Shenyang J-5A

The Shenyang J-5/F-5 for exports is the Chinese copy of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17PF. This variant was equipped with a version of the RP-5 Izumrud radar located at the nose. It was powered by an WP-5 engine, which was itself a Chinese copy of the Klimov VK-1 and could deliver up to 5730 lb of thrust power, 7450 lb with afterburner. It was armed with three 23 mm Type-23-I cannon, which was also another copy of the Soviet NR-23. The first aircraft was manufactured on 11th November 1964 and, since then around 300 aircraft were manufactured by Chengdu Emei Machinery Factory in Chengdu, China until 1969 when production ceased. That's why in some sources, the J-5 is named as "Chengdu J-5A".
The J-5A served with the People's Liberation Army Air Force for a long period of time, in fact when its successor, the Shenyang J-6 (a Chinese licensed copy of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19) was phased out, the J-5A was still in active status. The type was also exported to Albania where most likely it served for a long period of time from the 1960s until the 1990s when they were put into storage and sold at an auction in 2016.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-5
2. https://www.valka.cz/topic/view/80748
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_Air_Force
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Shenyang J-5, various prototypes

The Shenyang J-5 is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft, which is a license-built Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. It was exported as the F-5 and its original denomination was Dongfeng-101 (East wind-101) and also Type 56, before being officially designated as J-5 in 1964.
As the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) obtained a number of Soviet-built MiG-17 fighters, designated internally by the PLAAF as J-4, in the early-1950s. In order to introduce modern production methods in the Chinese industry, the PLAAF obtained plans for the MiG-17F in 1955, together with two completed pattern aircraft, 15 knockdown kits and parts for ten aircraft. The first Chinese-built MiG-17F (with the serial Zhong 0101) produced by the Shenyang factory, flew for the first time on 19th July 1956 piloted by test pilot Wu Keming.
There were some experimental variants, like the torpedo bomber one, which was made to meet a requirement made by the People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF) for a torpedo-bomber version of the J-5. The heavy torpedo was carried under the fuselage, so one of the cannons had to be removed and the fuel load was reduced in order to not exceed the MTOW. Trials showed that performance numbers (except the ones for field performance) fell sharply when compared to the standard J-5 due to the high drag generated by the torpedo and the reduced fuel capacity. Therefore, the torpedo bomber didn't go beyond the prototype stage and the work on this prototype was used for the Nanchang Q-5B ground attack aircraft. As we couldn't find any photo or graphical evidence on this variant, the drawings should be considered as speculative.
The Shenyang J-5 was also used as a radar testbed. At least one J-5 with the serial 2424 was converted into an avionics testbed for an unidentified Chinese radar. The radar antenna was housed in a bulbous radome on the intake's upper lip, making the aircraft very similar to the Mikoyan-Gurevich SP-2 (which was an experimental variant of the MiG-15 fitted with a Korshun radar, the radar that was the forerunner of the MiG-17P/PF. As it's perfect for some alternate advanced version, we drawn a missile-armed variant because, why not?.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-5
2. Hikoki Publications - Chinese Aircraft - China's Aviation History since 1951

Shenyang J-5, various users

The Shenyang J-5 was used not just by North Vietnam, but by many other countries all around the globe.

• Somalia: Many F-5s were serving with the Somalian Air Corps and were lost in 1977 during the Ogaden War. 
• Sudan: The Sudanese Air Force received some F-5s, together with some MiG-17s, after achieving independence in the mid-1950s. They were mainly used for ground attack missions against rebels with limited air defences. 
• Tanzania: It's known that the Tanzanian Air Force used F-5s for ground attack missions during the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1977-1978. They were bought shortly after independence in 1961. 
• Zimbabwe: Some of the first fighters in the Zimbabwe Air Force were F-5s which were piloted by Pakistani pilots. They were acquired in the 1970s, after having declared independence and nowadays they're not in the active role no more. As we couldn't find pictures of the F-5 under Zimbabwean use, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Albania: After the Soviet-Albanian split in 1961, the Albanian government sought for new military suppliers, so they turned their heads to China, who sold them loads of armament during the 1960s. Among the first military aid sold to Albania there were F-5 jets. They were kept in active use wheel until April 1999 when they were deployed in the north against the Yugoslav Air Incursion. The role of the F-5 was relatively unsuccessful due to its subsonic speed, and the aircraft were soon relegated once the Shenyang F-6 (the Chinese version of the Soviet MiG-19) was available, so the F-5 was put into storage.
• United States of America: In the 1980s the United States bought a number of J-5 aircraft, together with some FT-2 trainers from China via the Combat Core Certification Professionals Company. Those aircraft were used in a "mobile threat" test program at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, operated by the 4477th "Red Hats" Test and Evaluation Squadron of the United States Air Force. Now are believed to be in storage.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-5

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Shenyang J-5, North Vietnamese Users, part two

