Inside the MiG 21

Video from the channel Blue Paw Print about Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 21:25. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

A technical walkthrough of the MiG-21F-13, the Soviet fighter's first major export variant and the first armed with air-to-air missiles, illustrated with 3D reconstructions. It covers the airframe, wings, controls, engine, afterburner, fuel, armament and cockpit, then describes step by step a take-off, a combat sortie and a landing.

The MiG-21 was designed in the 1950s as a front-line fighter capable of reaching Mach 2, embodying the Soviet hit-and-run doctrine against heavier Western aircraft. In Vietnam, North Vietnamese pilots initially fought as they had with the MiG-17, but later adopted the so-called ambush tactic: two ground-radar-guided MiG-21s acted as bait while a third climbed from a lower altitude to attack from the tail, exploiting its small frontal cross-section. That success forced the United States to overhaul its air combat tactics and crew training. Over time its size limited the radar, fuel and payload it could carry, and it became outclassed. Even so, it kept attracting smaller air forces for its simplicity, low cost and easy maintenance, and it fought from the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis to recent conflicts.

It was 44 feet 1.9 inches long and weighed 12,882 lb empty, against almost 29,000 lb for the F-4D Phantom II. The Tumansky R-11F-300 engine, with a six-stage compressor, produced 8,598 lb of dry thrust and up to 12,677 lb with maximum afterburner. It reached 1,351 mph (around Mach 2.05) at 42,650 feet, with a service ceiling of 62,335 feet. The intake cone had three positions: up to Mach 1.5, between 1.5 and 1.9, and above 1.9. It carried 652 gallons of internal fuel. It was armed with a 60-round NR-30 cannon and two K-13/R-3S (AA-2 Atoll) missiles. It had no search radar, only the SRD-5 rangefinder paired with the ASP-5ND gunsight. On ejection, the canopy joined the seat to protect the pilot.