This MiG-17F is flown in airshows all across the USA by Will Ward.
(Photo source unknown. Please contact us if you deserve credit.)

History: The Soviet MiG-17 fighter was designed to be more stable than its predecessor, the MiG-15. When it first appeared, Western analysts gave it the Allied codename "Fresco-A" and thought it to be nothing more than a lengthened MiG-15. It was, in fact, a new design that improved on the problems found in earlier designs.

The MiG-15 was unstable at high speed and too tight a turn could cause an uncontrolled snap roll and spin. To overcome this problem, the fuselage was lengthened, small 'fences' were installed on the upper surfaces of the wing to control airflow, and the wings swept back 45 degrees. The extra room in the fuselage enabled the internal layout and systems to be revised, and a more angular tail was added. These changes gave the aircraft great stability, essential for an effective weapons platform. The resulting prototype, the I-330, flew in the early 1950s and the MiG-17 entered frontline service in February, 1953. The Fresco-A maintained the original VK-1 turbojet of the MiG-15. A VK-1F engine with afterburner was then fitted to the new Fresco-C, or MiG-17F. A fixed-scan radar was added to the MiG-17PF, or Fresco-D. The MiG-17PFU, Fresco-E, became the Soviet Union's first interceptor with its cannon deleted and four air-to-air missiles added.

Czechoslovakia also produced the MiG-17 as the S-104. Poland produced a Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) aircraft from the MiG-17, the LIM-5M, a close-support LIM-6 and the LIM-5P, a standard MiG-17F. China also produced the MiG-17F and MiG-17FP, using the designations J-5 and J-5A.

Considered obsolete in the 1960s, North Vietnamese pilots flew MiG-17s against American aircraft during the Vietnam War. Slightly more rare than the MiG-15, only about a dozen MiG-17s currently fly in the United States, and at least one is being rebuilt in Australia. 

Nicknames: Fresco (NATO Codename); Silver Swallow (North Vietnamese AF designation)

Specifications (MiG-17F):
        Engine: One 7,452-pound thrust Klimov VK-1F turbojet
        Weight: Empty 8,664 lbs., Max Takeoff 13,393 lbs.
        Wing Span: 31ft. 7.25in.
        Length: 36ft. 11.25in.
        Height: 12ft. 5.5in.
        Performance:
            Maximum Speed at 10,000 ft: 711 mph
            Ceiling: 54,460 ft.
            Range: 1,230 miles
        Armament:
            One 37-mm N-37 cannon
            Two or three 23-mm NR-23 cannon
            Up to 1,100 pounds of mixed stores on underwing hard-points

Number Built: 9,000+ (6,000+ in the USSR alone)

Number Still Airworthy: Approximately 12

MiG-17 Cockpit Photo:

(Click for larger photo)

Links:
All Red Star -- Information for operators of Eastern-bloc aircraft.
FlyMiG.com -- MiG flight adventures in Moscow.
MiG Fury Fighters (Airshow Team)
Red Eagle Evaluation and Airshows (Will Ward)
Red Storm Airshows, LLC (Jack Wilhite)
Tom Klassen Airshows (Mig-17F)
 

 

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