MiG-21MF - Syria - 1973
Comments
MariusThank you so much guys! Arab air forces ar definitely an interesting topic.
Michael KohlWhile I have my issue with one or two details of the given history I definitely have none with your beautiful MIG. Very well done. Which color did you use for the interior?
MariusFor the interior I have used a mix of two colours until they approximately matched the colour of the pre-painted PE's. If necessary, I can come back with the exact colour codes.
I am very curious of the historical inaccuarcies from my text. I might be wrong indeed, but I am open to discussion. It's been a while since I read the books, so I just reproduced what I remembered. Hopefully I didn't create false information
Łukasz GlińskiI guess the markings might be an issue - these look definitely Egyptian. Syria was long gone out of UAR in 1973.
MariusSyria has had between 1972 and 1980 (or maybe abandoned them even earlier) the exact same aircraft markings as Egypt even after exiting the UAR. That means no more green stars on the Syrian roundels or on the Syrian flag for the Air Force. Even the flag from the tail have received the Eagle of Saladin instead of the green stars. Nevertheless, since this change/directive came approximately one year before the Ramadan War, not all Syrian Aircraft received the new insignia. In the October war of 1973 there have definitely been some aircraft still wearing the old insignia with three green stars, especially some older MiG-17s. Nevertheless, most MiG-21MFs (maybe not all?) have received the new markings.
MariusThank you guys for the kind words! It's really encouraging!
I would like to clarify again the topic of markings. So Egypt and Syria while being part of the UAF between 1962 and 1972 have had the exact same roundels with two green stars, but the fin flag had only two stars for Egypt and three stars for Syria (Tom Cooper and David Nicolle "Arab Migs" Volume 5, page 79). Between 1972 and 1980 Syria and Egypt have both had the same insignia (no green stars any longer but the Eagle of Saladin was added on the fin flag). There was though a small difference in how the Eagle of Saladin was drawn on the fin flag. The Egyptian eagle had a black contour, while the Syrian one had no black contour. Otherwise acording to Tom Cooper and David Nicolle "Arab Migs" Volume 5, page 79, most Syrian military aircraft still had the green stars on their roundels and fin flag during the October War of 1973 since indeed they weren't very hasty in changing them in that one year. Nevertheless, Syria received a large batch of MiG-21MFs in the late 1972 until 1973. The new batch came directly from the Gorki Factory (USSR) with this "sand and spinach" camouflage and received the new insignia from the very beginning, since that was already the new standard. The MiG-21MF #1549 of Maghid Al-Zoughby has had 100% the new insignia.
After 1980, Syria switched again to the green stars, this time wtih only two. I know it can be confusing, but I hope this clarifies the topic a little bit.
There is this blog where a Syrian kept posting very rare old videos and pictures of the Syrian Air Force. There was also a Syrian propaganda movie on Youtube called "Squadron of Heroes" made at some point after the 1973 war with Syrian Pilots as main protagonists. The quality wasn't excellent, but there were some unique shots of Syrian MiG-21s in the "sand and spinach" camouflage. Unfortunately it was removed in the mean time from Youtube due to copyright issues. In the movie the insignia with the eagle was very clear.
There is nevertheless this other video which is still online (second video, :
luftwaffeas.blogspot..-archive-part-i.html
More photos here:
luftwaffeas.blogspot..f-syaaf-mig-21s.html
I also added another picture in my gallery (last one) where this metallic section of the engine is visible (which is wrong in my model). It was a photograph I had saved on my computer some time ago and it represents a Syrian MiG-21MF, but I do not remember the source with 100% certainty. Most likely it is a screenshot from the "Squadron of heroes" movie.
Marius@Michael Kohl: for the interior color I have mixed the Revell Email #56 with the #48 in a proportion of 65%/35%, but the percentages are just for orientation, I am not sure they are exactly what I used. I haven't been able to find yet a good enough color (directly out of the bottle) that can get close to the Eduard pre-painted PE's.
Alex RodionovVery well done Mig, especially worn effects and weathering. Thanks for the story. it was interesting.
MariusThank you Alex and Lukasz! I struggled myself quite long with the confusion of markings.
Michael KohlThanx Marius for your color receipe. I had hoped that I just had to order a bottle for my MIG21 on the shelf. Looks like I have to mix nevertheless.
Album info
The MiG-21MF #1549 of the Syrian Air Force belonged to the Syrian ace Majid (or Maghid) Al-Zoughby credited with 6 confirmed (by the SyAAF) air victories and another 5 unconfirmed during the October 1973 War (Ramadan/Yum Kippur War). His claimed and confirmed scores vary depending on the source, but several sources indicate something close to 6+5. His claims are nevertheless doubtful even according to T. Copper ("Arab Migs, Volume 5", "Arab MiGs, Volume 6"). Several interviews with Al-Zoughby and other collegue airmen revealed not just once a lack of discipline in the heat of battle, with Al-Zoughby ocasionally disobeying orders or ignoring tactics and squadron mates.
Much later after finishing the model, while consulting the previously mentiones books, I found out that many or most MiG-21MFs having the "sand and spinach" camouflage delivered to Egypt and Syria just before the 1973 war have had another section of the engine (further forward of the afterburner) painted in a metallic silver/Aluminium color. Having a much closer look at the only photograph of Majid's #1549 I had where the engine section is to some extent visible, I have indeed noticed this painting feature on his aircraft as well. So yes, there is this mistake in my model which I noticed too late.
The one historical black and white photograph from my gallery represents Magid (or Majid) Al-Zoughby himself with his favorite MiG-21MF #1549. A colorized version of this photograph is available in the Volume 5 of Arab MiGs from Tom Cooper. The Volume 6 includes several interviews and another picture of him (black and white).
As a side note, many Syrian and Egyptian MFs delivered in 1973 or slightly earlier were barely distinguishable from each other since they had the same camouflage pattern and the exact same insignia. The differences lay only in the fuselage roundels, which the Syrian MFs never ever had, regardless of what numerous publications, decals sheets or colorful profiles are stating. Also, the Syrian MiG-21s have had the last 4 digits of the serial number additionally painted on the vertical tail, which I don't remember to have seen on Egyptian MiGs (I might be wrong with this last statement).
Another interesting topic is the weapons configuration. Syrian MiG-21MFs armed for air defence typically had 4 Atoll missiles under the wing during the October 1973 War. Since MiG-21s chronically suffered from insufficient fuel, Syrian pilots often realized they were dangerously low on fuel during dogfights and often had to land in unsafe conditions. This led in some ocassions to loss of aircraft and pilots. On the other hand, the Egyptian MFs have had only two Atoll missiles under the wings, but with two additional external fuel tanks (also under the wings), which were of course jettisoned as soon as they were engaging enemy aircraft.
Al-Zoughby has survived the war and lived long enough to actually meet Thomas Cooper at the beginning of the 2000s, the known author of the books I mentioned above and of many others publications centered on the Middle East Air Forces. Interestingly enough, the encounter happened rather accidentally with other people around. Some words were indeed exchanged, but only several years later had the author realized who he met and what a chance at a solid interview was missed.
References:
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, et al., "Arab MiGs Volume 5", Harpia Publishing
T. Copper, D. Nicolle, et al., "Arab MiGs Volume 6", Harpia Publishing
Bill Norton, "75 Years of the Israeli Air Force, Volume 1", Helion and Company
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