The term MiG is in fact an abbreviation for Mikoyan-Gurevich, one of several aerospace companies in Russia, started in the previous century, when the country was known as the Soviet Union, itself short for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

During the Cold War, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) developed a simple way of identifying the various types of Soviet aircraft, from fighters and bombers, to helicopters and transports.

Taking the first letter of each type, for example, F for Fighter, each airplane, a MiG, a Yak, etc. would have a simple name attached to the main designation, such as MiG-17 Fresco. The names have nothing to do with the actual look or performance of an airplane.

Some interesting, even humorous choices have been made, such as the Tupolev Tu-52 Backfire bomber. Imagine calling an airplane a Backfire! Or another one is the Sukoi Su-25 Frogfoot. Although it has an F for Fighter designation as per Frogfoot, it is mainly a ground attack aircraft, comparable to the American A-10 Thunderbolt II (aka Warthog), or the F-117 Nighthawk (aka Stealth Fighter).

Some names however, can be considered as complimentary, such as the MiG-23 Flogger or Mig-29 Fulcrum.

Getting back to the MiG-17, it first saw service in 1952, and was used with some success by the North Vietnamese against American bombers and fighters in the related conflict, as per below image.

It has long since been surpassed by more advanced fighters.







© 2023

Top photo courtesy of Aero Gatineau-Ottawa, Facebook
Bottom image: North Vietnamese MiG-17 and American F-4 Phantom dogfighting by William Arance Art, Digital Aviation, Facebook


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09/11/2023

Posted on 09/11/2023
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti