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Shenyang (AVIC) J-5 (Fresco)

1956 COLD WAR

History

The close ties between the Communist Soviet Union and Communist China benefited the latter militarily in the early days of the Cold War. One of the more advanced developments that fell on the Chinese was the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 "Fresco" jet fighter with swept wings.

The aircraft ended up being produced locally in Chinese factories in the "Fresco-A" and "Fresco-C" variants, both day fighters of limited tactical value. The latter made its maiden flight on July 19, 1956, and was commissioned by Shenyang the same year as the "Dongfeng 101" (the development code for the "Type 56").

Like its Soviet counterparts, NATO's Dongfeng 101 is also known as "The Mural".

The MiG-17PF form was not available to the Chinese until 1961, and Shenyang is also working on a local version of this particular interceptor model. The Sino-Soviet split (1960-1989) severely deteriorated relations between the two countries, so the MiG-17PF project was slowed down as the first PF model did not fly until 1964.

In the same year, the line was renamed "J-5" and the MiG-17PF entered service. Therefore, the export model is called "F-5", while another Chengdu is responsible for the production of the two-seat trainer in the "JJ-5" (export code "FT-5"). The first copies of the trainer came out in 1968.

Visually, this fighter retains the same form and function as the MiG-17 of Soviet origin. The fuselage is tubular, with bifurcated inlets in the nose and outlets under the tail. The pilot said the midship had reasonable forward visibility under a heavy framed canopy. The wing main aircraft were mounted centrally on the sides of the fuselage and swept aft. The boundary layer fence is prominent.

A throwaway fuel tank can be installed under each wing for longer range. The fin contains the horizontal plane above the length of a single vertical fin. The landing gear is wheeled and fully retractable, the main legs are located under the wing elements and the nose bone is located under the nose.

Firearms are installed in the nose above and below the air intake.

The J-5 was built with a length of 11.5 meters, a wingspan of 9.6 meters and a height of 3.8 meters. Curb weight is 4,080kg and MTOW is 6,215kg. Power comes from a single Wopen WP-5 (Soviet Klimov VK-1) turbojet with 5,730 pounds of thrust and afterburner capacity (7,452 pounds of thrust). Top speed reaches 1,050 km/h, range is up to 1,230 km, and service is capped at 47,000 feet.

The climb rate is 5,315 feet per minute.

The mounted weapons are 1 x 37mm Type 37 Autocannon and 2 x 23mm Type 23-1 Autocannon. The JJ-5 is armed with 1 x 23mm gun, while the J-5A is armed with three.

Total production of J-5 fighter jets (including export units) was 767, and the trainer stockpile was increased by an additional 1,061 before closing, with production of the latter continuing until 1986. Operators in Albania, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zimbabwe produced a total of 1,828 units, although the design is dated to the 1970s/1980s standard.

The U.S. even purchased several J-5 fighter jets directly from China to use as maneuvering threats during testing at Kirkland Air Force Base.

In Chinese service, the J-5 was directly succeeded by the more powerful "J-7" (described in detail elsewhere on this site) provided by Chengdu. About 2,400 of this type were produced and sold to many of the same operators.