Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1
Encyclopedia
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 (Микоян-Гуревич МиГ-1) was a Soviet
fighter aircraft
of World War II
that was designed to meet a requirement for a high-altitude fighter issued in 1939. To minimize demand on strategic materials such as aluminum, the aircraft was mostly constructed from steel tubing and wood. Flight testing revealed a number of deficiencies, but it was ordered into production before they could be fixed. Although difficult to handle, one hundred were built before the design was modified into the MiG-3
. The aircraft was issued to fighter regiments of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) in 1941, but most were apparently destroyed during the opening days of Operation Barbarossa
, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
construction bureau. Work started in June 1939
, under the direction of Nikolai Polikarpov and his assistant M. Tetivikin. Polikarpov himself preferred radial engines and promoted his I-180
design at that time, but when the powerful Mikulin AM-37 inline engine became available, he decided to use it in a fighter. The approach that he selected was to build the smallest possible aircraft around the intended powerplant, thereby minimising weight and drag — the philosophy of the light fighter
. As specified, the aircraft was to be capable of reaching 670 km/h (417 mph). In August 1939, Polikarpov fell out of favour with Joseph Stalin
and as a result, when Polikarpov went in November 1939 to tour Germany's aviation works, the Soviet authorities decided to scatter his construction team and create a new Experimental Construction Section (OKO), headed by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich
, which remained formally subordinated to Polikarpov bureau until June 1940. Further work upon the I-200 design was assigned to Mikoyan and Gurevich, who later became recognized — not with full justice — as its designers.
The MiG-1 was a low-wing monoplane with a tail-dragging
undercarriage of mixed construction. Due to shortages of light alloys the rear fuselage was made from wood, but the front fuselage, from the propeller to the rear of the cockpit was a welded steel tube truss
covered by duralumin
. The bulk of the wing was wooden, but the center section was all-metal with a steel I-section main spar
. The wing used a Clark YH profile. It was evenly tapered with rounded tips and the outer wing panels had 5° of dihedral. All three landing gear wheels retracted hydraulically; the main units inwards into the wing center section. The cockpit was situated well aft, which seriously limited forward vision when landing and taxiing
. The AM-37 engine was not yet available and the less powerful V-12 Mikulin AM-35A had to be substituted. It had six exhaust ejectors, one for each pair of cylinders, that provided some additional thrust. It drove a VISh-22Ye controllable pitch propeller
3 metres (9.8 ft) in diameter. The air intakes for the supercharger were in the wing roots and the oil cooler was on the port side of the engine cowling. The radiator was underneath the cockpit. Armament included two fuselage-mounted 7.62 mm (0.3 in) ShKAS machine gun
s and one 12.7 mm (0.5 in) UBS machine gun
.
The result was a highly conventional aircraft that first flew on schedule on 5 April 1940 at the Khodynka Aerodrome in Moscow
with chief test pilot Arkadij Ekatov at the controls. On 24 May the first prototype attained a speed of 648.5 km/h (402.9 mph) at 6,900 m (22,638 ft). It could not, however, attain the speed originally specified by the Air Force with this engine. The second prototype took to the air on 9 May, but the third aircraft, the first to be armed, was forced to wait until 6 June, as problems with its interrupter gear
prolonged the ground firing tests. On 5 August 651 km/h (404.5 mph) was reached at 7000 m (22,965.9 ft) using maximum boost. Time to altitude figures were 5.1 minutes to 5000 m (16,404.2 ft) and 7.2 minutes to 7000 m (22,965.9 ft) and speeds at lower altitudes were 579 km/h (359.8 mph) at 2200 m (7,217.8 ft) and 605 km/h (375.9 mph) at 3630 m (11,909.4 ft).
A number of improvements were ordered to be made to the aircraft as a result of the deficiencies discovered during the trials, but only a few of them were able to be implemented before production began as the VVS was very anxious to get modern fighters into service. These included an additional air intake on the starboard side of the nose for the oil cooler, rubber sheaths around the fuel tanks to make them self-sealing
, two underwing bomb racks each capable of carrying a 100 kilograms (220.5 lb) FAB-100 bomb, a PBP-1 gunsight and each ShKAS was given 375 rounds and the UBS 300 rounds. From the ninth aircraft onwards the side-opening canopy was replaced by a rear-sliding canopy that could be jettisoned in flight. On 9 December 1940 the first 100 I-200s were designated as the MiG-1 (after the initials of Mikoyan and Gurevich).
