Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF Fishbed
Much like the United States, the Soviet Union took away from the Korean War the idea that the future of fighters lay more in outright speed rather than armament or technology. As the USSR also needed an interceptor to protect against American strategic bombers, it was decided to combine both roles in a single type. Like their American counterparts, the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau experimented with several types of designs, before settling on a “tailed delta” design: though tailless deltas were being worked on in the United States, the Soviets did not chance the new technology entirely. The first Ye-4 prototype flew in June 1955, and after a relatively smooth test program and 40 pre-production MiG-21Fs, the aircraft went into production as the MiG-21F-13 in 1957. When it was publicly shown that year, it received the NATO reporting name “Fishbed,” though it was often confused with the similar (but larger) Su-9 “Fishpot.” Russian pilots nicknamed the MiG-21 the “Balalaika” or “Pencil” for its shape.
Unlike Western fighters, where gun armament was being abandoned in favor of all-missile armaments, the first MiG-21F-13s had two 30mm cannon in the fuselage, along with two missiles on the wings, usually K-13 (NATO reporting name Atoll) infrared types. Pilots flying MiG-21F-13s reported that it had a phenomenal climb rate, perfect for an interceptor, and due to the tailed delta design, it did not suffer as much of a performance penalty in turning dogfights, though it was not as manueverable as the swept-wing MiG-17. Range was also a problem, but the MiG-21 had always been designed as a point-defense interceptor—though this was no solace to MiG-21 pilots when they had run through two of the three fuselage tanks, which would unbalance the aircraft to near uncontrollability. While an experienced pilot could actually use this instability as an advantage, the average Soviet pilot (much less the average Soviet client state pilot) found controlling the MiG-21 difficult without full tanks.
Stability problems and an inadequate radar led Mikoyan-Gurevich to supercede the MiG-21F-13 with the improved MiG-21PF in 1961. This deleted the cannon to save weight, while the fuselage was slightly redesigned to accept the TsD-30T “Spin Scan” radar, making the MiG-21 a truly all-weather interceptor. Continued instability led later production MiG-21PFs to be produced with a larger tail, which became standard on all subsequent MiG-21 variants, though both “small tail” and “big tail” MiG-21PFs served in the Soviet Air Force and client states. This also gave the MiG-21 the ability to fire radar-guided RS-2MS (AA-1 Alkali) missiles, but these were so poor that they were rarely carried.
Though India had received downgraded MiG-21FLs in 1961, which had briefly seen service in the 1964 Indo-Pakistani War, the MiG-21 would receive its baptism of fire in service with the North Vietnamese People’s Air Force, which began to get first MiG-21F-13s and later MiG-21PFs by 1965. The advanced avionics of the MiG-21 made it difficult to adapt to the tropical environment of Vietnam, and initial combat against American F-4 Phantom IIs was disappointing. As North Vietnamese pilots improved, however, so did their kill ratio. Aided significantly by the restrictive Rules of Engagement imposed on American pilots by politicians, MiG-21s could rapidly climb to altitude and wait for instruction from ground-based intercept controllers to go after American formations, though successful pilots were often given permission to “free hunt” and shoot down any Americans they found.
The MiG-21’s small size and smokeless engine made it hard to see, while its ability in the vertical meant that a Vietnamese pilot could engage and disengage at will. (American pilots who later flew captured MiG-21s stateside reported that, had the Vietnamese been better trained in vertical tactics, the abysmal kill ratio of the Vietnam War might have been worse.) It far outclassed the F-105 Thunderchief in all but outright speed, while it could turn inside of the F-4 and was faster at low level; only the US Navy’s gun-armed F-8 Crusader could match the MiG-21 in speed and manueverability.
Vietnamese—and Russian—pilots flying the MiG-21 in combat, however, deplored its lack of vision to the rear (which American fighters of the time shared) and a cluttered vision to the front: using the radar meant sticking one’s face into a scope that shut out the outside world, which would be suicidal in a dogfight. Vietnamese pilots learned to close to within a thousand feet of their target before firing. Compounding their problem was that the MiG-21PF lacked an internal gun and only had two missiles to shoot with, and the missiles themselves were far from reliable—something, ironically, shared by the main opponent of the MiG-21, the F-4. Ejection from the early MiG-21s was also problematic, since the canopy was hinged to the front and designed to form a shield around the pilot when he ejected. In practice, however, the canopy was usually driven back into the pilot at supersonic speeds with often fatal results. Many Vietnamese pilots during the Rolling Thunder phase of the war preferred the subsonic, but cannon-armed and more manueverable MiG-17.
