Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19P & PM, Soviet users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19P was a version equipped with an RP-1 Izumrud radar placed inside a radome in the nose. It's armed with two 23 mm NR-23, late variants being armed with a 30 mm NR-30 cannons placed at the root of the wings. 

The wings were equipped with hardpoints that could carry unguided rockets, one under each wing. It also had an elongated tailfin fillet, all-moving tailplane and a third airbrake added behind the central fin. 

It was produced from 1956 until 1958, though some sources claim its production started one year earlier, in 1955. 

The prototype, the Mikoyan-Gurevich SM7/1, flew for the first time on 28th August 1954 and a total of 433 machines were manufactured at Gorky's Aircraft Factory No.21 with many of them being exported to various Warsaw Pact countries and allies. 

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19PM was another variant of the "P" with its cannons completely removed and armed only with four Kaliningrad K-5M beam-riding air-to-air missiles. A total of 369 machines were manufactured at Gorky's Aircraft Factory between 1956 and 1960.

The type entered service with the VVS (Soviet Air Force) and remained in active service together with the older MiG-17 as it never fully replaced it given to its low reliability. They were involved in many interceptions over East Germany and Warsaw Pact airspace. In fact, the first documented encounter with a Lockheed U-2 took place in autumn 1957. The MiG-19P pilot, reported seeing the aircraft but couldn't make up the 3.000 m (9.800 ft) difference in altitude. Later, when Francis Gary Powers' U-2 was shot down in 1960 one pursuing MiG-19P was also hit by a salvo of S-75 Dvina ground-to-air missiles, killing the pilot, Sergei Safronov in a friendly fire incident. 

They served as the vanguard of the VVS's fighter force from the mid 1950s until early 1960s when they were progressively replaced by the much better MiG-21. Many of them were still active in 1968 when they took part in Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Sources:

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

2. https://www.valka.cz/Mikojan-Gurevic-MiG-19P-kod-NATO-Farmer-B-t12471

3. https://www.valka.cz/Mikojan-Gurevic-MiG-19PM-kod-NATO-Farmer-D-t766

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

5. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, Bulgarian users

The MiG-19 was the first Soviet supersonic fighter and it was exported to many foreign countries.
The first country it was exported to was Bulgaria. During late 1957 and early 1958 the Bulgarian People's Army Air Force (BPAAF) received 24 MiG-19S fighters, with the first 12 of them being assigned to the 19.IAP (Fighter Regiment) based at Graf Ignatiev Air Base, close to the city of Plovdiv.
A total of 59 MiG-19S and MiG-19P served with the BPAAF on four squadrons. The 11.IAP based at Gabrovnitsa Air Base, the 19. IAP, and the 10. IAD/21. IAP based at Uzundzhovo Air Base between 1959 and 1970. In some sources the retirement date of the last MiG-19 is set in 1978 as some MiG-19S were reconverted to the ground attack role by replacing their drop tanks with two FAB-250 bombs.
When the 11. IAP was disbanded in 1960 its MiG-19S and MiG-19Ps were transferred to the 18. IAP/ 1. IAE (fighter flight) based at Dobrostlavtsi Air Base, near the capital, Sofia. Additional second hand MiG-19Ps were acquired from Poland in 1966.
Some reports claim that there were also 12 MiG-19PM serving with the BPAAF, which were also acquired from Poland. That would make Bulgaria the first Warsaw Pact country to use the MiG-19 but also the last one to use the missile-equipped MiG-19PM.
In 1969 the MiG-19Ps that were still in service with the 18.IAP/1.IAE were upgraded with two APU-13 launch rails for K-13A missiles, making them the most heavily armed aircraft of the BPAAF with two NR-30, two ORO-57K FFAR pods and two K-13A air-to-air missiles. Those aircraft, known in some sources as MiG-19PT, served until 1975 and were sold, dismantled, to China.
Bulgarian People's Army Air Force's elite unit, 1.IAE of the 19.IAP often made practice interceptions against Soviet Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-16 bombers flying in high altitude training missions.
Given the complexity of the conversion training and maintenance difficulty of the MiG-19, some units retained their MiG-17F, which had still in the 1960s a good reputation of being a fast and agile dogfighter. The MiG-17F was used mostly for low-level combat and battlefield air defence, while the MiG-19s were tasked with all-weather interception of high-flying targets, namely, NATO nuclear bombers which would have to traverse both Bulgarian and Romanian airspace on their way to targets in the USSR.
The MiG-19 wasn't very liked in the BPAAF as it suffered from poor engine reliability. In fact, of the 58 total aircraft supplied, 28 were lost in crashes, killing 15 pilots, making an attrition rate of 48.2%, similar to the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter one, or, in another words, one accident per 1.000 flight hours. In fact, low serviceability and high attrition rate forced the 21.IAP to replace their MiG-19 with the MiG-17F/PF.
Some other sources claim, however, that only one pilot belonging to the 18.IAP/1.IAE was killed when he flew his aircraft into the ground due to de-orientation in clouds and that most non-fatal accidents with the MiG-19 were caused by poor maintenance.

