Harbin H-5

In the 1950s, more than 250 IL-28s were delivered to the PRC . The aircraft factory in Harbin carried out work on the repair and modernization of these aircraft, as well as spare parts were made for them ^[1] .

In the late 1950s, it was planned to start production of the IL-28 in China under license, but the Soviet-Chinese split and the subsequent cessation of the delivery of aircraft from the USSR forced the People's Republic of China to start production of its first front-line bomber, an unlicensed copy of the IL-28 ^[1] .

Work on the aircraft began in 1963. On September 25, 1966, the first IL-28 of Chinese production took off.

In April 1967, the serial production of these bombers, which received the Chinese designation H-5 ("Harbin-5"), began, and in September of the same year, the modification H-5A for the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons was presented. On December 27, 1968, for the first time, a Chinese atomic bomb was dropped from this aircraft during testing ^[2] .

In 1970, work began on the creation of an intelligence officer HZ-5. The plane was equipped with PTB , so that the range, compared with the original IL-28 , increased by almost half. In 1977, this modification was adopted by the PLA Air Force.

On December 12, 1970, the first flight of the HJ-5 training aircraft (a copy of the Il-28U), which was put into service in 1972, took place.

All were built about 2000 aircraft of all modifications. H-5 under the designation B-5 was exported to Pakistan (local designation B-56), Romania, the DPRK and Albania.

During production at the aviation hub in Harbin , 40% of the IL-28 design was modernized: a wing lightened by 110 kg was installed, a number of systems were unified with the Xian H-6 bomber (a copy of the Tu-16 ) serially produced in Harbin under a Soviet license.

Compared with the IL-28, the H-5 received improved optical and radar bomber sights, a new radio recognition system, as well as more rapid-firing guns with increased ammunition.

• H-5 - unlicensed copy of IL-28 ^[2] . Built 319 copies.
• H-5A - tactical nuclear weapons bomber
• HD-5 - aircraft electronic warfare
• HZ-5 - Front Scout
• HJ-5 - unlicensed copy of the IL-28U. Built 187 copies.
• B-5 - export designation H-5

Specifications

• Crew: 3 people ^[2]
• Length: 16.77 m
• Wing Span : 21.45 m
• Height: 6.20 m
• Wing area: 60.8 m²
• Empty weight: 12,890 kg
• Weight curb: 18,400 kg
• Maximum take-off weight: 21,200 kg
• Engines: 2 × TRP Wopen-5
• Thrust: 2 × 26.5 kN (2700 kgf)

Flight characteristics

• Maximum speed : 906 km / h
• Cruising speed : 700 km / h
• Practical range: 2,370 km
• Ferrying range: 2 460 km
• Practical ceiling : 12,500 m
• Rate of climb: 15 m / s
• Takeoff run: 965 m
• Mileage: 1700 m
• Wing load: 291 kg / m²
• Thrust: 0.31

Armament

• Cannon:
  • 2 × 23 mm guns NR-23 along the sides at the bottom of the nose, 100 shells per barrel
  • 2 × 23 mm NR-23 cannon in the aft defensive turret of the Il-K6, 225 shells per barrel
• Bomb load: (in the internal bomb bay)
  • normal: 1000 kg
  • maximum: 3000 kg

•   The PRC is about 2000 H-5 of all modifications ^[3] . Decommissioned in the late 1990s.
•   Albania - in 1957 1 IL-28 was acquired from the USSR, which in 1971 was exchanged in China for H-5. That, in turn, remained in service until 1992. Both aircraft were mainly used as a towing vehicle ^[4] .
•   Kampuchea - after Pol Pot came to power, the Kampuchea Air Force received several H-5s ^[3] .
•   North Korea - at the very end of the war in Korea, the DPRK air forces received their first IL-28, and at the end of the 1960s, the H-5 from China ^[3] . Formally, about 30 H-5 remain in service.
•   Romania - in 1955, the Romanian Air Force received Il-28 and Il-28U bombers. Then they were supplemented by 14 Chinese H-5, HJ-5 and HZ-5, which served until 2001 ^{[1] [3] [5]} .
•   Pakistan