Junkers Ju.52, various American users

 

Preliminary note: This post will be the last one before our mid-winter break. See you back in March!

The Junkers Ju.52 is a German cargo plane that was designed by Ernst Zindel and manufactured by aviation company Junkers. 

It was in production between 1931 and 1952 and, with more than 4.000 aircraft manufactured, the type was exported to various countries all around the globe, among them, the following ones:

• Brazil: The Brazilian airline, "Viaçao Aerea Rio Grandese" (Aerial Aviation of Rio Grande) bought one Ju.52/3m in 1937 which arrived in 1938. It was named "Mauá" and was restricted to aerial routes inside the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, although the aircraft had capacity for longer routes. This was done because it only flew when the airplane was fully booked. This machine, registered as "PP-VAL" had its capacity increased from 17 to 21 passengers. After a tragic accident close to the city of Porto Alegre where 6 people died on 28th February 1942, the aircraft was declared beyond repair and was written off.
  Another Brazilian operators of the type were :
• Aeronorte: An airline located in Sao Luis, at the state of Maranhao, North-Eastern Brazil which operated one Ju.52/3m rented from VASP -Viaçao Aerea Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Aerial Aviation- from 1950 until 1951.
• Syndicato Condor/Cruzeiro do Sul: The main Brazilian operator of the Ju.52. Being a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa for South America, this airline had 16 Ju.52/3m bought between 1934 and 1939. The Ju.52/3m was the main workhorse of the company until 1943 when it was converted into Cruzeiro do Sul and the Ju.52/3m were gradually replaced by American Douglas DC-3 transport planes. However, the Ju.52/3m were still serving some routes in 1945 as some of them were equipped with floats in the Amazonian region. 
  They all were either sold to other companies or countries (like Argentina) or scrapped.
• Viaçao Aerea Sao Paulo: This Sao-Paulo based airline had at least two Ju.52/3m in service during the early 1940s. Further details about them are unknown, however one of them was rented to Aeronorte in 1950.
• Canada: Canadian Airways bought the sixth Ju.52 built. This machine, unlike most of the other Ju.52/3m, was powered by a single four-propelled engine, a Rolls Royce Buzzard. It was bought in 1931 and that time it was the largest aircraft present in Canada and could operate on either floats or skis.
  Nicknamed as "The Flying Boxcar" it proved to be an excellent cargo airplane as it could carry loads no other aircraft of the time could thanks, partially to its large roof hatch. 
  In 1942 Canadian Pacific Airlines took over all of Canadian Airways flying stock and in 1947 it was commissioned out of service and sold to a junk dealer which tore it piece by piece with its fuselage ending as a child's playhouse in Winnipeg. Thankfully it was recovered and it's nowadays exposed at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada.
• Colombia: In 1932 the Colombian Army was in war against Peru over the Leticia Region of the Amazon region. It was then when, in order to reinforce the Colombian Military Aviation with bombers that, the Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transporte Aéreo (SCADTA - Colombo-German Air Transport Society) bought three which were assigned to commercial flights in the newly created company. When the Leticia Incident (AKA the Colombo-Peruvian War) was waged in September 1932, the three Ju.52/3mde (an ad-hoc version equipped with floats and additional defensive dorsal machine gun hatches) of SCADTA were requisitioned by the Military Aviation which were employed as bombers operating from rivers and lakes as the Colombian Amazon jungle lacked suitable airfields. This became the first operational use of the Ju.52 as a bomber. 
  Shortly after the war, additional three Ju.52/3m were acquired which arrived by ship on 5th July 1933 and were sent straight to the Military Aviation. 
  After the conflict, in 1933, the Junkers were based in the town of Puerto Salgar, at the district of Cundinamarca. One Ju.52/3m registered with the number of "625" was assigned as the personal transport of Colombian president Enrique Olaya Herrera and, on 24th October 1933, it was employed by General Luis Acevedo to fly to Manaus, in Brazil, to sign peace with Peru. 
  One of them crashed on 14th January 1936 killing all its passengers, making this unfortunate event the only fatal accident of a Colombian Ju.52. 
  The Ju.52 was employed as the main transport of the Colombian Military Aviation and, just like Argentina, it was the first aircraft that Colombian paratroopers used for their first airdrops during a manoeuvres that took place at the Base Aérea in Madrid, in Cundinamarca district, on 13th May 1947. Three years after, as more advanced and modern types were bought, the Ju.52 was written off and, given its historical importance, one is exhibited nowadays at the Colombian Air Force's Museum.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Airways

