KITS 03/2022
MiG-15, No. 141303, 3 Fighter Air Regiment, Brno-Tuřany, ca. 1958
One of the most spectacularly painted Czechoslovak
MiG-15s flew in this form for some time as a target
plane for anti-aircraft artillery training. Czechoslovak
army received this aircraft on November 4, 1954. From
November 1955 at the latest it was assigned to the 1
Squadron of the 3 Fighter Air Regiment in Brno. The aircraft bore the code FZ-11 initially, but it was changed to
FZ-17 in February 1957. Later that year, probably in June
or July, the designation was changed again, now to 1303
in accordance with the new system using the last four
digits of the serial number. The aircraft got its optically
distinctive livery probably during 1958. The blue color of
the squares is probable but not confirmed. It is also not
known when the painting was removed. The aircraft was
later converted to the MiG-15bisSB version and flew with
the 18th Fighter-Bomber Air Regiment. It was destroyed
in a catastrophic crash of three aircraft on February 17,
1964, which occurred over Sezemice town. In the aircraft
coded 1554 and 0526 Maj. Jan Jeřábek and 2nd Lt. Jaroslav Pikal died, while Capt. Jurečka ejected from 1303
and escaped the crash with injuries.
MiG-15, 0615334, Maj. V. I. Kolyadin, 28 GIAP, 151 GIAD, 64 IAK, Mukden, China, December 1950
Viktor Ivanovich Kolyadin fought in World War II from June
1941. He started as a pilot of the 289 Assault Aviation Regiment from June 1941, later he moved to the 597 Night
Light Bomber Regiment, where he flew the Po-2 biplanes. He fought there until 1943, when he was promoted
to lieutenant and started his training as a fighter pilot. In
June 1944, he joined the 68 Guards Fighter Air Regiment
(GIAP), where he remained until the end of the war and
scored 15 kills. On June 29, 1945 he was awarded the title
Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war, he continued to
serve with the 28 GIAP, first as deputy commander and
then as commander. He moved with this unit to China
after the outbreak of the Korean War. In Mukden, the 151
Guards Fighter Division (GIAD) established itself at two
local airfields, Anshan and Liaoyang. Kolyadin continued
his successful career as a fighter pilot there and beca-
me the second ace of the entire 64 Fighter Air Wing. Between November 1950 and the end of March 1951, he flew
some 40 sorties, participated in some twenty combats,
and shot down six enemy aircraft. Kolyadin was later
appointed deputy commander of the 4 Army Air Defense
Force and retired as a major general in 1973. He died on
November 6, 2008 in Sevastopol.
EP-01, LtCol. Jozef Kúkel, 1 Fighter Air Division, Hradec Králové, Ruzyně,
September 4, 1955
The EP-01 was flown by Lieutenant Colonel Jozef Kúkel,
leader of the five-man aerobatic group of the 1 Fighter
Air Division, who later became commander of the 10 Air
Force Army. He became the last general of Czechoslovak air force with combat experience from World War
II. During the war, he served in the ranks of the Slovak
State air force, but after the outbreak of the Slovak National Uprising, he joined the Combined Squadron at Tri
Duby airbase as a Š-328 biplane pilot. After moving to
March 2022
the liberated Polish territory, he joined the 1 Czechoslovak Army Corps and fought in the ranks of 1 Combined
Air Division. He took part in combat operations in the
Ostrava region with 3 Assault Air Regiment. After the
invasion of the Warsaw Pact forces into Czechoslovakia
in 1968, he was deprived of his command of 10 Air Force
Army because of his negative attitude to the occupation.
At the end of the year, he suffered a serious injury in a
car accident and was left in a wheelchair. At the end
of 1980´s he was fully politically rehabilitated, but died
shortly after on June 16, 1994, in Hradec Králové. The aircraft of his aerobatic group were painted with red on the
upper surfaces to enhance the performance of the group
during the airshow in September 1955 at Ruzyně Airport.
Under the thin red paint, the code of the aircraft and the
“walkways” on the wing were clearly visible. Another interesting feature of the EP-01 is the older type of insignia
on the rudder with a larger diameter.
INFO Eduard
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