Strana 49
MiG-21F-13, Israel Air Force Hatzor AB, Israel, April 1968
MiG-21F-13, c/n N74212017, 2. PLM, Wojska Lotnicze, Szczecin-Goleniów AB, Poland, 1965-1971
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.
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.
KITS 06/2026
INFO Eduard
49
June 2026