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeronorte

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VASP

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serviços_Aéreos_Cruzeiro_do_Sul

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varig

7.https://www.varig-airlines.com/en/junkersju52.htm

8. https://royalaviationmuseum.com/junkers-ju-52-cf-arm/

9. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19420228-1

10. https://www.fac.mil.co/museo/el-veterano-junkers-ju-52-primer-avion-presidencial-de-colombia-1 (translated)

Junkers Ju.52 in Argentina

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German transport aircraft manufactured and developed by Junkers. With 4.485 units having been manufactured, it comes no surprise that the type was widely exported to, among many other countries, Argentina.

In September 1938 the Comando de Aviación del Ejército (Army Aviation's Command) sent a representation to Germany in order to buy 5 Ju.52/3m which were being produced for the Luftwaffe. 

The first three Ju.52 arrived in Argentina in 1939 and in October they were assigned to the newly created "Escuadrilla de Transporte" (Transport Squadron) belonging to the "Grupo 1 de Observación" (No.1 Observation Group) based at El Palomar Air Base, in Buenos Aires. Shortly later the two remaining machines were delivered. All five of them were delivered unassembled by boat and were assembled at Fábrica Militar de Aviones' (FMA) factory, in Córdoba.

Given that Germany was in the middle of the World War 2, spare parts and engines were running short, the Junkers were re-engined with FMA E-1 radial engines which were a licensed copy of the American Wright Cyclone SGR-1820F.2. Between the years 1939 and 1945, they served with the Argentine Army's Aviation Command in the transport role, but also with Aeroposta Argentina (Argentine Air Mail) flying in every occasion under neutrality markings (though Argentine declared war on Germany… on 27th March 1945!). 

After the War, the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (Argentine Air Force) was created , which takes into property the Ju.52 together with ten additional second-hand machines bought from the Brazilian company Cruzeiro do Sul in 1946, which were BMW engined.

With the first machines, back in 1940, the first flights of LASO (Líneas Aéreas del Sudoeste - Southwestern Airlines), LANE (Líneas Aéreas del Noreste - Northeastern Airlines) and SADE (Servicio Aeropostal del Estado - State's Aeropostal Service) took place, which were all merged in 1945 into LADE (Líneas Aéreas del Estado - State's Airlines). All of this while they were still serving with the Air Force in military transport flights, cargo transfer and even paratrooper drop as they were the first transports assigned to the Argentinean paratrooper unit, created in 1943. 

Between 1947 and 1948 they were employed as crop dusters (with additional crop dusting gear fitted in a workshop at the city of Quilmes) to fight the locust plague which was ruining plantations in the Argentinean North and Northeast. 

By late 1948 nine aircraft were transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture and the remaining two were kept serving with the Air Force until as late as 1963.

Sources:

1. http://www.amilarg.com.ar/junkers-ju-52.html (translated)

2. https://www.zona-militar.com/foros/threads/junkers-ju-52-3-m-en-argentina.10321/ (translated)

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52

4. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerolíneas_Argentinas (translated)

Junkers Ju.52, Bolivian Users

 

With this post we kick off a series about the mighty German cargo mule which will last for much time.

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by the German company Junkers. The type was introduced into civilian in 1931 and was exported to many countries all around the globe. It was used also in a military role by various operators, among them, Bolivia.

