soviet fighter aircraft world war designed meet requirement high altitude fighter issued minimize demand strategic materials aluminum aircraft constructed steel wood flight testing revealed number deficiencies ordered production fixed difficult handle built design modified aircraft issued fighter regiments apparently destroyed opening days german invasion soviet_union june design development design phase designed response requirement high altitude fighter engine issued january initially aircraft designated designed construction bureau work started june direction assistant preferred radial engines promoted design time powerful engine available decided use fighter approach selected build smallest possible aircraft intended powerplant weight drag philosophy light fighter specified aircraft capable reaching mph august fell favour result went november tour germany aviation works soviet authorities decided construction team create new experimental construction section headed remained formally bureau june work design assigned later recognized justice designers low wing tail dragging mixed construction shortages light rear fuselage wood fuselage propeller rear cockpit steel tube covered bulk wing wooden center section metal steel section main wing profile evenly tapered rounded tips outer wing panels landing gear wheels retracted main units wing center section cockpit situated aft seriously limited forward vision landing engine available powerful substituted exhaust pair cylinders provided additional thrust drove pitch propeller metres diameter air wing roots oil cooler port engine underneath cockpit armament included fuselage mounted machine guns machine gun result highly conventional aircraft flew schedule april moscow chief test pilot controls prototype attained speed mph attain speed originally specified air_force engine second prototype took air aircraft armed forced wait june problems gear prolonged ground firing tests august mph reached maximum boost time altitude figures minutes minutes speeds lower altitudes mph mph production improvements ordered production immediately contrast competing designs successfully completed state trials august attempt trials revealed number defects including inadequate visibility poor quality canopy pilot view heavy controls poor longitudinal stability difficulty opening canopy excessively hot cockpit dangerous flick simple stall spin impossible recover number improvements ordered aircraft result deficiencies discovered trials able implemented production began anxious modern fighters service included additional air intake starboard nose oil cooler rubber fuel tanks self sealing bomb racks capable carrying kilogram bomb given rounds rounds ninth aircraft onwards opening canopy replaced rear sliding canopy flight december designated initials improvement process continued production run weren immediately implemented production line instead incorporated fourth prototype evaluation aircraft flew october significant improvement production passed state acceptance trials improvements incorporated production line designated december production completed december additional testing prototypes evaluate number proposals example second prototype fitted prototype engine flew engine january experienced severe vibration problems despite efforts cure problems failed flight destroyed ensuing crash prototype generally armament trials experimenting rockets weapons trial equipped experimental carried underneath wings external pods redesignated gun removed tests space freed install extra fuel tank initially cannon low rate fire rounds minute soon doubled gun renamed installation guns difficult despite aircraft metal outer wing panels wings deformed cannon mounted flight december carrying machine guns blocked fuel line caused forced landing guns fired testing variety aircraft revealed unsatisfactory performance guns development canceled designers arrested executed october operational history december ordered based town conduct operational trials transferred pilot training conclusion trials february issued regular fighter units notably fighter regiment lithuania poland places soviet occupation june spread bit total hand operational additional assigned pilots trained handle little known performance combat likely destroyed opening days inventory late recorded withdrawn year variants internal designation prototype prototype single seat fighter aircraft operators soviet_union soviet navy specifications general characteristics crew length wingspan height wing area weight loaded weight max takeoff weight powerplant liquid cooled performance maximum speed mph range service ceiling rate climb min wing loading power mass armament machine gun machine guns bombs
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1