Soviet Cold War Weaponry: Aircraft, Warships, Missiles and Artillery

Anthony Tucker-Jones

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Aviation
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781473862777
• Topic: Politique et relations internationales
• Subtopic: Communisme, post-communisme et socialisme

"In this companion volume to his photographic history of Soviet tanks and armoured vehicles, Anthony Tucker-Jones provides a visual guide to the vast array of aircraft, warships and missiles the Soviet armed forces deployed at the height of the Cold War. Although the superpowers never came to blows, the so-called 'Cold War' was far from cold, with numerous 'hot' proxy wars being fought in Africa and the Middle East. All these conflicts employed Soviet weaponry which has been captured in action in the colour and black-and-white photographs selected for this book. Between the 1950s and 1980s Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries churned out thousands of weapons ready for the Third World War. They also embarked on a technological arms race with NATO in an attempt to counter each new piece of equipment as it appeared. The MiG fighters, the Badger and Backfire bombers, the nuclear submarines have achieved almost iconic status, but, as Anthony Tucker-Jones's book shows, there was much more to the Soviet armoury than these famous weapons. Much of it, despite its age, remains in service with armies, guerrilla forces and terrorist organizations around the world today."

Chapter One

Fagot to Forger Fighters

In the air Soviet fighters and bombers presented NATO with a massive threat. At its height in 1980 Soviet aviation, consisting primarily of the air force (VVS) and air defence force (PVO), could easily muster 10,000 aircraft, making it the largest force in the world. A third air force was made up of the AV-MF or Soviet naval aviation. The VVS comprised long-range aviation with responsibility for the bombers, frontal aviation which provided close air support, interdiction and battlefield air defence, and military transport aviation which controlled air lift capabilities. The PVO was tasked with shooting down America’s strategic bomber force and its reconnaissance aircraft. Eventually all fighter aircraft were transferred to the responsibility of the VVS, with the PVO retaining control only of the anti-aircraft missile systems. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow’s VVS still had 3,530 fighters, 2,135 attack aircraft, more than 1,000 reconnaissance aircraft, 620 transport aircraft and more than 400 bombers. Even at the time of the Soviet Union’s dissolution the PVO could still muster more than 2,400 interceptors.

As the Cold War began to gather pace, the Soviet Union swiftly sought to develop a turbojet fighter. It was not long before jets produced by Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) and Sukhoi (Su) were embroiled in the Cold War as it turned hot on the periphery in Korea and Vietnam. Initial attempts in the shape of MiG-9 and La-15 fighters using underpowered engines based on captured Germans designs proved wholly unsatisfactory. Although the MiG-9 (known as Fargo by NATO) entered service, it was quickly replaced by the MiG-15. Moscow was subsequently greatly assisted by Britain’s remarkable decision to supply examples of the Rolls-Royce Nene, its latest and most powerful turbojet. This was used in the MiG-15 fighter and the Il-28 tactical bomber.

MiG-15 Fagot

Moscow, drawing on its experience with the highly flawed MiG-9, first flew the vastly improved MiG-15 in late 1948 and it was accepted into service the following year. It was designated Fagot by NATO, maintaining the ‘F’ prefixed codenames which had started with the Fargo. This aircraft heralded a remarkably successful trend among subsequent Soviet MiG fighters and Sukhoi ground attack aircraft. It was armed with both 23mm and 37mm cannon in order to counter America’s B-29 Superfortress strategic bomber. Moscow was able to conduct valuable air-to-air combat trials using the Tu-4 Bull, a cloned copy of the B-29. The MiG-15 was quickly sold to eager customers, with China receiving the improved MiG-15bis in 1950. These cut their teeth in the first jet-versus-jet dogfights during the Korean War. The MiG-15’s capabilities came as an unpleasant wake-up call for the West and highlighted the threat posed by Soviet fighter technology. Western Intelligence was equally alarmed when it was confirmed that Soviet-piloted MiG-15s were indeed shooting down B-29s over Korea.

The Soviet Union’s first effective subsonic jet fighter, the MiG-15 first flew in 1948 and saw combat during the Korean War. The United States Air Force laid hands on an example in 1953 when a North Korean pilot defected to the South with his aircraft landing at Kimpo Air Base near Seoul.