The Latin-American country's 'Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano' (Bolivian National Airline, abbreviated as LAB - nowadays defunct) bought in 1931 but it wasn't until late November 1932 that the first one, a Ju.52/3mreo, powered by three BMW 132Da/DC radial engines, arrived. This first machine was named 'Chorolque', after a Bolivian ridge, and was followed by another two 'Juan del Valle' (named after the Spanish explorer who discovered the most rich tin veins in the country) and 'Huanuni' (named after a famous Bolivian town). These two exemplars were bought by the Bolivian tycoon Simón Iturri Patiño who later donated them to the LAB. He bought them after being informed that his country needed them given the long distances and the lack of roads that military operations required. Those two last Junkers most probably entered operations in January 1933.

Considering how hardy the Ju.52 was, its good flying characteristics and its up to three tons of cargo capacity, it was an ideal cargo aircraft for South America. In September 1932 Paraguay Waged war on Bolivia over the sovereignty on the Chaco region. It was then when the LAB was mobilised to serve in the conflict to help overcome the logistic problems like transporting war materials (IE, ammo, medicines, supplies, fuel... ) to the frontlines. During that conflict alone LAB's Ju.52 transported over 4.400 tons of cargo. It's also worth mentioning that, outside of the conflict area, LAB's Ju.52 made, in 1933 alone, 144 flights with a total of 303.10 flight hours and 1.293 passengers transported (quite impressive back then), in order to keep the LAB active and economically viable.  Almost at the end of the conflict, in April 1935 (the war ended formally in June) a fourth Ju.52 was incorporated into LAB's fleet.

During the war, Ju.52's main task was to transport vital supplies from Villa Montes (a town in South Bolivia) to Fortín Muñoz (Fort Muñoz - in the Chaco region) and to evacuate wounded soldiers back to Villa Montes. That flight took 5 hours on average, so it was possible to perform two flights per day. It's also worth pointing out that, except for a Ford Trimotor lost to an accident, the rest of LAB's fleet, survived the war which lasted, from September 1932 until June 1935. 

After the war, in January 1936 'Chorolque' was lost near Cochabamba (a city in central Bolivia) to a tragic incident where its 17 passengers died. During the summer of 1937 an additional Ju.52 was bought by LAB, named 'Illampú', after another Bolivian mountain. Some months later, on 15th December the 'Huanuni' was lost to another accident. 

On 24th May 1938, after having negotiated with Condor Syndicate (a company of Deutsche Lufthansa made with Brazilian capital to operate aerial routes in South America) an international aerial route was opened named 'La Recta' (meaning literally 'The Straight Line'). This route connected Lima, in Peru, with Frankfurt, in Germany via La Paz (Bolivia) and the Brazilian cities of Corumbá, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. This line was discontinued at the beginning of the World War 2, however the segment between Lima and Rio de Janeiro was maintained, by local pilots flying the Ju.52 and managed by the Condor Syndicate of Peru, Brazil and the LAB, until 31st March 1941. 

Back in 1938 the LAB had up to 8 active internal aerial routes in Bolivia, which were kept, with the Ju.52 active until 1941 when, because of World War 2 and the agreements with the USA, the Ju.52 were retired from active use and were sold to Brazil and Argentina. The last accident of a Bolivian Ju.52 took place on 4th November 1940 when an unnamed Ju.52 registered just as 'CB-17' crashed  when in flight between the cities of Santa Cruz and Corumba.

Sources:

1. https://aerospotter.blogspot.com/2009/12/trimotores-del-lloyd.html (translated)

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52#Variants

3. https://historias-bolivia.blogspot.com/2018/11/el-lab-en-la-historia-universal.html?m=0 (translated)

4. Osprey Publishing - Combat Aircraft 120 - Junkers Ju.52/3m Bomber and Transport Units 1936-1941

ANF Les Mureaux 200

 

The ANF Les Mureaux 200 was a French frontline reconnaissance aircraft that never went beyond the prototype stage.

