.: Castle Air Museum -- 5050 Santa Fe Drive, Atwater, California :.

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (NATO reporting name: Fresco) (China: Shenyang J-5; Poland: PZL-Mielec Lim-6) is a high-subsonic performance jet fighter aircraft produced in the USSR from 1952 and operated by numerous air forces in many variants. It is an advanced development of the very similar appearing MiG-15 of the Korean War, and was used as an effective threat against supersonic fighters of the United States in the Vietnam War. It was also briefly known as the "Type 38", by USAF designation prior to the development of NATO codes.

The MiG-17 design was generally based on a previously successful Mikoyan and Gurevich fighter, the MiG-15. The major novelty was its introduction of a swept wing with a "compound sweep" configuration: a 45° angle near the fuselage, and a 42° angle for the outboard part of the wings. Other easily visible differences to its predecessor were the three wing-fences on each wing, instead of the MiG-15's two, and the addition of a ventral fin. The MiG-17 shared the same Klimov VK-1 engine and the rest of its construction was similar. The first prototype, designated "SI" by the construction bureau, was flown on the 14 January 1950, piloted by Ivan Ivashchenko.

Serial production started in August 1951. During production, the aircraft was improved and modified several times. The basic MiG-17 was a general-purpose day fighter, armed with three cannons. It could also act as a fighter-bomber, but its bombload was considered light relative to other aircraft of the time, and it usually carried additional fuel tanks instead of bombs.

Day-fighter variants (MiG-17, MiG-17F) were armed with two 23 mm NR-23 cannons (80 rpg) and one 37 mm N-37 cannon (40 rounds), which were mounted on a common bed under the central air intake. The gun bed could be easily wound down for maintenance. On radar-equipped variants (MiG-17P, MiG-17PF), the 37 mm N-37 was replaced with a third 23 mm NR-23 (carrying 100 rpg) to compensate for the weight aft of the radar. All variants could carry 100 kg (220 lb) bombs on two underwing pylons and some could carry 250 kg (551 lb) bombs; however, these pylons were usually used for 400 l (106 US gal) fuel tanks. The MiG-17R was armed with two 23 mm cannons. Most MiG-17s in third world service today fly as ground attack or trainer aircraft.

Vietnam War MiGs were designed to intercept straight and level flying enemy bombers, not for air to air combat (Dog-fighting) with other fighters. This subsonic (.93 Mach) fighter was effective against slower (.6-.8 Mach), heavily loaded US fighter-bombers, as well as the mainstay American strategic bombers during the MiG-17's development cycle (such as the B-50 or B-36, which were both still powered by piston engines). Even if the target had sufficient warning and time to shed weight and drag by dropping external ordnance and accelerate to supersonic escape speeds, doing so would have inherently forced the enemy aircraft to abort its bombing mission. By the time the USAF introduced strategic bombers capable of cruising at supersonic speeds such as the B-58 Hustler and FB-111, however, the MiG-17 became obsolete in PVO service and was supplanted by supersonic interceptors such as the MiG-21 and MiG-23.

MiG-17s were not available for the Korean War, but saw combat for the first time over the Straits of Taiwan when PRC (Communist China) MiG-17s clashed with ROC (Nationalist China) F-86 Sabres in 1958.

The MiG-17 was not originally designed to function as a fighter-bomber, but in 1971 Hanoi directed that US Navy warships were to be attacked by elements of the North Vietnamese Air Force. This would require the MiG-17 to be fitted with bomb mountings and release mechanisms. Chief Engineer of the NVAF ground crews, Truong Khanh Chau, was tasked with the mission of modifying two MiG-17s for the ground attack role; after three months of work, the two jets were ready. On 19 April 1972, two pilots from the 923rd FR took their bomb laden MiG-17s and attacked the US Navy destroyer USS Higbee (DD-806) and light cruiser USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5). Each MiG was armed with two 250kg (550lb) bombs.

Twenty countries flew MiG-17s. The MiG-17 became a standard fighter in all Warsaw Pact countries in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They were also bought by many other countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, that were neutrally aligned or allied with the USSR. The MiG-17 still flies today in the air forces of Angola, Mali, Mozambique, North Korea, Sudan and Tanzania.

Specifications Country of Origin:	Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (Russia)
Manufacturer:	Mikoyan-Gurevich
Role/Function:	Sub-Sonic Fighter
Serial Number:	n/a
Model Number/Mk #:	I-330
Crew:	1
Power Plant:	1 - Klimov VK-1F turbojet with afterburner
Maximum Speed:	711 mph. (at 10,000 ft.)
Cruising Speed:	n/a
Service Ceiling:	54,500 ft.
Range:	670 mi. (1,035 mi. with drop tanks)
Weights:	Empty: 8,646 lbs. Loaded: 11,803 lbs. Maximum: 13,858 lbs.
Wing Span:	31 ft. 7 in.
Length:	37 ft. 3 in.
Height:	12 ft. 6 in.
Wing Area:	243.2 ft²
Armament:	1 - 37 mm Nudelman N-37 cannon (40 rounds total); 2 - 23 mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 cannons (80 rounds per gun, 160 rounds total); Up to 500 kg (1,100 lb) of external stores on two pylons, including 100 kg (220 lb) and 250 kg (550 lb) bombs or fuel tanks. Some versions of MiG-17F equipped with 3 - NR-23 cannons
Cost:	n/a
Number Built:	10,367 (100 MiG-17'F's acquired by the Afghan Air Force)
# in Current Service:	Retired, but many in private ownership and still flying