Luftwaffe Fulcrums: MiG 29 - From East German People's Army to the Luftwaffe (Post WW II Combat Aircraft Series No. 02)

72 Pages·2008·26.16 MB·English

by  Andreas Klein

,-
Luftwat=tE Nonn 9DJ Air DefEnse CalJJoulfage
MI6i!96 i!9+0S.
Fighter WIng 73US"
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F535ZJ7
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AirDDC - Aircraft Documentations
nil!
No.
Po§t WW II COTlJbat Aircraft Serie!i
Luftllllaffe Fulcrums
The Mi6 29 - Fral71 the Ea!!it 6erl71an
Peaple~Arl71Y ta the Luftwaffe
by Andrea!i Klein
Copyright© 2002
Publishedby:
[ ~!':f!!!f ]
RennesstraBe42-91054Erlangen-Germany
Phone/Fax: [phone]
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Allrightsreserved. Nopartsofthisworkmaybereproducedorusedinanyformorbyanymeans-graphical,
electronicalormechanical,includingphotocopyingorinformationstorageandretrievalsystems-without
writtenpermissionfromthecopyrightholder.
PrintedinSingapore
ISBN3-935687-01-X
Weareinterestedinhearingfromauthorswithbooksuggestionsonrelatedtopics.
Dhe shock came when the CIA in received"RAM-L"ascode-nameforbeing
Langley,USA,lookedthroughdata a test aircraft from Ramenscoye and not
sentbytheirsurveillancesatellites yetinusewiththeSovietAirForce.
from Ramenscoye aircraft testfacility in OnOCtober6,19n,renownedtest
Russia, at this time still the USSR and a pilot Alexander Fedotov took this new
potent enemy to NATO. According to aircraft design forthe first time to the air. Product9-51,8SovietMIG29UB
rumorsthe USSR was goingto introduce Thismaidenflightof"Product9"-theofficial traineraircraft,blue64,Isparked
Infrontofhertype3/168lrcr8"
a new aircraft generation with a SovietdesignationfortheMiG29design sheller.TheType3W8Sthemost
performance equal to that of new NATO was the result of a program initialized in modern shelter within soviet
Inventory.ttsdimentlonwasof15.9
aircraftsuchastheF15and F16. Nobody thelate1960sanddividedin1971 intotwo
x29.7m
reallybelievedinthem,becausetheUSSR separatedesigns: LFPI (ljochki=light)and
was said to lack the experience and the TFPI (tjasholui= heavy). The outcome of OieseMiG29VB-blall664-tier16.
sowjeliscl1enLuharmeewurdevor
abilitiestodevelopsuchahigh-techaircraft. theTFPI was the SU 27, put into service ihll!fTlTjIp3116GOF(Gescl1/ossene
Astheintelligenceofficerwentthroughthe 1987, and that of the LFPI, the MiG 29, OeckungjimApril1993inI#"ffs1l>ck
BUfgenommen.DerTyp3 warder
data,hecouldhardlybelievehiseyes. He taken into service in 1983. After her modemsleFfugzeugscl1u1zbauauf
found signsofan aircraftat Ramenscoye introductionshewasgiventheNATO-eode damGabieItierehema/igef1NVAmit
denAusmaBen15,9Omx29,7Om.
ramp with a fuselage shape somewhat "Fulcrum",anameshestillcarriestoday.
similar to an F15 but smaller in size. It Atanearlydesignstageitwasplannedto (Blrwe)
2
skipaninterimsolutionandequipthisnew
fighterwithanewlydevelopedsystem,the
N-019radar.
General Configuration
TheMiG29A,productnumber9
12, was designed as an all-weather
interceptorforgainingandmaintainingair
superiorityabovethebattlefield. Shewas
intended to operate from small makeshift
bases, located closely to the ground
operations, moving forward into enemy
territorywiththeforwardlineofowntroops.
