KITS 05/2023

1 Squadron, 9 Fighter Bomber Air Regiment, Bechyně, Czech Republic, September 1993

MiG-21MF serial number 96002410 was

manufactured on June 25, 1975. It flew with the

1 Fighter Air Regiment, 4 Fighter Air Regiment

and for a longest time with the 9 Fighter Air

Regiment, respectively the 9 Fighter-Bomber Air

Regiment. In 1992 the striking colorful markings

were applied on this airframe consisting of the

white triangle shaded in red and number 9 on

the rudder in reverse colors. The stripe in the

colors of the Czech tricolore (blue–red–white)

was spanning across the wing and widening

toward the fuselage. On its ridge it was shaped

into an arrow. The “Twenty-ones“ painted this

way were part of the display unit Delta Team. On

September 10, 1993, this MiG flew its last sortie

and then flew over to the Plzeň-Líně airport for

permanent storage. Consequently, it was struck

off the military register and handed over to the

depository of the Prague-Kbely Aviation Museum.

116 CBP (116 Combat Training Center), Privolzhsky, Soviet Union, May 1990

Despite the MiG-21MFs manufactured at Gorky

were intended for client states of the Soviet

Union several of these aircraft made it into

Soviet service, nonetheless. The only unit known

to have flown the type was the 116 Combat

Training Centre, based at Privolzhsky Air Base,

near Astrakhan. The aircraft was camouflaged

on the upper surfaces in two shades of green

and brown, supplemented by a sand shade. The

bottom surfaces were in blue-grey. This unit

used the aircraft for combat training of pilots on

completion of their basic part of the curriculum.

10 Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego, Airport Łask, Poland, 1986–1993

The coloration of MiG-21MF number 8055

reflects the customs from 1980s. On the nose it

is decorated with the insignia created in 1986 by

the initiative of the 10 Regiment‘s Headquarters.

The regimental insignia adopts its symbolism

May 2023

from the “Cracowian” times and depicts the

stylized dragon with hat Krakushka (a part of the

Polish national costumes). The dragon also holds

the shield with the white-red checkerboard and

a yellow light bolt. The insignia was painted on

both sides of the aircraft nose. Over the time

several modifications appeared differing from

each other by small details such as missing eyes,

teeth, white mottles painted on the wings or

dragon’s body painted in white.

INFO Eduard

43