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44-646: In 1950 the Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) design bureau (also known as OKB -155) began work on a new fighter aircraft, intended to have a greater range than the existing MiG-15 and MiG-17 aircraft, and capable of reaching supersonic speeds in level flight. MiG chose to use two of the new Mikulin AM-5 axial jet engines (a scaled-down version of the Mikulin AM-3 that powered the Tupolev Tu-16 bomber) for its new fighter. As

88-593: A steel cable attached to a winch that reeled the gas bag to its desired height (usually 1,000-1,500 metres) and retrieved it at the end of an observation session. The first military use of observation balloons was by the French Aerostatic Corps during the French Revolutionary Wars , the very first time during the Battle of Fleurus (1794) . The oldest preserved observation balloon, L'Intrépide ,

132-558: A DoD Spokesperson, said in a press conference that the balloon did not collect/transmit while it was transiting/flying over the United States and US military efforts contributed to the block. In an interview aired on CBS News Sunday Morning on Sep 17, 2023, Mark Milley told David Martin that the balloon was not spying and it was a high confidence assessment by the United States Intelligence Community that there

176-659: A U.S. 20 mm cannon such as the M61 Vulcan which would deliver 39 lb (18 kg) of metal. US sources claim that 10 VPAF MiG-19s were lost in aerial combat. On 2 June 1972 a MiG-19 was the first recorded jet fighter to be shot down in aerial combat by cannon fire at supersonic speeds, by a USAF F-4 Phantom flown by Phil Handley. According to the VPAF, from 1965 to 1972, North Vietnamese MiG-19s shot down 13 enemy aircraft and helicopters, while five MiG-19s were lost (four shot down by enemy aircraft and one by friendly fire) and one pilot

220-585: A few miles behind the front lines and at altitude, allowed them to see targets at greater range than they could on the ground. This allowed the artillery to take advantage of its increased range. Despite their experience in late 1800s Africa, the British were behind developments and were still using spherical balloons. These were quickly replaced by more advanced types, known as kite balloons , which were aerodynamically shaped to be stable and could operate in more extreme weather conditions. The Germans first developed

264-407: A number of in-flight explosions, eventually traced to poor insulation between the aircraft's engines and fuel tanks in the rear fuselage - overheating of these tanks could cause fuel explosions. This was eventually partly solved by fitting a metal heat shield between the engines and the tanks. The aircraft's elevators proved ineffective at supersonic speeds, and an all-moving slab tail was tested by

308-555: A similar airframe to the first SM-9, including the conventional fixed horizontal tail, with the second and third SM-7s introducing similar changes to those tested on the SM-9 prototypes, including the slab tail. The all weather fighter entered production as the MiG-19P in 1955. Major differences from the MiG-19S included RP-1 Izumrud radar in the aircraft's nose, with small radomes in the centre and on

352-688: A single wing fence on each side. Unusually, a T-tail was fitted. Armament was two Nudelman N-37 37-mm cannon located in the leading edge of the aircraft's wings, near the wing roots - the guns had been moved compared to those in the MiG-15 and -17 to avoid ingestion of gun blast gases causing surging of the aircraft's engines. The first SM-2, the SM-2/1 was sent to the Letno-Issledovatel'skiy Institut (en:flight research institute) (LII) in April 1952 for testing, and

396-507: A test bed for the new engine, OKB-155 was authorised on 20 April 1951 to convert one of the prototype MiG-17s, replacing the single Klimov VK-1 engine with two 19.60 kN (4,410 lbf) AM-5s (later replaced by 21.08 kN (4,740 lbf) AM-5As), with the testbed, designated SM-1 (or I-340), flying late in 1951. While the SM-1 was a useful testbed, its performance was less than expected, and first resulted in an afterburner being designed for

440-550: Is a transliteration of the Russian initials of " опытно-конструкторское бюро " – opytno konstruktorskoye byuro , meaning 'experiment and design bureau'. During the Soviet era , OKBs were closed institutions working on design and prototyping of advanced technology , usually for military applications . The corresponding English language term for such a bureau's activity is R&D or " research and development ." For security, each bureau

484-517: Is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for gathering intelligence and spotting artillery . The use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars , reaching their zenith during World War I , and they continue in limited use today. Synonyms include espionage balloon , reconnaissance balloon , spy balloon , and surveillance balloon . Historically, observation balloons were filled with hydrogen . The balloons were fabric envelopes filled with hydrogen gas ,

