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Sukhoi Su-15 Flagon

History

The Sukhoi Su-15 (NATO reporting name 'Flagon') was a twin-engine supersonic interceptor designed and manufactured by the Sukhoi Design Bureau for the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The Su-15 replaced the Sukhoi Su-11 and Sukhoi Su-9 and was a major part of the Soviet interceptor force until the fall of the Soviet Union.

The Flagon A had no gun and could not carry bombs. It's primary weapon was the R-98 air-to-air missile. Like most Soviet missiles, the R-98 was made in both infrared and semi-active radar homing versions. Standard practice was to fire the weapons in pairs (one semi-active radar homing, one IR homing) to give the greatest chance of a successful hit. The IR homing missile was normally fired first in order to prevent the possibility of the IR missile locking on to the radar homing missile. Flagons often carried two AA-8 Aphid short-range infrared missiles.

Su-15 Flagons were a speedy aircraft with a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 and a rate of climb of 228 m/s (750 ft/s). Take-off and landing speeds were high, with a take-off speed of 247 mph (395 km/h) for early delta-winged 'Flagon-A's. Su-15 controls were responsive and precise, but the aircraft was unforgiving of pilot error. Su-15 Flagons had a big powerful radar in the nose, but like most Soviet interceptors before the late 1980s, it was heavily dependent on ground control interception (GCI). Aircraft were vectored onto targets by ground radar stations.

As one of the Soviets' principal interceptors, the Su-15 was involved in several attacks on foreign aircraft that inadvertently crossed into Soviet airspace: One such attack was in 1978, when Korean Air Flight 902 veered into Soviet airspace and was attacked over Murmansk by an Su-15. Although the civilian aircraft survived the missile hit, two passengers were killed, and the damaged plane made a forced landing on a frozen lake. Another incident occurred in 1983 when a Korean Boeing 747 was shot down by an Su-15, after it veered into restricted Soviet airspace, killing all 246 passengers and 23 crew.

Su-15 Flagons were produced in large numbers (1,290 of all types), and like other highly sensitive Soviet aircraft, was never exported to the Warsaw Pact or any other country due to its sophisticated systems.

The Kit

The Trumpeter Su-15 Flagon A kit is made up of 7 medium gray sprues and one clear sprue. The kit also includes a decal sheet and a 10 page instruction guide.

Construction

The Su-15 kit goes together pretty well just by following the steps in the instruction guide. The general fit of the parts is good. However, I had to do the filling and sanding thing on almost every seam―typical of a Trumpeter kit. There are no major show stoppers building this kit.

Painting

The kit painting guide calls out colors for one Soviet Su-15, Red 85. The large nose cone and the panels at the top of the vertical stabilizer, along with the landing gear wheels were painted with MM Medium Green. The tires were painted with Floquil Weathered Black. The landing gears, wheel bays, and the inside of the wheel bay doors were painted with MM Dark Blue Gray. The rest of the model was primed with MM Gloss Black, then airbrushed with Alclad II Polished Aluminum.

Decals

The kit provided a decal sheet that had decals for just one aircraft, Red 85. The decals were not so good. Several decals shattered into little pieces as soon as they hit the water. Some decals broke into pieces but were still useable. The decals that didn't shatter or break into pieces performed well.

Comments

To sum up, this was a good build, although a lengthy one; 177 pieces. The parts fit is good and the external detail is also good. The only negative part of the build was the decals. I am pleased with the finished model and it is big. The fuselage is 18 inches (478 mm) long and the wing span is 7 inches (178 mm).