Additionallysheshouldgiveacertainclose
air support and protection to the ground
A
equiptheMiG29witha•Jantar"Radarset, forces when air superiority had already
MIG 29 prototype 901 In the
Russian aircraft museum at based on the SAPHIR-23ML radarofthe beenarchived.Theaircraft'sgenerallayout
Moolno.ttsnosegearwaslocated MiG23,howeverthisideawasgivenupin was determined by requirements forhigh
muchmoreforwardIncomparison 1977.In1976aMiG25defectedtoJapan, maneuverability,aheavyair-to-airandair
totheproductionelrcreft.Thisled
tosevereFOD(ForeignObjects whichallowedtheNATO-countriestohave to-ground weapons load, high main
Damage)problems. aglanceintothelatestSovietstate-of-the tainabilityandreliability,thelatterbeingoff
OerPr%/yp901imrussischen arttechnology.Thedecisionwasmade,to lessimportancethantheothers.
luhfahl1museuminManino.&Jiihm
wardasBugfahfW9fklIieIweiler""""
angebrachl, alsbeidenSorien
maschinen. Dies hslls bel illr
vennehrlProblememildurchdas
Triebwerkangesauglen Fremd
k6tpemzurFoIge.
~
MIG 29 UB - 304- aeen with
underwlngtanks onaGerman
alrfleldInthemid199Os.Shewill
laterserveasatestbedlortheUBT
conversion,anattempttoprovide
lullcombetcapabilitiestotheUB
traineraircraft.
Dieblaue304, emeMiG29UB
aulgenommenMiheder,_Jahm
1/0s!deuIscIIIandSie_ spAlerauf
UBT-S/andardaufgenis/e/werrfen,
einVeJUO'1Mikoyans. dieTminer
vatian/evol!kamplfA!ligzumacI1en.
(viaWestersiitebler)
PhotographedIn1993InFalken
bergABwasthisMIG29"Fulcrum
C",productdesignation9-13.She
features theenlarged fuselage
spinewithIncreasedluelloadca
pacity.Shebelongedtoaguards
regiment01the 16thSovietAir
Army.ThelastMIG29swerewith
drawnfromFalkenbergon15June,
1993.
Oiesa MiG 29 'Fulcrum C:
Produlrlbezeicl1nung9-13HWlll91anz
vorihremAbOugausFalkenberg,
Os/deutschlandam 15.Juni1993,
8lJlgenommen. Manbeachlsdes
AbzeidlenBinesGardersgimenlsauf
demRumplbugunddendeul/ich
ausgebeu/lenRurrplnicken.laIzIBrer
dien/ der Erh6hung der Treib
stoflkapazilAf und beinhaltet
VerAnderungeninihrerAvionik
ausnislllng.
(viaWesters6tebier)
3
~
Abeautifulpicture01aHungarian
MIG29UB.ShevisitedtheRIATat
RAFFairton!togetherwithasingle
seaterinJuly1998.AsItIsthecase
withmostearlyproductlonMiG29s
shedoesnothaveanyprovisions
10<auxiliaryfueltanks,whichmade
severalstop-oversforrefuelling
necessary.
Einsch6nesBild_ ungatfsd16n
MiG29UB.SiebesuchtazusamlTl8f1
milBinBmEinsitzBrdasRtAT(Royal
tnlBmlllionalAirTalloo)inFairforrf,
EnglandimJutit998.WfaasdarFaH
beldentnihenProdukIionsIosendar
MiG29ItaJ; II8ffiJgIsiatlberkaina
UnlarflOgeltanks.lAasmachtaaina
Raihe_ Zwiscl>anslopsaidiIInJm
W"",nacIIEnglandnoIwBndig.
The result was a design solution and +30°/-15° in elevation.Thedetection
for the fuselage, which produces 40% of rangedependsontheweathersituationas TheSovietZSh-5helmetwiththe
the aircraft's lift on its own. Generously with increasing humidity the ranges are helmet-mountedsightattachedto
sized wing leading edge extensions reduced, however, the technical manual ItTheoxygenmaskIssomewhat
differentIn comparison to her
(LERXs)addtoherperformancesandlift. fromthemanufacturerstatea5-7nautical Westerncounterparts.
