Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 PFU: One Fancy Fresco…
[🇷🇺]
(Polls are at the bottom)
Overview
Back with another one! Following the theme of early-era missile carriers, we have the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 PFU, a modified MiG-17 with a afterburning engine, radar, and missiles!
Basic Information
Designation:
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MiG-17 PFU (Military)
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SP-6 (Manufacturer)
Name:
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“MiG-17 PFU" (Official)
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“Fresco E” (NATO Code)
Role:
Crew:
Manufacturer:
- Mikoyan-Gurevich Aerospace Company
Total built:
First Flight:
Specifications
Dimensions:
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Length: 11.36 m (37.27 ft)
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Wingspan: 9.63 m (31.59 ft)
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Wing Area: 22.6 m² (243.26 ft²)
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Height: 3.8 m (12.46 ft)
Flying Performance:
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Engine(s):
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Max Speed:
- 1,141 km/h (709 mph, 616 kts) at sea level
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Service Ceiling:
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Rate of Climb:
- 31.6 m/s (103.67 ft/s) at sea level
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Max Range:
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1,295 km (804.67 mi, 699 nmi) Standard
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1,850 km (1,149.5 mi, 999 nmi) With External Fuel
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Aircraft Weight:
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3,798 kg (8,373 lbs) Empty
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5,930 kg (13,073 lbs) Max
Armament:
Additional Equipment:
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Radar:
- RP-1U “Izumrud” search & tracking radar
Usage In Battles
The MiG-17 PFU would be a fantastic start to AAM carriers in the soviet tech tree, as users would be familiar to the MiG-17, and its respective capabilities. While it would lack most of the powerful cannons the MiG-17 is known for, it more than would make up for it with its 4 missiles.
Pros:
Cons:
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Significantly smaller dogfighting capability
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K-5 missiles are Beam-Riding, meaning they require a continous lock to be guided properly
History
The MiG-17 PFU was the product of the SP-15 program, a military venture to extend the service life and modernize the aging MiG-17 airframes of the Soviet Union and her Pact members. The PFUs were modified from MiG-17 PF airframes, and came in a variety of modifications, varying from the SP-9 variant which equipped four ARO-57-6 “Vichr” automatic-firing rocket launchers instead of its cannon armament, to the SP-16 which had a improved radar and RS-2U missiles.
The MiG-17 PFU (SP-6) was the first of these variants, being a Modified MiG-17 PF model with a reduced cannon armament to just one 23mm autocannon, but now was able to carry four of the Kaliningrad K-5, or RS-1U guided AAMs.
The first flight of the MiG-17 PFU took place in 1952, and with satisfactory results, was approved for production, however the order was canceled, having only 40 produced. The MiG-17 PFU saw no action and was soon retired shortly after her introduction, being replaced by more capable aircraft.
Additional Photos
Technical Drawings & Data
Sources
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 - Wikipedia
80337 1/48 MiG-17 PFU Fresco E
https://www.jetsofthecoldwar.co.uk/mikoyan-gurevich-mig-17-fresco/
[2.0] Mikoyan MiG-17
Wings of the Motherland - Nikolay Yakubovich
[Would you like to see this in-game?]
4 Likes
I’d really like to see more of the early AAM carriers in game.
5 Likes
+1, more beam riding air to air missiles
3 Likes
Swift F7 equivalent missiles on Mig-17? Yes please.
2 Likes
The US has an equivalent of this on the Sabre don’t they? More early missiles and their carriers would be nice
1 Like
Definitely yes. I want to see more tier VI stuff for USSR.
1 Like
It can carry the missiles and the gun simultaneously? I’m asking because I know the MiG-19PM with the same missile armament has no guns. Interesting that the older, smaller MiG-17 airframe could mount both at once.
At any rate, I’d love to see more beam-riding AAMs no matter how much they suck.
Would love to see this in game, but as stated before some of the information here is not correct. Unfortunately the sources I have (1. MiG-17 Aerofax/Gordon, 2. There is only the MiG/Yakubovich, 3. MiG Aircraft/Belyakov, 4. MiG: Flight Through Time) all have some sort of conflicting evidence on the aircraft.
From what I understand, while SP-6 and SP-7 (MiG-17PF) both had 3 x 23mm guns due to the need for space (replacement of 37mm), the entire cannon armament was absent on the SP-15 (MiG-17PFU) from what I believe to be an attempt to alleviate the poor intercept performance of the missile fighters. (Source 4)
Source 1 states that the MiG-17PF (SP-6) originally was originally armed with 3 x 23mm but this was reduced to 1 on the starboard side in later production models. Once again, however, this one states that the MiG-17PFU (SP-15) had a complete lack of cannon armament.
Source 3 seems to be the one that started the whole idea of the SP-15 having a cannon armament due to what I believe is either poor wording or just straight misinformation. It states that the MiG-17PFU is the SP-6 rather than the SP-15 and also states that it retained a single 23mm gun. We know this to be wrong because all photos of the MiG-17PFU show the underside of the nose to be clean.
Source 2 states that the MiG-17PF (SP-7) was armed with either 2 or 3 x 23mm guns. It also (not directly) states that the SP-6 had a single 23mm gun that was later removed before production changed to the MiG-17PFU.
Some images to make up for the text
MiG-17PF a MiG-17PFU are different types. The MiG-17PF does not have K-5 missiles in its arsenal, so there is no point talking about them. MiG-17PFU are in two variants. First variant SP-6 (prototype version which was build in 5 pieces) with K-5 missiles, one NR-23 and with older VK-1 and then SP-15 with only K-5 without cannon armament and with better VK-1F.
MiG-17PF
https://ruslet.webnode.cz/technika/ruska-technika/letecka-technika/a-i-mikojan-a-m-i-gurjevic/mig-17pf-fresco-d-/
MiG-17PFU
https://ruslet.webnode.cz/technika/ruska-technika/letecka-technika/a-i-mikojan-a-m-i-gurjevic/mig-17pfu/
1 Like
I only bring up the MiG-17PF (original SP-6) because of the erroneously stated cannon armament. It’s clear the MiG-17PFU was armed with missiles due to the U in the designation. I want to note that even though the 5 prototypes did have the single cannon, the modified SP-6 aircraft didn’t enter production but SP-15 did as the MiG-17PFU.
Аll MiG-17 from version P to version PF had 3x 23mm cannon (100 rounds per cannon) not due to space reasons but weight reasons (according to Ruslet). 5 prototypes of MiG-17PFU SP-6 was build from MiG-17P which was armed with 3x 23mm. Two 23mm cannons was removed and was installed 4x K-5 missiles (together with new radar RP-1U Izumrud-2 instead of RP-1 Izumrud-1).
