Comparing the Sea Hawk with Soviet MiG fighters

How did the Hawker Sea Hawk compare with Soviet fighters such as the MiG-19?

The MiG-19 outperformed it but was later and land-based; the MiG-17 is a fairer contemporary comparison, while the Sea Hawk carried more cannon ammunition.

The initial comparison makes the MiG-19 look decisively superior: it was around 300 mph faster, had greater range, and reached a higher ceiling. A check of the service dates makes the MiG-17 a fairer contemporary benchmark for a Sea Hawk first flown in 1947 and introduced in 1953. A carrier aircraft also carries structural weight and design compromises absent from a land-based fighter. Armament presents a different tradeoff: the Sea Hawk's four 20 mm cannon used smaller projectiles than the Soviet mix of 23 mm and 37 mm weapons. Its 200 rounds per gun nevertheless gave it much longer firing endurance than the limited ammunition cited for the MiG-17. Speed alone is therefore an incomplete comparison unless chronology, operating environment, and ammunition are considered together.