HighthrustKlimovRD-33enginesandlow miles(NM)headontrackingrangeand10 EinNVA-Pilotmitdamaufgasetzten
ZSCII-5HaImunddamangelKac/Iten
wingloadsensureathrust-to-weightratio 12NMfromtherear.Bothseemtobequite Helmvisier. DieSauerslo#maske
of1:1,1.Thetwinverticalstabilizersensure unrealistic when comparing them to the weistdeutIicheUnttNSdliedezuihta7
wesUichenGegansllJclrenauf.
high stability during air combat. The air detectionrangesofanAIM9·Sidewinder"
intakeswereputundemeaththefuselage seekerhead.Aglance intothecockpitlet (Dr.Petersen)
to allow an unhindered airflow into the
engineseven underhighanglesofattack
(AoA) and heavy maneuvering. To each
oneahatchwasadded,closingtheengine
intake while taxiing on the ground to
preventforeignobjectsfrombeingsucked
in, especiallyon unpaved runways. While
taxiing the combustion-airto the engines
is providedvia upperauxiliaryintakes on
thesurfaceofthewings.
AllMiG29variantsfeatureaKOLS
29IRTS(InfraredTrackandScan)system
infrontofthewindshieldandalaserrange
finder underneath the nose allowing,
together with information given by GCI
officers (Ground Controlled Interception),
·silenfapproaches.Thesearchanglesof
theKOLSare30°toeithersideofthenose
I
M/629.Red10. IfTI'SovietAnny. Falkenberg1990. EiJSt6ennany
4
• SldevlewoftheZSh-5andItshelmet-mountedslghLDetailsofthe • Close-upshotofthenewlyIntroducedHUD(HeadUpDisplay).Its
attachmentpiontsfortheoxygenmaskareclearlyrecognlzeable. performancecanbecomparedtoWesternstandards.
seltenansiclltdesZSc17-5HelmsmitdemHelmvisier.ManbeacIItedie OetaltansiclltdeshirdieMiG29entwickehenFrontsd1ellJensiclltger;1ts.
OetallsderHahevrmic:l1hJnghirdieSauelStolfmaske. SeineLeistungsdalenkronenohnewe/teresmitwBsl/ichemStandard
(Kahle) IIfJrglicIIenwerden.
all possible similaritytoWestern state-of
the-artdisappear.Itisverysmallandwith
hishelmeton,thepilothasalmostnoroom
tomove.Theplacementoftheinstruments
issomehowlacking aWestern orderand
makes their operation by the pilot very
difficult. The big bubble canopy and the
one-piecewindshieldgiveatfirstglancethe
impression to provide good all-around
vision. However, itisverymuch restricted
becauseofthepilotsittingverylowinside
thecockpitandbysomemajorequipment
placed to the right and leftofthe already
big HUD. Rearward vision is absolutely
impossible and can only be archived by
lookingintotherear-viewmirrorsattached
tothecanopyframing.
TheMiGincorporatesanN-019E
"Saphir" multi-mode pulse-Doppler radar, ThegreenhoodisthehousingoftheN· • TheN-()19Emulti-functiondoppler-radar01
019Eradarantenna.TheantennaitselfIs theMIG29.Itonlycantrackonecontact
NATO-code"SlotBack1",giving herlook moving insidethe green protective whenlockedtothetargetandtheoverall
down, shoot down and a certain BVR canvas. performnanceIsmuchmoreInteriortothe
(Beyond Visual Range) capability. It has AUnnl/eSnfndeenmanglarOgneednesCFNK·O·GIe9hAauRsaedadrse,r WDaesstNen-ortaDdAarMsueltti.funktionsradarderMiG29
less performance and possibilities when befindetsicIIdieschwenkbareAntenne. vertiigtbeiweifemnodinidltOberdieLeisftJng
derwesUicIIenGegenstiickeundkannauch
comparedtoitsWesterncounterpartssuch T (Raby) nurBinZieI1mLock-<JnModusIIfJrfolgen.