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528-668: Is on display in a Vienna museum. They were also used by both sides during the American Civil War (1861–65) and continued in use during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). Balloons were first deployed by the British Army's Royal Engineers during the expeditions to Bechuanaland in 1884 and Suakin in 1885. They were also deployed during the Second Boer War (1899–1902), where they were used in artillery observation at

572-601: The Arctic Circle with four of the crew killed and two captured by the Soviets (they were released in 1961). In another incident, on 28 January 1964, a MiG-19 shot down a T-39 Sabreliner which had strayed into East German airspace while on a training mission; all three crewmembers were killed. The first use and loss of a U.S. fighter to a MiG-19 (J-6) was in 1965 when a USAF Lockheed F-104 Starfighter piloted by Captain Philip E. Smith

616-627: The Battle of Magersfontein and during the Siege of Ladysmith . In South America, a reconnaissance balloon was deployed by Brazil in July 1867 during the Paraguayan War . World War I was the high point for the military use of observation balloons, which were extensively deployed by both sides. Artillery had developed to the point where it could engage targets beyond a ground-based observer's visual range. Positioning artillery observers on balloons, generally

660-625: The North Yemen Civil War . The first reported air combat in the Middle East with the MiG-19 happened on 29 November 1966 when an Israeli Air Force (IAF) Dassault Mirage III shot down two Egyptian MiG-19s which were trying to intercept an Israeli reconnaissance Piper J-3 Cub in Israeli airspace. The first MiG was destroyed with a R.530 radar-guided missile fired from less than a mile away, marking

704-674: The Parseval -Siegsfeld type balloon, and the French soon responded with the Caquot type. Because of their importance as observation platforms, balloons were defended by anti-aircraft guns , groups of machine guns for low altitude defence and patrolling fighter aircraft . Attacking a balloon was risky, but some pilots relished the challenge. The most successful were known as balloon busters , including such notables as Belgium's Willy Coppens , Germany's Friedrich Ritter von Röth , America's Frank Luke , and

748-503: The War of Attrition ; in one engagement on 19 May 1969, a MiG-19 engaged two Israeli Mirages, shooting down one with cannon fire while the other escaped. Iraq obtained some MiG-19S fighters in the early 1960s , but later sold most of them (a couple remaining in local museums), though a few remaining airframes did see some action against the Kurds in the 1960s. The Syrian Air Force used MiG-19s in

792-964: The Yemen War . North Korea received an unknown number of MiG-19S from the Soviet Union following the signing of a mutual assistance treaty in 1961. Thirty of these aircraft may have been sold to Iraq in 1983. At least 100 F-6s were acquired from China in 1988–89. As of April 2002, the Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force was reportedly operating about 100 Shenyang J-6 and/or MiG 19s. Data from: : This only includes Soviet-built MiG-19s. For information on operators of Chinese-built aircraft refer to Shenyang J-6 . Data from MiG:Fifty Years of Secret Aircraft Design General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists OKB OKB ( Russian : ОКБ )

836-410: The flammable nature of which led to the destruction of hundreds of balloons. Observers manning these observation balloons frequently had to use a parachute to evacuate their balloon when it came under attack. Shortly after World War I , observation balloons were often filled with non-flammable helium to avoid the potentially explosive consequences of hydrogen. Typically, balloons were tethered to

880-636: The AM-5, resulting in the AM-5F (reaching 26.45 kN (5,950 lbf) with reheat). While the SM-1 was a test bed, the SM-2 (or I-360) was intended as the required supersonic escort fighter, with work authorised on 10 August 1951. The SM-2 was a twin-engined, mid-winged aircraft. Its thin wings, which had been designed at TsAGI, the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute , for supersonic flight were swept back at an angle of 55 degrees and had

924-469: The Frenchmen Léon Bourjade , Michel Coiffard and Maurice Boyau . Many expert balloon busters were careful not to go below 1,000 feet (300 m) to avoid exposure to anti-aircraft and machine guns. World War I observation crews were the first to use parachutes, long before they were adopted by fixed wing aircrews. These were a primitive type, where the main part was in a bag suspended from

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968-515: The MiG driver will be looking for a place to land!" This, combined with the aircraft's twin engines, which were difficult to maintain, made the MiG-19 unpopular with North Vietnamese pilots. The North Vietnamese government decided in early 1969 to strengthen its air defenses by creating a third jet fighter unit; the 925th Fighter Regiment. This unit would consist of late model MiG-17s and the newly acquired MiG-19s (nearly all of which were Shenyang J-6s from

