Markings for MiG-21MF 1/48

COL A

MiG-21MF, No. 7628, Egyptian Air Force, Tanta AB, Arab Republic of Egypt, 1988

Aircraft No. 7628 illustrates the look of Egyptian military aircraft as they  are known through to present day. The black outlined bright orange fields appeared on Egyptian aircraft at the end of the seventies, not only on the MiG-21s, but also on other fighters such as the MiG-19, F-4 Phantom and Mirage. The reason for this practice was better visual recognition of friendly aircraft in combat during the war with Libya.

COL B

MiG-21MF, 9th Fighter Air Regiment, Bechyně AB, Czechoslovakia, 1989-1993

This aircraft was built in 1974 with serial number 969712, then was delivered to Czechoslovakia. It served with the 4th Fighter Regiment at Pardubice until it was transferred to the 9th Fighter Regiment based at Bechyně in May 1989. The aircraft was decorated with the coat of arms of the Bechyně city on the left side of the nose. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, this aircraft was assigned to the Slovak Air Force, and is currently in the collection of the Trenčín Air Museum. The aircraft sports the original camouflage scheme as it was delivered from the Soviet Union.

COL C

MiG-21MF, 4th Squadron, 31st Fighter Wing, Sliač AB, Slovakia, July 1997

This unique camouflage scheme came about in July 1997, when 31st AFB Sliač personnel applied it to the aircraft with serial No. 967713, and subsequently dubbed it “Milka” for its resemblance to the coloring of a cow. The aircraft flew until August 2000 and was scrapped at Přelouč in 2010. The individual shades on the painting scheme were obtained by mixing black and white paints available to the general public, and as such, these were not military standard paints. The left side of the nose carried the 4th Squadron emblem, while the right side carried the marking of the 31st AFB Sliač. This aircraft was flown by pplk. (LtCol.) Zsoldos, and its crew chief was kpt. (Capt.) Krucina.

COL D

MiG-21MF, 10th Tactical Squadron, Lask AB, Poland, 2001-2003

At the turn of the century, Poland began to reequip its air force, moving from Soviet (and later Russian) aircraft to American equipment, namely Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon. One of the MiG-21MFs that were, at the time, nearing the end of their service life was the No. 7809, serving with the 10th Tactical Squadron. This unit was based at Lask Air Base between 2001 and 2003.

COL E

MiG-21SM, 812th UAP, Kharkov Higher Military Academy, Kupyansk AB, the Soviet Union, August 1991

This aircraft, adorned with a shark mouth and eyes, served with the 812th UAP (Training Regiment), operating within the structure of the Kharkov higher military academy. This MiG-21SM was among the aircraft displayed during the open house day on August 18, 1991.

COL F

MiG-21MF, Jagdfliegergeschwader 3, Preschen AB, German Democratic Republic, 1990

Red ‘687’ was assigned to JG-3 based at Preschen air base near the town of Forst through the eighties and into the nineties. At that time, the unit operated MiG-21MFs as well as MiG-29s, and pilots also had MiG-21UM and MiG-29UB available for training flights. The unit, which was  part of the air force of the German Democratic Republic, also known as East Germany, was graced with the name ‘Wladimir Komarow’, in honor of the Soviet cosmonaut who died on April 24, 1967, during the landing after return from the orbit in the Soyuz 1 capsule. This aircraft is part of the collection of the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft in Oberschleissheim.