Mikoyan-Gurevich I-211
| I-211 | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Side view of the I-211 | |
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Mikoyan-Gurevich |
| First flight | 12 February 1943 |
| Status | prototype |
| Primary user | Soviet Air Force |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 |
The Mikoyan-Gurevich I-211 was a prototype high-altitude Soviet fighter aircraft built during World War II. It was a version of the Mikoyan-Gurevich I-210, itself a variant of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3, fitted with a Shvetsov ASh-82F radial engine. Its development was quite prolonged, although successful, but by the time it finished its manufacturer's trials in early 1944 there was no need for a high-altitude fighter and it was not worth reducing the production of existing fighters to convert a factory over to the I-211.
The I-211 was a direct descendent of the Mikoyan-Gurevich I-210 high-altitude fighter prototype, also known as the MiG-3-82 or MiG-9. Late in 1941, a decision was made to phase out production of the Mikulin AM-35A engine used by the MiG-1 and MiG-3 in favor of the Mikulin AM-38 engine used in the Ilyushin Il-2. The MiG design team had already created a version of the MiG-3 called the I-210 using a Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engine instead of the inline, liquid-cooled engine. A number of changes were made in order to accommodate the larger circumference of the radial engine, but the redesign of the engine cowling was a failure and the I-210 proved to be slower than the Yak-1 or the LaGG-3 when it first flew on 23 July 1941.
Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich continued development and another prototype was built, the MiG I-211, or the MiG-9Ye, using the improved ASh-82F engine. Improvements from the I-210 included aerodynamic refinements of the engine cowling, the cockpit was moved aft 24.5 cm (9.6 in), the oil cooler inlets were moved to the wing roots, the oil cooler was moved entirely inside fuselage and a larger tail was fitted. It was armed with two 20 mm (0.79 in) ShVAK cannon. It weighed some 300 kg (660 lb) less than the I-210, possibly due to an all-metal structure, but this cannot be confirmed.
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