POSTAVENO

BUILT

MiG-21M, 1st Squadron, 4th Fighter Air Regiment, Pardubice air base, Czechoslovakia, June 1989

The relaxing of the political strictness through 1989, along with the disbandment of Pardubice’s 4th slp, gave rise to something as yet unheard of. Two more or less

clothed ladies graced the noses of a MiG-21M. Greater scorn was provoked by the markings denoting ‘Pardubice’ and ‘4.slp’ (translator’s note: typically, the period

behind the number is the equivalent to the English ‘st’, ‘th’ or ‘nd’, so that the 4. is equivalent to 4th , the 1. to the 1st, and so on), since these bits of information were

still strictly classified. The inspiration for the artwork on ‘1113’ was pin up on B-24 „Barbara Jean“ from the Second World War. The image was projected and transferred onto the aircraft with the use of a Meotar apparatus, and this aircraft made it into the air at least once with the pin-up in place.

These aircraft were updated to MF standard likely during their general overhaul in 1987. They were given the rear view periscope mounted in the canopy and had

the small wing fences added adjacent to the auxiliary air intake doors. The R-13 power egg was added already during the midlife upgrade. Aircraft after general

overhauls in April 1986, retained their original look without paint, the wheel wells were a grey-green color, and the air brake interiors were painted their usual

dense yellow color.

INFO Eduard - October 2021

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