Lt. (SG) Vasiliy Tsymbal manoeuvred Su-27 Flanker dangerously close to the P-3 Orion, and the port fin struck the No. 4 propeller
Representing a significant step forward in Soviet fighter design, the Su-27 is a long-range air-superiority aircraft similar to the U.S. F-15 in both size and role. It carries a powerful pulse-Doppler radar and can be armed with up to ten air-to-air missiles, giving it a strong look-down, shoot-down capability. The Flanker is also fitted with a rear-facing radar housed at the tip of a long boom between the engines, enabling the Su-27 to detect targets behind the aircraft. Thanks to its high thrust-to-weight ratio and carefully refined aerodynamics, the Su-27 offers excellent handling and performance at high angles of attack.
According to Yefim Gordon and Dmitriy Komissarov in their book Sukhoi Su-27 & 30/33/34/35, the Flanker was first ‘officially acknowledged’ in the summer of 1985. A Soviet television documentary about Pavel O. Sukhoi, which aired to mark the aircraft designer’s 90th birthday, briefly mentioned the new fighter and included a ten-second clip of the aircraft then known as the T-10 during take-off. To adapt Robert Frost’s words, those were ‘ten seconds that shook the world.’ Even so, it would be another two years before the first photographs of the production Su-27 were published in the Soviet press.
In the fall of 1987, the Flanker gained widespread recognition when Western aerospace magazines released striking close-up photos of a 941st IAP Su-27 loaded with a full set of R-27T and R-27ER missiles. The images were captured during the highly publicized incident of September 13, 1987, involving a Royal Norwegian Air Force Lockheed P-3B Orion maritime patrol aircraft from 333 Squadron based at Bodø Air Base (AB).
The P-3B, tail number 602 and named ‘Gunnar Isachsen’ (formerly US Navy BuNo 156602, c/n 185C-5304), was monitoring a formation of Soviet Navy vessels in the Barents Sea; another version of events claims it was actually pursuing an A-50 AWACS over international waters to hinder its mission. Lt. (SG) Vasiliy Tsymbal, flying Su-27 ‘36 Red’ (c/n 36911016816), was tasked with conducting a practice interception. As the Flanker approached closely, the Orion’s captain, 1st Lt. Jan Salvesen, attempted to force the fighter away by slowing down, lowering the landing gear, and maneuvering to place his aircraft directly above the Su-27. However, unaware of the Flanker’s excellent low-speed handling, he did not anticipate that the Su-27 could also decelerate to maintain formation, briefly causing the Norwegian crew to lose visual contact with the fighter.
Tsymbal brought the Su-27 dangerously close to the Orion, and the fighter’s left fin struck the No. 4 propeller. The dielectric tip of the fin shattered instantly, but the propeller also broke apart, and fragments pierced the fuselage skin, causing a loss of cabin pressure. The damaged propeller created severe vibration, forcing the crew to shut that engine down. Some reports claim that Tsymbal then moved his Su-27 in front of the P-3 and dumped fuel onto its fuselage. In any case, both aircraft turned back and were able to land safely at their respective bases.
A large-scale investigation followed, and consequences came quickly. Three days after the incident, Vasiliy Tsymbal was expelled from the Communist Party—a very serious penalty by Soviet standards. Yet just one day later, he was reinstated. Soon afterward, he received the Order of the Red Star and was reassigned to another unit in Rostov—effectively being promoted out of his previous post.
The Soviet Union issued an official apology for the incident; however, the Soviet accident investigation board’s report clearly stated that both pilots were to blame—a conclusion disputed by the Norwegian Ministry of Defence. In the end, Jan Salvesen’s service record remained completely untarnished.
Following the incident, the Su-27 involved was re-marked as ‘38 Red’ (and later ‘31 Blue’), likely to mislead Western analysts and minimize attention on this specific aircraft. This way, if anyone raised concerns citing the tactical code ‘36 Red’, Soviet officials could truthfully respond that no such aircraft served with their northern-based Air Force units. In the end, however, no political complaints were ever formally made. Interestingly, the now-famous Su-27 did receive distinctive markings—one of the five ‘kill’ stars on the left side of its nose was painted over the silhouette of a P-3.
Sukhoi Su-27 & 30/33/34/35 is published by Crecy and is available to order here.
Photo by U.S. Gov and @Missilito Twitter
