Thursday 16 January 2020

WSK-Mielec Lim-5

In 1955, Poland bought a license for manufacturing the Soviet MiG-17F, which was the backbone of the Warsaw Pact's fighter force. The licensed aircraft was given the denomination of "Licencyjny mysliwiec" which translates to "Licensed fighter". The first Lim-5 rolled out of the factories on 28th November 1956, replacing this way the production of the WSK-Mielec Lim-2 (a licensed production of the MiG-15bis).
The Lim-5 was virtually identical to the regular MiG-17F. It was powered by a Polish copy of the Klimov VK-1F engine with 5046 lbf of maximum thrust and 7423 lbf with afterburner. It was armed with one 37 mm N-37 cannon and two 23 mm NR-23 cannons placed under the nose. It also had provisions for underwing bombs.
Production ranged from 1956 until 1960 and, when production ceased, with 448 Lim-5 manufactured, it had become Poland's basic fighter. In fact it was the backbone of Polish Air Force's fighter force during the 1950s and the 1960s until it was replaced by more modern types such as the MiG-21 in the 1970s.
The type was exported also to various countries:

  • East Germany: One-hundred and twenty Lim-5 were sold to the East German Air Force during the late 1950s. Apparently some of them had the mast at the opposite side. Just like the MiG-17F some of them were either converted to light bombers or sold to African countries. Anyway, they were replaced during the 1970s by more modern types and put into storage. When Germany was reunified, as the type was considered old and outdated for the modern Luftwaffe, they were sold to Guinea-Bissau.
  • Egypt: Many of the Egyptian MiG-17F that fought in the Six-days war were Polish-built Lim-5. It's known that the Polish government sold an undefined number of Lim-5 fighters to the Egyptian Air Force. As we couldn't find a pic of a genuine Lim-5 under Egyptian command, the colours and the registration should be considered as speculative.
  • Guinea-Bissau: The Guinea-Bissau Air Force bought some second-hand Lim-5 from Germany after the German reunification, as they were outdated for the modern Luftwaffe's standards. Nowadays they are put into storage. 
  • Indonesia: The Indonesian Air Force had 20 Lim-5 in active service during the 1960s. Not much more is known, but most probably they were written off during the 1970s.









Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL-Mielec_Lim-6
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Forces_of_the_National_People%27s_Army
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Air_Force
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-Bissau_Air_Force
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_Air_Force
6. https://www.valka.cz/WSK-Mielec-Lim-5-t196637
7. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

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