The Sukhoi T-3 was a prototype

Soviet 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 nation ...

Development

Starting in the early 1950s, the development of the T-3 proceeded in parallel with the S-1 which would eventually become the Sukhoi Su-7. While the S-1 was a conventional swept wing aircraft (''S'' stood for ''strelovidniy'', стреловидный, swept wing), the T-3 had a delta wing with a leading edge sweep of 57° (''T'' stood for ''treugolniy'', треугольный, delta wing).Green, William. "The Great Book of Fighters". 2001. MBI Publishing. Aside from the wings, the two aircraft shared the basic design as well as the

Lyulka AL-7 The Lyulka AL-7 was a turbojet designed by Arkhip Mikhailovich Lyulka and produced by his Lyulka design bureau. The engine was produced between 1954 and 1970.Gunston 1989, p.100. Design and development The AL-7 had supersonic airflow through th ...

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, an ...

engine. Since the T-3 was intended to be an interceptor, it was fitted with the ''Almaz'' (Алмаз, Diamond)

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, we ...

housed in the air intake. The prototype first flew on 26 May 1956. The T-3 was ordered into production at Factory No.153 but events overtook it when a revised specification was issued for the Interceptor fighter role. Three aircraft were completed and transported by rail to the OKB-51 factory near Moscow, where only one was to fly in as-built condition and all three prototypes were modified for various test programmes, becoming, for example, the T-39, T-49, PT-7, PT-8 and other experimental aircraft.Gordon, Yefim. ''Sukhoi Interceptors''. Hinkley, Midland. 2004. To investigate different radar radome configurations as well as develop radar and missile sub-systems, two of the prototypes were converted to become the PT-7 and PT-8. The PT-7 had a variable intake ramp, while the PT-8 had an extended nose with a translating centerbody. Although not proceeded with, the T-3 served as the basis for what would eventually become the

Sukhoi Su-9 The Sukhoi Su-9 (NATO reporting name: Fishpot) was a single-engine, all-weather, missile-armed interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. Development The Su-9 emerged from aerodynamic studies by TsAGI, the Soviet aerodynamic center, ...

, forming the backbone of the PVO during the 1960s.

Development

Specifications (T-3)

See also

References

Further reading