Fairey Gannet, part one, foreign users

 

The Fairey Gannet was a British carrier-borne aircraft of the post Second World War. It was a mid-wing monoplane with a tricycle undercarriage, a crew of three and a double turboprop engine driving two contra-rotating propellers. 

It was used by many non-British users:

• Australia: The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) decided to purchase the Fairey Gannet in the early 1950s for use on board on the soon to be commissioned HMAS Melbourne (R21) aircraft carrier. Six RAN aircrew went to the United Kingdom in early 1955 to be trained on operating the Gannet at the Royal Navy Air Station (RNAS) Eglinton, in Northern Ireland. 
  Later, two RAN Gannet squadrons, were formed at RNAS Culdrose, in Cornwall, and later, on 23rd August 1955, they were officially formed as 816 and 817 Squadrons. On 8th March 1956 HMAS Melbourne arrived at Glasgow, Scotland and the two Gannet squadrons (24 machines in total) were loaded on board, together with two squadrons of de Havilland Sea Venom fighters and two Bristol Sycamore helicopters for use in the RAN. Then, HMAS Melbourne sailed to Australia and in early May 1956 she arrived in Jervis Bay where the aircraft were unloaded and transported by road to the Naval Air Station at Nowra, in New South Wales. 
  Ten additional Gannets were also acquired to replace losses due to accidents. On 18th August 1958 , one squadron, 817 was decommissioned, leaving 816 squadron the only one to operate the Gannet in Australia. Three Gannet T.2 (dual control trainers) were also purchased in 1957 and one AS.1 was later converted into a T.5 training aircraft, which was operated by 724 and 725 squadrons.
  The Gannets conducted regular exercises on board HMAS Melbourne, in Australian and South-East Asian waters, as well as being part of the Far East strategic reserve, where they were employed for surveillance and reconnaissance duties during the Malayan Emergency and the Indonesian Confrontation. HMAS Melbourne was also part of the escort the fast troop transport ship HMAS Sydney (R17) on her first deployment to South Vietnam in 1965-1966. Fifteen of the thirty-seven purchased Gannets, were lost in accidents and a total of six crew members were killed. After having served for more than ten years, in July 1967 the Gannet was withdrawn from front line service as, by then, they were redundant and were being replaced by either the Westland Wessex helicopter with its dipping sonar and/or Grumman S-2E/G Tracker with its high-tech electronics and anti-submarine equipment.
  Nowadays, some few Gannets are shown as museum aircraft, but most of them were scrapped or re-purposed at Nowra for fire-fighting training.
• West Germany: The Federal Republic of Germany operated the Gannet too. In 1956 the German Federal Armed Forces were created as a member of the NATO alliance. West Germany's naval interests lay mainly in the Baltic Sea and, as Soviet and Warsaw Pact submarines would have to traverse the shallow Baltic approaches to reach the open North Sea, NATO planners assigned West Germany with an important anti-submarine role within the alliance. Britain supplied most of the main equipment of the embryonic Marineflieger (German Naval Air Arm) with 15 Gannet AS.4 and one T.5 ordered in 1956. 
  As time was essential, the aircraft were withdrawn from previous existing Admiralty contracts and pilot conversion training was undertook at White Waltham airfield, in Berkshire during early 1958 and operational crew training was carried out at RNAS Eglinton, where, in order to accelerate crew training a single T.5 was delivered on 6th March 1958 and the Bundesmarine's Gannet Squadron MFG 1/1 was formed two months later. 
  After having been commissioned, the squadron flew to its new home base of Schleswig in late July 1958 where it operated as part Marinefliegergeschwader 1 (MFG 1) on anti-submarine and anti-shipping duties as tasked by NATO's Commander Baltic Approaches (COMBALTAP). The Gannets serving with the MFG 1 they generally used their construction numbers as a permanent identity and were identified within their unit by a two-letter and three figure fuselage code ranging from 'UA+101' (where the letter U indicated the airplane's anti-submarine role and the letter A indicating MFG 1) to UA+115. The T.5 received the unusual figure code of UA+99.
  The squadron was later rebased to Nordholz, in Lower Saxony and transferred to MFG 3 control. Under this new command, the Gannets retained their 'UA' codes instead of the unit's 'UC'. One aircraft, UA+115 was lost to an accident but the remaining Gannets continued to serve with the Marineflieger until their task was taken over by helicopters and the Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic patrol aircraft. The first Br.1150 Atlantic arrived in Nordholz in December 1965 and the Gannets were eventually assigned for storage from June the following year. Switzerland showed some interest to use them as target tows, but as original contract prohibited sale of the aircraft to third parties, nothing came of this. Most of German Gannets were scrapped, but some of them were kept as museum exhibits.
• Indonesia: Indonesia ordered 18 Gannet AS.4 and some T.2 together with ground instruction frames directly from Fairey in January 1959. This came because of Dutch pressures to France to not sell the Breguet Br.1050 Alize as the Dutch foresaw problems with their former colony. However, the UK approved the sale to the Indonesian Air Force.
  Fairey bought back 20 surplus Gannet AS.1 and two T.2s airframe from the Admiralty to fulfill the contract. Those AS.1 were updated to AS.4 standards and some other AS.4 were bought. 
  After undergoing official training at White Waltham, and suffering several delays because of political and military reasons (Indonesia had invaded Western Papua-New Guinea with subsequent clashes with Dutch forces in the region), it wasn't until 18th January 1962 that Indonesian Gannets were shipped to the Asian country. 
  Under Indonesian service the Gannets were used for coastal reconnaissance missions, supporting Indonesian forces moving east through the archipelago. When Malaysia achieved independence in September 1963, Indonesia advanced into North Borneo too and this caused an armed response from Britaim which lasted until 1966. During this period, the West called off every arms trade with Indonesia, and as spare supplies ran off, Indonesian Gannets began to steadily fall. The Indonesian government then turned to the USSR for military help and by 1971 very few Gannets were still in service. The last one was withdraw shortly afterwards and nowadays one is conserved in Indonesian Armed Forces' Museum in Jakarta.