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

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, Czechoslovak users

The Czechoslovak Air Force's combat potential was strongly boosted by the addition of the MiG-19P, MiG-19PM and the MiG-19S which were shown to their top commanders at Kubinka Air Base, in the USSR during late 1956. A deal was signed a year later thanks to which the type was supplied and licensed produced within Czechoslovak borders.
On 11th July 1957 the first group of Czechoslovak pilots and technicians went to the PVO's (Soviet Air Force) main conversion training centre at the time, located at Savasleyka Air Base, in the USSR, close to the city of Gorky (nowadays Nizhny Novgorod) where a manufacturing plant for the MiG-19 was.
In this initial group was Valstimil David, who was Aero's main test pilot, which received the license to locally produce the MiG-19S. Another component of the Czechoslovak group was Maj. Július Zvara who was appointed "customer's inspector" on the Gorky's Aircraft Factory delivery line and test flew every aircraft destined for Czechoslovakia. On 30th August 1957 Maj. Zvara reached the speed of Mach 1.4 (1.728,72 km/h - 1.074,18 mph) while flying a MiG-19P, becoming this way the first Czechoslovak pilot to break the sound barrier.
Later that same year, the first batch of 12 MiG-19S was delivered to Prague Kbely Air Base in crates. After being reassembled and test flown at the Kbely overhaul plant, all of them were delivered to the Czechoslovak Air Force between the 3rd and the 27th January 1958, with a single aircraft more which was delivered later and served as the pattern for the Aero S-105.
At the same time, 26 additional MiG-19Ps arrived at Prague Kbely and entered service between 27th January and 1st April 1958. All aircraft from those two shipments were assigned to the 1. stihaci letecký pluk (SLP - Fighter Aircraft Regiment) 'Zvolenský" which was based at Ceské Budejovice and the 11. SLP based at Zatec Air Base, both regiments being part of the 3. stihaci letecka divizie (SLD - 3rd Fighter Aircraft Division).
The licensed-built Aero S-105 was manufactured at Stredoceske strojírny, in Odolena Voda, from early 1958 (though some sources claim it was during late 1957 - something which we think it's not possible) until November 1961 and, with 104 exemplars manufactured, it equipped the whole 1. SLD which comprised the 4. SLP, based at Pardubice Air Base and began MiG-19 operations on 22nd March 1958, the 5. SLP based at Plzen-Line Air Base and the 9. SLP at Bechyne Air Base. It's thought that some few S-105s were exported to Egypt, albeit it's not confirmed.
The 40 MiG-19PMs ordered by the Czechoslovak Air Force started to arrive in late 1959. They were assembled and flown again between 17th November 1959 and 24th February 1961. These aircraft were also the longest serving MiG-19s with the Czechoslovak Air Force as they were retired on 2nd June 1972. Initially, the MiG-19PMs and their missiles, the RS-2-US air-to-air missiles were so secret and carefully guarded that even regimental commissioned officers could barely gain access to the hangars where missiles were stored.
Every MiG-19PM was assigned to the 5. SLP which became the last operator for the MiG-19 of every type in the Czechoslovak Air Force, collecting MiG-19s of all variants from other units as they were replaced by newer types. The last surviving MiG-19PMs not scrapped on site, were transferred to the Czechoslovak Air Force's reserve and moved to other bases.

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

4. https://www.valka.cz/Mikojan-Gurevic-MiG-19S-kod-NATO-Farmer-C-t12470

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, Polish users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 was the first supersonic fighter in the world capable of achieving supersonic speeds in level flights. It was employed by many users of the Warsaw Pact and other non-aligned countries.
One of those Warsaw Pact users was the Polish Air Force, which operated three different versions of the MiG-19, the S, P and PM.
It was the first fighter capable of truly supersonic performance throughout the altitude envelope. It was the aircraft that Porucznik (Lieutenant) Roman Operacz was piloting when he broke the sound barrier on 22nd July 1959, becoming that way the first Polish pilot to achieve it.
The first MiG-19P entered service with the 28. Pulk Lotnictwa Mysliwskiego (PLM - 28th Fighter Regiment) 'Koszalin' at Redzikowo Air Base, close to Slupsk, in the Gdansk Voivodeship, during summer 1958. Later the type also equipped the 39. PLM at Mierzecice, in Katowice Voivodeship.
The numbers aren't clear as some reports say that it was 12 or 13 MiG-19 which were delivered, while others claim it were twice as many, 24.
The type was shown to the public on 22nd July 1959 when a MiG-19 piloted by Lt. Roman Operacz took part in the great military parade held in Warsaw due to the 15th anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland. The aircraft pulled into an spectacular climb in front of the spectators' tribunes making to an altitude of several milles. Exactly one year later, Polish Air Forces' MiG-19s took also part in another parade commemorating the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald.
Despite the record breaking, the MiG-19's career in Poland was rather brief as it was considered an interim type until more capable and modern fighters (IE, the MiG-21) became available. Therefore most aircraft were sold to Bulgaria in 1966-1967.

