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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PFM (Fishbed F)
The MiG-21 (NATO callsign: Fishbed), a single-seat marvel, made its debut in 1959. It was the Soviet Union's pioneer jet fighter to achieve Mach 2 speeds, a feat unmatched at the time. Fueled by the Tumansky R-25 turbojet, this compact delta-wing fighter surpassed all others in production since the Korean War. With a staggering 13,000 units manufactured by the Soviet Union and licensed by a handful of nations, the MiG-21 holds the record for the most widespread deployment in 56 air forces globally. It has also seen more combat than any other aircraft.
During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Air Force was bolstered with the modern MiG-21, a game-changer supplied by the Soviet Union in April 1966. The impact was immediate and significant, with U.S. forces feeling the brunt of it as losses soared. The MiG-21, despite lacking long-range radar, proved to be a formidable adversary in the hands of skilled pilots. The North Vietnamese, using a ground-based control system, executed high-speed hit-and-run attacks against U.S. bomber formations, altering the course of the war.
The MiG-21's interception of U.S. strike groups and its success in downing or forcing them to jettison their payloads exposed the inadequacies in U.S. pilot training. In response, the U.S. Navy established the Navy Fighter Weapons School, famously known as Top Gun, in March 1969. This school, dedicated to teaching aerial dogfighting techniques and tactics, was a direct result of the MiG-21's threat, aiming to restore the advantage to U.S. pilots.
This MiG-21PFM, a symbol of an era, flew with the Polish Air Force's 10th Fighter-Interceptor Regiment, which protected Warsaw and other Polish cities. This aircraft, similar to those used by the North Vietnamese, is painted to represent a MiG-21 from the 921st Fighter Regiment of the North Vietnamese Air Force. All 645 MiG-21s, after a long and illustrious service, bid farewell to the skies, retiring from VPAF service by November of 2015, marking the end of an era in military aviation.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PFM (Fishbed F)
The MiG-21 (NATO callsign: Fishbed), a single-seat marvel, made its debut in 1959. It was the Soviet Union's pioneer jet fighter to achieve Mach 2 speeds, a feat unmatched at the time. Fueled by the Tumansky R-25 turbojet, this compact delta-wing fighter surpassed all others in production since the Korean War. With a staggering 13,000 units manufactured by the Soviet Union and licensed by a handful of nations, the MiG-21 holds the record for the most widespread deployment in 56 air forces globally. It has also seen more combat than any other aircraft.
During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Air Force was bolstered with the modern MiG-21, a game-changer supplied by the Soviet Union in April 1966. The impact was immediate and significant, with U.S. forces feeling the brunt of it as losses soared. The MiG-21, despite lacking long-range radar, proved to be a formidable adversary in the hands of skilled pilots. The North Vietnamese, using a ground-based control system, executed high-speed hit-and-run attacks against U.S. bomber formations, altering the course of the war.
The MiG-21's interception of U.S. strike groups and its success in downing or forcing them to jettison their payloads exposed the inadequacies in U.S. pilot training. In response, the U.S. Navy established the Navy Fighter Weapons School, famously known as Top Gun, in March 1969. This school, dedicated to teaching aerial dogfighting techniques and tactics, was a direct result of the MiG-21's threat, aiming to restore the advantage to U.S. pilots.
This MiG-21PFM, a symbol of an era, flew with the Polish Air Force's 10th Fighter-Interceptor Regiment, which protected Warsaw and other Polish cities. This aircraft, similar to those used by the North Vietnamese, is painted to represent a MiG-21 from the 921st Fighter Regiment of the North Vietnamese Air Force. All 645 MiG-21s, after a long and illustrious service, bid farewell to the skies, retiring from VPAF service by November of 2015, marking the end of an era in military aviation.