Mig 3 series

[Wingnutt]

In 1941 the German Luftwaffe encountered a previously unknown Russian fighter with a long slender nose, clearly powered by an inline or "Vee" type engine. The known Soviet fighters were powered by radial engines and lacked the performance of the front line German fighters. German intelligence was very poor concerning the Soviet Air Force and the existence of this new fighter took Luftwaffe fighter pilots completely by surprise.

Equally surprising, and disconcerting, was that this sleek Soviet fighter was faster than the Bf 109F, Germany's top fighter at the time, and could out maneuver the vaunted Messerschmitt as well. At first the Luftwaffe High Command refused to believe the reports of their pilots, but soon the reality became undeniable. The MiG-3 had arrived.





a little more info:

The first production MiG-3 rolled off the assembly line on December 20, 1940. By March 1941, 10 of these aircraft were coming off the production line every day. It was not long before the type would see combat, claiming a pair of German Junkers Ju 86 reconnaissance aircraft even before the start of hostilities between Germany and the Soviet Union.


think it would be a fun ride, and would help bolster the anemic Russian fighter lineup..

there were several weapon packages. (haven't fully researched them all) ..

I know its not as "good" of a fighter as the LAs or Yaks, but the P40 isnt as "good" as the p51, but yet it has its place and devout pilots..

I think it would be a perfect addition.

[Motherland]

Certainly something I'd fly. Actually, Id fly any EW Soviet planes. The only thing about the Mig is that the armament consisted only of 2 7.62 mgs and a .50, IIRC.
This was one of Pokryshkin's favorites, BTW. Not to mention its one of the sexiest planes ever.

If we get the Mig, we need that skin... According to Wikipedia, the phrase on the side is 'For the Motherland'.

[Wingnutt]

Originally posted by Motherland
The only thing about the Mig is that the armament consisted only of 2 7.62 mgs and a .50, IIRC.

not the U variant

 armament consisting of two 20mm SP-20 (ShVAK) cannon mounted above the engine.

[Motherland]

Sounds good

[Fruda]

Originally posted by Wingnutt
not the U variant

 armament consisting of two 20mm SP-20 (ShVAK) cannon mounted above the engine.

...Very few of them actually existed. There were several common field mods that added gun pods to the wings, though.

And to those of you who wish to bring up its performance shortfalls: Its high alititude fuel pump was fixed early (around 1940, if I remember correctly). Next, it didn't have poor performance --- it was just forced to play the Bf-109's game, and at low altitude, it was out of its league (much like an La-7 is out of its league above 10,500 feet).

And don't get started on reliability --- if AHII modeled reliability, the Yak wouldn't even be able to fly multiple sorties (land, refuel, rearm, go up again without going to the tower). Its engine was very unreliable, and almost completely unserviceable. As far as reliability goes, the MiG-3 has the Yak series in spades.

[Fruda]

Originally posted by Wingnutt
I know its not as "good" of a fighter as the LAs or Yaks, but the P40 isnt as "good" as the p51, but yet it has its place and devout pilots..

Quite the contrary, actually. If whitepaper and first-hand pilot accounts are anything to go by, it was wonderful at altitude and flat-out whipped the Bf-109F, its contemporary (which isn't a slouch at altitude).

I'm sure it would eat a Lavochkin above 10,500 feet, as the La-Las begin to suck horribly up there. Yaks aren't so great above 12,500 feet, as they don't have much wing surface, stalling more easily than aircraft that are built for high altitude roles. The Yak-9U might get its top speed at around 17,000 feet, but it definitely isn't dominant. First, it takes a very long time for it to reach said top speed in level flight, and is completely worthless unless you're flying a long distance (even then, you'll likely be intercepted). Second, it stalls pretty easily up there, and it definitely doesn't retain energy well at all.

The MiG-3 would probably have a beautiful time diving on a Yak from 23,000 feet.

[Motherland]

Originally posted by Fruda
...Very few of them actually existed. There were several common field mods that added gun pods to the wings, though.

Was there, by any chance, a version with a Yak style armament, like one or two UBS and an ShVAK?

"Quite the contrary, actually. If whitepaper and first-hand pilot accounts are anything to go by, it was wonderful at altitude and flat-out whipped the Bf-109F, its contemporary (which isn't a slouch at altitude).

