Sukhoi Su-9 - WikiHQ

The Sukhoi Su-9 (ASCC reporting name: Fishpot) is a single-engine, all-weather, missile-armed interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union.

Design and Development

thumb|left|upright|Three Su-9 aircraft in 1982

The Su-9 emerged from aerodynamic studies by TsAGI, the Soviet aerodynamic center, during and after the Korean War, which devised several optimum aerodynamic configurations for jet fighters. The design first flew in 1956 as the T-405 prototype. The Su-9 was developed at the same time as the Su-7 "Fitter", and the West first saw both at the Tushino Aviation Day on June 24, 1956, where the Su-9 was dubbed Fitter-B. thumbnail|Sukhoi Su-9 in [[Central Air Force Museum|Monino museum]]

The total production of the Su-9 was about 1,100 aircraft. It is believed that at least some Su-9s were upgraded to Su-11 "Fishpot-C" form. The Su-9's fuselage and tail surfaces resembled those of the Su-7, but unlike the swept wing of that aircraft, the "Fishpot" used a 53° delta wing with conventional slab tailplanes. It shared Sukhoi features like the rear-fuselage air brakes as well as the Su-7's Lyulka AL-7 turbojet engine and nose intake. The translating shock cone contains the radar set.

The Su-9 was developed from earlier work on a developmental aircraft designated T-3, to which the Su-9 was nearly identical. Internally at Sukhoi, the Su-9 was known as the T-43. The delta wing of the Su-9 was adopted because of its lower drag in the supersonic flight regime. Its greater volume also allowed a modest fuel capacity increase compared to the Su-7. The Su-9 was capable of Mach 1.8 at altitude or about Mach 1.14 with missiles. However, its fuel fraction remained minimal, and its operational radius was limited. Furthermore, rotation speeds were even higher than the Su-7, which was already high at 360  km/h (225  mph). Unlike the Su-7, which had cumbersome controls but docile handling characteristics, the "Fishpot" had light and responsive controls but was unforgiving of pilot error.

The Su-9 had a TsD-30 radar in the shock cone and was armed with four K-5 (AA-1 "Alkali") beam-riding air-to-air missiles. Like all beam-riders, the K-5 was so limited as to be nearly useless for air-to-air combat. With the K-5 later on being replaced with K-55/R-55 IR homing short range missiles. Unlike the Su-7 and later Su-15, Su-9 carried no cannon armament, although two fuselage pylons were reserved for the carriage of drop tanks.

The PVO attached special non-jettisonable large-capacity ferry tanks for their initial ferry flights, and a conformal ventral tank was proposed in November 1959 (fitted to two external hardpoints in a similar way to the BF-110) but this idea was not implemented as the air force demanded an emergency jettison option. Early production airframes were very limited in their interception range, with a range of around 320-450 Km (200-280 Miles) for a target at 20,000 Meters (65,000 feet) with later production airframes having an increase in internal fuel capacity, resulting in a range of about 430 - 600 Kms (270-370 Miles).

The first combat action of the Su-9 came on the 9th of April, 1960 when a U-2 (piloted by Gary Powers) overflew the Soviet Union after taking off from Peshawar, Pakistan. Several aircraft from a unit based out of Turkmenistan were scrambled, but being new to their mounts and being given faulty instructions from Ground Control, they were unable to intercept the U-2. It was believed by the American Intelligence establishment of the time that the Soviets were unable to intercept any targets flying at that altitude (20,000 Meters or 65,000 feet).

None were exported to any of the USSR's client states nor to the Warsaw Pact nations. The remaining Su-9s and later Su-11s were retired during the 1970s. Some were retained as test vehicles or converted to remote-piloted vehicles for use as unmanned aerial vehicles. It, and it's derivative the Su-11, were replaced by the much-superior Su-15 "Flagon" and MiG-25 "Foxbat".

Variants

:Development of the Su-9.

;T-405

:Prototype model of the Su-9.

;Su-9

:Production variant, about 1,100 built.

;Su-9U

:Training variant, mounting the standard avionics suite without weapon systems or hardpoints. About 50 units were manufactured.

;T-431

:A specially modified Su-9 for setting the world record for absolute height in 1962.

;Sukhoi Su-11

:A upgraded design based on the Su-9. It was slightly lengthened compared to the Su-9. However, it was outmoded by the Sukhoi Su-15, which offered vastly increased range and aerodynamic performance.

Operators

;

Soviet Anti-Air Defense

:894th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Ozernoye, Ukraine, 1959-1979.

Specifications (Su-9)

thumb|Sukhoi Su-9

References

External links

Su-9 from NAPO (Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association)
Su-9 from Global Aircraft
Su-9 from FAS

Bibliography

Gordon, Yefim (2004). Sukhoi Interceptors: The Su-9, Su-11 and Su-15 and Other Types. Famous Russian aircraft, Volume 16.Dimitriy Komissarov, transl. Midland Publishing. ISBN 1857801806