Sukhoi Su-15 (Samolet P)

History

The path to air superiority on both sides of the Cold War (1947-1991) was a never-ending battle for advanced technologyweapons, jet engines, radar, and more. If one side produces a new, faster, high-flying bomber, the other side will release a whole new interceptor to fight it.

During this period, the advancement of jets was of considerable significance and progressed every year, resulting in a plethora of forms - some successful, some unsuccessful.

In March 1947, Soviet authorities imposed a new requirement for an all-weather, jet-powered, single-seat interceptor. Sukhoi was given the task of designing, developing and eventually producing a new Air Force product, which became the "Samolet P" or "Su-15" (the Su-15 was later developed in another aircraft development, recovered after the cold War - the "Flagon" series described elsewhere on this page).

For the required speed, the aircraft will carry a main swept wing aircraft and a pair of turbojets. The swept wings provide proper stability at higher speeds, and the twin-engine layout provides desirable performance - at the expense of fuel economy.

The main aircraft is mounted centrally on both sides of the fuselage. The engines became 2 Klimov RD-45F turbojets, each producing 5,005 pounds of thrust (RD-45 became the first mass-produced Soviet turbojet)

In the Su-15 design, the engines will be placed in tandem due to their rather large size. Both draw in through the same split air intakes in the nose, while the front engine unit exhausts midship below the aircraft's belly. The rear unit discharges at the rear in the usual way. The piping needed to power the rear engine forced the cockpit to be relocated to port.

The radome, designed to accommodate the "Izumrud" ("Emerald") interceptor radar, was mounted on the nose above the air intake, further enhancing the rather deep appearance of the aircraft's fuselage. The landing gear is in a typical tricycle arrangement and is fully retractable - the front legs remain under the cockpit floor and the main legs remain under each wing.

Boundary layer fences - found on many Soviet jet fighters of the time - were also present on main-wing aircraft.

Armament is provided by 2 x 37mm Nudelman N-37 series automatic cannons, each capable of firing 110 rounds, giving the interceptor considerable lethality against Western bombers.

The Su-15 made its first flight as a prototype on January 11, 1949, and a second example was built. During the prototype's 39th flight, severe flutter occurred, causing a loss of control and forcing the test pilot to eject. The plane crashed and proved a total loss, causing insurmountable delays and jeopardizing the viability of the project.

Therefore, the second prototype was not completed and the whole program ended up.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes