Shenyang J-8

Shenyang J-8
Shenyang J-8 II F armed with missiles and six bombs
Type:	Interceptor
Design country:	People's Republic of China
Manufacturer:	Shenyang Aircraft Corporation
First flight:	5th July 1969
Commissioning:	1980
Number of pieces:	Over 300

The Shenyang J-8 ( NATO code name : Finback ) is a Chinese fighter aircraft . The machine is also known under the names Jianjiji-8 or Jian-8 or F-8 . Of the more than 300 copies built, around 120 are currently still in service in China.

history

J-8 in the Chinese Aviation Museum

The establishment of the Chinese aviation industry took place after the founding of the People's Republic of China with Soviet help. Soon they saw themselves able to realize their own constructions in addition to the license building of Soviet types.

One of these ambitious plans was the J-8, which was intended as a single-seat interceptor. Under this name, the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich Je-152M was built under license from 1969. It is a typical construction for the time with a central air intake, a long, slim fuselage with two replica Tumanski R-11 engines lying next to one another and truncated delta wings and pendulum rudders . It was the starting point for further developments.

The first flight of the J-8 prototype took place on July 5, 1969 with test pilot Yin Yuhan in the cockpit. The J-8 was given the NATO code name "Finback" and in the 35 years that followed the first flight went through a radical development that is visible in the following versions:

Versions

J-8 I.

Shenyang J-8 II B in the Datang Shan Aircraft Museum

J-8II photographed from a nearby U.S. Navy aircraft

• J-8I (“Finback-A”) - all-weather fighter with a fire control system and two Wopen-7B engines . First flight on April 24, 1981.
• JZ-8 ("Finback-A") - reconnaissance version with reconnaissance container.
• J-8B ("Finback-B") - The first radical redesign took place here in 1981. Instead of the central air intake with adjustable shock wave diffuser , the machine received a long nose for a powerful SR-4 radar. The air inlets with cutting edges to repel the boundary layer of the fuselage were relocated to the sides of the fuselage behind the cabin. Instead of the tail stabilizers attached below, a stabilizing fin that folds away to the side during take-off and landing was attached, similar to the MiG-23. The hull constructed according to the area rule has been revised. The first flight of this new type was on June 12, 1984.
• J-8IID / J-8D ("Finback-B") - Version with a rigid air refueling probe on the right side in front of the cabin.
• J-8II "Peace Pearl" - A version planned together with the US company Grumman with American avionics, Pratt & Whitney PW1216 engine and Westinghouse AN / APG-66 radar. The project was stopped after the massacre in Tian'anmen Square .
• J-8IIH ( J-8H ) - first flight in December 1998. A further developed J-8II with glass cockpit, WP-13B engine, Type 1471- (KLJ-1) -PD-Radar (75 km range) with look-down- and shoot-down skills. Can deploy R-27 (AA-10), PL-11 (AAMs), and YJ-91 anti-radar missiles.
• J-8IIF ( J-8F ) - First flight in 2000. It corresponds to the J-8H with WP-13BII engines, air refueling probe and Type 1492 PD radar. Successful first launch of a PL-12 / SD-10 took place in 2004.
• F-8IIM - version planned together with Russian companies. The systems include a Fasotron-N-010 “Schuk-8” radar and Guizou-WP13-AIII engines. The armament includes the possibility of using Chinese PL-5, PL-8 and Russian R-27 guided weapons. First flight on March 31, 1997.
• J-8III / J-8C - Modernized version with canards, fly-by-wire system and modernized radar and engines.

commitment

So far, the only operators of J-8 versions are the Chinese armed forces . The “Finback” came into the public eye in April 2001 when a J-8II collided with an American Lockheed P-3 reconnaissance aircraft and crashed over the South China Sea . The American machine had to make an emergency landing on a Chinese base on the island of Hainan and was only returned a few months later.

For export, the J-8 was given the designation F-8 (Fighter-8).

The Iran was interested in procurement of F-8IIM, the pattern but was considered insufficient and not procured.

Technical specifications

J-8I and J-8II silhouette

Parameter	J-8B	F-8IIM
Construction year	1985	1997
crew	1
length	21.59 m	21.39 m
span	9.34 m
height	5.41 m
Wing area	42.20 m²
Empty mass	9,820 kg	10,371 kg
normal takeoff mass	k. A.	15,288 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	approx.17,800 kg	18,879 kg
Top speed	Mach 2.2
Service ceiling	20,000 m	18,000 m
Range	2,200 km	1,900 km
Engine	2 × Chengdu Wopen 23 with 64.06 kN each	2 × Chengdu Wopen WP-13B with 67.39 kN each

Armament

J-8

J-8 in the Beijing Military Museum

Fixed guns

• 2 × 30 mm automatic cannons Nudelman-Richter NR-30 with 50 rounds of ammunition each

Gun loading of 4500 kg at five external load stations

Air-to-air guided missile

• 4 × start rails for one EOTDC PL-2B each - infrared controlled for short distances
• 4 × start rails for one EOTDC PL-5B / C / E each - infrared controlled for short distances
• 4 × start rails for one PL-12 each - radar-controlled for medium distances

Unguided air-to-surface missiles

• 4 × rocket tube launchers for 12 × unguided S-5 air-to-ground missiles; Caliber 57 mm
• 4 × rocket tube launch containers for 7 × unguided air-to-ground missiles each; Caliber 90 mm

External container

• 1 × additional fuel tank with 800 liters of kerosene
• 2 × drop-off additional tanks with 480 liters of kerosene

J-8III

Fixed guns

• 2 x double-barreled 23-mm automatic cannon Type 23-3 with 200 rounds of ammunition

Gun loading of 4500 kg at seven external load stations

Air-to-air guided missile

• 2 × AKU / APU-470 start rails for one GosMKB Wympel JSC R-27R1 / ER1 (AA-10C "Alamo") each - semi-active radar-guided for medium -haul routes
• 6 × start rails for one EOTDC PL-2B each (copy Wympel R-3) - infrared-controlled for short distances
• 6 × start rails for one EOTDC PL-5B / C / E each (improved copy of Wympel R-3) - infrared controlled for short distances
• 4 × start rails for one CATIC PL-8 each - infrared controlled for short distances
• 4 × start rails for one PL-11 each - infrared controlled for short distances
• 4 × start rails for one CATIC PL-12 each - semi-active radar-guided for medium distances

Web links

Commons : Shenyang J-8  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ J-8 Fighters ( Memento from April 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/nach-flugzeug-kollision-erster-kontakt/216564.html
3. ↑ @tor, with material from AP, dpa, AFP: America and China end the first round of talks. In: FAZ.net . April 18, 2001, Retrieved October 13, 2018 . 
4. ↑ David Ax: Grounding the Ayatollah's Tomcats. In: warisboring.com. September 8, 2015, accessed September 13, 2015 .