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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