MiG 21 F/U
MiG 21 F/U By Jaroslav Matoulek
Publisher: 4+ Publication 2008 | 98 Pages | ISBN: 8087045015 | PDF | 20 MB
Publisher: 4+ Publication 2008 | 98 Pages | ISBN: 8087045015 | PDF | 20 MB
Mikoyan's MiG-21 undoubtedly ranks as the world's foremost fighter of the jet era. Fishbed, its NATO reporting name, is a synonym for a fast, nimble and powerful lightweight fighter. Few of its contemporaries and even successors share the same reputation. The Fishbed is bound to its worldwide prestige by virtue of a number of reasons. It has been in service for a longer period, and equipped the fighter units of more countries, than any other combat aircraft in the world. Moreover, it is destined to serve for many more years to come. The number of MiG-21 variants and its derivatives reached more than thirty and they have held 24 international records over the years. And, in particular, no other combat plane in history has been embattled in more armed conflicts. The Ye-5 prototype of the MiG-21 was first Down in 1955 and made its first public appearance during the Soviet Aviation Day display at Moscow's Tushino Airport in June 1956. The first Soviet unit to operate the MiG-2 IF and MiG-2 IF-13 was the 32nd Guards Fighter Regiment based at Kubinka Air Base, which received its MiG-21 Fs in 1960 and the improved MiG-2 IF-13s in 1961.