MiG-17 Fresco

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 Fresco was a development of the MiG-15. A single-seater fighter, the Fresco was first flown in prototype during the early 1950s and entered service as a day interceptor three years later. Initially it used the same Klimov VK-1 engine as the MiG-15 but this was soon replaced by the VK-1F, which offered greater thrust. Likewise, it initially featured the same armament as the MiG-15 (a single Nudelmann 37mm cannon and a pair of Nudelmann-Richter 23mm cannon), but this was subsequently revised to just three 23mm cannon; it was also able to carry up to four AA-1 Alkali air-to-air missiles. Like its predecessor, the MiG-17 Fresco was widely exported and was also manufactured abroad by Czechoslovakia as the S-104, by Poland as the LIM-5 and LIM-5P, and by China as the Shenyang J-5. Although it was obsolete by the time of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese air force used it with some success against the US and South Vietnamese air forces.

The underside of an Egyptian MiG-17F. This subsonic aircraft entered service just as the Korean War came to a close.

Egypt acquired two squadrons of MiG-15bis and MiG-17 from Czechoslovakia (with Moscow’s approval) just in time to take part in the Suez Crisis in 1956.

MiG-19 Farmer

Whereas the MiG-17 was a single-engined fighter, the twin-engined MiG-19 was developed as a multi-role day fighter, attack and reconnaissance aircraft. Numbers were built as the MiG-19S for the Warsaw Pact air forces as a day fighter/attack aircraft and as the MiG-19P all-weather interceptor with radar. Normal armament comprised three 30mm cannon plus four underwing pylons that could take two fuel tanks and two 250kg bombs. The MiG-19PM variant had no guns, relying simply on four AA-1 radar-guided air-to-air missiles. By the late 1950s, when European production was winding down, China was given a licence and produced the MiG-19 as the indigenous J-6.

The supersonic MiG-19, showing its four AA-1 Alkali air-to-air missiles. This fighter came into service in 1955. Serving with the East German air force, it was used to intercept Western reconnaissance aircraft. This fighter saw action during the Vietnam War and the Arab–israeli Wars.

MiG-21 Fishbed

The MiG-21 Fishbed was the first successful Soviet aircraft combining fighter and interceptor characteristics in a single aircraft. Along with the later MiG-29 Fulcrum, it remains one of the most iconic fighter aircraft of the entire Cold War. It epitomised Soviet air power during the early years of the Cold War, just as the MiG-29 epitomised it in the closing years. The Fishbed holds some remarkable records, which place it head and shoulders above its MiG and Su cousins. It is the most mass-produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history and the most-produced combat aircraft since the Korean War. The MiG-21 also had the longest production run of any combat aircraft.

A lightweight fighter, it achieved Mach 2 with a relatively low-powered afterburning turbojet, and was comparable to the American Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter and the French Dassault Mirage III. The basic layout was used for numerous other Soviet designs; delta-winged aircraft included the fast E-150 prototype from the MiG bureau and the Su-9 interceptor, while the successful mass-produced Su-7 front fighter and MiG’s I-75 experimental interceptor combined a similar fuselage shape with swept-back wings.

The MiG-21 first went into service in the late 1950s armed with two cannon and two small missiles. Initial models had a limited fuel capacity, allowing restricted combat time as the centre of gravity in the aircraft shifted rearwards as the fuel tanks emptied. Over the next quarter century it became the most prolific fighter in the world with around 15,000 produced in 15 major and more than 100 minor variants. The MiG-21 bis, known to NATO as the Fishbed-N, was armed with a 23mm GSh–23 twin barrel gun with 200 rounds, while the four wing pylons could carry two 250kg bombs and other stores or four AA-2-2 Advanced Atoll air-to-air missiles. This aircraft was capable of 2285km/h or Mach 2.15, with a range of 1,100km. Once again it proved a major export success and saw combat in numerous regional conflicts.

Combining fighter and interceptor characteristics into one aircraft, the MiG-21 proved highly successful, with around 15,000 being built between 1959 and 1985. Like its predecessors, it was combat tested during the Vietnam War.

This preserved MiG-21F is in North Vietnamese air force colours.

MiG-21s supplied to the Indian Air Force played a limited role in the Indo–Pakistani War of 1965. The positive feedback from IAF pilots encouraged India to order more and invest in building MiG-21 infrastructure and pilot ...