Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19S Farmer
In response to increasingly fast American bombers and fighters, the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau was ordered to develop a twin-engined, all-weather, supersonic version of the MiG-17F day fighter. It would also be equipped with a mix of cannon and missile armament. Prototypes were designated SM-1 through SM-9 before being formally designated MiG-19 in 1956. It received the NATO reporting name "Farmer" soon thereafter.
During the 1950s, fighter designs usually went through a teething process, which was usually expensive and dangerous. This was true of most nations, and the MiG-19 was no different. Several powerplants had to be experimented with before the right one was found in the Tumansky RD-9, and the aircraft was prone to catastrophic explosions. It was also tricky to fly for a new pilot, especially given that there was not a two-seat trainer; pilots instead trained on the more docile MiG-15UTI Midget, which could pose a problem in transitioning to the new fighter. The MiG-19 was indeed supersonic, however, and eventually fulfilled the requirements of the design by the time it entered service in 1956.
The Soviet Air Force (V-VS) hoped that the MiG-19 would replace the MiG-17 in service, but the former never became a popular aircraft. It was not as maneuverable as the MiG-17, and gulped fuel at an alarming rate. In its combat debut with the Egyptian Air Force against Israeli Mirage IIIs, pilots reported a tendency for the MiG-19 to flame out if it fired its nose mounted cannon for any length of time; the gun gas would be sucked down the intake and cause engine failure.
The MiG-19 also entered service with the North Vietnamese People's Air Force in 1969, but its performance when the air war over the North was resumed in 1972 was lackluster. VPAF pilots found it heavier on the controls than the MiG-17 and MiG-21, and VPAF mechanics found maintaining the MiG-19 in a tropical environment was a nightmare. VPAF MiG-19s only achieved three confirmed kills, and lost nine of their own number. It was not popular and was withdrawn from service at the end of the war.
With the MiG-21 in service, the Soviet V-VS also withdrew the MiG-19 from frontline service, though a few Warsaw Pact client states kept them until the early 1980s. The People's Republic of China license-built MiG-19s before the Sino-Soviet split in 1967, and kept it in production well into the 1980s as the Shenyang J-6. Despite its limitations, the J-6 remained the mainstay of the People's Liberation Army Air Force until the early 21st Century, and the last J-6 did not leave service until 2010. North Korea is believed to be the last nation to still have operational J-6s in any sort of number, though there are a small number of African nations which might have a few left. Though quite a few can be found in museums worldwide, its high maintenance requirements have not made it a sought-after warbird.
There are two differing stories of how this MiG-19 came to be at the March Air Museum. According to the museum, it was assembled from parts of seven Shenyang J-6s and possibly actual MiG-19s, at least one of which had flown combat over Vietnam while with the VPAF. According to other sources, however, Bort 0409 was delivered to the Czechoslovakian Air Force in 1961 and initially served with the 4th Fighter Squadron at Ceske Budejovice until 1963, when it was transferred to the 5th FS at Dobrany. Withdrawn from service in the early 1970s, it was displayed at the Slovak Museum of Transport at Presov before being sold to a private American warbird collector in Palm Springs, California, who donated it to the March Air Museum in 2001. It is possible that Bort 0409 was used as the basis for the restoration, with parts coming from J-6s, including the former VPAF aircraft.
However Bort 0409 got to March, it has been beautifully restored as a VPAF MiG-19 of the 925th Fighter Regiment at Yen Bai. North Vietnamese MiG-19s were both bare metal and camouflaged, though the Bort nose number pattern is Czech. This is only the third MiG-19/J-6 I've ever seen; as I mentioned above, they are quite rare compared to MiG-17s or even MiG-21s.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19S Farmer
In response to increasingly fast American bombers and fighters, the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau was ordered to develop a twin-engined, all-weather, supersonic version of the MiG-17F day fighter. It would also be equipped with a mix of cannon and missile armament. Prototypes were designated SM-1 through SM-9 before being formally designated MiG-19 in 1956. It received the NATO reporting name "Farmer" soon thereafter.
During the 1950s, fighter designs usually went through a teething process, which was usually expensive and dangerous. This was true of most nations, and the MiG-19 was no different. Several powerplants had to be experimented with before the right one was found in the Tumansky RD-9, and the aircraft was prone to catastrophic explosions. It was also tricky to fly for a new pilot, especially given that there was not a two-seat trainer; pilots instead trained on the more docile MiG-15UTI Midget, which could pose a problem in transitioning to the new fighter. The MiG-19 was indeed supersonic, however, and eventually fulfilled the requirements of the design by the time it entered service in 1956.
The Soviet Air Force (V-VS) hoped that the MiG-19 would replace the MiG-17 in service, but the former never became a popular aircraft. It was not as maneuverable as the MiG-17, and gulped fuel at an alarming rate. In its combat debut with the Egyptian Air Force against Israeli Mirage IIIs, pilots reported a tendency for the MiG-19 to flame out if it fired its nose mounted cannon for any length of time; the gun gas would be sucked down the intake and cause engine failure.
The MiG-19 also entered service with the North Vietnamese People's Air Force in 1969, but its performance when the air war over the North was resumed in 1972 was lackluster. VPAF pilots found it heavier on the controls than the MiG-17 and MiG-21, and VPAF mechanics found maintaining the MiG-19 in a tropical environment was a nightmare. VPAF MiG-19s only achieved three confirmed kills, and lost nine of their own number. It was not popular and was withdrawn from service at the end of the war.
With the MiG-21 in service, the Soviet V-VS also withdrew the MiG-19 from frontline service, though a few Warsaw Pact client states kept them until the early 1980s. The People's Republic of China license-built MiG-19s before the Sino-Soviet split in 1967, and kept it in production well into the 1980s as the Shenyang J-6. Despite its limitations, the J-6 remained the mainstay of the People's Liberation Army Air Force until the early 21st Century, and the last J-6 did not leave service until 2010. North Korea is believed to be the last nation to still have operational J-6s in any sort of number, though there are a small number of African nations which might have a few left. Though quite a few can be found in museums worldwide, its high maintenance requirements have not made it a sought-after warbird.
There are two differing stories of how this MiG-19 came to be at the March Air Museum. According to the museum, it was assembled from parts of seven Shenyang J-6s and possibly actual MiG-19s, at least one of which had flown combat over Vietnam while with the VPAF. According to other sources, however, Bort 0409 was delivered to the Czechoslovakian Air Force in 1961 and initially served with the 4th Fighter Squadron at Ceske Budejovice until 1963, when it was transferred to the 5th FS at Dobrany. Withdrawn from service in the early 1970s, it was displayed at the Slovak Museum of Transport at Presov before being sold to a private American warbird collector in Palm Springs, California, who donated it to the March Air Museum in 2001. It is possible that Bort 0409 was used as the basis for the restoration, with parts coming from J-6s, including the former VPAF aircraft.
However Bort 0409 got to March, it has been beautifully restored as a VPAF MiG-19 of the 925th Fighter Regiment at Yen Bai. North Vietnamese MiG-19s were both bare metal and camouflaged, though the Bort nose number pattern is Czech. This is only the third MiG-19/J-6 I've ever seen; as I mentioned above, they are quite rare compared to MiG-17s or even MiG-21s.