Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>MIG-21>HA0149

General Background

The Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-21 is probably the world most widely used supersonic fighter. It was used by over 30 countries and 56 air forces. An estimation of over 10,000 units was produced for the Soviet Union alone.

The MIG-21 has a top speed of Mach 2 and it is famed for its ease of maintenance and effectiveness during air combats. It first achieved renown in the Vietnam War where it posed itself a challenging adversary for some 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

Two red bands were painted on the Soviet Air Force Mig-21s for the August 20-21 invasion of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. These were used to identify their aircraft that supported the invasion from the Czechoslovakian Air Force Mig-21s that never did counterattack. This invasion by Soviet, Polish, East German, Hungarian and Bulgarian troops ended the liberal reforms heading towards democracy led by Czechoslovak Communist Party leader Dubcek. The time these reforms were in place is called the "Prague Spring" referring to 1848 when several revolutions took place throughout the world.

Specifications :

Dimensions:
Wingspan:	7.154 m / 23.47 ft
Length:	14.7 m / 48.23 ft
Fuselage length:	12.285 m / 40.3 ft
Height:	4.710 m / 15.4 ft
Wing area:	23.00 m2 247.5 sq. ft
Weight:
Normal take-off:	8300 kg / 18,298 lb
Maximum take-off:	9400 kg / 20,723 lb
Performance:
Engines:	1 X Tumansky R-13-300
Trust:	14,550 lbs / 6599.76 kg
Maximum Speed:	At altitude – 2230 km/h / 1386 mph
	At sea level – 1300 km/h / 808 mph
Rate of climb:	205 m/s / 672.57 ft/s
Service celling:	18,000 m / 59,055 ft
Armament:
Hard-point:	5
Canon:	Semi-internal 1.23 mm GSh-23L mounted under the fuselage on the centerline in front of the pylon.
Optional:	4 X R-13 (AA-2 Atoll) air-to-air missiles.
	Could carry bomb load up to 499.86 kg / 1,102 lb.
	UB-16-57U 16 shot and UD-J2A 32 shot rocket pods.
	Plus other standard Soviet air-to-ground ordnance.