Sources:

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

2. https://www.navy.gov.au/aircraft/fairey-gannet-as14

3. https://www.bredow-web.de/Luftwaffenmuseum/Transport/FAIREY-GANNET/fairey-gannet.html (translated)

4. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 23 - Fairey Gannet

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, even more Asian users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 is a Soviet single-seat twin-engine supersonic fighter which is capable of maintaining supersonic speeds at level flight. Its "S" variant was widely exported all around the world and it served, among many other, with the following countries:

• Afghanistan: Afghanistan was the last customer of the Soviet-built MiG-19s. Our source claims that it was in 1965 when the Republican Afghan Air Force took delivery of 18 ex-Soviet MiG-19Ss with some of them surviving long enough to take part in the April 1978 revolution and also the ensuing civil war. The only problem is that, by 1965 there wasn't any Republican Afghan Air Force, as it wasn't created until 1973. However, we decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and drawn a speculative Afghan MiG-19S set in 1975.
• Cambodia: According to some reports the Royal Khmer Aviation (RKA) received an unknown number of MiG-19Ss during the late 1960s when prince Norodom Sihanouk was in power. After the March 1970 pro-American coup which forced Sihanouk to exile, the fighters were taken into the Khmer Air Force (KAF) and used against the South Vietnamese FNL (National Liberation Front) partisans which were making raids into Cambodian territory.
• Indonesia: When President Sukarno was in power during the late 1950s and early 1960s Indonesia had good relations with the USSR and took profit of the Soviet military aid. Soviet assets were supplied to the Indonesian Air Force which, among other material, there was a batch of 35 or 40 MiG-19Ss. They served with many fighter squadrons, among them the No.12 Squadron and later they were transferred to the Indonesian Naval Air Arm.
  In 1966, Sukarno was overthrown by anti-communist General Suharto and, in the ensuing wave of repression, Soviet support was cut-off. Therefore, every Soviet equipment became unserviceable due to the lack of spare parts. One MiG-19S was lost in an uncontrolled dive during an airshow killing its pilot.
  One MiG-19S is currently at display in the Indonesian Air Force Museum.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-19

2. Midland Publishing - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19. The Soviet Union's First Production Supersonic Fighter
3. https://www.valka.cz/Mikojan-Gurevic-MiG-19S-kod-NATO-Farmer-C-t12470

4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

WSK-Mielec Lim-5, other variants

The Lim-5 was built in various variants. There was the Lim-5R which was a reconnaissance variant of the regular Lim-5, fitted with an AFA-39 camera placed under the cockpit. Only 36 exemplars were converted from regular Lim-5 in 1960 and them all served with the Polish Air Force.
The Lim-5M was an attack variant sourcing from an study made in the late 1950s looking for a light attack aircraft based on the Lim-5. As both the MiG-17 and the Lim-5 could only carry 250 kg of bombs underwings, which replaced their external fuel tanks. After the prototype, designated as 'CM' flew for the first time on 2nd June 1959, some months later, in 1960, the Poles began the production of an attack aircraft, the Lim-5M. It introduced many modifications to the fighter, most of which stressed on allowing the modified plane to be based on ground airfields. It had double undercarriage wheels, a braking parachute and sockets for RATO (Rocket Assisted Take Off). The wing sections close to the fuselage were noticeably thicker, as they contained additional fuel tanks. Instead of the two bombs, it could carry two launchers for eight 57 mm S-5 air-to-ground rockets. Sixty of them were built from 1960 until May 1961 and, in November 1961 they started to serve with the Polish Air Force, where they weren't successful as thicker wings decreased performance and made flying tricky, while increased drag meant that increased range wasn't achieved.
The Lim-5P was a Polish licensed version of the MiG-17PF. It was equipped with the Izumrud 5 (RP-5) radar and 130 of them were manufactured by WSK at Mielec from 1959 to 1960. As it was a copy of the MiG-17 it was powered by the Klimov VK-1F (named in Poland as Lis-5F) and although not many of them were built, some of them were exported. They were exported to Bulgaria, Indonesia (which we couldn't find reliable pics of them, so the drawings are speculative) and East Germany. They also served with the Polish Air Force were they were kept active until the 1980s when they were written off. At least one of them was experimentally fitted with ventral cameras under the cockpit at starboard, similar to the Lim-5R.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL-Mielec_Lim-6
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klimov_VK-1
3. https://www.valka.cz/WSK-Mielec-Lim-5-t196637
4. https://www.valka.cz/topic/view/44624
5. https://www.valka.cz/topic/view/80676
6. https://www.valka.cz/topic/view/80677
7. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

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

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F, part eleven, more Asian and Middle-East users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F was supplied to many countries all around the globe. Among them, the following ones:

• Indonesia: As Indonesia grew closer to communism, the country got closer to the Easter bloc, so in the early 1960s many Soviet-built aircraft were supplied. At least 40 of them were deployed in three airfields in Morotai (northern Makulu), Amahai (Seram) and Letfuan (Banda islands, south-west of Papua). They were deployed at Morotai against PRRI-PERMESTA and the Republic of South Maluku separatists. Their primary mission was to provide air cover for airlift and aerial logistics during the infiltration in Papua and, if the war broke out, they would've provided escort for both Tupolev Tu-16 and Ilyushin Il-28. Some of them were part of an Indonesian aerobatics squadron commanded by Rusmin Nurjadin, who became Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force in 1966.
• Iraq: After the King or Iraq was overthrown in 1958, the Soviets quickly supplied MiG-17Fs among other aircraft to the Iraqi Air Force, to replace the De Havilland Vampire. During the 1960s and early 1970s many more of them were purchased and then forwarded to Syria or Egypt to aid them in the Arab-Israeli Wars. In 1961 the 5th Squadron, based at Rashid Air Base and the 7th Squadron, based at Kirkuk Air Base, were fully equipped with MiG-17F. They were all replaced by more modern types during the 1970s.
• Israel: On 12th August 1968 two Syrian MiG-17Fs landed at the abandoned Betzet air strip, in the northern part of the country. It seems that the pilots were using very outdated maps and landed there by mistake. Both pilots, Lt. Walid Adham and 2nd Lt. Radfan Rifai, were taken prisoners and were released two years later in an exchange of prisoners. The machines were transported to Ramat-David Air Force Base where they were tested, and then sold to the United States. 
• Mongolia: As Mongolia was a Soviet puppet, the Mongolian People's Army Air Force acquired in the mid 1950s at least 36 MiG-17F fighters which were kept in active service until 1990. As we couldn't find graphical information about the MiG-17F in Mongolian colours, the drawing and serial number must be considered as speculative.
• North Korea: The North Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force acquired many MiG-17F in the early 1960s and has kept them in active service even nowadays. Apparently the ones that are officially active are in very bad condition and their flightworthiness is at least questionable. 
• North Yemen: Apparently the Yemen Arab Republic Air Force had in service some few MiG-17F in the 1960s. They saw action during the border clashes between North and South Yemen and many of them were used against royalist rebels. It seems that during those conflicts, the Yemen Arab Republican Air Force only lost two MiG-17Fs.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-17