astheAPG65oftheF18ortheAPG70of (Raby)
the F15.The "Fulcrum"alsofeatures two
BVP chaff and flare ejectors with 30
programmablecartridgeseach,placedon
the forward extensions ofthe tail fin. Her
"SROr ECM suit can be described as
simple and inadequate to modern air
combat scenarios. It gives only vague
directionwhen the enemyiscomingfrom
theforward hemisphereandnoindication
whenbeingtargetedfrom behind.Alsono
distances to the anticipated threat are
indicated.Themostimportantfeatureisthe
helmet mountedsight, which enablesthe
pilot to launch AA 11 "Archer" missiles
SovietdesignationR-73-upto60°offbore
sightinazimuthand-15°/+60°inelevation,
givingtheenemyinadogfightsituationa
5
M
M/6i?9, Red699,FighterWing3 MVltJdlmlrKDm"rov ,HDlzdDrr1990, Emrt6erm"ny
very hard time. Two prisms on'the HUD feet;byusingthelaseritsaccuracycanbe
housing send out laser-signals to two increased significantly. Standard missile With50-600degreesangleofbank
photo-diodesattachedtothepilot'shelmet, armament consists of two R-27 (AA 10 andabout2-3GsthisMIG29,~
whicharereflected.Whenthepilotmoves "Alamo") attachedto the inner, and upto ofFW73.Stelnhoff"Isturning
aboveMecklenburg-Vorpommem
his head, the computer notices minor four IR-missiles such as the R-50 (AA 8 andwillenventuallylandatLaage
changes in the reflected light-ray and "Aphid") and R-73 (AA 11 "Archer") AB.
Mil5O-fi(J"OuemeigungswinkBfund
adjusts the radar or missile seeker attachedtotheouterwingstations. clem2-3faclumdarErdanziehung
accordingly. Incase ofan emergencythe Thesecond"Fulcrum" introduced ziehldiase MIG29 das JG 73
.Steinhoff"ihreBahniibarMackJan..
pilot is supported by the "AEKRAN" into WP service was the MiG 29 UB,
burg-VOfJXKTImamund>rirdinKtirza
equipment, which displays the checklist product 9-03 (later renumbered 9-51), a inloageaufsalzan.
and illuminates the warning lights on the trainer version ofthe A-variant, however,
(OTISteiniger)
instrumentpanelandby"Natasha"avoice with several modifications. It has only
warningdevice(withafemalevoice)telling limited combat ability. The main
thepilotwhatiswrong and wheretolook
atforasolution.Asystemcommonlyused
byformerWarsawPact(WP)airforces is
the "LASUR" data link equipment. The
groundcontrollercangiveinformationand
steering commands to the pilots without
activecommunicationaddinggreatlytothe
silent approach abilities. As close in
weapon ithasasinglebarreled GSh30-1
30 mm gun built into the left LERX
extension, together with 150 rounds of
ammunitionandanavailablefiring rateof
1,500 to 1,800 rounds per minute. Its
maximum effective range is up to 4,000
SunsetInNewfoundland,Canada.
Afterdailyflying,thisFW73MiG
comestorestontheGooseBay's
ramp.ThisMiG29wasconverted
to carry two 11501 auxiliary
underwing fuel tanks. In the
background a Luftwaffe C-160
"TransaW'transportaircraftcanbe
recognized.
SonnenunlerganginNeu/lInd/and.
Kanada. Nach gs/ansr Arbsi!
bakommldiasaMiG29desJG73i11ta
verdienleRuhe. Sisislmitzwei
Reichweile sleigernden, 1150I
fassendenUnferfltJgellanksnach
genJslalworden.1mHinlergrundlsi
sineC~160.TransalrzurUnter
sfiifzlJngdesKommandoszusatum.
(onStelnlger)
6
Thisplctul1lshowsaPolish
MiG29UBtrelnerofthe151
PLMatMlnsk-Mazowieckl
where the squadron
maintains about 23
"Fulcrums" (10 single
seateraircraftoriginally
delivered, 9 taken over
fromtheCzechRapubllc
andfourUBs).
O,e polmsche Luftwaffe
unletfIAII23MiG2.9,de!JBi
der I. PLM in Minsk
MazowNJekfslalioniertSInd.
10EinsltzerundvierUBs
wurden direkl an Polen
gaheler/, 9erlliehman"'"
darTscI1ecIIiscIIenRepublik.
(viaWeslersatebier)
.to TheRomanianMIG-29"Sniper"prototype,aversionoftheFulcrum .to White45isoneaircraftoftheRussian"Swift"displayteam.Duringthe
includingupgradestotheavionicswithanewElbitdigitalmission early1990sseveraldisplayteamswerefounded.withonebecoming
computerplusInstallationof8glasscockpit. quitefamousbecauseoftheirmidaircollisionattheRIATInFairlord.