The improvement process continued throughout the production run, but they weren't immediately implemented on the production line, but were instead incorporated in a fourth prototype for evaluation. This aircraft first flew on 29 October 1940 and was a significant improvement over the I-200s then in production. It passed its State acceptance trials and its improvements were incorporated on the production line from the 101st I-200. These were designated as the MiG-3 on 9 December, although the first production MiG-3 was not completed until 20 December 1940.
s among other weapons. For another trial it was equipped with the experimental 23 mm (0.905511811023622 in) MP-3 autocannon carried underneath the wings in external pods and redesignated as the IP-201. The 12.7 mm UBS gun was removed for the these tests and the space freed up was used to install an extra fuel tank. Initially the cannon had the low rate of fire of only 300 rounds per minute, but this was soon doubled and the gun was renamed as the MP-6. Installation of the guns was difficult, despite the aircraft's metal outer wing panels, and the wings deformed when the cannon were first mounted. It made its first, and only, flight on 1 December 1940 carrying two MP-6s and two 12.7 mm AP-12.7 machine guns, but a blocked fuel line caused a forced landing before the guns could be fired. But testing on a variety of other aircraft revealed very unsatisfactory performance by the guns and their development was canceled. The designers were arrested on 15 May 1941 and executed on 28 October 1941.
n town of Kacha
, was to conduct the operational trials for the I-200 and that they were to be transferred to the 146th Fighter Regiment at Yevpatoria, also in the Crimea, for pilot training after the conclusion of the trials. By 22 February 1941 89 had been issued to regular fighter units, notably the 89th Fighter Regiment at Kaunas
, Lithuania
and the 41st Fighter Regiment at Białystok, Poland
, both places under Soviet occupation since 1939–40. On 1 June 1941 they were spread out a bit more, with 31 in the Baltic Military District
, 37 in the Western Special Military District
, one in the Kiev Military District
and eight in the Odessa Military District
for a total of 77 on hand, of which only 55 were operational. An additional eight MiG-1s were assigned to the Soviet Navy
. However, only four pilots were trained to handle either the MiG-1 or the MiG-3.
Little is known of the performance of the MiG-1 in combat as most were likely destroyed during the opening days of Operation Barbarossa. However, one was still in the inventory of the VVS as late as 1944 when it was recorded as withdrawn that year.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
that was designed to meet a requirement for a high-altitude fighter issued in 1939. To minimize demand on strategic materials such as aluminum, the aircraft was mostly constructed from steel tubing and wood. Flight testing revealed a number of deficiencies, but it was ordered into production before they could be fixed. Although difficult to handle, one hundred were built before the design was modified into the MiG-3
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 was a Soviet fighter aircraft used during World War II. It was a development of the MiG-1 by the OKO of Zavod No. 1 to remedy problems that had been found during the MiG-1's development and operations. It replaced the MiG-1 on the production line at Factory No...
. The aircraft was issued to fighter regiments of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) in 1941, but most were apparently destroyed during the opening days of Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
Design phase
The MiG-1 was designed in response to a requirement for a high-altitude fighter with an inline engine issued by the VVS in January 1939. Initially the aircraft, designated I-200, was designed in the PolikarpovPolikarpov
Polikarpov Design Bureau was a Soviet OKB for aircraft, led by Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov. After his death on 30 July 1944 at the age of 52, his OKB was absorbed into Lavochkin, but with some of its engineers going to Mikoyan-Gurevich and its production facilities going to Sukhoi...
construction bureau. Work started in June 1939
1939 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1939:-Events:* Kawasaki Heavy Industries transfers its aircraft engine production business to its subsidiary, the Kawasaki Aircraft Engineering Company Ltd....
, under the direction of Nikolai Polikarpov and his assistant M. Tetivikin. Polikarpov himself preferred radial engines and promoted his I-180
Polikarpov I-180
The Polikarpov I-180 was a 1938 Soviet fighter aircraft prototype. It was the last attempt to extract performance from the basic Polikarpov I-16 design...
design at that time, but when the powerful Mikulin AM-37 inline engine became available, he decided to use it in a fighter. The approach that he selected was to build the smallest possible aircraft around the intended powerplant, thereby minimising weight and drag — the philosophy of the light fighter
Light fighter
A light fighter or lightweight fighter is a type of fighter aircraft with a diminutive airframe, deliberately designed to fill a performance niche based on a high power-to-weight ratio...
. As specified, the aircraft was to be capable of reaching 670 km/h (417 mph). In August 1939, Polikarpov fell out of favour with Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and as a result, when Polikarpov went in November 1939 to tour Germany's aviation works, the Soviet authorities decided to scatter his construction team and create a new Experimental Construction Section (OKO), headed by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich
Mikhail Gurevich
Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich was a Soviet aircraft designer, a partner of the famous MiG military aviation bureau. He was of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage....
