Who flew the E-66 at 2,149 km/h?

Q: Who flew the E-66 at 2,149 km/h?

Konstantin or Vladimir Kokkinaki, depending on the source. Konstantin is credited with the absolute record on a closed 100 km circuit, at 2,148.66 km/h, set in 1960; the FAI record lists that mark, from 16 September 1960 at Podmoskovnoe, under the name of Vladimir Kokkinaki.

Short answer

Konstantin or Vladimir Kokkinaki, depending on the source (according to different sources). Konstantin is credited with the absolute record on a closed 100 km circuit, at 2,148.66 km/h, set in 1960; the FAI record lists that mark, from 16 September 1960 at Podmoskovnoe, under the name of Vladimir Kokkinaki.

Published: November 6, 2026 · Updated: November 6, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Pair of Soviet MiG-21s in flight, view from below

A record on a closed circuit

In 1960 Konstantin Kokkinaki broke the world speed record. That year he achieved two world speed records and reached Mach 2. One of them was the absolute record on a closed 100 km circuit, at 2,148.66 km/h (1,335 mph). According to his own account, he maintained an average speed of 2,148.3 km/h during the flight, and at some points on the course exceeded 2,500 km/h.

The Ye-6T/1 prototype

To break the record, the Ye-6T/1 prototype, bearing the number 31 red, received an R11F2-300 engine. With that aircraft the 100 km closed-circuit record was set on 16 September 1960.

Konstantin or Vladimir

The FAI record for the 100 km record of that date, at 2,148.66 km/h, is credited to Vladimir Kokkinaki (according to different sources). The federation lists it as a mark set at Podmoskovnoe, ratified at the time and later surpassed. Vladimir Kokkinaki was himself the holder of numerous world speed records, which adds to the confusion between the two names.

The 1959 precedent

Earlier, on 31 October 1959, Georgy Mosolov had set a record of 2,388 km/h with a prototype from the same series, which the FAI places at Zhukovsky-Petrovskoye. Konstantin Kokkinaki flew 166 combat missions.