| With the primary objective of improving the aerodynamics
of the basic MiG-3 design, the OKB began
work late in 1941 on an enhanced version of the fighter to which it gave the Izdeliye designation of D. Known
officially as the I-230, and later as the MiG-3U - the suffix
letter signifying uluchshenyi (improved) - the new
fighter was first flown in August 1942. Whereas the
fuselage of the MiG-3 was primarily of steel tube with
duralumin skinning, that of the I-230 was almost entirely
of wood owing to the contemporary metal shortages.
By comparison with the MiG-3, the fuselage was
lengthened by 37cm, but the Mikulin
AM-35A engine was retained and the wing of the first
prototype was unchanged, armament consisting of two
20mm SP-20 (ShVAK) cannon mounted above the
engine. The second prototype differed in having a
larger wing of 18.00m2 area and spanning
11.00m. Performance proved good during
factory and state trials, but it was not possible to reinstate
production of the AM-35A and production of the
I-230 was therefore restricted to a pre-series of five aircraft
which were assigned to a Guards Regiment (1
GvIAP) on the Kalinin front for service evaluation.
WEIGHTS |
Take-off weight | 3285 kg | 7242 lb |
Empty weight | 2612 kg | 5759 lb |
DIMENSIONS |
Wingspan | 10.20 m | 33 ft 6 in |
Length | 8.62 m | 28 ft 3 in |
Wing area | 17.44 m2 | 187.72 sq ft |
PERFORMANCE |
Max. speed | 660 km/h | 410 mph |
Range | 1350 km | 839 miles |
Ron, e-mail, 27.02.2011 06:17 " the armament comprised two 20 mm ShVAK guns with 150 rounds each, placed over the nose and synchronized; they could fire separately or together." - Thus says the internet concerning the MiG-3U. Many other improvements were made, like lengthening the fighter for enhanced handling, and raising the cockpit and pilot for better view to name just a couple more. reply | william cahill, e-mail, 21.12.2009 21:59 I am in the process of putting together an R /C model of this plane but having a hard time finding information on gun placement. Can you help? Thanks - William. reply | s�tk� �zcan, e-mail, 26.10.2009 16:54 te�ekk�rler reply |
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