Back in late 1935 with the increasing development of more modern types, it was obvious that the most advanced type of the French firm (the Mureuax 115) needed some modernisation. Its most urgent problem to solve was the open cockpit which limited the maximum altitude the Mureaux 115 had.

The Mureaux 200 was a strut-braced all-metal parasol monoplane with a fixed landing gear. The fuselage and wings were basically identical to those of the Mureaux 115 with the exception of the rear gunner machine gun which was placed closer to the vertical stabiliser due to the configuration of the semi-enclosed glazed cockpit.

It was powered by a single Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs engine which could deliver up to 848 hp of power and drove a three-bladed propeller. The only built prototype was unarmed, which, according to some authors, was the reason why it managed to get better performance when compared to the Mureaux 115. 

Planned armament was the same as the 115 had: a single engine-mounted 7,5 mm MAC 1934 machine gun which fired through the propeller hub or a 20 mm HS-9 cannon replacing it. It could also have a single defensive MAC 1934 machine gun at the open end of the semi-enclosed glazed-cockpit in a defensive configuration shooting to the rear and another one firing downwards through a hatch, with up a total of 200 kg (440 lb) of bombs placed under the fuselage and under the wing.

A third crew-member, a radio operator, was needed as this type was going to be fitted with radio, which eventually, never got. 

Only a single prototype was completed at Ateliers des Mureaux, close to Paris, which flew for the first time on 15th May 1936 though unarmed. It showed good flying characteristics when compared to its immediate predecessor, the Mureaux 115, (possibly because it lacked the extra burden of weaponry) but it didn't attract the interest of the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) or any other contractor whatsoever, so the type didn't enter mass production.

Following the tradition of this blog, we drawn an hypothetical production series version serving with the Armée de l'Air.

Sources:

1. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other1/mureaux200.html (translated)

2. https://www.valka.cz/ANF-Les-Mureaux-200-A-3-t43273

ANF Les Mureaux 117

 

The ANF Les Mureaux 117 was a French two-seater parasol scout aircraft of the 1930s. It was powered by a single Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs rated at 848 hp of power which drove a two-bladed wooden propeller, the same type which powered the Mureaux 113. 

With a crew of two (pilot and observer/bomber), it was armed with two Vickers 0.303 in machine guns mounted in the engine plus another one mounted at the rear cockpit for the observer in a defensive configuration. This machine gun was replaced in later versions by the 7.5 mm MAC machine gun. Like the Mureaux 115 it was also initially fitted with a single Lewis machine gun which could fire through the bottom hatch of the observer's cockpit but it was quickly removed and never saw real use. It also had provision for a total of 200 kg (440 lb) of bombs placed under the main fuselage and the wing.

As the aircraft could perform both as a pure recon airplane or as a recon-bomber, the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) gave the suffix of R.2 B.2 (the letter 'R' standing for 'Reconnaissance' and the letter 'B' standing for 'Bombardier' - Bomber) with the number two making reference to the number of crew members the type needed. Though, eventually, only 16 of them were equipped with bombs, so it wasn't very common. 

The Mureaux 117 differed from other types of the 110 family in having a reinforced wing with internal braces. Given that the aircraft comes from the Mureaux 113, work on the prototype started back in 1933 but it wasn't until January 1935 when the prototype took off for the first time. As part of the contract issued by the French Air Ministry, which sought to replace the older and outdated, though venerable, Potez 25 biplane recon airplane, a total of 115 Mureaux 117 were manufactured at Atelier des Mureaux in Les Mureaux, close to Paris from 1935 until 1936 when work on the more promising Potez 630 (which would eventually derive into the Potez 63.11) was already under design. 