Nonetheless, despite its limitations and those of hidebound Soviet tactics, the MiG-21 excelled in the skies of North Vietnam, achieving parity with better-trained and equipped American pilots. By 1972 and Operation Linebacker, the MiG-21 had nearly replaced the MiG-17 in service. Earlier MiG-21PFs were supplemented by MiG-21PFMs, with a better radar, side-hinging (and safer) canopy, and provision for a fuselage-mounted gunpod. American tactics had improved considerably with US Navy pilots, while the USAF had introduced the gun-equipped F-4E, which evened the odds against the MiG-21s. Nonetheless, at least three North Vietnamese pilots achieved the rank of ace, and possibly more. (One Russian pilot, Vadim Schchbakov, is now known to have flown MiG-21s during Rolling Thunder and likely scored at least six victories.) The MiG-21 was still a formidable opponent in the right hands, though it proved unsuccessful in its original task of interceptor: during mass B-52 Stratofortress raids on North Vietnam in December 1972, only one B-52 was shot down by a MiG (and this remains quite controversial), while three MiG-21s were lost to either B-52 tail guns or collision.
MiG-21PFs had seen combat elsewhere as well. In India, the superb training of Indian pilots matched well with the nimble MiG-21, giving the Indian Air Force an edge against Pakistani F-86s and Hunters. In the Middle East, it did not fare as well against Israeli Mirage IIIs, and later Neshers and F-4Es. While the MiG-21 was more manueverable than all three aircraft, again the high degree of training of Israeli pilots often made the difference, while Egyptian and Syrian pilots were comparatively poorly trained: unlike the North Vietnamese, they were not given a grace period to learn the limitations and advantages of their fighter; during the Six-Day War of 1968, MiG-21s often did not even get into the air before being strafed and bombed by Israeli Mirages. Even so, the Israelis ranked the MiG-21 as their deadliest opponent, and at least one Syrian pilot did make ace.
While the “early” MiG-21s (MiG-21F-13s, MiG-21PF/PFM) were superseded by “late” MiG-21s (MiG-21MF, MiG-21bis, described below), the basic design remained the same, and MiG-21PFs remained in service into the mid-1990s in several nations. Most survivors ended up being scrapped, expended as drones, or consigned to museums; a handful of flyable early MiG-21s remain.
Though it wears the roundels of North Vietnam, this MiG-21PF was originally flown by the Hungarian Air Force and delivered in 1964. It stayed in service for quite some time, and was not retired until 1987. After the end of the Cold War, it was donated to the National Museum of the USAF in 1992 and refinished as an aircraft of the VPAF's 921st Fighter Regiment, based at Noi Bai (Phuc Yen to American pilots) during the Vietnam War. It is displayed with two K-13 "Atoll" heat-seeking missiles and a centerline fuel tank. The green nose cover over the MiG-21's radar was common to the type.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF Fishbed
Much like the United States, the Soviet Union took away from the Korean War the idea that the future of fighters lay more in outright speed rather than armament or technology. As the USSR also needed an interceptor to protect against American strategic bombers, it was decided to combine both roles in a single type. Like their American counterparts, the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau experimented with several types of designs, before settling on a “tailed delta” design: though tailless deltas were being worked on in the United States, the Soviets did not chance the new technology entirely. The first Ye-4 prototype flew in June 1955, and after a relatively smooth test program and 40 pre-production MiG-21Fs, the aircraft went into production as the MiG-21F-13 in 1957. When it was publicly shown that year, it received the NATO reporting name “Fishbed,” though it was often confused with the similar (but larger) Su-9 “Fishpot.” Russian pilots nicknamed the MiG-21 the “Balalaika” or “Pencil” for its shape.
Unlike Western fighters, where gun armament was being abandoned in favor of all-missile armaments, the first MiG-21F-13s had two 30mm cannon in the fuselage, along with two missiles on the wings, usually K-13 (NATO reporting name Atoll) infrared types. Pilots flying MiG-21F-13s reported that it had a phenomenal climb rate, perfect for an interceptor, and due to the tailed delta design, it did not suffer as much of a performance penalty in turning dogfights, though it was not as manueverable as the swept-wing MiG-17. Range was also a problem, but the MiG-21 had always been designed as a point-defense interceptor—though this was no solace to MiG-21 pilots when they had run through two of the three fuselage tanks, which would unbalance the aircraft to near uncontrollability. While an experienced pilot could actually use this instability as an advantage, the average Soviet pilot (much less the average Soviet client state pilot) found controlling the MiG-21 difficult without full tanks.
Stability problems and an inadequate radar led Mikoyan-Gurevich to supercede the MiG-21F-13 with the improved MiG-21PF in 1961. This deleted the cannon to save weight, while the fuselage was slightly redesigned to accept the TsD-30T “Spin Scan” radar, making the MiG-21 a truly all-weather interceptor. Continued instability led later production MiG-21PFs to be produced with a larger tail, which became standard on all subsequent MiG-21 variants, though both “small tail” and “big tail” MiG-21PFs served in the Soviet Air Force and client states. This also gave the MiG-21 the ability to fire radar-guided RS-2MS (AA-1 Alkali) missiles, but these were so poor that they were rarely carried.
