Description

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Fishbed) is a Soviet supersonic fighter-interceptor jet, which does not require much of an introduction. The MiG-21 is the most famous fighter of the second half of the 20th century and has become somewhat of an ‘iron argument’ in any conflict, where both the Soviet and the American interests came head-to-head. Ironically, the aircraft was initially designed for confrontation with the West, although it ended up defending the skies of NATO after the Cold War was over. More than 11,000 units were produced, and the fighter still remains in its active service across the globe. In the Soviet Union, three factories worked at their full capacity producing the MiG-21s: in Gorky (with single seaters for Soviets), in Moscow (with single seaters for export) and in Tbilisi (with twin seaters for internal and export use) with some exceptions. The tag in your possession was crafted from a Tbilisi (Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic) manufactured MiG-21U. The jet was manufactured in 1965 and assigned to the pilots of the 702nd Training Aviation Regiment of the Chernihiv Higher Aviation School at the Uman Aerodrome (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1992 Ukraine inherited the fleet of approximately 240 jets of the type, however used them as trainers in 90’s. In 1995, at the Uman aerodrome they decided to scrap the MiG-21s, and that’s how the piece of airframe in your possession was found. In the fall of 2024, thanks to one of the technical engineers, involved with the MiG-21s throughout his career, the Fuselage team managed to recover the fuel tank which was mounted to the top of the fuselage of the airframe. You can now enjoy this rare aircraft in your possession!