I'm sure it would eat a Lavochkin above 10,500 feet, as the La-Las begin to suck horribly up there. Yaks aren't so great above 12,500 feet, as they don't have much wing surface, stalling more easily than aircraft that are built for high altitude roles. The Yak-9U might get its top speed at around 17,000 feet, but it definitely isn't dominant. First, it takes a very long time for it to reach said top speed in level flight, and is completely worthless unless you're flying a long distance (even then, you'll likely be intercepted). Second, it stalls pretty easily up there, and it definitely doesn't retain energy well at all.

The MiG-3 would probably have a beautiful time diving on a Yak from 23,000 feet"

So, this would be, essentially, an EW BnZ/High alt fighter? How was the endurance?

[Shade_Empire09]

In AH2 we only have 5 russian planes. I would like this plane or maybe the Il-16 just for the hell of it. And maybe a Pe-2 or Pe-3 Bis Heavy fighter or light bomber/attack

[Fruda]

Originally posted by Motherland
Was there, by any chance, a version with a Yak style armament, like one or two UBS and an ShVAK?

"Quite the contrary, actually. If whitepaper and first-hand pilot accounts are anything to go by, it was wonderful at altitude and flat-out whipped the Bf-109F, its contemporary (which isn't a slouch at altitude).

I'm sure it would eat a Lavochkin above 10,500 feet, as the La-Las begin to suck horribly up there. Yaks aren't so great above 12,500 feet, as they don't have much wing surface, stalling more easily than aircraft that are built for high altitude roles. The Yak-9U might get its top speed at around 17,000 feet, but it definitely isn't dominant. First, it takes a very long time for it to reach said top speed in level flight, and is completely worthless unless you're flying a long distance (even then, you'll likely be intercepted). Second, it stalls pretty easily up there, and it definitely doesn't retain energy well at all.

The MiG-3 would probably have a beautiful time diving on a Yak from 23,000 feet"

So, this would be, essentially, an EW BnZ/High alt fighter? How was the endurance?

Well, as I've just read, the 12.7mm gunpods severely affected performance, and couldn't be calibrated correctly to fire where aimed, so they were scrapped. Only around 750 MiG-3s actually had the gunpods. The 12.7mm and 2x 7.62mm guns on the nose should suffice for the most part.

Yes, it's essentially a high altitude fighter with BnZ capabilities. Still, it has a maximum range of 590 miles, and while better than the Bf-109F-4, still isn't that great. And there's not yet evidence of a single MiG-3 equipped with a drop tank of any kind.

As with the Yaks, the MiG-3 will take exceptional marksmanship to get the most out of it. And in the right hands, we all know how devestating the Yaks are down low... And in the EW, the MiG-3 would be a hell of a tough fight.

[TwinBoom]

[Wingnutt]

another reason I thibk it would be a good addition that NONE of the current Russian rides have high alt performance.. this would fill that gap..

as for there only being "very few" with the cannon option..

since when is that a real concern in AH? i figure if it saw action.. its fair game.

[falcon23]

Sounds like a cool ride..I am for it..
                                       Kevin:D

[TUXC]

Originally posted by Wingnutt


as for there only being "very few" with the cannon option..

since when is that a real concern in AH? i figure if it saw action.. its fair game.

I think in this case "very few" means less than 10 prototypes.

We definitely need more early/mid war Russian, Italian, and Japanese planes.

[Tilt]

Whilst Pokryshkin was  a master of the Mig 3 (as he was of all planes) this was certainly not a viable competitor to the 109F at any altitude.


It was totally out classed and indeed was used as a high alt bomber inteceptor in desperation as this was the only role it could survive in.

Even the Lagg3 was superior below 5000m and it was considered a dog of a plane.

As such its only real viable contribution to Russia's fight in the GPW was the defence of Moscow in Winter 41 intercepting ex BoB LW bombers as they attempted to bomb Moscow.

Its very pretty.

But quite frankly the EW Russian planes of note were the I-153 or I-16 (in terms of numbers) with the Yak1 and Lagg3 coming into strength thru 41 interms of (limited) performance benefit.

I agree that should reliability be modelled then the Yak 9U (Klimov 107)would never survive the re arm pad however this would not apply to the Yak9T or any Future Klimov 105 PF powered Yak 3.

[Motherland]

Im going to stand by my stance that an I-16, Yak1, Yak7B, and Yak3 would be great for filling out the Russian planeset.