Zveno
Zveno ( bg, Звено, lit=link), ''Politicheski krŭg "Zveno"'', officially Political Circle "Zveno" was a Bulgarian political organization, founded in 1930 by Bulgarian politicians, intellectuals and Bulgarian Army officers. It was associated ...
combination with a Petlyakov Pe-8
The Petlyakov Pe-8 (russian: Петляков Пе-8) was a Soviet heavy bomber designed before World War II, and the only four-engine bomber the USSR built during the war. Produced in limited numbers, it was used to bomb Berlin in August 1941. ...
mother ship. The four-engined bomber would carry two MiG-3SPB (''Skorostnoy Pikeeruyushchiy Bombardirovshchik''—Fast Dive Bomber) fighters, modified to carry a FAB-250 bomb under each wing, close to the target and would then release them to conduct the attack after which they would fly back to the nearest friendly airbase. Some preliminary work was done before the Germans invaded, but it was abandoned afterwards due to the pressure of other work. The combination was estimated to have a maximum speed of and a range of .
Operators
;
* 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 ...
(VVS)
* Soviet Air Defence 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 ...
(PVO)
* 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 ...
;
*Royal Romanian Air Force
The Air Force branch of the Royal Romanian forces in World War II was officially named the (ARR), or the Romanian Royal Aeronautics, though it is more commonly referred to in English histories as the (Royal Romanian Air Force, FARR), or simply ...
: One aircraft captured in March 1942 following a pilot defection, used as an opposition trainer.
Surviving aircraft
The Russian company Aviarestoration has rebuilt three MiG-3s. They all use Allison
Allison may refer to:
People
* Allison (given name)
* Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer
Companies
* Allison Engine Company, American aircraft engine ...
V-12 engines. One is in the US in the Military Aviation Museum
The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to one of the world's largest collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from ...
of Pungo, Virginia
Pungo is a rural community located in the southern part of the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia and was one of the seven original boroughs when the City of Virginia Beach was created in 1963. The area derives its name from a local Indi ...
and another, rebuilt from a MiG-3 shot down in 1942, first flew again around the start of 2010. It will remain in Russia.[''FlyPast'', March 2010 p. 7]
Specifications (MiG-3)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Angelucci, Enzo and Paolo Matricardi. ''World Aircraft: World War II, Volume II'' (Sampson Low Guides). Maidenhead, UK: Sampson Low, 1978.
* Belyakov, R.A. and J. Marmain. ''MiG: Fifty Years of Aircraft Design''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife, 1994. .
* Bergström, Christer. ''Bagration to Berlin: The final Air Battle in the East 1944–45''. Hersham UK, Classic Publications, 2008. .
* Bernád, Dénes; Dmitriy Karlenko and Jean-Louis Roba. ''From Barbarossa to Odessa: The Luftwaffe and Axis Allies Strike South-east: June–October 1941''. 2 Volumes, Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing, 2007–08 . (Vol. 1) . (Vol. 2)
* Drabkin, Artem. ''The Red Air Force at War: Barbarossa and The Retreat to Moscow – Recollections of Fighter Pilots on the Eastern Front''. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword Military, 2007. .
* Gordon, Yefim. ''Mikoyan's Piston-Engined Fighters (Red Star Volume 13)''. Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 2003 .
* Gordon, Yefim and Dmitry Komissarov. ''OKB Mikoyan: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft''. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing, 2009 .
* Gordon, Yefim. ''Soviet Airpower in World War 2''. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing, 2008 .
* Gordon, Yefim and Dmitri Khazanov. ''Soviet Combat Aircraft of the Second World War, Volume One: Single-Engined Fighters''. Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 1998 .
* Gunston, Bill. ''The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995''. London, Osprey, 1995 .
* Morgan, Hugh. ''Soviet Aces of the Second World War''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Aviation, 1997. .
* Pilawskii, Eric. ''Soviet Air Force Fighter Colours, 1941–1945''. Hersham, Surrey, UK: Classic Publications, 2003 .
Further reading
* Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. ''WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: Soviet Air Force Fighters, Part 1''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers, 1977
* Stapfer, Hans-Heiri. ''Early MiG Fighters in Action (Aircraft number 204)''. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 2006 .
* Tessitori, Massimo. ''Mikoyan Gurevich Mig-1/Mig-3''. Sandomierz, Poland/Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2006. .
External links
MiG-3 history and photos by Massimo Tessitori
MiG-3 from fiddlersgreen.net
{{Good article
MiG-003
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-03
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
World War II Soviet fighter aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1940