The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 and Poland as the PZL-Mielec Lim-6. The MiG-17 is still being used by the North Korean air force in the present day and has seen combat in the Middle East and Asia.
Production of the MiG-17 was too late for use in that conflict and was first used in the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1958. While the MiG-17 was designed to shoot down slower American bombers, it showed surprising success when used by North Vietnamese pilots to combat American fighters and fighter-bombers during the Vietnam War, nearly a decade after its initial design. This was due to the MiG-17 being more agile and maneuverable than the American F-4 Phantom and F-105 Thunderchief, which were focused on speed and long range combat, as well as the fact that MiG-17 was armed with a gun, which initial models of the F-4 Phantom lacked.
5,467 MiG-17, 1,685 MiG-17F, 225 MiG-17P and 668 MiG-17PF were built in the USSR by 1958. Over 2,600 were built under licence in Poland and China.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 11.264 m (36 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 9.628 m (31 ft 7 in)
Height: 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
Empty weight: 3,919 kg (8,640 lb) [79]
Gross weight: 5,340 kg (11,773 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 6,069 kg (13,380 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Klimov VK-1F afterburning centrifugal-flow turbojet engine, 26.5 kN (6,000 lbf) thrust dry, 33.8 kN (7,600 lbf) with afterburner
Performance
Maximum speed: 1,100 km/h (680 mph, 590 kn) M0.89 at sea level
1,145 km/h (711 mph; 618 kn) / M0.93 at 3,000 m (9,800 ft) with reheat
Range: 2,020 km (1,260 mi, 1,090 nmi) at 12,000 m (39,000 ft) with 2 × 400 L (110 US gal; 88 imp gal) drop-tanks
Service ceiling: 16,600 m (54,500 ft)
g limits: +8
Rate of climb: 65 m/s (12,800 ft/min)
Armament
Guns: **2 × 23 mm (0.906 in) Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 autocannon (80 rounds per gun, 160 rounds total)
1 × 37 mm Nudelman N-37 autocannon (40 rounds total)
Hardpoints: 2 pylons with a capacity of up to 500 kg (1,100 lb) of stores, with provisions to carry combinations of:
Rockets: 2 × UB-16-57 rocket pods for S-5 rockets
Bombs: 2 × 250 kg (550 lb) bombs