Though India had received downgraded MiG-21FLs in 1961, which had briefly seen service in the 1964 Indo-Pakistani War, the MiG-21 would receive its baptism of fire in service with the North Vietnamese People’s Air Force, which began to get first MiG-21F-13s and later MiG-21PFs by 1965. The advanced avionics of the MiG-21 made it difficult to adapt to the tropical environment of Vietnam, and initial combat against American F-4 Phantom IIs was disappointing. As North Vietnamese pilots improved, however, so did their kill ratio. Aided significantly by the restrictive Rules of Engagement imposed on American pilots by politicians, MiG-21s could rapidly climb to altitude and wait for instruction from ground-based intercept controllers to go after American formations, though successful pilots were often given permission to “free hunt” and shoot down any Americans they found.
The MiG-21’s small size and smokeless engine made it hard to see, while its ability in the vertical meant that a Vietnamese pilot could engage and disengage at will. (American pilots who later flew captured MiG-21s stateside reported that, had the Vietnamese been better trained in vertical tactics, the abysmal kill ratio of the Vietnam War might have been worse.) It far outclassed the F-105 Thunderchief in all but outright speed, while it could turn inside of the F-4 and was faster at low level; only the US Navy’s gun-armed F-8 Crusader could match the MiG-21 in speed and manueverability.
Vietnamese—and Russian—pilots flying the MiG-21 in combat, however, deplored its lack of vision to the rear (which American fighters of the time shared) and a cluttered vision to the front: using the radar meant sticking one’s face into a scope that shut out the outside world, which would be suicidal in a dogfight. Vietnamese pilots learned to close to within a thousand feet of their target before firing. Compounding their problem was that the MiG-21PF lacked an internal gun and only had two missiles to shoot with, and the missiles themselves were far from reliable—something, ironically, shared by the main opponent of the MiG-21, the F-4. Ejection from the early MiG-21s was also problematic, since the canopy was hinged to the front and designed to form a shield around the pilot when he ejected. In practice, however, the canopy was usually driven back into the pilot at supersonic speeds with often fatal results. Many Vietnamese pilots during the Rolling Thunder phase of the war preferred the subsonic, but cannon-armed and more manueverable MiG-17.
Nonetheless, despite its limitations and those of hidebound Soviet tactics, the MiG-21 excelled in the skies of North Vietnam, achieving parity with better-trained and equipped American pilots. By 1972 and Operation Linebacker, the MiG-21 had nearly replaced the MiG-17 in service. Earlier MiG-21PFs were supplemented by MiG-21PFMs, with a better radar, side-hinging (and safer) canopy, and provision for a fuselage-mounted gunpod. American tactics had improved considerably with US Navy pilots, while the USAF had introduced the gun-equipped F-4E, which evened the odds against the MiG-21s. Nonetheless, at least three North Vietnamese pilots achieved the rank of ace, and possibly more. (One Russian pilot, Vadim Schchbakov, is now known to have flown MiG-21s during Rolling Thunder and likely scored at least six victories.) The MiG-21 was still a formidable opponent in the right hands, though it proved unsuccessful in its original task of interceptor: during mass B-52 Stratofortress raids on North Vietnam in December 1972, only one B-52 was shot down by a MiG (and this remains quite controversial), while three MiG-21s were lost to either B-52 tail guns or collision.
MiG-21PFs had seen combat elsewhere as well. In India, the superb training of Indian pilots matched well with the nimble MiG-21, giving the Indian Air Force an edge against Pakistani F-86s and Hunters. In the Middle East, it did not fare as well against Israeli Mirage IIIs, and later Neshers and F-4Es. While the MiG-21 was more manueverable than all three aircraft, again the high degree of training of Israeli pilots often made the difference, while Egyptian and Syrian pilots were comparatively poorly trained: unlike the North Vietnamese, they were not given a grace period to learn the limitations and advantages of their fighter; during the Six-Day War of 1968, MiG-21s often did not even get into the air before being strafed and bombed by Israeli Mirages. Even so, the Israelis ranked the MiG-21 as their deadliest opponent, and at least one Syrian pilot did make ace.
While the “early” MiG-21s (MiG-21F-13s, MiG-21PF/PFM) were superseded by “late” MiG-21s (MiG-21MF, MiG-21bis, described below), the basic design remained the same, and MiG-21PFs remained in service into the mid-1990s in several nations. Most survivors ended up being scrapped, expended as drones, or consigned to museums; a handful of flyable early MiG-21s remain.
Though it wears the roundels of North Vietnam, this MiG-21PF was originally flown by the Hungarian Air Force and delivered in 1964. It stayed in service for quite some time, and was not retired until 1987. After the end of the Cold War, it was donated to the National Museum of the USAF in 1992 and refinished as an aircraft of the VPAF's 921st Fighter Regiment, based at Noi Bai (Phuc Yen to American pilots) during the Vietnam War. It is displayed with two K-13 "Atoll" heat-seeking missiles and a centerline fuel tank. The green nose cover over the MiG-21's radar was common to the type.