Markings for MiG-21bis 1/72
COL A
MiG-21bis, 234 lAP, Soviet VVS, Kubinka Air Base, Soviet Union, 1974
This aircraft rolled off the production line at Plant 21 in Gorky in 1974 as the first production Bis and was handed over to the 234 IAP on the 56th anniversary of the founding of the Komsomol organization. At the unit, it received the fuselage number blue 40 with distinctive inscriptions on the left side – XVII Komsomol Congress and on the right side Komsomol Guarantee, which means that Komsomol members guarantee the equality of the number of takeoffs and landings of this aircraft, as well as the trouble-free operation of the on-board systems. Color photographs of this aircraft were taken in August 1974 at Rissala Airport near the city of Kuopio during a visit by a Soviet Air Force delegation to Finland. Major E. M. Avedikov, commander of the 234 Guards Regiment, performed aerobatics on the blue 40 aircraft on this occasion. It was during this visit that Western observers first learned of the new modification of MiG-21 fighter in the Soviet Air Force’s arsenal. The aircraft was given the code name Fishbed-L.
COL B
MiG-21bis, 2nd Lieutenant Adnan Saeed al-Fadhli, No. 11 Squadron, Iraqi Air Force, Tammuz Air Base, Iraq, 1980-1984
The aircraft with serial number 2092 was most likely delivered in 1979 or 1980 to No. 11 Squadron IrAF, with which Lieutenant Adnān participated in combat operations mainly in the Baghdad area in September and October 1980, where his unit achieved a significant number of kills of Iranian F-4 and F-5 aircraft. It is assumed that the two kill marks on 2092 fuselage represent downed F-5Es. Lieutenant Adnān was sent to the USSR in early 1984 for retraining on MiG-25 aircraft, then was transferred to No. 87 Squadron and in 1986 to No. 96 Squadron, where he served as deputy commander and then commander of No. 96 Squadron in the following years. On January 17, 1987, Adnān participated in an operation that led to the destruction of an Iranian F-14A Tomcat. After 2004, he returned to active duty and served as deputy commander of the Iraqi 6 Infantry Division (for air coordination). He died in 2020. The Iraqi Air Force’s MiG-21bis aircraft were equipped with standard MiG-21 camouflage intended for export to African and Middle Eastern countries.
COL C
MiG-21bis, 1 Pucki DLMW, Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej, Gdynia-Babie Doły, Poland, 2003
This aircraft, serial number 75088971, arrived in Poland on March 26, 1980. It was operated by the 1 Pucki Dywizjon Lotniczy of the Polish Navy. The emblem on the vertical tail fin shows it belongs to the 2nd Squadron. The appearance of this aircraft changed over time; in 2003 it flew with a shark mouth. Between 1980 and 1981, Poland received 72 MiG-21bis aircraft.
COL D
MiG-21bis, 204 vb, 101.lae, Serbian Air Force, Batajnica Air Base, Serbia, 2015
Following the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, the Federation of Serbia and Montenegro was formed in February 2003 from the remnants of the Republic of Yugoslavia. Based on a referendum held on May 21, 2006, Montenegro declared its independence on June 3 of the same year. The armed forces agreed to split their assets according to territorial claims. The air force units in Serbia became part of the Serbian army and had 82 aircraft and 89 helicopters at their disposal. Meanwhile, in Montenegro, the 172 Air Base at Golubovci Air Base near Podgorica, with a mixed fleet of 41 aircraft and helicopters, became part of the Montenegrin Army. The air force and air defense were reorganized and retrained according to NATO standards by 2010. In March 2005, the first NATO-style wing was formed in Podgorica, Montenegro, as the 172 abr. On November 15, 2006, 204 av was officially created in Batajnica, replacing the 204 lap. It currently has three squadrons: 101 lae, 138 lae, and 252 lae (101 lae adopted the insignia of 127 lae). 101 lae operates MiG-29, MiG-21bis, and a pair of MiG-21UM training aircraft. The MiG-21bis with fuselage number 17409 was one of the last MiG-21s to fly with the Serbian Air Force. Its two-tone gray camouflage is the result of repairs and fading of the original all-gray paint.
COL E
MiG-21BIS, c/n 75084608, HävLLv 31, Kuopio airbase, Finland, 1998
The Finnish Air Force acquired a total of 26 MiG-21bis aircraft between 1978 and 1986. These aircraft served in fighter and reconnaissance role between 1978 and 1998. The last flight of a MiG-21 in the service of the Finnish Air Force was made by Yrjö “Ylli” Rantamäki on March 7, 1998. He flew aircraft coded MG-138. Just for this flight the word YLLI was created from orange reflective tape below the canopy. The aircraft is now part of the exhibition at the Finnish Aviation Museum in Tikkakoski.
COL F
MiG-21bisD, 21 ELZ, HRZ, Zagreb-Pleso, Croatia, December 2016
The supersonic MiG-21bis fighter jet, number 17235/235, was manufactured in the early 1980s and became part of the Yugoslav Air Force. During the Croatian War of Independence, on May 15, 1992, Captain Ivan Selak of the 124 Fighter Air Regiment of the Yugoslav Air Force flew this aircraft into an area controlled by Croatian separatists. The aircraft numbered 102 was incorporated into the Croatian Air Force with an improvised designation. In January 1993, it was named Osvetnik Dubrovnika in memory of the Croatian city that was heavily damaged by the fighting. After Operation Flash and before the military-police operation Storm, the aircraft was given a camouflage paint job and received the standard designation of the Croatian Air Force.