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

3. https://warisboring.com/45650-2/

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_People%27s_Army

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

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

7. https://www.iaf.org.il/4450-46914-en/IAF.aspx

8. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Aero L-29 part seven, miscellaneous users

As we've posted previously so many times, the Aero L-29 was used by many countries. Now it comes the turn for those miscellaneous and civilian users which we haven't counted for tags as they were too many of them.

• People's Republic of China: The People's Liberation Army Air Force bought 4 Aero L-29 in 1968. We found some photos of an Aero L-29 kept nowadays in the Beijing's Air Museum, however, as we couldn't find pics of the L-29 serving with the PLAAF, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Indonesia: The Indonesian Air Force bought some L-29s in the late 1960s to equip their trainer squadrons. They were in active service until the 2000s when they were retired and sent to the Indonesian Air Force Museum where they are being shown nowadays.
• Socialist Republic of Vietnam: It seems that the Vietnam People's Air Force had some L-29s in trainer service after the end of the Vietnam War. They were replaced with the more advanced L-39, and nowadays at least one L-29 is being shown at the Bach Mai Air Force Museum.
• United States: The US Navy got some modernized Aero L-29 during the late 2000s to use them in aggressor squadron maneouvres. They were seen on board the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) back in the year 2010.
• Argentina (untagged): The Argentinean Experimental Aircraft Association has one L-29. 
• Canada (untagged): The International Test Pilots School uses the Aero L-29.
• Norway (untagged): The Norwegian acrobatic team "Russian Warbirds of Norway" use the L-29 (with British civilian registrations).
• New Zealand (untagged): The acrobatic team Soviet Star, based in Christchurch, is equipped with the L-29.
• Slovakia (untagged): The Slovakian company Air Prestige has at least one Aero L-29.

We know there are many more civilian users, but we selected some of them.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_L-29_Delfín

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Liberation_Army_Air_Force

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

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_People%27s_Air_Force

5. https://forum.keypublishing.com/forum/modern-military-aviation/naval-aviation/103773-l-29-over-lhd-6

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI, part seven, Asian users part one

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI saw also loads of action in the Asian continent. Here are some countries where it was used:

• Cambodia: The Royal Cambodian Air Force got a single MiG-15UTI by order of the Prince Sihanouk in November 1963 which received many colour patterns during its active live. It operated with the intervention group in the ground-support role. It passed on to the Khmer Air Force and was most probably destroyed during the subsequent combats that ended with the triumph of the Democratic Kampuchea.
• Indonesia: Due to the rise of the Communist Party of Indonesia, the country got closer to the eastern bloc. That's why the Indonesian Air Force bought a batch of Soviet aircraft, among them some MiG-15UTIs from Czechoslovakia. They served as the main trainer of the air force during the decade of the 1960s and served alongside the Aero L-29 until they were phased out.
• Mongolia: The MiG-15UTI was the main trainer of the Mongolian People's Army Air Force. They received it in the late 1960s and early 1970s and they continue to serve in that role until the fall of communism in that country, in 1992.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15

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

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

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_People%27s_Army_Air_Force