TS-11 Iskra bis C- the short-lived photo-Spark

WalletWorrier · November 28, 2024, 7:52pm

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Overview
The TS-11 Iskra (spark) bis is a Polish jet trainer/ light multirole aircraft. Poland’s first indigenous jet aircraft, it was developed from 1957, first flew in 1960, and entered service in 1964. The C model was the third production variant, intended for the photorecon role. It replaced the instructor’s rear cockpit with a station with reconnaissance equipment. Only 5 aircraft were built as several superior reconnaissance aircraft models were already in service.

History

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Development
Poland’s first jets were a trio of Yak-17s and 11 Yak-17UTI trainers purchased in 1950. As the Siły Powietrzne (Air Force, from here on abbreviated SP) acquired more jet aircraft (Yak-23s in 1951, production of MiG-15s in 1952) the need for a new basic jet trainer arose. In 1956, project requirements for the new TS-11 (named for lead designer Tadeusz Sołtyk) were laid out- the aircraft was to be of all-metal construction with a low, straight, thin wing, a top speed of Mach 0.8 and a conventional tandem cockpit layout with the student in the front and the instructor behind. The TS-11 was to be armed with a 23mm cannon for gunnery training or to allow the aircraft to operate as a fighter should global war break out.
A full-scale wooden mockup was built in late 1957. This was followed by a static test airframe in March 1959 and three proper flying prototypes from December 1959, all mounting the British Viper 8, acquired from Yugoslavia. The TS-11 made it first flight on 5th February 1960, being publicly debuted on 11th September 1960 in Łódź. The three prototypes underwent extensive testing late 1960 through 1961, proving easy to fly, agile, stable, reliable, and simple to maintain- in short, exactly what you’d want in a training aircraft.

Competition
So in August 1961 when the TS-11 was put up against the Soviet Yak-30 in a competition to become the standard jet trainer for Soviet allies, it dominated, outperforming the Yak in essentially every metric. This would be a massive deal for the Polish aviation industry.
However, there was a third contestant in the competition- the Czech L-29 Delfín. The L-29 was very similar to the TS-11 and nearly matched it in performance, all at a lower cost than the Polish aircraft. Because of this, the L-29 was selected as the standard primary jet trainer, and it and the subsequent L-39 were used by all close Soviet allies- except Poland, who continued forward with the TS-11.

Iskra A Into Service
Production of the TS-11 Iskra bis A began in 1964. Production aircraft were fitted with the HO-10, a copy of the Viper 8 with slight improvements that boosted its continuous power to 7.84kN. The first batch of 10 aircraft were handed over for trials in 1964. This was followed by two batches of 22 each in 1964 and 1965 respectively. Finally, in 1967, the last batch of 15 Iskra bis As (powered by the improved SO-1 as mentioned in the intro) entered production.
These aircraft had relatively uneventful service lives in SP service. The Iskra A was the least reliable of the family due to the HO-10, but still had a low accident rate.
The Iskra bis A achieved a series of four closed-circuit speed records for an aircraft in the 3000kg class.

Upping the Standard- the Iskra B
During this period the idea of a trainer/light attack aircraft was becoming very popular. Such an aircraft would provide increased strength in the event of war while being cheaper than separate trainer and light strike aircraft. Additionally, combat-capable trainers made training more realistic, allowing live-fire of actual weapons in service instead of simply simulators.
To this end the TS-11 Iskra bis B was developed with four underwing hardpoints for carrying ordinance, for training or combat. This aircraft had the SO-1 engine initially, later replaced by the more reliable but equally powerful SO-3. The Iskra bis B entered service in 1968, gradually replacing the Iskra As.

The Short-lived Iskra C
Following the success of the Iskra B, in 1971 development began on a new model based on the B. This was the Iskra ART 200, standardized as the Iskra bis C. The first non-trainer model of the TS-11, it was designed for photoreconnaissance and artillery spotting and had the rear controls removed and replaced with a recon suite. Five Iskra Bs were modified on the assembly lines in 1972 to the Iskra C standard. These aircraft served until 1983, when they were refitted into standard Iskra D trainers. The Iskra Cs simply proved too vulnerable compared to the MiG-21Rs already in service.

