| J-6/F-6 | |
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| An F-6 fighter on display at the China Aviation Museum | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Shenyang Aircraft Corporation |
| Maiden flight | 17 December 1958 |
| Introduced | December 1961 |
| Primary users | People's Liberation Army Air Force Pakistan |
| Produced | 1958-1981 |
| Number built | 3,000 |
| Developed from | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 |
The Shenyang J-6 (designated F-6 for export versions) (NATO-Codename Farmer) was the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter aircraft.
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Design and development
Although the MiG-19 had a comparatively short life in Soviet service, the Chinese came to value its agility, turning performance, and powerful cannon armament, and produced it for their own use between 1958 and 1981. By the end of 2005, J-6s have been retired from active combat missions, although a number of the trainer variant, JJ-6, and JZ-6 reconnaissance aircraft are still in service with the PLAAF. The J-6 was considered "disposable" and was intended to be operated for only 100 flight hours (or approximately 100 sorties) before being scrapped. The Pakistan Air Force was often able to extend this to 130 hours, with diligent maintenance.[1]
Operational history
India-Pakistan Wars
Pakistani J-6 participated both the Second Kashmir War and Bangladesh Liberation War against India and scored some aerial victories against planes like the Sukhoi Su-7.
Vietnam War
After secretly test flying Pakistani J-6 in 1965, the United States concluded that the MiG-19/J-6 were much more formidable than the MiG-21 'Fishbed', MiG-17 'Fresco' and J-5, because in the subsonic aerial dogfights, the supersonic speed of the MiG-21 was not useful. MiG-19/J-6 could accelerate to its top speed that was within this range, and the MiG-19/J-6 was more maneuverable than the MiG-21, while at the same time, it was faster than MiG-17/J-5. However, the numbers of MiG-19 and J-6 were too few to make any difference.
Ogaden War
Somalian J-6 participated in the Ogaden War and suffered greatly because the superior opposition faced (Cuban pilots fought for Ethiopia). Over 75% of the Somali Air Force was destroyed in the war but some J-6 survived until the country turned into turmoil in the early 1990's.
Uganda-Tanzania War
During the Uganda-Tanzania War, Tanzanian J-6 was tasked to handle any possible Ugandan fighters which consisted of MiG-15 and MiG-17, while F-7A was tasked to handle more advanced aircraft of Ugandan ally, such as the Libyan Tupolev Tu-22 'Blinder'.
Kampuchea-Vietnam War
In the era of the Democratic Kampuchea, J-6 paricipated in the Kampuchea-Vietnamese border clashed for ground attacks, but they were not as nearly as successful as leftover F-5s, which made successful sorties inside Vietnam as deep as to Ho Chi Minh City. During the Vietnamese invasion in 1978, none of the aircraft in Democratic Kampuchea dared to take-off to challenge the invading Vietnamese aircraft. The Vietnamese captured a number of J-6s and put them on public display.
Iran-Iraq War
The J-6's participation in the Iran-Iraq War were mostly ground attack sorties performed by both Iranian and the Iraqi J-6 units.
Variants
Six principal variants have been developed in Chinese service:
- J-6A (J-6IV)
- Similar to MiG-19PF, all-weather radar-equipped interceptor with two 30mm cannon. Exported as the F-6A.
- J-6B
- Similar to MiG-19PM "Farmer-D", interceptor with two PL-1 (Chinese version of Soviet K-5 (AA-1 'Alkali') beam-riding air-to-air missiles; it is unclear if the J-6B retains its cannon.
- J-6C
- Day fighter version with three 30mm cannon and braking parachute at the base of the rudder
- J-6 Xin
- Advanced version of the J-6A with radome on the splitter plate (rather than the shock cone centerbody) for Chinese-made radar.
- J-6III
- Single-seat day-fighter prototype.
- JJ-6
- Two-seat trainer, stretched 84 cm (33.1 in) to accommodate second seat, armed with one 30 mm cannon. Exported as FT-6.
- JZ-6
- Dedicated reconnaissance version with fuselage camera pack replacing cannon. As of April 2006, it was reported that the PLAAF 3rd Recon Regiment, 26 Air Division based in Nanjing MR, is the last regiment to actively fly the JZ-6. [1]
- J-6 Testbed
- Ejection seat testbed that succeeded H-5 ejection seat testbed.
- Nanchang Q-5 'Fantan'
- Extensively redesigned attack aircraft based on J-6.
Operators
- Albanian Air Force J-6s replaced the J-5 on the border to intercept Yugoslav incursions into Albanian airspace. However, J-6 was ineffective against the faster Yugoslav MiG-21 'Fishbed', and once F-7A became available, J-6 was redeployed to guard Tirana.
- Bangladesh Air Force retired J-6 aircraft.
- People's Liberation Army Air Force retired J-6 from combat duties, but still uses it for training missions.
- Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force operates 18 aircraft.
- Iraqi Air Force retired J-6 aircraft.
- Myanmar Air Force J-6s were better suited for ground attack missions than F-7B and were used with relative success.
- North Korea Air Force operates 100 aircraft.
- Pakistan Air Force retired J-6 aircraft.
- Sudanese Air Force J-6s were better suited for ground attack missions than F-7B and were used with limited success.
- Zimbabwe Air Force J-6s were initially piloted by the Pakistani pilots.
Specifications
Description
The J-6 has a maximum speed at altitude of 1,540 km/h (960 mph), Mach 1.45. Service ceiling is 17,900 m (58,700 ft). Combat radius with two drop tanks is about 640 km (400 mi). Powerplant is two Liming Wopen-6A (Tumansky R-9) turbojet engines. In addition to the internal cannon armament, most have provision for four wing pylons for up to 250 kg (550 lb) each, with a maximum ordnance load of 500 kg (1,100 lb). Typical stores include unguided bombs, 55 mm rocket pods, or PL-2/PL-5 (Chinese versions of Soviet K-13 (NATO AA-2 'Atoll') air-to-air missiles.
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.References
- ^ Yeager, Chuck and Janos, Leo. Yeager: An Autobiography. Page 396 (paperback). New York: Bantam Books, 1986. ISBN 0-553-25674-2.
External links
Related content
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See also
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