1012-451: The MiG-19 at the end of Operation Rolling Thunder , which ended in 1968. Despite their limited numbers, MiG-19s were involved in extensive combat during Operations Linebacker and Linebacker 2 . The VPAF claimed seven victories over U.S. aircraft using the MiG-19, all of which were F-4 Phantom IIs. The MiG-19 was tested by U.S. pilots in the United States in 1969 after receiving an F-6 (J-6 export model) from Pakistan . In addition to finding

1056-561: The People's Republic of China (PRC)). The regiment was established at Yen Bai , and by April 1969, nine combat-rated MiG-19 pilots were posted for combat duty. While some of North Vietnam's MiG-17s and all of their MiG-21s were supplied by the Soviet Union, the MiG-19s (J-6 models) were supplied by the PRC, which seldom exceeded 54 MiG-19s in number. The MiG-19 lacked mounts for air-to-air missiles but it had

1100-691: The aircraft to have a good canopy allowing good visibility for the pilot, along with three hard-hitting 30mm cannons, U.S. pilots found the MiG-19 (J-6/F-6) to be an excellent fighter, "like the MiG-17, it could easily out-turn the Phantom...and could out-accelerate the F-4 out to Mach 1.2, but was slower than the MiG-21 .". However, the MiG-19's greatest fault was its extremely short range, as one U.S. test pilot remarked, "after going in full after-burner at low altitude for five minutes,

1144-630: The aircraft's ceiling from 17,500 m (57,400 ft) to 18,500 m (60,700 ft). The prototype MiG-19SV was further modified (as the MiG-19SVK) with increased wingspan, giving a ceiling of 19,100 m (62,700 ft), but this was still inadequate to deal with the U-2, and effort was switched to adding rocket boosters. Deliveries of the new fighter to the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) began in June 1955, with

1188-657: The aircraft's horizontal tail was lowered, with other changes including moving the aircraft's airbrakes and deepening the wing fences, with the modifications causing the aircraft to be redesignated SM-2A and then SM-2B. The AM-5F still generated inadequate thrust and so the Mikulin engine design bureau developed a new engine to replace it, the AM-9B (later re-designed the Tumansky RD-9 ), rated at 25.5 kN (5,700 lbf) dry and 31.87 kN (7,160 lbf) with reheat. When fitted with

1232-452: The aircraft, but could not make up the 3,000 m (9,800 ft) difference in altitude. When Francis Gary Powers 's U-2 was shot down in the 1960 incident , one pursuing MiG-19P was also hit by the salvo of S-75 Dvina ( NATO: SA-2 "Guideline") missiles, killing the pilot Sergei Safronov. In a highly controversial incident, on 1 July 1960, a MiG-19 shot down an RB-47H (S/N 53-4281) reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over

1276-547: The balloon, with the pilot only wearing a simple body harness around his waist, with lines from the harness attached to the main parachute in the bag. When the balloonist jumped, the main part of the parachute was pulled from the bag, with the shroud lines first, followed by the main canopy. This type of parachute was adopted by the Germans and later by the British and French for their observation balloon crews. Kite balloons began to be used at sea for anti-submarine purposes towards

1320-532: The development of the Lockheed U-2 with an even greater ceiling, development began on a specialist high-altitude version of the MiG-19, the MiG-19SV, which entered limited production. This had more powerful engines and was lightened, with seatback armour and one of the guns removed, while flap settings were adjusted to give greater lift at higher altitudes and a new pressure suit was introduced. These changes increased

1364-699: The end of World War I. The Red Army of the Soviet Union used observation balloons for artillery spotting. Eight aeronautical sections existed, and 19,985 observation flights were performed by balloonists of the Red Army during the Second World War, clocking up 20,126 flight hours. 110 Soviet observation balloons were lost. Observation balloons also played a role during the Cold War ; for example, Project Mogul used high-altitude observation balloons to monitor Soviet nuclear tests. However, heavier-than-air craft now perform

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1408-566: The facilities and resources to construct prototypes. Designs accepted by the state were then assigned to factories for mass production. After the collapse of the Soviet Union , many OKBs became Scientific Production Organizations ( Научно-производственное объединение ) (NPO). There were some attempts to merge them in the 1990s, and there were widespread amalgamations in 2001–2006 to create " national champion " corporations, such as Almaz-Antey to consolidate surface-to-air missile development. Espionage balloon An observation balloon

