The MiG-17 was far better at turning than the F-4, especially at slower speeds. The F-14 was a big improvement over the F-4 in that regard, but how did an F-14 compare to the MiG-17?

As an F-4 pilot during Vietnam I had studied and trained extensively on how to fight a MiG-17. Unfortunately I never actually got the chance to fight one in real life in that war.

Ironically in later years during the constant-peg-secret-migs-in-the-desert program I finally got to fly against a MiG-17, now with an F-14 instead of an F-4 that I flew in Vietnam.

Although the F-14 was a quantum jump over the F-4 in Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM), the little MiG could still out-turn even the F-14.

Therefore, when fighting the MiG-17 with the F-14, one needed to use the same tactics against it as with the venerable F-4. This meant relying on the much greater thrust and speed of your fighter, and using vertical rather than horizontal maneuvering against the limited but tight-turning MiG.

Source: John Chesire (Quora

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