Editing Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (section)

==Design and development==
While the MiG-15bis introduced swept wings to air combat over Korea, the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau had already begun work on its replacement in 1949 (originally the MiG-15bis45) in order to fix any problems found with the MiG-15 in combat.<ref name="phantom"/> The result was one of the most successful transonic fighters introduced before the advent of true supersonic types such as the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19]] and [[North American F-100 Super Sabre]]. The design would ultimately still prove effective into the 1960s when pressed into subsonic dogfights over Vietnam against much faster planes that were not optimized for maneuvering in such slower speed, short-range engagements.

While the MiG-15 used a Mach sensor to deploy airbrakes because it could not safely exceed Mach&nbsp;0.92, the MiG-17 was designed to be controllable at higher Mach numbers.<ref>Sweetman 1984, p. 11.</ref> Early versions that retained the original Soviet copy of the [[Rolls-Royce Nene]] engine, the [[Klimov VK-1]], were heavier with equal thrust. Later MiG-17s would be the first Soviet fighter application of an [[afterburner]], which burned extra fuel in the exhaust of the basic engine to give extra thrust at a high efficiency cost.

Though the MiG-17 looks very similar to the MiG-15, it had a new thinner and more highly [[swept wing]] and tailplane for speeds approaching Mach&nbsp;1. While the [[F-86 Sabre|F-86]] introduced the [[Stabilator|"all-flying" tailplane]], which made the aircraft more controllable near the speed of sound, this feature would not be adopted on MiG aircraft until the fully supersonic MiG-19.<ref>Aungst, Dave. [http://www.hyperscale.com/2010/features/mig1748dwa_1.htm " Hobby Boss' 1/48 scale MiG-17F Fresco C."] ''HyperScale,'' 19 August 2010. Retrieved: 15 September 2012.</ref> The wing sweep was 45° (like the U.S. F-100 Super Sabre) near the fuselage and 42° for the outboard part of the wing.<ref name="Crosby p. 212.">Crosby 2002, p. 212.</ref> The stiffer wing resisted the tendency to bend its wingtips and lose aerodynamic symmetry unexpectedly at high speeds and wing loads.<ref name="phantom"/>

Other easily visible differences to its predecessor were the addition of a third [[wing fence]] on each wing, the addition of a ventral fin and a longer and less tapered rear fuselage that added about one meter in length. The MiG-17 shared the same [[Klimov VK-1]] engine, and much of the rest of its construction such as the forward fuselage, landing gear and gun installation was carried over.<ref name="Crosby p. 212."/> The first prototype, designated I-330 "'''SI'''" by the construction bureau, was flown on 14 January 1950, piloted by Ivan Ivashchenko.<ref name="Air Vector"/>

[[File:MiG-17 Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseo 1.JPG|thumb|left|MiG-17 at the [[Aviation Museum of Central Finland]] in [[Jyväskylä]]. The paintscheme is from 2006 and is based on the idea of Luonetjärvi primary school student Anni Lundahl.]]
[[File:MiG 17A Mighty 8th.JPG|thumb|left|A [[North Vietnam]]ese MiG-17 on display at the [[Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum]].]]
[[File:MiG 17 tail Vietnam.JPG|thumb|left|Tail section showing insignia; camouflaged MiG-17s were often referred to as "snakes" by VPAF pilots.<ref>Toperczer 2001, p. 48.</ref>]]

In the midst of testing, pilot Ivan Ivashchenko was killed when his aircraft developed flutter, which tore off his horizontal tail, causing a spin and crash on 17 March 1950. Lack of wing stiffness also resulted in aileron reversal which was discovered and fixed. Construction and tests of additional prototypes "'''SI-2'''" and experimental series aircraft "'''SI-02'''" and "'''SI-01'''" in 1951, were generally successful. On 1 September 1951, the aircraft was accepted for production, and formally given its own MiG-17 designation after so many changes from the original MiG-15. It was estimated that with the same engine as the MiG-15's, the MiG-17's maximum speed is higher by 40–50&nbsp;km/h, and the fighter has greater maneuverability at high altitude.<ref name="Air Vector"/>

Serial production started in August 1951, but large quantity production was delayed in favor of producing more MiG-15s so it was never introduced in the Korean War. It did not enter service until October 1952, when the MiG-19 was almost ready to be flight tested. During production, the aircraft was improved and modified several times. The basic MiG-17 was a general-purpose day fighter, armed with three [[autocannon|cannons]], one Nudelman N-37 37&nbsp;mm cannon and two 23&nbsp;mm with 80 rounds per gun, 160 rounds total.  It could also act as a [[fighter-bomber]], but its [[bomb]]load was considered light relative to other aircraft of the time, and it usually carried additional fuel tanks instead of bombs.

