Is there actually a such thing as an Su-9A?

[krgf15]

I can find pictures of the Su-9B everywhere, but I can find no reference to a gun armed A model.

[+JonathanRL]

According to Wikipedia:

 

The Su-9 had primitive R1L (NATO reporting name 'High Fix') radar in the shock cone and was armed with four K-5 (AA-1 'Alkali') beam-riding air-to-air missiles. Like all beam-riders, the K-5 was so limited as to be nearly useless for air-to-air combat. Unlike the Su-7 and later Su-15, no Su-9 carried cannon armament, although two fuselage pylons were reserved for the carriage of drop tanks.[1]

 

PT-8

(Factory No.153 - Izdeliye 27) Intended as the production version of the T-3/PT-7, the PT-8 was ordered in small quantities from Factory No.153 before a new directive from the Council of Ministers specified new performance parameters for the new interceptor. Three aircraft were completed and delivered to OKB-51 by rail where only one flew.

 

It could be that the Guns was on some prototypes (It is not mention what changes was done to the PT-8) - the Su-9 Design was made when Guns was still the preferred weapon - despite its obvious high-attitude interception design. However, why anybody would design a Interceptor that needs to be escorted themselves is beyond me - Beamriders are only effective against large, sluggish bombers.

Edited September 21, 2010 by JonathanRL

[Blade]

In early Su-9 production, there were provisions for fitting a Nudelman-Rikhter NR-30 30 millimeter cannon in each wingroot, but no Su-9s carried cannons in service. In later production the cannon provisions were eliminated, with fuel tanks inserted in their place. Early production machines had a blast plate on each side of the fuselage where the cannon muzzle was supposed to be; the blast plates were deleted when the cannon provisions were eliminated. There was a gun camera in the right wing.

 

(http://www.vectorsite.net/avsu15.html)

Edited September 21, 2010 by Blade

[krgf15]

Thats the same stuff I have read. I just wondered since the downloadable Su-9A has guns on it but I can find no reference to an A anywhere.

[+MigBuster]

Looking through and trying to understand "Sukhoi Interceptors" by Yefim Gordon - the "Fishpot-A" designation was given by NATO to an experimental Interceptor called the T-3 which flew at a 1956 Airshow and had no radar at the time. About a year later it was given an Almaz 3 radar and PVU-67 computing sight, SRZO-2 IFF system and launch control system for KL-7L AAMs.

The nose point does not come from the centre but covers the top half of the nose so it looks different to the Fishpot B.

 

The T-3 "Fishpot A" had no guns (it was designed to have a two 30mm cannon) - and there were a lot of different prototypes in this book leading up to and after the Su-9 Fishpot B which was the only production version (~1000 built) - Some early Fishpot Bs had gun blast plates installed looking at these photos but no cannon were installed.

 

 

So officially the Su-9A is the Su-9 Fishpot-B - There was no Su-9 Fishpot A, but there was a T-3 Fishpot A

 

 

Heres a photo from wiki of a Sukhoi T-3 Fishpot A complete with KL-7Ls:

 

Edited September 21, 2010 by MigBuster

[krgf15]

Sweet....Im still keeping the Su-9A in the game though lol the gun comes handy sometimes...