The most under-rated Soviet combat aircraft?
Speaking to a former Soviet air force pilot convinced me the Su-15 was far better, and certainly more significant, than is commonly thought. The Soviet Sukhoi Su-15 was one of the best interceptors of the 1960s and ’70s. It had better acceleration and initial climb rate than the US F-106; compared to the British Lightning it had double the weapon-load and double the endurance. Vitally, this supersonic warplane was available in far larger numbers than either its British or American counterparts.
Before interviewing former ‘Flagon’ pilot Valeri Shatrov I had a vague idea of the Su-15 as a primitive interceptor with obsolete systems that lacked agility. I found his opinions and recollections absolutely fascinating, and in some case revelatory.
I should also note that I do not take any pilot’s opinions as entirely objective as most pilots have a bias towards their machine, but Shatrov’s answers were candid – and at times critical enough to be credible.
The Soviet approach
The West’s opinions of Soviet warplanes have often been wrong. Some overestimated, some are underestimated – and some misunderstood. Analysts often saw Soviet aircraft as inferior facsimiles of Western types, or else wildly inflated their true capabilities. To be fair, the facsimile claims have a meaningful historical origin. The Tupolev Tu-4 was a reverse-engineered B-29 Superfortress. The Tu-4 was an epic project. It was no easy thing to copy the most sophisticated aircraft in the world. It took the expertise of over 850 factories and institutes and involved the creation of over 105,000 drawings. However, with the brutal determination of Stalin driving its completion, quick work was made of it. The design was completed in less than a year and it entered service in 1947. The Tu-4’s (and so B-29’s) design informed the Tu-95 that remains in service today. 70 odd years later, the Russian Air Force’s ‘Bear’ carries Superfortress ‘DNA’ in its fuselage dimensions, circular cross-section, the pressurised shell fore of the wings and its thick wing roots.
I don’t know that the lack of interest in the Su-15 is due to contempt for it as a machine; more that it’s mission was never actualized, so it became a footnote. You can say the same of the F-102 / 106, nobody much talks about them. Brits are obsessed with the Lightning, but outside the UK… I don’t think I ever heard of it until I was an adult, which cannot be said of other British aircraft… Harrier, Tornado, Vulcan, Buccaneer, etc.
-Kle.
I always thought the SU-15 was an impressive aircraft but we weren’t that afraid of it in the B-52 community, at least circa late 1980s when I was flying them. It didn’t have look-down shoot-down capability so it’s doubtful it could have found us if we were down in the weeds (and we would be).
During the intercept on KAL007 the 747 reached an INS waypoint and entered a standard rate airliner turn – which caused the SU-15’s radar to break lock. The Sukhoi pilot had to break off and come around again for another attack.
I would say the analysis of the F-106 is correct. I’ve met a few F-106 pilots who told me it gave you ONE incredible turn and then that delta wing bled off all its airspeed.
Other than shooting down airliners, did the Su-15 ever actually fire a shot in anger?
Su-15 was widely used in many succesful interceptions during the cold War. This is not a dogfighter that’s why this type was never used to open fire to fighter aircraft. SR-71 interception on a opposite headings, forcing planes to land, endless fight with the recon baloons… All the border routine belongs to this type for two decades. There is many border incidents described in the media.
Planned to leave you a donation, but cancelled because tired of reading your anti-soviet political bullshit third times. Just wandering why feed your readers with this, while we want to read about airplanes. If you feel yourself sorta philosopher, than you’re not. As you may imagine, nothing similar to what you described was exist in the USSR air force and in USSR in general, but you’re not. Re-read a Dickens. Nothing more suppress the personality and human dignity, rights than capitalism. That’s the truth that we in Russia learned from the last 30 years. So good luck to us all living in a modern world.
Hi Grigory, Out of curiosity, which aspect did you consider anti-soviet? I think it’s interesting to give context to the aircraft- I disagree with your idea that they can be discussed in an historical vacuum. I’m happy to stand by the views expressed in this but also open to new views. Personally I’m not uncritical of either communism or capitalism. I think you’ve made a lot of presumptions here. All the best, HK
I thought it was ‘middle of the road’ commentary. Subtle bias is impossible to remove and is pointless anyway unless ‘a native’ , who often cant see the wood for the trees themselves. The main point is that is a good article about an underrated Soviet aircraft thats not well known in the west. keep it up
I’ll leave you a donation in Grigory’s place. Yay, capitalism!
I quite like the Su-15, by the way. Always thought it was under-appreciated.
I was surprised by Grigory’s comment too – until I re-read the quote by Bertrand Russell. Not your fault for including the quote, and for deriving a conclusion from it, but Russell himself was very anti-Stalin. Sometimes it’s hard for us readers to see what you quote and what you don’t, so Grigory may have assumed you were the one speaking. Not to mention Russell mentions Marx and Hegel, easy to see why it could be taken philosophically. “In the Soviet world human dignity counts for nothing.” – that really stung! Yes, it is a matter of pride but not when you put it like that! Grigory mentioned human dignity too, I believe that part’s the problem.
Otherwise, everything seems fine, there is no “subtle bias” (other than perhaps the Youtube comments thing, but that’s a trivial detail).
The Su-15 is a great plane, thank you for writing about it! Would say the Armata (yes, sorry, a tank not a plane) be fully complex or halfway there?
Ehh… For the Soviets, the no soul design was a matter of pride, but somehow when westerners point at it, it is unPC for them to repeat what the Soviets said about themselves. Incidentally it is the same thing with islamic terrorists who think it unPC to point at the cruelty they however publicly pride themselves in… go figure. Gaslighting at its best.
The Su-15 is a beautiful aircraft that I’ve been fascinated with since the 1970s. Hope someday to see one in person—perhaps in Ukraine. And hey Grigory, anything to say about the the tens of millions of Soviet citizens imprisoned, starved, and murdered by their own government between 1918 and 1991? The US has its own failings to be ashamed about, but nothing remotely similar to the evils of the Communists.
SU-15 – Long fuselage, twin engines,very small wings – more comparable to F-101 Voodoo than F-106.
The question remains for me. Why was the Lighting designed as a point defence interceptor?
Defend the UK V bomber airfields , original radius was 150 mil from the airbase. To me it seems that the P1 prototype was a technology demonstrator to get a M 2.0 interceptor and the subsequent RAF ‘requirement’ was written around this plane. Soviet Union had vast land area to defend so needed more of combat air patrol plane.
Whatever, it definitely looked fast. And communist.