Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 et MiG-19 : beaux livres - histoire, versions et technique

Starting in the mid-1950s, and for nearly two decades thereafter, the MiG-17P, MiG-17PF and MiG-17PFU (the latter version was armed with air-to-air missiles) were the most widespread interceptors in the Soviet Air Defence Force.
The MiG-17F day fighter was widely exported and saw a good deal of fighting, receiving its baptism of fire in the Middle East where Egyptian Frescos were pitted against Israeli Dassault Mystère IVs. However, the type became really famous after the Vietnam War where it successfully opposed the supersonic McDonnell F-4 Phantom II and other US aircraft.

Besides a full description of MiG-17's development history the book also charts the MG17's combat operations in major wars and local conflicts. A separate chapter compares the MiG-17 and its foreign counterparts and the book concludes with details of MiG-17 fleets and operators worldwide.
Illustrated with many unique photos, colour side views, line and cutaway drawings this latest addition to the Famous Russian Aircraft series forms a detailed record of the type and will appeal to modelers and historians alike.

The Vietnamese Peoples' Air Force (VPAF) grew from an ill-organized rabble to a highly effective fighing force that held its own over the skies of North Vietnam. This title charts the exploits of the VPAF in detail.

Contents: Establishing the VPAF - Training - MiG-17 - MiG-19 - MiG-21 - Appendices - Full Ace Listing - Confirmed Kill Listing - Commentary on the Colour Profiles.

Created by the famous Mikoyan Design Bureau in the early 1950s, the MiG-19 fighter was the Soviet Union's first true supersonic fighter that could exceed Mach 1 in level flight.

The baseline version with conventional elevators (known to the West as Farmer-A) achieved initial operational capability with the Soviet Air Force as early as 1954, concurrently with its American counterpart, the F-100 Super Sabre. Vertical manoeuvrability was soon found to be inadequate and led the Mikoyan OKB to create a version with an all-flying horizontal tail - the MiG-19S Farmer-C day fighter, which was built and operated on a much wider scale.

The radar-equipped first Soviet supersonic all-weather interceptor, the MiG-19P soon followed together with the MiG-19PM armed with a quartet of beam-riding air-to-air missiles. Special versions also included the SM-50 and SM-51 prototypes equipped with a liquid-fuel rocket booster to improve high-altitude performance and the SM-30 with a zero-length launch capability.

In addition to serving its home country, the MiG-19 was exported to the Soviet Union's Warsaw Pact allies including China who created its own variants which had no Soviet equivalent such as the JJ-6 trainer and the radical Q-5 attack aircraft.

In this latest book in the Famous Russian Aircraft series, the authors describe the MiG-19's development and its operational history at home and abroad including its involvement in conflicts in Asia and the Middle East. Over 600 black and white and colour photos, many hitherto unpublished combine with colour side views and cutaway drawings to provide a detailed insight for historians and modellers alike.

The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) at the beginning of the Vietnam War were equipped with slow, old Korean War generation fighters - a combination of MiG-17s and MiG-19s - types that should have offered little opposition to the cutting-edge fighter-bombers such as the F-4 Phantom II, F-105 Thunderchief and the F-8 Crusader.

Yet when the USAF and US Navy unleashed their aircraft on North Vietnam in 1965 the inexperienced pilots of the VPAF were able to shatter the illusion of US air superiority.
Taking advantage of their jet's unequalled low-speed maneuverability, small size and powerful cannon armament they were able to take the fight to their missile-guided opponents, with a number of Vietnamese pilots racking up ace scores.

Packed with information previously unavailable in the west and only recently released from archives in Vietnam, this is the first major analysis of the exploits of Vietnamese pilots in the David and Goliath contest with the US over the skies of Vietnam.

Contents: Pilot Preparation - Early phase of the Vietnam War - Ace biographies and aerial tactics - Achievements of the North Korean Peoples' Air Force pilots - Appendices.

Revered by Naval Aviators as the 'last of the gunfighters' due to its quartet of Colt-Browning Mk 12 20 mm cannon, the F-8 Crusader enjoyed great success against VPAF MiG-17s during the Rolling Thunder campaign of 1966-68. But, the MiG-17's unequalled low-speed manoeuvrability, small size and powerful cannon armament meant that the American forces didn't have it all their own way.
This fully illustrated book, featuring photographs, maps and battlescene artwork, reveals the tactics that were developed by pilots on both sides to give themselves the edge in air-to-air dogfights, allowing the reader to understand how the differing design and development doctrines played a part in combat.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and Development - Technical Specifications - The Strategic Situation - The Combatants - Combat - Statistics and Analysis - Aftermath - Further Reading - Index.

The MiG-21 provided the backbone of frontline Arab air combat strength for many years and remained the Arabs' only real hope of challenging Israeli air supremacy.

This book provides a detailed history of the MiG-21 in Egyptian, Syrian and Iraqi service. It includes numerous photographs, most of which have not been seen outside the Arab world and a large proportion of which have never previously been published anywhere. The material is drawn from official sources and from the private collections and recollections of men who flew, or met, these aircraft in combat.

Contents: The First Arab MiG-21s in Egypt - The Courageous Failure - Fighting Back - Surprising Even Themselves - Continuing Tensions - The Iran-Iraq and Gulf Wars.