KITS 08/2022

C/n 96007600, No. 7600, 11. Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego, Mierzęcice, Poland, early 90´

The aircraft with a production number 96007600 was

handed over to the Polish Air Force in December 1975.

Consecutively, it was sent to the 34 Pułk Lotnictwa

Myśliwskiego (Air Fighter Regiment) at Gdynia-Babie Doły Base. The aircraft later served with several

other units. From May 13, 1989 to October 1998 it was

used by 2 Eskadra Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego, located

at Mierzęcice Air Base. After that, the aircraft was

sold to the USA in 1999, where it could have been

seen in Texas Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston

until its heavy damage caused by the hurricane in

the autumn 2008. MiG-21MF No. 7600 was painted in

aluminum paint with Polish national insignia on the

aft surfaces and on the undersides of the wing. There

was a symbol of the 2 ELM painted on the nose of

the aircraft and its smaller version was repeated on

the vertical stabilizer. There was an 11 PLM symbol as

well, painted behind the red number 7600.

C/n 96004017, No. 4017, 9 slp/ 9 sbolp, Bechyně, Czechoslovakia, early 90´

This MiG-21MF of 1 slp (1st Fighter Air Regiment)

based at the České Budějovice airbase was handed

over to 9 slp operating form nearby Bechyně airbase

in 1988. The aircraft technician Vladimír Daňo painted an emblem of the squirrel onto the aircraft, as

he did to the other aircraft, he was servicing (four

MiG-21MFs, one MiG-21UM and L-29), but it did not win

too much favor with the HQ of the unit. After the order

to remove the painting, it was oversprayed by gray

color, but the nose of the aircraft got another emblem,

this time a duck with a sword. With this decoration,

the aircraft was handed over from No. 1 Squadron of

9 sbolp (9th Fighter-Bomber Air Regiment) to 82 sslt

(82nd Independent Fighter Squadron) based at the

Ostrava Mošnov airbase. After a short stay there, the

plane was deposited to LOZ (Aviation Repair Facility)

Líně. In 1999 it was upgraded to MiG-21MFN version

and put back into operation service again.

C/n 96002170, No. 784, Jagdfliegergeschwader 3, Preschen, German Democratic Republic, late 80´

On December 14, 1954, the 3rd Kommando of the

1st Aeroklub was established in Cottbus; on August 24, 1956, it was renamed Fliegergeschwader

No. 3. The same year the unit changed their training

aircraft Yak-11 and Yak-18 for MiG-15 jets. The first

MiG-21s were delivered to the unit in 1962 as the F-13

August 2022

variant. On March 1, 1971, this unit was bestowed on

the honorary name after Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, who died in the crash of the spacecraft

Soyuz 1 in 1967 when returning from space. A scheduled change of MiG-21MFs for MiG-29s was scheduled for 1988, but only two of three Staffeln did so.

The camouflage of the Eastern German aircraft

No. 784 consisted of two shades of green on the

upper surfaces, the undersides were in light blue.

Underneath the cockpit there was so-called Q-mark

painted. It was a marking of the aircraft, which was

in a diligent care of the ground crew.

INFO Eduard

53