Posted on 04/28/2014 9:14:47 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
That’s the NATO designation. Fighters are usually given an “F” name of some kind.
. . .High losses to Egyptian aircraft and continuous bombing during the War of Attrition caused Egypt to ask the Soviet Union for help. In June 1970, Soviet pilots and SAM crews arrived with their equipment. On 22 June 1970, a Soviet pilot flying a MiG-21MF shot down an Israeli A-4E. After some more successful intercepts by Soviet pilots and another Israeli A-4 being shot down on 25 July, Israel decided to plan an ambush in response. On 30 July Israeli F-4s lured Soviet MiG-21s into an area where they were ambushed by Mirages. Asher Snir, flying a Mirage IIICJ, destroyed a Soviet MiG-21; Avihu Ben-Nun and Aviam Sela, both piloting F-4Es, each got a kill, and an unidentified pilot in another Mirage scored the fourth kill against the Soviet-flown MiG-21s. Three Soviet pilots were killed and the Soviet Union was alarmed by the losses. However, Soviet MiG-21 pilots and SAM crews destroyed a total of 21 Israeli aircraft, which helped to convince the Israelis to sign a ceasefire agreement. . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-21#Egyptian-Syrian-Israeli_conflicts
NATO codenames for Soviet aircraft are all mildly insulting and not at all what the host air force would have chosen.
Would a Soviet pilot be proud to fly his own “Fishbed”?
The world’s largest helicopter was the Soviet Mi-12 “Homer”, I mean, come on.
Heh heh, true enough.
Undoubtedly named that by some GS-14 tennis-shoe wearing grandma at Fort Fumble.
If the _resident flew a Soviet aircraft, would it be a MiG-15?
Yeah, but what does it cost to run one?
Always thought they were beautiful airplanes.
Seems to always be the case.
“Just out of curiosity, has any American pilot ever defected with a new aircraft type?”
You did have that P3 crew surrender their plane to the Chinese in 2001 or so...rather than acting in their country’s interested and taking it down in the ocean.
Do you suppose all those ads portraying/promoting military service as a “job” might have created a different ,less patriotic, attitude in the crew?
Some Soviet aircraft are shamless copies of US aircraft, like the B-29, the F-111, and the Spcace Shutle.
Maybe the next obvious knock-off will be the Mig-69 Fluffer. Huh-huh-huh.
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