The MiG-21, a famous Soviet fighter that was also used by the USA, shown inside

February 14 marked the 70th anniversary of the first flight, in 1955, of a Soviet fighter jet that has left a lasting mark on history.

The flight of two Soviet-made MiGs with two F-22 fighters over a US air base
From MiG-21 to Dassault Rafale: the first of the new fighters of the Croatian Air Force

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 was the first fighter from that famous Soviet factory made with delta wings instead of swept wings. It was a relatively small aircraft compared to American fighters such as the F-4 Phantom II. The MiG-21 was only about 14 meters long, with a wingspan of just over 7 meters. It was equipped with a single 23 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 cannon located on the right side of the fuselage. Early versions only had two underwing gun mounts, which greatly limited their warload.

The MiG-21's small size also limited its range. Nevertheless, it was a very fast aircraft, capable of reaching Mach 2.05, but using afterburners, which considerably reduced its range. It was also very maneuverable, which compensated for its lower weapons load compared to its Western rivals. Furthermore, it was cheap and easy to maintain, which facilitated its export to Third World countries. It is still used in some countries today, as is its Chinese version, the Chengdu J-7.

The USSR manufactured 10,645 units of the MiG-21, to which must be added 840 units manufactured in India, 194 in Czechoslovakia and more than 2,400 J-7s in China. This makes the MiG-21 the most numerous jet fighter in history. Its operator roster includes some surprises, such as Israel, which captured an Iraqi MiG-21 piloted by a defector, Munir Redfa, in 1966 (it is now preserved in the Israel Air Force Museum in the Negev Desert). The United States operated 14 MiG-21s of different variants, obtained in various ways and which were evaluated and operated by the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron (4477 TES), nicknamed the Red Eagles from the famous Area 51 in Groom Lake, Nevada.

This Monday, David Webb's YouTube channel Blue Paw Print has published another of his excellent videos, this time dedicated to the MiG-21, showing the interior of this aircraft in detail and also explaining the combat tactics used by its pilots:

You can see some screenshots from this magnificent video here. Blue Paw Print specifically shows the MiG-21F-13, known as "Fishbed-C" by NATO, an export variant that appeared in 1960 and of which 513 units were built in Gorky (USSR) and 194 in Czechoslovakia, where it was known as the Aero S-106. It was the variant used by China to make its Chengdu J-7. The MiG-21 in the video wears the roundels of the Vietnamese Air Force, which still operates 144 units of this aircraft today in its MiG-21Bis (single-seat) and MiG-21UM (two-seat) variants.

The name of this version refers to the K-13 short-range air-to-air missile with infrared guidance (below these lines), a Soviet copy made by reverse engineering based on the American AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, but with worse performance.

The video also shows the inside of the MiG-21's cockpit, a fighter with fully analog instruments. Blue Paw Print also shows how the aircraft was operated.

Blue Paw Print also compares the MiG-21 to its main rival, the American F-4 Phantom II, a larger, more powerful and better armed fighter, but which had serious difficulties in confronting the MiG-21 in the Vietnam War, forcing the US to improve the training of its fighter pilots in low-altitude air-to-air combat.