ARMAMENTS: Red Jets

Since Moscow’s May Day air show in 1947, the world has known that Russia has some very fast and possibly very good jet-propelled airplanes. Now, Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft, just off the presses, has told what it knows and surmises about Russian jets. With five drawings (“impressions”) and one photograph,, Jane’s gives some interesting descriptions, some of them fragmentary, of Red single-jet fighters, twin-jet attack bombers and fighters, four-jet bombers.

Says Jane’s, which is authoritative though unofficial: “The Soviet government has taken over and put to good use German experimental establishments, factories, plant, equipment, designs and experimental prototypes . . . Virtually the whole of the Junkers plant has been reestablished in Russia. An experimental development section of the company is located . . . 100 miles to the north of Moscow, and its main production unit is at Kuibyshev [on the middle Volga] . . . Here, it is reported . . . large-scale production of an Ilyushin bomber is being undertaken.”

The Ilyushin job, first seen by Western observers in August 1947, is a four-jet bomber with a probable range of 1,000 to 1,500 miles and bomb load of 5,000 Ibs. Some experts believe that the plane is too light to pick up Russia’s Abomb, but another four-jet bomber, the German-designed JU-287 (bomb load nearly 9,000 Ibs.) is said by Jane’s to be in “limited production” at Kuibyshev.

The fastest fighter on view in the 1947 displays was (Jane’s thinks) the YAK-17, a single-jet plane which looks something like Republic’s Thunderjet. Probable maximum speed of the YAK-17: around 650 m.p.h. Jane’s also reports a “research” plane of German design with a maximum speed of nearly 685 m.p.h. This is probably the plane which the Russians claim has passed the sonic barrier.