Sukhoi Su-9 (Fishpot)

History of Sukhoi Su-9 (fish tank)

During the Korean War (1950-1953), the era of jet fighters had come. The Soviet MiG-15 was often entangled with the American F-86 Sabre in "sky duels", cementing the advantage of swept wings and jet engines. While the MiG-15 proved to be an excellent platform during the conflict (especially when flown by Soviet pilots), it was inevitable that Soviet researchers and engineers would continue to develop more capable models.

Sukhoi has been operating since 1939, developing a pair of swept-wing supersonic missile armed interceptors. After extensive aerodynamic testing of various design elements associated with supersonic flight, work began on a pair of aircraft that would eventually become the Sukhoi Su-7 ("Fitter") and Sukhoi Su-9 ("Fishpot").

In 1959, the Soviet Union introduced the Sukhoi Su-7 fighter, which became the main fighter in the Soviet Air Force's inventory, but also played a limited offensive role. Its basic configuration involves the use of a slender tubular fuselage with swept wings and a single turbojet.

It was manufactured from 1957 to 1972, of which approximately 1,847 were eventually manufactured for use by the Soviet Union and satellite states within the Soviet sphere of influence. In practice, the aircraft proved capable, albeit with limited armament and an equally limited operational range. NATO calls the Su-7 "The Assembler."

In parallel with the Su-7, the Su-9 - specialized interceptor form was developed. The development, which first appeared in 1956 with a prototype named "T-405", also featured a slender tubular fuselage - albeit with a delta wing surface as the main accessory - and a single-engine armature. The program gradually evolved and entered serial production as "Su-9", of which 1,100 to 1,150 examples were produced (various sources).

The West first discovered this type (along with the Su-7) during a public speech on Air Day Tushino in June 1956. The Su-9 was officially accepted into service by the Soviet Air Force in 1959, and was assigned the codename "Fish Pot" by NATO authorities.

Unlike the Su-7, the Su-9 will serve exclusively with the Soviet Air Force, primarily as part of the Soviet air defense barrier.

Visually, the Su-9's fuselage is compact, well-defined and relatively featureless from nose to tail. The single-engine armature is drawn in through circular air intakes in the nose, with ducts running below the cockpit floor. Inside the air intake was the adaptive "shock cone" required by some supersonic airframes of the time, and the unit also housed the accompanying radar kit - the rather basic R1L series, to assist in tracking and hitting targets with missile weapons. The cockpit is some distance behind the nose, and the pilot lives under a two-piece canopy with heavy frames on the front ducts. Unlike the swept-wing Su-7, the Su-9 has a delta-wing configuration with triangular sides on the sides of the fuselage.

The delta wing configuration is a proven asset in supersonic aircraft design that can carry more external hardpoints and internal fuel. Unlike the comparable American Convair F-102/F-106 delta-wing interceptors - which are true delta-wing aircraft - the Su-9 still retains the traditional tail with a pair of horizontal and one vertical - Technically referred to as a tethered to a delta wing aircraft. The landing gear is a traditional tricycle arrangement with two main gear legs under the wings and a nose gear under the cockpit floor. These seats are for the pilot Designed by the crew of the aircraft and operating the radar system and onboard weapons.

Air brake plate number four is located on the top and bottom of the fuselage. Powered by a Lyulka AL-7 series turbojet with 19,840 lbs thrust. Highest The speed is Mach 2.0 (1,325), the service range is 700 miles, and the service limit is 55,000 feet.

Climb is very good, reaching 27,000 feet per minute.

The performance characteristics of the Su-9 are very good, because as an interceptor, the type should reach operational altitude within a few minutes, fly to the target area, engage and destroy enemy air targets - most likely in the invasion of US bombers Form (in the case of total war) or high-altitude looting spy planes constantly violated Soviet airspace.

As a radar-equipped interceptor, the Su-9 is an "all-missile" aircraft. It is usually deployed in a configuration of 4 x K-5 (AA-1 "base") air-to-air missiles, two under each wing, above a pair of hardpoints. Despite advanced radar and missile technology at this point in history, this combination is not entirely accurate, and the Su-9's capabilities will suffer throughout its career.

Two hardpoint locations under the fuselage (aft of the cockpit) were explored for carrying fuel tanks for longer range. There was no built-in cannon in the design, which severely limited her close-quarters combat capabilities.

As previously mentioned, the designation T-405 identifies the Su-9 prototype. In production, the main final serial number became the base designation "Su-9". The modified version - "Su-9U" - became a two-seat training conversion model, which included a second cockpit position with dual controls for student and instructor, sitting side by side. While retaining its combat capability (to a certain extent), this variant lost a certain amount of internal fuel, which severely limited its operational range. About 50 examples of this brand are known under the code name "Maiden" in NATO nomenclature.

The "T-431" is a modified Su-9 designed to break the world altitude record of 94,659 feet set in 1962 and once brought glory to Mother Russia.

The Su-9 was further developed into the Su-11 ("Fishpot-C") family of all-weather interceptors. Externally the Su-11 is similar to the Su-9 and has the same single-minded purpose, although its basic Su-9 capabilities are vastly improved. Changes included a lengthened nose section, improved radar equipment and a more powerful Lyulka AL-7F-1 series turbojet with an afterburner. Additionally, missile weapons have been improved, although the mount still lacks an internal cannon for close range work.

About 108 of this version were produced by the Soviet Air Force and used again exclusively. The Su-11 was introduced in 1964.

The Su-9 series had a very short service life in the Soviet air defense forces, as technological advances rapidly rendered this model out of front-line service. The genre was never exported (not even to the Warsaw Pact allies), so its global reach was virtually non-existent - instead it stayed home to patrol and protect the vast Soviet airspace. Despite packing more fuel into the delta wing than the parallel Su-7 design, the Su-9 was still operationally limited due to the airspace it was responsible for defending - these were the early fuel-guzzling turbojets Engine limitations.

Pilots, however, praised its flying qualities, even though the mount has a reputation for "picking" competitors from afar, so ultimate success requires some experience with its nuances. The lack of internal cannons severely limited their tactical capabilities.

The Soviet Union stopped using the Su-9 around 1980 due to the arrival of more powerful interceptors. Eventually, all types of interceptors were shot down by improved surface-to-air missile capabilities, and "air superiority" fighters began to take center stage.

Retired Su-9s are either scrapped, scrapped, or developed into target drones for trainingthe latter being the death knell for many jets.

In May 1960, an unarmed Su-9 attempted to ram Francis Gary Powers' CIA Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Although a direct attempt was unsuccessful, the U-2 was eventually shot down by a surface-to-surface missile, resulting in the embarrassing and suspenseful "U2 Incident of 1960." In a way, this incident marked the first time the Su-9 was used as an "interceptor".

Note: The 1959 Su-9 has the same name as the 1946 "Su-9", both developed by the Sukhoi Company. However, the 1946 development was a wartime replica of the German twin-engine, single-seat Messerschmitt Me 262 'Schwalbe' ('Schwalbe') jet fighter, of which only about 1,430 were produced during World War II, but in limited numbers.

Therefore, if possible, the two terms should not be confused.

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