1452-566: The first aerial kill for the French-made missile. The second MiG-19 was dispatched with cannon fire. Around 80 MiG-19s were in service with Egypt during the Six-Day War in June 1967, but more than half of them were destroyed on the ground during the opening Israeli airstrikes of Operation Focus . Israeli pilots, however, did find the MiG-19 a potentially dangerous adversary because of its performance, maneuverability, and heavy armament. Following

1496-510: The new engines, the SM-2B became the SM-9, first flying in this form on 5 January 1954. The SM-9's performance impressed the Soviet authorities, and it was ordered into production as the MiG-19 on 17 February 1954, despite the fact that factory testing had only just started. The rush to get the MiG-19 into service resulted in initial production aircraft having a number of serious problems. The type suffered

1540-410: The one advantage over the early model F-4 Phantom II: it was armed with cannons. VPAF MiG-19s had three 30 mm cannons which "were notable for their large muzzle flash" when fired. The aircraft were loaded with 90 rounds per cannon, giving approximately six seconds of firing time. A single two second burst of 90 shells could impact a US aircraft with 81 lb (37 kg) of metal. This contrasted to

1584-438: The second and third SM-9 prototypes, and later included in the major production type, the MiG-19S, which also featured an improved armament. At the same time that the daylight escort fighter was developed from the SM-2 and SM-9 into the MiG-19 and MiG-19S, work went on in parallel to design and build a radar-equipped all-weather fighter, with the first prototype SM-7/1 flying for the first time on 28 August 1954. This prototype had

1628-481: The top lip of the air intake and an armament of two cannon in the aircraft's wing roots. From 1957, production of all weather fighters switched to the missile equipped MiG-19PM, with an armament of four K-5M air-to-air missiles, with the cannon removed. In 1955, following American introduction of high-altitude reconnaissance balloons and overflights by British Canberra aircraft, which could not be intercepted by existing aircraft, together with intelligence reports of

1672-478: The type being publicly unveiled on 3 July that year, when 48 MiG-19s took part in a flypast during an airshow at Tushino Airfield , Moscow . During their service with Soviet Anti-Air Defense and in East Germany , MiG-19s were involved in multiple interceptions of Western reconnaissance aircraft. The first documented encounter with a Lockheed U-2 took place in the autumn of 1957. The MiG-19 pilot reported seeing

1716-501: The vast majority of operations. Aerostats were used by US and coalition military forces in Iraq and in Afghanistan . From late January to early February 2023, a balloon originating from China was spotted in United States airspace. The Chinese government claimed it was a weather balloon, while the United States government claimed it was a spy balloon. On June 29, 2023, Patrick S. Ryder ,

1760-603: The war, the Egyptians reorganized their surviving MiG-19 fleet, and assigned them to the air defense of Egypt's interior. The Soviet Union did not supply Egypt with any additional MiG-19s as replacements for those destroyed in the Six-Day War, but Egypt might have received some from Syria and Iraq, so that by the end of 1968 there were more than 80 MiG-19s in service with the Egyptian Air Force . The aircraft also saw combat during

1804-533: Was attacked by a PLAAF aircraft over Hainan Island. His Starfighter took cannon fire which damaged a portion of his wing and missile mount. Smith gave chase and did receive missile tone on the MiG but, shortly after pressing his missile firing button, his Starfighter lost all power. He ejected and was captured. Smith was held prisoner until released on 15 March 1973, due to improving US-China relations following U.S. President Richard Nixon 's visit to China in 1972. The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) began receiving

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1848-443: Was flown for the first time on 24 May 1952, with test pilot G. A. Sedov at the aircraft's controls. With the un-reheated AM-5A engines, the SM-2 could not exceed the speed of sound in level flight, so reheated AM-5F engines were substituted. While the new engines improved performance, the aircraft was found to have handling problems, particularly at high angles of attack , where the aircraft was prone to spinning. To solve these problems

1892-419: Was killed. The following are Chinese and Vietnamese air-to-air kills, confirmed by US sources; all were achieved with 30 mm cannon shells. One of the first Egyptian MiG-19 units was the 15th Air Brigade, consisting of Nos 20 and 21 Squadrons, which became operational at Fayid with a forward location at Milayz in the early 1960s. In 1962, Egyptian MiG-19s saw some action in the ground-attack role during

1936-576: Was only officially identified by a number, but were often semi-officially referenced by the name of its lead designer. For example, OKB-51 was led by Pavel Sukhoi , and it eventually became known as the OKB of Sukhoi . Successful and famous bureaus often retained these names after the death or replacement of their founding designers. These relatively small state-run organisations were not intended for mass production of aircraft, rockets, or other vehicles or equipment which they designed. However, they usually had

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