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

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

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 in East Germany and re-unified Germany

Just like every other Warsaw Pact country, East Germany employed the MiG-19 in small scale. In fact, only one unit of the Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee (Air Component of the National People's Army - LSK) operated the type.
A contract was signed on 5th September 1958 between East German and Soviet governments to delivery 12 Soviet MiG-19S for a valour of 17.25 million Ostmark. From March to September 1959, East German technicians underwent conversion training at Savasleyka Air Base, in the USSR, with the first 12 pilots taking training courses on the type from June to September.
The 1. Staffel (Squadron) of the Fliegergeschwader 3 (Air Wing 3) was the first unit to be equipped with the fighter in August 1959. However, for various kinds of reasons, the MiG-19s weren't operational until 1961. They relegated the outdated MiG-15bis, which were assigned to training units and had to serve alongside the MiG-17F in the FG.3.
The unit was renamed as Jagdfliegergeschwader 3 (JG.3) in January 1961 and eventually received the nickname of "Wladimir Komarov". The first squadron of this unit was equipped with MiG-19Ss until 1st September 1963 when it was re-equipped with the much capable MiG-21F-13.
Some of the East-German MiG-19 were unusual as they had a small strake aerial for the ARK-3A ADF at the junction and fin fillet like SM-12/2 and 12/3 prototypes.
Every MiG-19S serving with the LSK had a secondary strike role and therefore they were equipped with pylons on the wing leading edge for equipping ORO-57K FFAR pods. These changes were made at the Flugzeugwerft Dresden, later known as Elbe Flugzeugwerke.
At the same time, the 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) received a batch of 12 second-hand MiG-19PM interceptors in October 1959. After completing their training, the German MiG-19PM pilots took part in a gunnery exercise at a training ground in Krasnovodsk, in Turkmen SSR. These PMs remained in service until 1968 when they were replaced by MiG-21SPS.
Given that the MiG-19 was the first supersonic fighter of the LSK, it was surrounded by strict security measures with the storage areas well restricted for every person not associated with the fighter.
On 1st September 1963 every surviving MiG-19 was transferred to a single unknown squadron which kept on operating a mixture of MiG-19S and MiG-19PM until 1968 when they were replaced by MiG-21SPS. The last flight of a MiG-19 with the LSK took place on 25th October 1968 at the hands of Hpt. Harald Galfe. Every MiG-19 was put into storage.
A second unit, FG.8 at Marxwalde Air Base, in Brandenburg, was to be equipped with the type, but they never received it and transitioned straight from the MiG-17F to the MiG-21F-13 as the much better MiG-21 became available earlier than expected and the MiG-19 wasn't very popular among LSK personnel.
It wasn't popular because it was hard to maintain, it suffered from low reliability (partly because of the shortage of spare parts) and it had a high attrition rate. All those factors gave the type the nickname of the "Widow Maker" among the German pilots, specially when half of them, 6, were lost in crashes.
After German reunification, the Luftwaffe received the storaged MiG-19s and some of them were repainted and sent to museums while others were put as gate guards.

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#Operational_history
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe_Flugzeugwerke

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

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, American users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 was a Soviet second-generation single-seat twin-engined supersonic fighter. As it was world's first mass produced supersonic aircraft, capable of supersonic speeds in level flight, it was exported and sold to many countries around the globe. Among them, the following ones:

• Cuba: When the Cuban Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria (FAR) consolidated, some of their units were still equipped with the outdated MiG-15bis. In order to update their aircraft, they received a batch of 8 MiG-19P in November 1961, making the FAR the first Latin-American Air Force equipped with supersonic fighters. Most of them were based in San Antonio Air Base, in Artemisa province and served for a rather brief period of time, as they were retired in 1966 after being replaced by the MiG-21PFM. The MiG-19s were put into a reserve status and most of them were scrapped, as it proved a very complicated machine to maintain.
  It seems that the only variant of the MiG-19 used by the FAR was the "P" one. However, there are some reports (reported as either wrong or even false) that suggest that they also had the S and the PM variants serving in their rows.
  Anyway, at most, 12 MiG-19P served with the FAR from November 1961 until 1966. They were used to patrol Cuban aerospace during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.
  As we like to draw even hypothetical aircraft, we decided to include those variants as well.
• United States of America: Even if there isn't official evidence of the MiG-19 flying in American colours, during the 1980s a MiG-19S built in Novosibirsk, was displayed at the Wright-Patterson Air Base in Dayton, Ohio as part of a display of the US Air Force Museum. Oddly enough, it was painted in People's Liberation Army Air Force's colours and insignia.

Sources:

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

2. http://www.urrib2000.narod.ru/EqMiG19-e.html

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