However, as deliveries of those more advanced types were very slow, the Mureaux 117 (together with the Mureaux 115) was still in active service in September 1939 when World War 2 started, so it constituted the backbone of the Armée de l'Air's short-range aerial recon force equipping nine Groupes Aériens d'Observation (Aerial Observation Groups) which performed regular scouting missions over the German Siegfried Line during the period known as the "Phoney War". By April 1940, just one month before the main German attack, the airplane was still serving in numbers, many of them in the French African colonies. Anyway, when France fell in late June the type was written off and eventually scrapped by the Armée de l'Air de l'Armistice (Vichy French Air Force).

Oddly enough, back in 1938 a French right-wing newspaper published some news about the French government having sold some Mureaux 117 (and 115) to the Spanish Republican Government to help them in the Spanish Civil War. Those news turned out to be fake, but it's not reason to hold us from drawing an hypothetical Mureaux 117 serving with the Spanish Republican Air Force.

Sources:

1. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other1/mureaux117.html (translated)

2. https://www.valka.cz/ANF-Les-Mureaux-117-R-2-B-2-t42734

3. http://bioold.science.ku.dk/drnash/model/spain/index.html (accesible only through the wayback machine)

ANF Les Mureaux 115

 

The ANF Les Mureaux 115 was a French two-seater reconnaissance fighter and light bomber. It was powered by a single Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs which delivered 848 hp of power and drove a three-bladed propeller. 

The prototype flew for the first time on 6th March 1935 and a total of 119 aircraft of the type were manufactured between 1935 and December 1938 by Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord (National Company of Aeronautical Constructions of the North) at Les Mureaux, close to Paris. The production version was given the suffix of R.2 by the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) as they were suited to reconnaissance role. 

The Mureaux 115 was armed with a single 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine gun mounted on the engine, a single 20 mm Hispano-Suiza-9 cannon mounted in the engine and firing through the propeller hub, a single defensive 7.5 mm MAC 1934 placed in the observer's cockpit aimed to the rear and, initially, a single ventral 0.303 in Lewis machine gun which was fired by the observer through a hatch, though this machine gun wasn't mounted in most of the machines. It also had provision for four 50 kg (110 lb) bombs, two under the main fuselage and two under the wing. When equipped with bomb, the suffix B.2 (which stands for Bombardier - Bomber) was given. 

Just like every type in this family of planes, by 1939 it was already obsolete, however, as the Armée de l'Air didn't have any better alternative, they were kept at the frontlines when World War 2 began in September 1939 after undergoing some small modernisations as they were the backbone of the short-range recon aircraft fleet.

During the period known as the "Phoney War", the Mureaux 115 took part in many photo-reconnaissance missions over the Siegfried line and, given their vulnerability to German fighters and anti-aircraft fire, a Mureaux 115 has the dubious honour of being the first French aircraft shot down in the World War 2, during one of those recon missions. 

In spite of having fighter cover, they were still highly vulnerable because of their slowness (their maximum speed was just of 327.5 km/k - 203.5 mph) so, since before the beginning of the conflict, they were being replaced by the much better Potez 637 and Potez 63.11. However, deliveries of this aircraft were slow and by May 1940 some Mureaux 115 were still in active service and were employed all throughout the Franco-German front. 

When France fell in late June 1940 the Armée de l'Air de l'Armistice (Vichy France's Air Force) was created which took care of the remaining Mureaux 115 which, once unarmed, were employed as trainers, before being written off from service in July 1941.

Oddly, in 1938, various French right-wing newspapers published that some Mureaux 115 (together with some 117) were sold to the Spanish Republicans and took part in recon missions in the Spanish Civil War. Those reports weren't based in real facts, so they were simple propaganda, however as with many other profiles, we decided to draw an hypothetical-looking Mureaux 115 serving with the Spanish Republican Air Force.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANF_Les_Mureaux_113

2. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other1/mureaux115.html (translated)

3. https://www.valka.cz/ANF-Les-Mureaux-115-R-2-B-2-t42733

4. http://bioold.science.ku.dk/drnash/model/spain/index.html (accesible only through the wayback machine)

ANF Les Mureaux 113

 

The ANF Les Mureaux 113 was a French single-engined all-metal parasol two-seater reconnaissance aircraft with fixed landing-gear.