Merry Christmas eve everyone! Today we keep going with a new post, this time being the continuation of the previous one, the Shenyang J-5/F-5 in North Vietnamese hands.
The Shenyang F-5 was the denomination the Chinese licensed copies were given to the MiG-17. Most of them were copies of the MiG-17F variant, but some of them were of the earlier MiG-17 (Fresco-A) variant. During the Vietnam war hundreds of F-5s served with the North Vietnamese Air Force and were used by many of their aces, like Nguyen Phi Hung, whose aircraft is depicted below, flew an F-5 ,numbered 2315, regularly over North Vietnam between October 1967 and July 1968 and it was during that time when he got the ace status, however, it's not clear which claims he made flying the 2315.
Another flying ace who, at some point in his career flew the F-5 was Le Hai who, together with Nguyen Dinh Phuc, claimed two F-4Bs shot down on 19th November 1967. However, US Navy's records only confirm Hai's victory.
Later, Hai added another aerial victory flying another F-5, numbered 3020, which granted him his seventh star. He shot down a Ryan Firebee drone over North Vietnam on 3rd August 1969. Flying that same aircraft, he claimed another F-4 over Thanh Chuong on 14th June 1968. He claimed that he had hit the Phantom twice with two bursts of fire at an altitude of 2000 m (6561 ft) high causing the Phantom to crash into the sea. The USAF loss records do not corroborate this kill, though.
Luu Huy Chao was another ace who flew an unusually camouflaged F-5 and was credited with 9 aerial victories over American aircraft. Chao was flying the F-5 depicted below when he claimed an F-8 Crusader on 14th December 1967 as his fifth victory, the one that granted him the ace status. However, the US Navy didn't recognise the loss, at least not on that day. That aircraft survived the war and is now present in Vietnam People's Air Force in Hanoi.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-5
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
3. Osprey - Aircraft of the Aces 130 - MiG-17-19 Aces of the Vietnam War

Shenyang J-5, North Vietnamese Users

The Shenyang J-5 (F-5 for exports) was a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor which was a licensed version of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. It received the denomination of Shenyang J-5 in 1964 and, it was virtually identical to the MiG-17.
It was used by the North Vietnamese Air Force during the Vietnam War, with the first deliveries taking place in 1965 and serving until the 1990s in interception missions, when they were retired to be replaced, together with the Shenyang F-6 (license production of the MiG-19), by either the MiG-21 or the Sukhoi Su-27.
It was a Shenyang F-5 who achieved the first aerial victory made by a North Vietnamese aircraft. On 3rd April 1965 an F-5 piloted by Pham Ngoc Lan, claimed to have shot down an American F-8E over Thanh Hoa province.
It was also the aircraft that the North Korean volunteer unit, named 'Doan Z', was supplied with in March 1967. They were based in Kep, in Hanoi. They were given old variants of the F-5 as they were a copy of the regular MiG-17 and not the MiG-17F.
Vo Van Man, another North Vietnamese Ace, flew the F-5 frequently during the aerial battles that took place in May 1967. He was shot down and killed while at the controls on 14th May, downed by an AIM-7E missile fired from a F-4C Phantom.
Another ace who flew the F-5 was Nguyen Nhat Chieu, who, on 20th September 1965 shot down an US Navy F-4B over Nha Ham, in Ha Boc province. That was his first aerial score and he went on to become a respected MiG-21 ace.
The last ace on this post, Luu Huy Chao, was flying the F-5 depicted below, when his formation, comprised of four fighters, was ordered to attack a formation of F-105s on 19th April 1967 when they were flying over Cam Thuy. The F-105s were able to escape towards the Gulf of Tonkin, however, being that one of the many sorties flew by that pilot.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-5
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
3. Osprey - Aircraft of the Aces 130 - MiG-17-19 Aces of the Vietnam War

Shenyang J-5/F-5.

The Shenyang J-5/F-5 is a Chinese-built single-seat jet fighter interceptor which is a license-built Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. It was exported to many countries under the denomination of Shenyang F-5.
It was originally designated as Dongfeng 101 and also as Type 56 before it was definitely named as J-5 in 1964.
It was built in China from 1956 until the 1960s when production ceased. It's believed that around 767 machines just of the regular version, the copy of the MiG-17F, were manufactured at Songling State-Owned Machinery Factory in the city of Shenyang, located in the province of Liaoning, in Manchuria. Initially, the Chinese obtained a license for the regular version of the MiG-17, which would retroactively be called Shenyang J-4 in the early 1950s. In order to introduce modern production methods to Chinese industry the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) obtained plans for the MiG-17F in 1955, along with two completed pattern aircraft, 15 knockdown kits and parts for ten aircraft. The first Shenyang J-5 flew for the first time on 19th July 1956 with test pilot Wu Keming as the pilot.
It was powered by a Wopen WP-5 engine (a copy of the Klimov VK-1) that yielded 25.5 kN (5700 lbf) of thrust and 33.8 kN (7600 lbf) with afterburner. It was armed with a single 37mm Type 37 cannon and two 23mm Type 23-1 cannons placed in the lower part of the nose, just like the regular MiG-17F.
It became the main PLAAF's fighter during the mid-to-late 1950s and even the first part of the 1960s and was also exported to many countries.
It served with the Cambodian Air Force, as ten F-5 were sent to the back then called Royal Khmer Aviation in 1965 as military aid. By 1970 only six of them were operational and those six remaining ones were lost on the ground in 1971 when the North Vietnamese Air Force conducted their "Sapper" attack.
It's also serving with the North Korean Air Force (NKAF). It's believed that at least 107 F-5s are still in active service with the NKAF. However, more than half of them are supposed to not be airworthy as they acquired back in the late 1960s and have been in active since then.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-5
2. https://www.valka.cz/topic/view/80747
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters