MiG-17F - Syria - 1973

1
January 10, 2023
An extremely rare color photograph of a Syrian MiG-17F (serial 1217) from the early 1970s, probably just before or after the October War (1973). This is nevertheless, NOT the aircraft I will be reproducing, since I will be doing the one with the serial 1029 instead (see following photographs).
This is how the vast majority of SyAAF MiG-17s were painted at that time: orange sand and blue-green on the top surfaces. The blue-green appears to be darker here due to the photograph quality and exposure.

Note the new Syrian post-1972 insignia common with Egypt: no green stars on the roundels and the golden Eagle of Salahadin on the fin flash (barely to be seen here, only a small yellowish mark) . By 1973, not all SyAAF combat aircraft were repainted, with a few Syrian MiG-17s still wearing the old insignia with the three green stars and the older camouflage with olive drab (applied since after June 1967) instead of the blue-green stripes.

It's interesting to note how beautiful and clean these aircraft are looking in the color profiles of publications when compared to the worn-out and negligent look of the real machines.
2
August 27, 2023
Another photograph dated in 1973 of a Syrian MiG-17. Further technical details can be seen on the aircraft, such as a silver antenna and the presence of a dynamic pressure probe (for g-forces).
The pilot appears to be Riyadh Ali Hmesheh who was later lost during air combat over Lebanon in 1982.
3
August 27, 2023
A still from the Syrian propaganda movie made at some point between 1974-1979, showing the topic of this project, the MiG-17F with serial 1029 firing its guns during an exercise. This aircraft obviously survived the October 1973 War. Some details regarding insignia positioning and camouflage painting can be discerned.

The very short movie, of no exceptional video quality (due to the aged magnetic band) can be found here:
Youtube Video
4
August 27, 2023
Further stills from the same propaganda movie depicting the MiG-17 with serial 1029. The antenna appears to be silver, while no large IFF transponder can be seen on the back any longer.
5
August 27, 2023
The Airfix kit requires no specific review from me. It's the third such model I am finishing from this kit (out of in total 5 planned). I thought It's a mediocre kit at first, with a bad fit around the nose and wings and very wide panel lines, with plenty of missing details. Nevertheless, after I saw the MiG-17 kit from AZ model, I was thankful to still have these Airfix kits around.

The first layer of paint is of orange-sand, which is a self made mix.
No pre-shading so far.
6
August 27, 2023
I am not a big fan of free-hand airbrush painting, since I believe it's rarely the need of this technique for such camouflage patterns in 1:72. I first went for a well defined pattern with masking.
7
August 27, 2023
The blue-green is a self made mix as well. It should be quite dark overall.

Later edit: the "blue-green" should have been more blueish.
8
August 27, 2023
The hardlined camouflage
9
August 27, 2023
Overall, that entire masking effort was not worth it, since I decided afterwars to correct the edges of green strips with free-hand airbrush painting, after checking some reference photos once more.
10
August 27, 2023
And with the enemy, also work in progress. A very brief comparison of their disproportionate ground attack capabilities is found in the main text of this album.
11
August 27, 2023
Some post-shading and weathering. A lot more is there, but blended-out by the lightning from the photograph.

So far I applied only the insignia. For clarity once more, Syria and Egypt shared the exact same insignia and flags between 1972 and 1980.

The decals for the large serial numbers are next. No further stencils are known to have existed on these repainted MiG-17s in SyAAF service.
12
October 9, 2023
An finished!
A Syrian MiG-17 as seen during the October 1973 War.
13
October 9, 2023
Main camouflage painting in Orange-Sand and Blue-Green, the only two colors used by the locally repainted SyAAF combat aircraft after 1970.

Note the unusual loading, with four 4xFAB-100 bombs, with two improvised bomb racks under the fuselage.
14
October 9, 2023
The ejection seat from the Airfix kit represents some odd variant and doesn't correspond to the actual KK-2 (seen here) used by Arab Air Forces or the Vietnamese (VPAF).
15
October 9, 2023
Syrian MiG-17s also had the serial number repeated on the fin.

Also to be noted, that the Syrian flag and SyAAF insignia were identical to the Egyptian ones between 1972 and 1979.
16
October 9, 2023
The very large serial numbers were rather unusual and rare.
17
October 9, 2023
The PE-cockpit details from Eduard are still a good addition, but not that well researched except for the instrument panel.
18
October 9, 2023
The very large serial numbers were rather unusual and rare.
19
October 9, 2023
20
October 9, 2023
21
October 9, 2023
And some detailed resin wheels from ResKit, but the wheels from the kit are also good enough.

The Airfix kit includes a rather chunky overall detailing of the landing gear system (uncluding doors), with very thick parts and unclear details, but it's still usable and okish.
22
October 10, 2023
And the unique (scratchbuilt ) fuselage bomb racks for the small FAB-100. These were specific only to Egypt in the early 1970s and later implemented also to Syrian MiG-17s by Egyptian technicians by 1973.

Comments

47 19 January 2022, 20:37

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

27 August 2023, 19:43

Cuajete
Well done so far!

27 August 2023, 20:13

Łukasz Gliński
That camo and pic #1 look familiar 🙂 Following of course

28 August 2023, 12:33

Mr James
I like the camo. Loking good

28 August 2023, 12:41

Łukasz Gliński
Outstanding finish mate 👍 Love the colours and the subtle shading you've got there

9 October 2023, 20:24

Erik Leijdens
Fantastic work! Always love desert schemes

9 October 2023, 21:52

Clement
Great work on this little Fresco! I need to get one of these in the near future 🙂

10 October 2023, 13:30

Guy Rump
Great job! 👍

10 October 2023, 14:35

Marius
Thank you all for the kind words, I am glad you like it.

Clement: be aware, the Airfix kit has plenty of issues. Otherwise, the MiG-17 from AZ Models is a short run and requires overall even more work.

11 October 2023, 18:58

Clement
I had an AZ model Mig-17 in my stash but the fit and casting quality was so poor that I turned it into a paint mule. Hopefully, Eduard will one day give the Mig-17 the love it deserves 🙂

12 October 2023, 06:27

Cuajete
Great job one more time. Fantastic result, Marius.
Congrats!

6 January, 19:34

Marius
Thank you once more for the appreciation Cuajete!

7 January, 09:13

Album info

The MiG-17s entered the service of the SyAAF only shortly after the Suez War (November 1956), where Syria was not a direct participant. A previous article (MiG-17F - Syria - 1967 | Album by Redicus (1:72)) details the early service of MiG-17 in the SyAAF until the Six Day War (June 1967). As mentioned there, Syria operated only the MiG-17F, while the MiG-17PF version, although indeed ordered by Syria from the USSR, was delivered and operated only in the times of the UAR (United Arab Republic) by a common unit stationed in Egypt comprised of both Syrian and Egyptian pilots. After the dissolution of the UAR in 1961, the MiG-17PFs remained din Egypt under Egyptain command and never returned to Syria.

Before the Six Day War (June 1967), the SyAAF is estimated to have had approximately 40 MiG-17Fs in service. While the losses during the Six Day War certainly reduced this number greatly, further airframes supplied after the war almost doubled the pre-1967 fleet. Almost immediately after the Six Day War, all Syrian combat aircraft received camouflage painting standardized as orange-sand background with stripes or areas of olive-drab (such as MiG-21PFM - Syria - 1973 | Album by Redicus (1:72)) and replaced a few years later by the known blue-green used until nowadays (such as MiG-21MF - Syria - 1982 | Album by Redicus (1:72)).

It is estimated that Syria had approximately 80 MiG-17s by October 1973. By then, most MiG-17s were repainted with the blue-green shade and received the new national insignia (post-1972, common with Egypt) with the golden eagle of Salahadin on the fin flash and no green stars on the roundels. This usually happened after overhaul at "The Factory" in Aleppo, the main maintainance center of the SyAAF. Nevertheless, several MiG-17s and MiG-21s still had the old insignia of 1961-1972 with three green stars (red strip instead of green on roundels and fin flash) and the older camouflage pattern with the olive drab by the start of the October 1973 War.

The MiG-17s were the most numerous fighter-bombers in the service of the SyAAF in the autumn of 1973, to which additional 15 Su-20s and at least 20 more Su-7s were also used for ground attack. Last minute deliveries in late September 1973 might have increased the total number of operational Su-7s, but the numbers are not certain. When compared to the enemy CAS capabilities, the MiG-17F was a mere diminutive. A single Israeli F-4E could carry approximately 3000kg of bombs, to which additional air-to-air missiles (2xAIM-9Ds and 3xAIM-7Es) and an ECM pod could be carried. In comparison, the MiG-17 could carry only two 250kg bombs and eight unguided rockets, totalling a maximum warload of 800kg. Similar to the Egyptian MiG-17s, also some Syrian MiG-17s received the two additional fuselage hardpoints for bombs. A total of 4xFAB-100M could be carried with these hardpoints and under the wings, but the external tanks had to be left out. Additionally, the MiG-17s were far slower and lacked radar or even radar warning receivers, making them very vulnerable.

On the 6th of October 1973, close to the entire SyAAF was involved in the first strike against Israeli forces from the Golan Heights, as "Operation Badhr" commenced. The entire operational MiG-17F and Su-7BMK fleet escorted by MiG-21s flew numerous sorties against ground targets from the Goland Heigths and even further, with the loss of only one fighter-bomber (according to Syrian and some Israeli sources).

During the first days of the October 1973 War, the Arab MiG-17s did fulflill their missions with more or less accuracy, but during the second part of the conflict it became clear they were obsolete machines and too few in numbers to play any crucial role. As losses started mounting, emergency deliveries from various Warsaw Pact countries replenished in the second half of October 1973 some of the MiG losses, while hostilities were still ongoing. Freshly delivered machines such as MiG-17Fs and MiG-21F-13s were hastily repainted and rushed into battle.

Some supposedly official Syrian figures released in the USSR in the 1980s and 1990s are reporting for the October 1973 War a total of at least 95 aerial victories (out of which 7 by MiG-17s) of the SyAAF during air combat against the IDF in October 1973, although Israeli sources are giving a different picture admitting far less losses.

The MiG-17F with the serial number 1029 depicted in this album is certainly a participant and survivor of the October 1973 War. A color profile of this aircraft is found at page 236 of the "Arab MiGs, Volume 5" (by T. Cooper, D. Nicolle), where very large serial numbers are seen on the nose. A Syrian propaganda movie made at some point between 1973-1979 depicts this exact machine firing it's guns during an excercise, from which some stills are saved in this album.

The MiG-17s were retired from SyAAF service in the early 1980s, when all machines were put in storage at Ksheesh air base. Some of these airframes could still be sighted there in 2013-2014.

References:
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, et al., "Arab MiGs Volume 1", Harpia Publishing
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, et al., "Arab MiGs Volume 2", Harpia Publishing
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, et al., "Arab MiGs Volume 3", Harpia Publishing
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, et al., "Arab MiGs Volume 5", Harpia Publishing
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, et al., "Arab MiGs Volume 6", Harpia Publishing
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, "MiGs in the Middle East, Volume 2", Helion and Company
B. Norton, "75 Years of the Israeli Air Force, Volume 1", Helion and Company
R. Weiss, "The Israeli AF in the Yom Kippur War", IsraDecal Publications

MiG-17F - Syria - 1973

22 images

1:72

Completed

1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F 'Fresco' [Shenyang J-5] (Airfix A03091)

1:72 MiG-17A/P/F (Fresco A, B, C) - 37mm and 23mm gun barrels set & Pitot Tube (Master AM-72-071)

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