, which remained formally subordinated to Polikarpov bureau until June 1940. Further work upon the I-200 design was assigned to Mikoyan and Gurevich, who later became recognized — not with full justice — as its designers.
The MiG-1 was a low-wing monoplane with a tail-dragging
Conventional landing gear
thumb|The [[Piper PA-18|Piper Super Cub]] is a popular taildragger aircraft.thumb|right|A [[Cessna 150]] converted to taildragger configuration by installation of an after-market modification kit....
undercarriage of mixed construction. Due to shortages of light alloys the rear fuselage was made from wood, but the front fuselage, from the propeller to the rear of the cockpit was a welded steel tube truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
covered by duralumin
Duralumin
Duralumin is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The main alloying constituents are copper, manganese, and magnesium. A commonly used modern equivalent of this alloy type is AA2024, which contains 4.4% copper, 1.5% magnesium, 0.6% manganese and 93.5%...
. The bulk of the wing was wooden, but the center section was all-metal with a steel I-section main spar
Spar (aviation)
In a fixed-wing aircraft, the spar is often the main structural member of the wing, running spanwise at right angles to the fuselage. The spar carries flight loads and the weight of the wings whilst on the ground...
. The wing used a Clark YH profile. It was evenly tapered with rounded tips and the outer wing panels had 5° of dihedral. All three landing gear wheels retracted hydraulically; the main units inwards into the wing center section. The cockpit was situated well aft, which seriously limited forward vision when landing and taxiing
Taxiing
Taxiing refers to the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or push-back where the aircraft is moved by a tug...
. The AM-37 engine was not yet available and the less powerful V-12 Mikulin AM-35A had to be substituted. It had six exhaust ejectors, one for each pair of cylinders, that provided some additional thrust. It drove a VISh-22Ye controllable pitch propeller
Controllable pitch propeller
A controllable pitch propeller or variable pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change their pitch...
3 metres (9.8 ft) in diameter. The air intakes for the supercharger were in the wing roots and the oil cooler was on the port side of the engine cowling. The radiator was underneath the cockpit. Armament included two fuselage-mounted 7.62 mm (0.3 in) ShKAS machine gun
ShKAS machine gun
The ShKAS is a 7.62 mm machine gun widely used by Soviet aircraft in the 1930s and during World War II...
s and one 12.7 mm (0.5 in) UBS machine gun
Berezin UB
Berezin UB was a 12.7 mm caliber Soviet aircraft machine gun widely used during World War II.-Development:...
.
The result was a highly conventional aircraft that first flew on schedule on 5 April 1940 at the Khodynka Aerodrome in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
with chief test pilot Arkadij Ekatov at the controls. On 24 May the first prototype attained a speed of 648.5 km/h (402.9 mph) at 6,900 m (22,638 ft). It could not, however, attain the speed originally specified by the Air Force with this engine. The second prototype took to the air on 9 May, but the third aircraft, the first to be armed, was forced to wait until 6 June, as problems with its interrupter gear
Interrupter gear
An interrupter gear is a device used on military aircraft and warships in order to allow them to target opponents without damaging themselves....
prolonged the ground firing tests. On 5 August 651 km/h (404.5 mph) was reached at 7000 m (22,965.9 ft) using maximum boost. Time to altitude figures were 5.1 minutes to 5000 m (16,404.2 ft) and 7.2 minutes to 7000 m (22,965.9 ft) and speeds at lower altitudes were 579 km/h (359.8 mph) at 2200 m (7,217.8 ft) and 605 km/h (375.9 mph) at 3630 m (11,909.4 ft).
Production and improvements
The I-200 was ordered into production almost immediately, on 31 May 1940. In contrast to the other competing designs, the I-26 (Yak-1) and I-301 (LaGG-3), the I-200 successfully completed the state trials in August on its first attempt. But the trials revealed a number of serious defects, including inadequate visibility when taxiing, poor-quality plexiglas in the canopy obscuring the pilot's view, heavy controls, poor longitudinal stability, difficulty in opening canopy, an excessively hot cockpit and a "dangerous propensity to flick from a simple stall into a spin from which it was almost impossible to recover".A number of improvements were ordered to be made to the aircraft as a result of the deficiencies discovered during the trials, but only a few of them were able to be implemented before production began as the VVS was very anxious to get modern fighters into service. These included an additional air intake on the starboard side of the nose for the oil cooler, rubber sheaths around the fuel tanks to make them self-sealing
Self-sealing fuel tank
In aviation, self-sealing fuel tank is a fuel tank technology in wide use since World War II that prevents fuel tanks primarily on aircraft from leaking fuel and igniting after being damaged by enemy fire....
