Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>MIG-21>HA0145

General Background

The Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-21 is the world most widely used supersonic fighter which has been used by over 30 countries and 56 air forces. It is the most produced aircraft since World War II with an estimation of over 10,000 in the Soviet Union alone.

The Mig-21 has a top speed of Mach 2 and has proven to be an effective and easy to maintain aircraft in many conflicts. It first achieved renown in the Vietnam War where it posed itself a challenging adversary for more technological advanced aircrafts like the F-105 and F-4 Phantom. The Mig-21 is certainly one of the most famous aircrafts in the world for all times.

The Aircraft

Poland the air force faced budget cuts from the early nineties on. This led to a reduction of the MiG-21 fleet. With the closure of Sochaczew base on December 31, 1997 the use of the MiG-21R in the recce role ended. The remaining aircraft were sent to Poznan-Krzesiny where they served together with the last MiG-21PFM in the training role.

Specifications :

Dimensions:
Power Plant:	One 41.55kN (9,340lb st) or 64.73kN (14,550lb st) with afterburner Tumansky R- 13-300 turbojet
Wingspan:	7.15m (23ft 5½in)
Length:	15.76m (51ft 8½in) - incl pitot boom
Max T-O weight:	9,400kg (20,725lb)
Wing area:	23.00 m2 247.5 sq. ft
Max speed:	Mach 2.1 (2,230km/h - 1,385mph) above 11,000m (36,000ft)
	Mach 1.06 (1,300km/h - 807mph) at low level
Range:	1,100km (683 miles) - internal fuel only
	1,800km (1,118 miles) - with three external drop tanks, one under fuselage, one under each wing
Armament	One 23mm twin-barrel GSh-23 cannon with 200 rounds in belly pack
	Various air-to-air and air-to-ground stores carried on four under wing pylons including:
	K-13A "Atoll" or "Advanced Atoll" a-a missiles,
	UV-16-57 rocket packs,
	S-24 a-s rockets,
	250kg and 500kg bombs
	Eventually Sidewinder missiles