Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, Hungarian and Romanian users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 was the first supersonic fighter in the world. The "P" variant was equipped with the RP-1 Izumrud radar in the nose and was armed with two 23 mm NR-23 (with some revised versions having them replaced by the 30 mm NR-30) placed in the wings. It could carry some unguided missiles in hardpoints at  the wings and, in further modifications, it could carry also K-13 air-to-air missiles.
The PM variant was not armed with cannons at all, but it was armed with four Kaliningrad K-5M beam-riding air-to-air missiles, making it a pure interceptor.
These two variants were employed by both Hungary and Romania:

• Hungary: The Air Force of the Hungarian People's Army operated 12 MiG-19PM fighters. The first 12 pilots for these aircraft started their conversion training in the USSR in July 1959. In March 1960 six aircraft were delivered with the other six being delivered in April. They were assigned to the 3rd Squadron of the 31st Fighter Regiment based at Taszár Air Base, in Hungary.
  They served until 1974 when the last MiG-19PM was written off and the surviving aircraft were placed into reserve at a disposal dump site where they received fake four digit serials matching the years they were put into storage. Therefore it wasn't uncommon to see various aircraft sharing the same serial number. 
• Romania: In 1959 the Air Force of the People's Republic of Romania received 10 MiG-19P and 45 MiG-19PMs and five more MiG-19P arrived one year later. They were assigned to the 66th Fighter Division which was tasked with the aerial defence of Bucharest.
  Initially they were based at Caracal-Deveselul Air Base but in the early 1960s they were moved to Borcea Air Base (which is still active nowadays) with a detachment assigned to Giarmata Air Base, near Timisoara, in Transylvania. Due to security reasons the fighters were re-serialised twice through their career. They were phased out in the early 1970s, although some reports claim they served a little bit longer, until the mid 1970s.
  There have also been false reports about Romanian MiG-19S fighters, but they were proven wrong.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-19#Variants

2. Midland Publishing - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19. The Soviet Union's First Production Supersonic Fighter

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Aero L-29, part four, various European users users

As we've previously said many time, the Aero L-29 was used by many Eastern bloc countries. The ones covered in this post are:

• Hungary: As it happened with almost every other Warsaw Pact country, Hungary bought a number of Aero L-29 in the mid 1960s (in 1965 to be more precise) to equip their training squadrons. They served until the fall of communism in 1989 together with other more advanced and modern types. 
• Romania: Being a Warsaw Pact member, the Romanian Air Force was supplied with a number of Aero L-29 to equip their training squadrons and flight schools. They served until the fall of communism in 1989 and shortly beyond, together with other types.
• Slovakia: After the creation of the Slovak Air Force in 1993, there were many L-29s left in the country which served as the main trainer for the newly created air force. It served alongside the more advanced Aero L-39 until the very late 1990s when it was phased out.
• USSR: The Soviet Air Force (VVS) was the main user of the Aero L-29. It served as its main trainer, together with other types until the dissolution of the USSR in 1992.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_L-29_Delfín

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Air_Force

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_Air_Force

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_Air_Force

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Air_Forces

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI, part two, East German and Hungarian users

The Mikoyan MiG-15UTI was a Soviet trainer variant of the regular MiG-15. It had a modified cockpit to fit both instructor and student.
It was mass-manufactured and was the backbone of many air forces around the world, specially those in the Soviet sphere of influence and Warsaw Pact countries.
In this post we're going to cover just two countries: East Germany and Hungary.

• East Germany: In 1956 when the Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee (Air Component of the National People's Army - East German Air Force) was created, they received a batch of MiG-15UTIs which was assigned to the Jagbombergeschwader JBG-31 among other fighter units. They served as their main jet trainer, together with other types like the Czechoslovak Aero L-29, from 1956 until the dissolution of the NVA (Nationale Volksarmee - National People's Army) in 1990. It was inherited by the West German Luftwaffe in that same year and, as it was already an obsolete type, most of them were scrapped or sold. One exemplar was repainted and sent to the Luftwaffe's Museum in Berlin where it's shown nowadays.
• Hungary: The Air Force of the Hungarian People's Army was completely modified in the 1950s to make it transition into the jet age as they were equipped with outdated propeller-fighters and bombers. As, in order to make the pilots meet the new jet fighters, they needed a trainer, the MiG-15UTI was supplied by the USSR. It served as the main trainer type until the fall of Eastern-bloc in the early 1990s, together with the Aero L-29 and, later the Aero L-39.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Forces_of_the_National_People%27s_Army

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Air_Force#Post–World_War_II_to_Present