, two underwing bomb racks each capable of carrying a 100 kilograms (220.5 lb) FAB-100 bomb, a PBP-1 gunsight and each ShKAS was given 375 rounds and the UBS 300 rounds. From the ninth aircraft onwards the side-opening canopy was replaced by a rear-sliding canopy that could be jettisoned in flight. On 9 December 1940 the first 100 I-200s were designated as the MiG-1 (after the initials of Mikoyan and Gurevich).
The improvement process continued throughout the production run, but they weren't immediately implemented on the production line, but were instead incorporated in a fourth prototype for evaluation. This aircraft first flew on 29 October 1940 and was a significant improvement over the I-200s then in production. It passed its State acceptance trials and its improvements were incorporated on the production line from the 101st I-200. These were designated as the MiG-3 on 9 December, although the first production MiG-3 was not completed until 20 December 1940.
Additional testing
The I-200 prototypes were used to evaluate a number of proposals. For example the second prototype was fitted with a prototype of the AM-37 engine and first flew with that engine on 6 January 1941. It experienced severe vibration problems and, despite efforts to cure the problems, failed during a flight on 7 May, and was destroyed in the ensuing crash. The third prototype was generally used for armament trials, experimenting with 82 mm (3.2 in) RS-82 rocketRS-82 rocket
RS-82 and RS-132 were unguided rockets used by Soviet military aircraft in World War II.-Development:...
s among other weapons. For another trial it was equipped with the experimental 23 mm (0.905511811023622 in) MP-3 autocannon carried underneath the wings in external pods and redesignated as the IP-201. The 12.7 mm UBS gun was removed for the these tests and the space freed up was used to install an extra fuel tank. Initially the cannon had the low rate of fire of only 300 rounds per minute, but this was soon doubled and the gun was renamed as the MP-6. Installation of the guns was difficult, despite the aircraft's metal outer wing panels, and the wings deformed when the cannon were first mounted. It made its first, and only, flight on 1 December 1940 carrying two MP-6s and two 12.7 mm AP-12.7 machine guns, but a blocked fuel line caused a forced landing before the guns could be fired. But testing on a variety of other aircraft revealed very unsatisfactory performance by the guns and their development was canceled. The designers were arrested on 15 May 1941 and executed on 28 October 1941.
Operational history
On 3 December 1940 the VVS ordered that the 41st Fighter Regiment (isbrebitel'nyy aviatsionnyy polk), based at the CrimeaCrimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
n town of Kacha
Kacha (Crimea)
Kacha — is a town on the Crimean peninsula. Administratively, Kacha is subordinate to the municipality of Sevastopol which does not constitute part of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.Near the town is an airbase.-Demographics:* 1926 — 366 inhabitants...
, was to conduct the operational trials for the I-200 and that they were to be transferred to the 146th Fighter Regiment at Yevpatoria, also in the Crimea, for pilot training after the conclusion of the trials. By 22 February 1941 89 had been issued to regular fighter units, notably the 89th Fighter Regiment at Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and the 41st Fighter Regiment at Białystok, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, both places under Soviet occupation since 1939–40. On 1 June 1941 they were spread out a bit more, with 31 in the Baltic Military District
Baltic Military District
The Baltic Military District was a military district of the Soviet armed forces, formed briefly before the German invasion, and then reformed after World War II and disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991....
, 37 in the Western Special Military District
Belorussian Military District
The Byelorussian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally in the times of Russian Civil War it formed as the Western Front, and in April 1924 it was renamed to the Western Military District. In October 1926 it was redesignated the Belorussian Military...
, one in the Kiev Military District
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District was a Russian unit of military-administrative division of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Ukrainian Army, RKKA, and Soviet Armed Forces...
and eight in the Odessa Military District
Odessa Military District
The Odessa Military District was a military administrative division of the Imperial Russian military, the Soviet Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was known under such name from around 1862 to 1998. It was reorganized as part of the Military of Ukraine and the Military of Moldova in...
for a total of 77 on hand, of which only 55 were operational. An additional eight MiG-1s were assigned to the Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
. However, only four pilots were trained to handle either the MiG-1 or the MiG-3.
Little is known of the performance of the MiG-1 in combat as most were likely destroyed during the opening days of Operation Barbarossa. However, one was still in the inventory of the VVS as late as 1944 when it was recorded as withdrawn that year.
Variants
- Izdeliye-61 : This was the internal OKBOKBOKB is a transliteration of the Russian acronym for "Опытное конструкторское бюро" - Opytnoe Konstructorskoe Byuro, meaning Experimental Design Bureau...
designation of the I-200 prototype. - I-200 : MiG-1 prototype, 3 made.
- MiG-1 : Single-seat interceptor fighter aircraft for the Soviet Air Force.