DernnnAnisclleMiG29.~ProIotypDeinhahelVertJessenmgendar Die weiBe 45 is! sine der Maschinen des russ/schon .Swlft*
Ttiebwerke,AVJi:>?Jk,einen_Waffenrecl1nerunddenEinbaueinesGlas Oemonstralionsleams.Inden_ I990emwutrfeneinigeKunstHugslaffetn
Cockpils. (viaWestersotebler) gegnJndel,"'"deneneineinFaitford,!JBieinemZusammensl08indarLun,
In/giselleBenJllmtfleiletfangte. (viaWestersotebier)
modificationsarethesecondcockpitforthe
instructorpilot(IP)orapassengerandthe
exchange of the N-019E radar with the
PULI-31Sradarsimulator.Althoughthereal
radar was omitted, both cockpits feature
radarscopes,tosimulateanddisplayradar
contacts, to allow proper training during
radar-intercept courses. The second
cockpit reduces the limited fuel quantity,
giving hereven less on-station-time than
thefighterversion.Toobservethelanding
performance of the pupil the US has a
mirror incorporated into the large single
piececanopyprovidingforwardviewforthe
IP.The traineraircraft isonly able to use
the IR-missiles for self-defense and is
lackingtheinnertwoofthesixunderwing
pylons. Ithasnochaffandflarecapability .to Indiareceived70MIG29"FulcrumB"aircraftwhichflyalongwithNo.28,47and223squadrons.
ThisexampleisequippedwithtwoR-27seml-actlveandtwoR-73IR-homlngmissiles.
asthetailfinextensionsweredeleted.For Indianer!lieh70MiG29.FuIcrumSs·dieifInJnDiensI!JBidar28.,47.und223.Staffef_.[);e
thegunonly50roundsarecarried. abgebildele_ tnJgIzweiR·27hafba1rfiv8Radar-undzweiR-73lnfrarotTakelen.
(Photo:viaWesterslitebler)
7
fterthe "Fulcrum"was introduced aircraftthe difficultiesbegan shortlyafter
into the SovietAir Force in 1983, the lpst MiGshadarrivedin Preschen.At
(]
theWPpartnercountriesdecided this time, FW 3's Pilots flew the first
toenhancetheirfighterfleetsandtoseek missions.Atoneoccasion ayoung pilot
replacements for their aging MiG-21 tookhissteed intothe airanddidsome
aircraft.Inthemid1980stheEastGerman lowlevelaerobatics.Whilechangingfrom
Air Force made first steps towards the alefthandbarrelroleintoarighthandone
procurementoftheMiG-29Afighteraircraft. the aircraft started to brake out and
Afterfinalsettlementofthecontractworth departed.Beingquiteclosetothesurface T
1 billion GDR-Marks, the decision was the pilot did all he could to prevent the 679,serialnumber2960525132of
madetoacquirethisaircraftandtoreequip aircraftfromcrashing.Hemanagedasafe FW3"Vladimir Komarov· high
FW 3 "Vladimir Komarov" at Preschen ladingandretumedtohisshelterwherethe aboveInformerGORairspace.As
all NVA MIG 295 having a
airbasenearthetownofForstclosetothe Fulcrum's systems were checked andthe secondarygroundattackrolethey
PolishBorder,asthefirstwingwiththenew flight data, recorded by the aircraft's woreacamOUflageconsistingof
fivecolors.
fighter.Thefirsttwoaircraft615,serial-no.: onboard TESTER-system, printed out 679,Senennummer2960525132des
2960525110 and 628, serial-no.: immediately.AstheFulcrumcouldonlybe JG 3 .WladimirKomarow·aus
Presd1enimLuf/TaumderBllema/igen
2960525111, were delivered in Mai 1988, rescued by exceeding the published G OOR. W",aIleNVAMascllinenmit
thelastone778,serialled2960526314,in limitations of 9 Gs for the MiG 29, the einerZwwilrollsimLuft-BodenAngtfff
warensisineinembraun-gnJnen
January1989.Theyequippedthefirstand Mikoyanrepresentativeatoncedecidedto
lBmanslrichlackisrt.Oisserbesland
thesecondsquadronofFW3. cancel the factory guarantee forthis new BUS nichl weniger als fiin!
As with every newly introduced aircraft.TheupsetGermansideconvinced vsrschisdensnFarben.
(Dr.Petersen)
8