{"id":60217,"date":"2025-07-14T22:39:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T20:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=60217"},"modified":"2025-07-21T21:55:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T19:55:11","slug":"the-mig-21-a-famous-soviet-fighter-that-was-also-used-by-the-usa-shown-inside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/07\/14\/the-mig-21-a-famous-soviet-fighter-that-was-also-used-by-the-usa-shown-inside\/","title":{"rendered":"The MiG-21, a famous Soviet fighter that was also used by the USA, shown inside"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

The flight of two Soviet-made MiGs with two F-22 fighters over a US air base<\/a><\/rel>
\nFrom MiG-21 to Dassault Rafale: the first of the new fighters of the Croatian Air Force<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 was the first fighter from that famous Soviet factory made with delta wings<\/strong> 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<\/strong>, 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<\/strong>, which greatly limited their warload.<\/p>\n

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A MiG-21UMD of the Croatian Air Force (Photo: Robert Erenstein\/Scramble.nl<\/a>).<\/div>\n

The MiG-21's small size also limited its range. Nevertheless, it was a very fast aircraft, capable of reaching Mach 2.05<\/strong>, but using afterburners, which considerably reduced its range. It was also very maneuverable<\/strong>, which compensated for its lower weapons load compared to its Western rivals. Furthermore, it was cheap and easy to maintain<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n

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A MiG-21F-1 of the 4477 TES of the US Air Force in the 1980s (Photo: U.S. Air Force).<\/div>\n

The USSR manufactured 10,645 units of the MiG-21<\/strong>, 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.<\/strong> Its operator roster includes some surprises, such as Israel<\/strong>, which captured an Iraqi MiG-21 piloted by a defector, Munir Redfa, in 1966 (it is now preserved in the Israel Air Force Museum<\/a> in the Negev Desert). The United States operated 14 MiG-21s of different variants<\/strong>, obtained in various ways and which were evaluated and operated by the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron (4477 TES), nicknamed the Red Eagles<\/a> from the famous Area 51 in Groom Lake, Nevada.<\/p>\n

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A former East German MiG-21SPS, christened \"Der weisse Hai\" (The White Shark), with Luftwaffe livery in February 2014 (Photo: Rob Schleiffert<\/a>).<\/div>\n

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