Thursday 20 August 2020

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, various European users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 was the first Soviet supersonic fighter. It achieved fame for being world's first aircraft that could sustain supersonic speeds in level flight and there were many variants, which, for one circumstance or another, they saw service all around the world, among them, the following countries:

  • Albania: The Albanian People's Republic Air Force received a batch of 12 MiG-19PM in October 1959 (according to some sources they were 15). These were the first Albanian aircraft to be equipped with radar and air-to-air missiles. Shortly after, in 1962 Albania broke diplomatic relations with the USSR and the Warsaw Pact and, in 1965 the MiG-19PMs assigned to the 7594th Fighter Regiment, based at Rinas Airbase, were shipped to China because the Chinese wanted to know about the Soviet radar technology, which they couldn't acquire firsthand. The MiG-19PM were traded over 12 new radarless Shenyang F-6.
    As we couldn't find graphical evidence of a pure MiG-19PM in Albanian colours, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
  • Armenia: According to some sources some few MiG-19s were retained by the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States - Former Soviet Union Countries) countries. The Armenian Air Force had reportedly 30 MiG-19PM and MiG-19S in service in as late as 1995. However the serviceability of such old fighters seemed dubious. As we couldn't find graphical evidence of neither MiG-19PM nor MiG-19S in Armenian service, the drawings should be considered as speculative.
  • Azerbaijan: Just like its neighbour, there were, reportedly, 40 MiG-19P and MiG-19S in service with the Azerbaijani Air Force in 1995. However just like Armenia, the serviceability was highly doubted. As we couldn't find graphical evidence, the drawing should be considered  as speculative.
  • Latvia: There were reports of at least one MiG-19S serving with the Latvian Air Force. However it was written off shortly after Latvian independence in 1991. It seems that it was placed at Vainode Air Base as gate guard. As we couldn't find any photo or pic, the drawing should be considered as speculative.









Sources:
1. Midland Publishing - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19. The Soviet Union's First Production Supersonic Fighter
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-19

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