June 5, 2007 at 11:22 pm
I don’t know if this is one for the historic or military forums, so bear with me please.
Now that details are emerging of western, particularly US, testing of Soviet types during the Cold War, are there any reliable reports (preferably with pictures) of the opposite, ie western types being flown by the Soviets?
I have heard vague reports of an F-5 having been tested in Russia but it’s no more than that, just a rumour.
Anything a bit more concrete?
William
By: Heard not seen - 18th June 2007 at 18:00
Doh!!! 😀 😀 😀
By: Bager1968 - 18th June 2007 at 07:27
For the F-14, note the statement ” UPGRADE: sorry, this is fake! This photos send me a friend from Mexico, but original photos located in iiaf.net 🙁 “
As in… photos of US F-14s modified to show Soviet markings.
By: Heard not seen - 18th June 2007 at 01:02
F-14 and vampire. Real? :confused:
By: Tillerman - 12th June 2007 at 20:30
The F-5 at the Prague-Kbely AFB museum:
Tillerman.
By: Flanker_man - 12th June 2007 at 19:21
The Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) Structures Faculty have an ex-Vietnam F-5 fuselage…

F-111 capsule……

….the fin from a VA-82 A-7….

…..and the fin from Scott O’Grady’s F-16……

They were all used to study western structural technology.
More photos from MAI at :-http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/flankers_pages/mos2006_day02.html
As for other airframes……
There is an F-5 & A-37 at the Polish Aviation Museum at Krakow.
Apart from the B-29, the Soviets also studied and tried to reverse-engineer the U-2 as the Beriev S-13 (Izdelye ‘U’)
As for the ‘Doolittle’ B-25 – why would they need to make one flyable?? – they were supplied under Lend-Lease.
Ken
By: CSheppardholedi - 12th June 2007 at 17:44
Finally found my back issue of Air and Space with the F-86 capture article. The things they Engineered from this F-86-A windfall were
1: a device that read the signals from the Sperry APG-30 radar gunsight (a radar detector) and began to mount them in Migs in the field.
2: Into new production A/C Larger speed brakes, new hydraulics for ailerons and elevator.
3: F-86 style accelerometer for measuring G’s
Further Korean captures
4: G-suits, from captured Pilots (not this one-he got away via SAR)
5: from another later model f86-E all hydraulic control, and fully movable stabilizer.
By: JoeB - 12th June 2007 at 16:46
Here’s an alleged photo of an F-86 in Soviet hands.
Here’s the photo of the plane the Soviets captured as they found it

