Art Model AM 7207 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9 (I-210 M-82A) WWII Soviet Fighter

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9 (I-210 M-82A) WWII Soviet Fighter

In May 1941, Plant No. 19 in Perm commenced serial production of Arkadiy Shvetsov’s new M-82 twin-row radial engine. With supplies of Mikulin AM-series liquid-cooled engines strictly prioritized for the urgent Il-2 Sturmovik program, the Soviet leadership ordered the major fighter bureaus—Mikoyan, Polikarpov, Sukhoi, and Yakovlev—to adapt the new radial powerplant to their existing fighter airframes.

OKB-155 took delivery of its first flight-ready engine on May 18, 1941. By mid-June, the engineering team had finalized the blueprints and commenced major component assembly on the initial prototype. Performance projections estimated a top speed of 391 mph at 21,325 ft and 329 mph at sea level. Although directive deadlines mandated a maiden flight by July 1, prototype No. 6501 completed its maiden flight on July 23, 1941, with military test pilot Mikhail Martselyuk at the controls.

Following the plant’s evacuation to Kuybyshev, flight trials resumed in January 1942 on the second prototype, No. 6502, flown by test pilot Viktor Savkin. The test program confirmed satisfactory engine cooling without overheating issues, along with spin recovery characteristics notably superior to those of the production MiG-3. On September 7, 1942, aircraft No. 6502 was delivered to the NII VVS for State acceptance trials. The evaluation proved disappointing: the fighter attained a top speed of only 351 mph at 20,177 ft. Furthermore, military evaluators leveled sharp criticism at the powerplant installation, citing issues with both the operation of the engine and propeller unit and its maintenance under field conditions.

Although passed over for mass serial production, the type saw frontline service. On June 27, 1943, three modified airframes—No. 6501, 6502, and 6503—were assigned to the 260th SAD of the 7th Air Army on the Karelian Front. The aircraft remained in frontline service for approximately a year before being officially struck off charge due to airframe wear in 1944.

Technical Specifications of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9 (I-210 M-82A)

• Length — 26.50 ft
• Wingspan — 33.46 ft
• Height — 11.48 ft
• Wing area — 187.7 sq ft
• Maximum take-off weight — 7,456 lb
• Powerplant — 1 × Shvetsov M-82 radial engine, 1,700 hp
• Maximum speed — 351 mph
• Service ceiling — 28,543 ft
• Rate of climb — 2,940 ft/min
• Operational range — 665 miles
• Armament — 3 × 12.7 mm UBS synchronized machine guns (200 rounds each), 2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS synchronized machine guns (650 rounds each)