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Really weird Flagon!
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Author Topic: Really weird Flagon!  (Read 8240 times)
Greg C.
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Posts: 34


« on: November 13, 2008, 06:00:08 AM »

I was doing a little browsing through some of my references fin my favorites folder this evening, and came across a site with a serious collection of walk-around photos of an Su-15TM.  Some real oddities:

http://walkarounds.airforce.ru/avia/rus/sukhoi/su-15tm/ds_su-15tm_025.jpg
http://walkarounds.airforce.ru/avia/rus/sukhoi/su-15tm/ds_su-15tm_019.jpg
http://walkarounds.airforce.ru/avia/rus/sukhoi/su-15tm/ds_su-15tm_110.jpg

Yes sports fans, that appears to be a built-in canon.  Then there's the nose gear doors:

http://walkarounds.airforce.ru/avia/rus/sukhoi/su-15tm/ds_su-15tm_011.jpg
http://walkarounds.airforce.ru/avia/rus/sukhoi/su-15tm/ds_su-15tm_014.jpg

Yeah, closed while the aircraft is parked on the ground.  I haven't seen that before.  Apparently "23-Blue" is a development airframe, but not one I'm familiar with.  I know those wacky guys at Sukhoi were working on a ground-attack derivative in the very late '60s, but it was a mostly new aircraft.  (beaten-out by competition from within their own OKB, I might add..)  Anybody know more about this aircraft?
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FPSOlkor
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Posts: 281


« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2008, 08:08:48 PM »

Su-15TM was produced from 72 till 75 with anaverage of 100 planes per year. Armament consisted of 4 AA missiles and either gunpods with GSh-23 twin cannons, or on some (very few) a built-in belly twin 23mm GSh-23 with 250 rounds each.
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John Thompson
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Posts: 1695



« Reply #2 on: November 14, 2008, 08:15:41 PM »

That gun pod is provided as an option on one of the older Su-15TM kits (VES or Amodel), or with either the Hasegawa or ICM 1/72 Russian weapons sets. I don't remember specifically now, but if anyone really wants to know, I can check later when I'm at home.

Re the nosewheel door, this is closed possibly as a design feature to prevent foreign objects on the runway from being tossed up into the wheel well by the front wheel during taxiing and takeoff or landing. This was a consideration on Russian aircraft because of the desire to operate from less-well-prepared airstrips than is usually the case in the West. Or, when the aircraft was put on display, *maybe* they closed the doors to keep squirrels from nesting in there... Wink

One well-known example of an aircraft whose main landing gear inner doors were designed to be closed when on the ground (but to avoid obstructing the radiator intake when taxiing) was the P-51 Mustang!

John
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 01:27:12 AM by John Thompson » Logged
Greg C.
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Posts: 34


« Reply #3 on: November 16, 2008, 07:00:27 PM »

I have simply never seen a shot of an Su-15 with the nose doors closed before.  I probably can't claim to have the most comprehensive collection of references on the type, but it is fairly extensive, (..not that I'm obsessive or anything.. Grin Grin ) and I don't have a single such photo of a service aircraft with the doors closed, so I'd guess you're probably right about the squirrels, John.
As to the canons, that's another thing I have never seen in my collection.  I know the podded canons were a common loadout, so I suppose it makes sense that they would work-up an internal mounting, it's just news to me.
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