It was designed by André Brunet (who was the chief designer of Ateliers de Construction du Nord - ANF) who had previous experience with other designs of the type like the Mureaux 130A.2 recon plane. All his designs had in common a parasol wing, a metal frame and a fixed broad-gauge landing gear. After some minor modifications and improvements, the Mureaux 110 A.2 and 112.GR aircraft were completed, flying for the first time in 1931.

The French Air Ministry was impressed by the performance of the 110, placed a contract for its serial production under the denomination of Les Mureaux 113R.2. The pilot and the observer were seated in open cockpits, back to back, with the rear cockpit having a large windshield and a single defensive 7.5mm MAC 34 machine gun. It was powered by a Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs which delivered 650 hp of power and drove a two-bladed propeller and had a radiator protruding in the lower part of the nose.

A total of 51 machines were completed between September 1933 (when the type entered mass production) and January 1935 (when the type was discontinued in favour of more modern types such as the Les Mureaux 115) at Atelier des Mureaux, in the town of Les Mureaux which was later nationalised as part of the SNCAN complex. 

Additionally, a night-fighter version was built (which we already covered it some years ago) named Les Mureaux 114 CN.2, but it never went beyond the prototype stage and some of them were fitted with small underwing searchlights. 

It entered service with the Armée de l'Air's reconnaissance Groupes (a unit existing only in the French Air Force) and, eventually replacing the venerable Potez 25 in the Groupe Aériens Régionaux reserve units. When the World War 2 began in September 1939, the ANF 113 was limited to frontline recon operations but as outdated as they were, they were promptly scrapped or suited to the night-recon role.

Sources:

1. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other1/mureaux113.html (translated)

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANF_Les_Mureaux_113

3. https://www.valka.cz/ANF-Les-Mureaux-113-R-2-t42736

Nanchang Q-5, part two

 

This post is a direct continuation of the previous one.

Production blueprints were completed back in 1960 giving green light to the prototypes to begin. However, with the political climate in China during those years, the project was cancelled the next year. A small team kept the program alive until the work was reinstated at Nanchang. The first flight took place on 10th June 1965 and production manufacture began in 1969 with squadron delivery taking place in 1970. 

A total of 1.000 aircraft were produced approximately, 600 of them being updated to the Q-5A standard. Some few of them, maybe a dozen or so (exact numbers are unknown) were modified to carry tactical nuclear weapons. A long range variant was introduced, named Q-5I, in 1983, with an extra fuel tank instead of the weapons bay, with two additional underwing pylons to compensate for. Some of those aircraft have also served with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and have been equipped with an special radar for anti-ship missile guiding. Further improvements include the Q-5IA with new avionics and gun/bomb sighting system, and the Q-5II fitted with radar warning receiver technology. 

There were plans for a large modernisation of the type with western avionics and new navigation and attack systems, but those were aborted after Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. The aircraft continues in service though. 

More recently, the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has fielded newer models that include technology intended for the cancelled Q-5/A-5M and Q-5K. One of those new versions introduces a nose-mounted laser rangefinder and, most likely, a laser designator is also fitted, as the aircraft is said to be capable of deliver laser-guided bombs. 

The aircraft is one of the backbones of the PLAAF's ground attack fleet and, on 20th April 2017 two Q-5s were seen in Bohai Bay practising air strikes against ground targets in the wake of increasing tensions in the Korean peninsula.

The more newest variants are:

• Q-5E: A variant equipped with new pylon for laser-guided bombs such as the LS-500J. It also featured a new fire control system. The lase pod is missing because of weight issues.
• Q-5F: A laser designator pod carrier. It has a special large belly right pylon mounted for laser targeting pod.
• Q-5G: A Q-5E with internal fuel tank to solve its range problem.
• Q-5J: A tandem two-seater version of the Q-5. According to the manufacturer it can be used also in the forward air control role like the Fairchild-Republic OA-10A and providing target information via data links. The rear seat is slighlty higher than the front one, giving the rear pilot a 5 degree field of vision with the canopy opening to the right. When acting as a trainer the rear cockpit can override the frontal one.
• Q-5L: An upgraded Q-5C with new vision systems for night/day capability, infrared and television cameras mounted on the nose orb. It's also equipped with more modern utilities such as Head up Display, GPS Rx, INS, TACAN and chaff/flare dispensers. It can carry two LS-500J laser-guided glide bombs with a range of 12 km (7.45 milles) and it's also equipped with an optional belly fuel tank.
• Q-5N: An upgraded Q-5D with some improvements of the Q-5L and a different navigation system.

Sources:

1. 1. Midland Publishing - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19. The Soviet Union's First Production Supersonic Fighter

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanchang_Q-5

Nanchang Q-5, part one

 

The Nanchang Q-5 is a Chinese-built single seat twin-engine jet fighter ground attack aircraft heavily based on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 which is heavily used in the ground attack role.

Its origin can be traced back to the late 1950s when, in August 1958 the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) requested a jet attack aircraft for the ground attack role. 

Lu Xiaopeng was named chief designer of this project which, although based on the MiG-19, this new design, named initially as Qiangjiji-5 (5th fifth attack aircraft design), had a longer fuselage, area ruled to reduce transonic drag and fit a 4 m (13-ft) long internal weapons bay. The air intakes were placed at the sides of the fuselage to make room for a planned target radar in the nose which, eventually, it was never fitted. New wings with greater area and reduced sweep were also incorporated, though they were similarly looking to those of the MiG-19. The Q-5 was powered by the Liming-Wopen WP-6A turbojet engine which is itself a copy of the Soviet Tumansky RD-9, with 6.610 lbf of thrust power.

The redesign meant that the Q-5 was a bit slower at high altitude than the MiG-19, but at low altitudes it proved to be equally faster thanks to the area-ruled fuselage.

Production armament consists on two Type-23-1 23 mm guns mounted in the wing roots, two pylons under each wing and two additional pair of pylons under the engines were also provided in addition to the weapons bay. A total of 1.000 kg (2.205 lb) of ordnance could be carried internally with additional external 1.000 kg externally. On many aircraft the weapons bay were fitted with an auxiliary fuel tank.

Many variants were made, though in this post we're just covering some of them:

• Q-5: The original production version of the 1960s. It was equipped with a total of 6 pylons, two under each wing and two under the fuselage. Replaced by the Q-5A.
• Q-5Jia: A regular Q-5 modified to carry tactical nuclear bombs. Very few were converted to this role and some of them were fitted with the 317Jia radar as an improvement program. 
• Q-5I: AKA Q-5A. This version was a regular Q-5 with the internal weapons bay replaced with an additional fuel tank which increased fuel capacity in 70% more. A Chinese-built Type 74Y4 laser rangefinder was also fitted.
• Q-5IA: AKA Q-5B. Improved Q-5A with radar warning receiver and flare dispensers. It was equipped with an improved weapon aiming sight which allowed the attacks to be carried out from different angles. Extra outer pylons on outer wings were also added for PL-2/PL-5 air-to-air missiles, bombs or rocket launchers.
• Q-5Yia: AKA Q-5B (denomination given by the People's Liberation Army Navy - PLAN). A torpedo attacker developed for the PLAN. It was initially going to be equipped with YJ-8 anti-ship missiles but the programme was cancelled because of budget problems, even with the missile well developed. It was tried to retake the project in the 1980s but it was decided to give the role to the Xian JH-7. 
• A-5C: Export version fitted with western avionics which we already covered in previous posts.
• Q-5D: An interim attack aircraft introduced during the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis. It featured improved avionics and radar.

Sources:

1. Midland Publishing - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19. The Soviet Union's First Production Supersonic Fighter

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanchang_Q-5