Markings for MiG-21F-13 1/48
COL A
MiG-21FR, c/n 760711, 5. slp, Plzeň-Líně AB, Czechoslovakia, 1974-1985
In 1970, a unit emblem was painted on the newly introduced MiG-21Fs of the 5 Fighter Wing, it consisted of a four-color field inspired by the coat of arms of the city of Pilsen, with a dog’s head in the center. The whole design was complemented by a small red star. The MiG-21F with fuselage number 0711 retained the unit emblem even after its mid-life overhaul in 1974. The aircraft was modified into a reconnaissance version by installing AFA-39 camera support systems in underwing pods, and its service with the Czechoslovak Air Force ended on February 26, 1985, with a total flight time of 1,148 hours and 46 minutes. After being retired from service, it was displayed at the Hrabyně memorial; since 2000, it has been on display at Air Park in Zruč near Plzeň.
COL B
MiG-21F-13, c/n 560207, 9. slp, Bechyně AB, Czechoslovakia, 1979-1988
Aircraft number 0207 served at the Air Force training center in Milovice starting in April 1965, then with the 2nd Squadron of the 4th Fighter Wing at the Pardubice airfield from August 1967 to July 1969, and subsequently with the 9th Fighter Wing in Bechyně. In 1979, 0207 became one of ten aircraft to receive the experimental LERAN camouflage. The goal was to reduce visibility to the enemy in combat conditions. The aircraft’s service with the Czechoslovak Air Force ended on May 23, 1988, with a total flight time of 1,622 hours and 30 minutes. After being retired from service, it was sold to the People’s Republic of Hungary.
COL C
MiG-21F-13, Israel Air Force Hatzor AB, Israel, April 1968
This aircraft became famous in 1966 as the first MiG-21 Fishbed captured by the West. On August 16, 1966, Munir Redfa, an Iraqi Air Force pilot of Assyrian Christian descent, defected to Israel in a top-secret Mossad operation known as Operation Diamond. After the operation, the aircraft was painted with Israeli Air Force markings and assigned the number 007. The MiG was then used in extensive testing to evaluate its flight characteristics and for simulated dogfights. The insights gained proved crucial in later conflicts, including the Six-Day War (1967), the War of Attrition (1970), and the Yom Kippur War (1973). During the tense period leading up to the Six-Day War, 007 was repainted, fitted with red identification stripes, and armed with Shafrir-2 missiles. It was then placed on combat alert to counter Egyptian MiG-21R reconnaissance aircraft, which flew at altitudes and speeds that Israeli Mirages could not reach. Although 007 was on high alert, it did not participate in combat during the war. Shortly thereafter, it was transferred to the United States, which, under the name Project Have Doughnut, subjected the MiG-21F to thorough testing by Air Force and Navy pilots, not only to assess its performance but also to measure its radar characteristics. These findings directly influenced pilot training at the Top Gun center and enabled the development of excellent air combat tactics, which were ultimately used against North Vietnamese MiG-21s during the Vietnam War.
COL D
MiG-21F-13, 102nd Air Brigade, Sayah el-Sharif AB, UARAF, Egypt, 1973
This MiG-21F-13 survived the Six-Day War, the subsequent War of Attrition, and the October War in 1973. This made it a virtually legendary aircraft for the Egyptian Air Force. During the war, it bore a two-tone camouflage on its upper surfaces, but shortly before the 1973 conflict, it was given a new scheme, known as “Nile Valley,” in shades of sand, slate gray, and spinach green, with sky-blue undersides, along with a new style of national insignia.
COL E
MiG-21F-13, c/n N74212017, 2. PLM, Wojska Lotnicze, Szczecin-Goleniów AB, Poland, 1965-1971
The Polish Air Force (PWL – Polskie Wojska Lotnicze), as it was known at the time, took delivery of its first MiG-21F-13 aircraft, designated “Red 1217,” on June 29, 1961. Another 24 MiGs arrived between September 19, 1962, and September 16, 1963. The first thirteen aircraft delivered were manufactured at Plant No. 21 in Gorky, and the last twelve at MMZ No. 30 Znamaya Truda in Moscow, which began producing this model in 1962 exclusively for export. The Polish Air Force’s MiG-21Fs bore red serial numbers, with the first two digits indicating the production batch number and the last two digits the aircraft’s number within that batch. The first nine MiG-21F-13s delivered went directly to the training center in Modlin (CSL – Centrum Szkolenia Lotniczego). Another four MiG-21Fs arrived on January 11, 1963, at the 62 PLM (Pulk Lotnictwa Mysliwskiego) at the Poznan-Krzesiny airfield; six MiGs arrived on January 14, 1963, to the 1 PLM Warsaw at the Minsk-Mazowiecki airfield, and the final six MiGs on January 18, 1963, to the 11 PLM (later redesignated as the 9 PLM) in Debrzno. When the more modern MiG-21PF aircraft entered service in 1964, all MiG-21F-13 aircraft were transferred in 1965 to the Szczecin-Goleniów base, where they remained in active service with the 4 PLM (later renamed the 2 PLM) until their retirement in 1973. The last twelve operational aircraft were delivered to Syria that same year to replace losses suffered during the war.