Although a canopy that provided clear vision to the rear—necessary for [[air-to-air combat]] ([[dogfighting]]), like the F-86—was designed, production MiG-17Fs got a cheaper rear-view periscope, which would still appear on Soviet fighters as late as the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23|MiG-23]]. By 1953, pilots got safer ejection seats with protective face curtains and leg restraints like the [[Martin-Baker#Ejection seats|Martin-Baker seats]] in the West. The MiG-15 had suffered for its lack of a [[radar gunsight]], but in 1951, Soviet engineers obtained a captured [[North American F-86 Sabre|F-86 Sabre]] from Korea, and copied the optical gunsight and SRD-3 gun ranging radar to produce the ASP-4N gunsight and SRC-3 radar. The combination would prove deadly over the skies of Vietnam against aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom, whose pilots lamented that guns and radar gunsights had been omitted as obsolescent.<ref name="phantom">Davies, Peter. ''USN F-4 Phantom II Vs VPAF MiG-17: Vietnam 1965-72.'' London: Osprey, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-84603-475-6}}.</ref>

The second prototype variant, "SP-2" (dubbed "Fresco A" by NATO), was an [[interceptor aircraft|interceptor]] equipped with a [[radar]]. Soon a number of MiG-17P ("Fresco B") all-weather fighters were produced with the [[RP-1 Izumrud]] radar and front air intake modifications.

In early 1953 the MiG-17F day fighter entered production. The "F" indicated it was fitted with the VK-1F engine with an [[afterburner]] by modifying the rear fuselage with a new convergent-divergent nozzle and fuel system. Early VK-1F engines that were specifically modified to equip the MIG-17F had issues during prolonged normal afterburner usage, due to the insufficient heat resistance of the alloys used for the external nozzle body and stator vanes. Because of this, early 1953-1955 production planes had a special afterburner unit that used a separate tank filled with 90% [[ethanol]] for consumption in the afterburner due to its lower combustion temperature. This engine variant was labeled VK-1F(A). Later production jets used a normal system with on-board fuel. The afterburner doubled the rate of climb and greatly improved vertical maneuvers. But while the plane was not designed to be supersonic, skilled pilots could just dash to supersonic speed in a shallow dive, although the aircraft would often pitch up just short of Mach&nbsp;1. This became the most popular variant of the MiG-17. The next mass-produced variant, MiG-17PF ("Fresco D") incorporated a more powerful Izumrud RP-2 radar, though they were still dependent on Ground Control Interception to find and be directed to targets. In 1956 a small series (47 aircraft) was converted to the MiG-17PM standard (also known as '''PFU''') with four first-generation [[Kaliningrad K-5]] ([[NATO reporting name]] AA-1 'Alkali') [[air-to-air missile]]s. A small series of MiG-17R reconnaissance aircraft were built with VK-1F engine (after first being tested with the [[VK-5F]] engine).

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.

===License production===
[[File:MIG17fhiller.JPG|thumb|MiG-17F on display at the [[Hiller Aviation Museum]] in San Carlos, California]]
[[File:PZL-Mielec Lim-5 '408' (13291122204).jpg|thumb|Lim-5 in [[Polish Air Force]] markings]]
[[File:Mig17JeffCo.jpg|thumb|A privately owned JJ-5 (MiG-17) at [[KBJC|JeffCo Airport]]]]
{{main|PZL-Mielec Lim-6|Shenyang J-5}}
In 1955, [[Poland]] received a license for MiG-17 production. The MiG-17F was produced by the [[PZL-Mielec|WSK-Mielec]] factory under the designation '''Lim-5''' (an abbreviation of ''licencyjny myśliwiec'' – license-built fighter). The first Lim-5 was built on 28 November 1956 and 477 were built by 1960. Apart from Poland, a number were exported to Bulgaria, designated as MiG-17F.<ref>{{Citation | last = Łuczak | first = Wojciech | title = Limy w Bułgarii | trans-title = Limy in Bulgaria | journal = Militaria | volume = 1 | number = 2 | year = 1991 | page = 10 | language = pl}}</ref>  An unknown number were built as the Lim-5R [[reconnaissance]] variant, fitted with the AFA-39 camera. In 1959–1960, 129 MiG-17PF interceptors were produced as the Lim-5P. WSK-Mielec also developed several Polish [[attack plane|strike]] variants based on the MiG-17: the [[PZL-Mielec Lim-6|Lim-5M]], produced from 1960; [[PZL-Mielec Lim-6|Lim-6bis]], produced from 1963 (totaling 170 aircraft). Additionally some Lim-5Ps were converted in the 1970s into attack Lim-6Ms whereas other Lim-5, Lim-6bis and Lim-5P aircraft were modified for reconnaissance role as the Lim-6R,  Lim-6bis R and Lim-6MR.

In the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC), an initial MiG-17F was assembled from parts in 1956, with license production following in 1957 at [[Shenyang]]. The Chinese-built version is known as the [[Shenyang J-5]] (for local use) or F-5 (for export). Similarly the MiG-17PF was manufactured there as the J-5A (F-5A for export). Altogether 767 of these single-seater variants were built.