Almost Immortal Spark
The TS-11 had an extremely long service life, the longest for any armed single-engine jet in service of the country of origin. Simply, nothing could replace it. The first attempt to build a successor came with the TS-16 Grot of 1963, a supersonic aircraft (only the second supersonic trainer aircraft design in the world, preceded only by the T-38). This aircraft never saw production due to ballooning costs. The next attempt to replace the TS-11 came in 1976 with the I-22 Iryda. The Iryda was a subsonic twin-engine aircraft comparable to the Alpha Jet. This aircraft was actually produced and even entered service, and proved reliable, agile, and easy to fly just like the Iskra, while having substantially improved performance. However, the end of the Cold War and subsequent budget cuts killed the I-22 program in 1999 after only 28 built and 5 years of service. The I-22 would be the last indigenous Polish combat aircraft design. The next attempt to replace the TS-11 came in 2010, with the SP looking to purchase and license-produce the L-159 Albatros 2. This purchase was not pursued. The TS-11 would only begin being replaced in 2017, with the controversial purchase of the M-346 Bielik. While originally offered the M-346LCA, a modified version the the M-346FT, Poland instead opted for an unarmed version of the aircraft. This meant that many pilots were being deployed to their operational units without any actual weapons training, a significant issue only resolved in 2023 with the purchase of the FA-50GF. The final TS-11s were retired in 2021, 64 years after their first introduction.

Further Developments
The Iskra B was followed by the Iskra bis D with a more powerful SO-3B engine. The bis D was developed into the bis DF with further refined SO-3W engine and reconnaissance capabilities. The D and DF were the only Iskra models to see export with 76 purchased by the Indian Air Force.
Finally, in 1991, small numbers of DFs were rebuilt to the navalized Iskra bis R standard.
One interesting prototype model of the Iskra was the BR 200, a single-seat dedicated attack aircraft that wasn’t accepted into service due to the availability of superior aircraft such as the Lim-6 and Su-7.
The Iskra B was also modified to create the Iskra bis MR, an unarmed model with ICAO-compliant avionics for use by the Red-White Sparks aerobatic team.

Specifications

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Airframe
Length: 11.25m
Span: 10.60m
Height: 3.50m
Empty Mass: 2,560kg
Loaded mass: 3,734kg
Wing Area: 17.50m^2
Crew: 2

Propulsion
1x SO-3 turbojet
Max thrust: 9.8kN
Internal Fuel: 1,200L across 4 self-sealing tanks

Flight Performance
Max Speed: 750km/h (Mach 0.61)
Climb Rate: 14m/s

Armament
1x NS-23 23mm cannon
23x115mm
115 rounds
600 RPM
720m/s

or, interchangeably (can be swapped out in <30 minutes)

1x NR-23
23x115mm
150 rounds
900 RPM
720m/s

I’d have the NS-23 stock and NR-23 as a Rank I/II modification

Underwing hardpoints x4:
1x OFAB-100 100kg bomb
1x Mars-2 launcher (4x S-5)
1x Mars-4 launcher (8x S-5)
1x Zeus-1 gun pod
Pretty much every source mentions the Zeus-1 gunpod. However, the only information on the pod is that it has a calibre of 7.62mm.

Systems
RW-UM radar altimeter
Engine fire suppression system
KAP-3 ejection seats

The TS-11 Iskra bis C in-game

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The TS-11 C is essentially identical to the B, except with one pilot instead of two. Because it is identical in performance, it doesn’t really make sense to be tech tree- especially with only five produced and with five other models already in the tree. However, the Iskra R makes for a much more interesting premium in my opinion, and having two premium aircraft so similar would be very unusual and would devalue one or the other- either the R is just better for a similar price or the C is simply cheaper for nearly the same performance. So, I believe the Iskra C is best suited as an event vehicle.

Pros:

Agile
Decently fast
Moderately powerful engine
Decent rocket load for CAS

Cons:

Poor climb rate
Limited armament- NR-23 is an effective cannon but only a single cannon is rather poor
Insufficient suspended armament for base bombing
No second pilot

Placement in a hypothetical Polish air tree

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Gallery

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Because TS-11 Cs were so rare there are no good images of them (except for the preserved example below) so the following images are simply for reference

The Iskra bis B standard introduced four underwing hardpoints for suspended armament- rocket pods, small bombs, cluster bombs, and gun pods. This feature would be present on all following models

The Iskra carried two indigenous rocket pods- the Mars-2 and Mars-4 with 4 or 8 S-5K/Ms. These rockets would make the TS-11 rather formidable as a CAS aircraft

^on BR 200, just to show the Mars-2 and Mars-4 side-by-side

The elusive Zues-1 alongside other Polish suspended weapons, this photo is apparently from a Polish military magazine that unfortunately isn’t available anywhere I can find