Strana 49
MiG-21bis, 234 lAP, Soviet VVS, Kubinka Air Base, Soviet Union, 1974
MiG-21bis, 2nd Lieutenant Adnan Saeed al-Fadhli, No. 11 Squadron,
Iraqi Air Force, Tammuz Air Base, Iraq, 1980-1984
MiG-21bis, 1 Pucki DLMW, Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej, Gdynia-Babie Doły,
Poland, 2003
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.
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.
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.
KITS 10/2025
INFO Eduard
49
October 2025