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| New VVS Research |
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August 2003 topic : MiG-3 fuselage
length
It seems inevitable that new research will make itself available just after some
author has written a book. So we have here with some new material on the MiG-3.
The long held interpretation has always been that the MiG-3 aircraft was manufactured
with a length of 8155 mm in the 'early' versions, and 8250 mm in the 'later'
models. The terms " long nosed" and "short nosed" have even been coined in this
regard. However, new research by Alexey Matvienko and Alex Ruchkovski--based
on the work of MiG curator/historian E. Arsen'ev--has cast considerable doubt
upon that hypothesis.
I will not try to summarize their work again here; it is best to read their
article itself. However, after some considerable discussion, I believe that
the major points pertaining to the MiG programme and the length of the MiG fighter
are these:
- The No.2 prototype and the 20-odd "pre-series" machines based upon this
aircraft had a length of 8155 mm.
- The MiG-1 production machine (i.e. the first 100 series manufacture fighters)
also had a length of 8155 mm.
- The lengthening of the fuselage to 8250 mm occurred during the transition
from MiG-1 production to the MiG-3 version. This 'border' between the types
looks to be somewhat harder than thought hitherto, but still confused. It
seems clear now that the production MiG-3 was based largely on the not-well-known
No.4 prototype. We speculate that there must have been an unknown number of
hybrid MiG-3s with the original length of 8155 mm, but the majority of production
MiG-3s had the definitive length of 8250 mm.
- The modifications around the exhaust stacks in later manufacture versions
are not relevant to fuselage length, and occur with the AM-35A engine. It
also appears that either reduction gear unit may be fitted to the AM-35 and
-35A engines, depending upon the airscrew in use.
These findings should be seen to correct the original text in my book's current
version. An amendment incorporating these new findings will appear in any future
editions.
August 2003 topic : New I-16 spinner
Whilst completing the artwork for the book, my artist
(Chris Banyai-Reipl) and I discovered a number of hitherto unknown or unseen
detail features. One of these was a curious new type of spinner on certain I-16
fighters.
One of the colour profiles for the book demonstrates
this spinner, as a matter of fact. The profile of I-16 Type 24 "White 71" on
page 106 is one of these. The photograph of this aircraft appears on page 118.
Essentially, it seems that this spinner is comprised
of the usual flared base for use with the M-63 and AV-1 propeller. However,
the 'cap', or forward portion, is blunter than usual. As well, this spinner
stands away from the face of the cowl to a very noticeable degree, something
that all other I-16 spinners do not do.
It seems likely that this spinner was used only in manufacture
at Zavod 153, and only during 1941. No other I-16s have been spotted
with this type of unit to date. Nothing further is known about this type of
spinner at this time.