F-86A-5 49-1319, ie FU-319, did in fact belly in on a mudflat off the NK coast the same day the Soviets said they found it, October 6, 1951. The pilot, Bill Garrett, was rescued but plane not fully destroyed. We only have to accept that the Soviets were able to return this plane to flying condition, which seems plausible. Although, I guess it doesn’t have to be the same plane as in the other photo.
Interestingly, James Jabara was flying this a/c when he reached 5 credited victories the previous May 20, first ‘jet ace’; in the West, since by further coincidence Fedor Shebanov claimed his 5th victory in the same combat (though not all 5 of either man’s claims to that date can be verified in opposing records).
Joe
By: steve_p - 12th June 2007 at 14:06
Here’s an alleged photo of an F-86 in Soviet hands. I’d imagine that the technology that the Soviets were most interested at the time wasn’t the ranging radar or the powerplant – but the rolls of film in the gun cameras – judging by the quality of this picture.:D
Yefm Gordon, in one of his books, mentions that at one point the Sukhoi design team were tasked with reverse-engineering a F-86. I would have thought that by the time this had been done the Soviets would have had better home-grown aircraft in service.
Best wishes
Steve P
By: VoyTech - 12th June 2007 at 13:33
The ex-South Vietnamese F-5, and a Cessna A-37, are on display at the Polish Aviation Museum in Cracow.
http://www.muzeumlotnictwa.pl/indexen.php?mod=show_galery&idg=5
By: TEEJ - 8th June 2007 at 11:50
There were ex-Vietnamese F-5s in both Poland and Czechoslovakia, supplied to enable the aircraft industry in those countries to examine Western aircraft construction and technology. there is no doubt that other US aircraft were examined, but little evidence (so far) that many, if any were test flown in Russia.
There are some ‘dodgy’ photos on the web showing, amongst other things, a Vampire in Soviet markings (alleged ex-Iraqi) and of course the fabled Russian Tomcats (allegedly supplied by Iran).
The shapes seen at a Russian air base were convincing mock-ups
There used to be on the web an image of an F-5E in VVS markings under test in the Soviet Union. It is possible it was one of the F-5s evaluated before being passed onto either the Poles or Czechs?
By: DaveF68 - 8th June 2007 at 10:14
There were ex-Vietnamese F-5s in both Poland and Czechoslovakia, supplied to enable the aircraft industry in those countries to examine Western aircraft construction and technology. there is no doubt that other US aircraft were examined, but little evidence (so far) that many, if any were test flown in Russia.
There are some ‘dodgy’ photos on the web showing, amongst other things, a Vampire in Soviet markings (alleged ex-Iraqi) and of course the fabled Russian Tomcats (allegedly supplied by Iran).
The shapes seen at a Russian air base were convincing mock-ups
By: zoot horn rollo - 7th June 2007 at 20:49
Some time back I was asked to enquire amongst some contacts in Moscow if they knew anything about an RCAF F-86 that had defected/disappeared to/in the East (I can’t remember the correct story). Suffice to say that I couldn’t find anything out about it at that time.
By: FlyingKiwi - 7th June 2007 at 20:34
im sure there are many from vietnam or other places that were tested as well
I think we can assume that all of the American types at the Vietnamese air force museum in Hanoi ended up being looked over by the Russians:
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/Museums/VietnameseAirForce/American/index.html
Richard.
By: FlyingKiwi - 7th June 2007 at 20:31
The USSR was gifted a tandem-rotor Vertol 44, the civilian version of the
H-21 helicopter, by President Eisenhower in the late 50s.It’s on display at a museum…it recently was shown here in the forum in a discussion of the Yak-24 helicopter (they’re parked together at the museum).
Here’s a photo of the Yak-24 “Horse”, with the Vertol 44 behind it:
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/Museums/Monino/Highlights/index.html#Yak24Horse
I did supply a photo of this Vertol 44 for a book recently, can’t remember who the author was and I don’t think I’ve been paid yet! :diablo:
Richard.
By: Heard not seen - 7th June 2007 at 09:09
Try this link for anyone who has not seen the American evaluation of Migs in the 60s.
By: Fouga23 - 7th June 2007 at 04:18
Here’s an alleged photo of an F-86 in Soviet hands. I’d imagine that the technology that the Soviets were most interested at the time wasn’t the ranging radar or the powerplant – but the rolls of film in the gun cameras – judging by the quality of this picture.:D
Looks like a faked picture of a model to me;)
By: Maple 01 - 6th June 2007 at 23:09
Seem to remember an F-4 shape at one of the Moscow test fields
By: Levsha - 6th June 2007 at 19:12
I recall reading an article on an F86 Sabre that was damaged and landed in N Korea, salvaged, wisked off to Russia and test flown there. I will dig for the thing when I have a chance. It was in Air and Space Mag a few years ago.
Here’s an alleged photo of an F-86 in Soviet hands. I’d imagine that the technology that the Soviets were most interested at the time wasn’t the ranging radar or the powerplant – but the rolls of film in the gun cameras – judging by the quality of this picture.:D
By: Atcham Tower - 6th June 2007 at 14:45
There is an ex-SEA F-5 in the museum at Kbely, Prague. A Czech friend told me that when it was delivered, a live cannon round was found in one of the guns!
By: J Boyle - 6th June 2007 at 14:37
The USSR was gifted a tandem-rotor Vertol 44, the civilian version of the
H-21 helicopter, by President Eisenhower in the late 50s.
It’s on display at a museum…it recently was shown here in the forum in a discussion of the Yak-24 helicopter (they’re parked together at the museum).