G V Joshi
On a day in the month of April in 1963, a thunderous cracking noise in the sky above the newly founded city of Chandigarh, broke the morning calm and baffled the citizens.
However, the technicians and officers of the Indian Air Force (IAF), based at Chandigarh, knew exactly what had happened.
After a long flight, the MiG-21 flown by Wing Commander Dilbagh Singh from Tashkent, in the then Soviet Union, (USSR) to Chandigarh IAF base had announced its arrival by breaking the sound barrier and creating a supersonic boom. It was this cracking noise that surprised Chandigarh citizens.
Its smooth touch down on the runway of Chandigarh airbase ushered the IAF into the supersonic age. To start with six MiG-21 jet fighters were imported from the U.S.S.R. These aircraft were first shipped to Bombay (now Mumbai) by ship in January 1963 after which they were assembled and flown to Chandigarh by the pilots. They formed the core of the squadron named “The first supersonics”.
With a view to induct supersonic aircraft in the IAF with India had tried to buy the U.S. made supersonic F- 104 Starfighter followed by French make Mirage-Il. But both deals did not see the light of the day, due to a number of reasons, some political, some financial.
In the meanwhile the U.S.S.R. offered to sell its MiG-21 to India. In those days it was a first class jet fighter from the point of view of technology.
Further, its price was affordable and the Russia was also agreeable to transfer technology for manufacturing MiG-21 in India.
The deal for the MiG-21s was signed in August 1962 and two months later, seven Indian pilots, along with fifteen engineers went to Russia in October 1962.
The pilots were handpicked and besides Wing Commander Dilbagh Singh, consisted of well known names like Sqn. Ldr. M.S.D. Wollen, Sqn. Ldr. Mukherjee etc. among others. And all were specially qualified.
However, it took Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bengaluru Karnataka ten years for to commence production in full swing. During these ten-years HAL manufactured 160 MiG-21 jet fighters only.
Ever since the induction of the first MiG-2 I in April, 1963, nearly 800 jet fighters of this variant have been inducted in the combat fleet of the IAF from time to time. Large proportions of these have been either phased out or have crashed. As of today, IAF has a complement of a hundred and fifty two MIG-21 jet fighters only which it proposes to keep in harness till 2017.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan- Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed “Balalaika”, from the aircraft’s resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or equivalent of ‘pencil’ by Polish language by Polish pilots due to the shape of its fuselage.
The first flight of the MiG-21, made byMikoyan-Gurevich OKB, was in 1955 and induction into the Soviet Union air force began in 1959. Russia retired its MiG-21s in the 1990s.
The MiG-21, despite its lack of sophisticated avionics, was agile and extremely uncomplicated to manufacture. This made it a valuable militaryexport for the Soviet Union to many countries, more than 30 and in particular India and China.
Some 50 countries over four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations a half-century after its first flight.
It is the most-produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history and the most-produced combat aircraft since the Korean War, and it had the longest production run of a combat aircraft.
MiG-21 had played a stellar role during the Indo-Pak War of 1971. One MIG-21 demonstrated its powerful punch near the Kutch border by shooting down one Pakistani supersonic F- 104 Starfighter in an aerial dogfight. Three more Pakistani F- 104 Starfighters bit the dust before MiG-21 jet fighters in the next few days.
Intrepid pilots of MiG-21 jet fighters rushed to Dhaka by flying through the cordon of Pakistani anti-aircraft gunfire and destroyed the runway of Tejgaon airbase with intense and accurate bombing.
As the runway was rendered unusable, no Sabre jet stationed at that airbase took-off throughout that two-week war.
Nevertheless, as many as 380 MiG-21 jet fighters have crashed due to engine trouble or some other problem since 1972 killing many pilots who were deprived of just a few seconds to ball out of the stricken plane well in time. The number is going up. The last crash took place on June 7, 2013. Hence MiG-21 has also earned sobering notoriety as ‘flying coffin’ or ‘widow maker’’.
But veteran fighter pilots, call it the “faithful, if highly-demanding, wife” that helped them to be truthful to their credo, “Fight to fly, fly to fight, fight to win”, over the years. Some veterans say the MiG-21 was the “best” fighter of its time, serving in almost 40 air forces around the globe.
It is agreed by one and all of the veteran fighter pilots that the MIG-21 is tricky to handle, highly unforgiving. But to brand it as a “flying coffin “or a “widow-maker” is unfair.
According to another pilot who has flown 6316 sorties with the MiG-21, there isn’t anything wrong with the aircraft. In the words of a 70-year-old pilot, who retired from the IAF in 1996, “The MiG-21 is a very demanding aircraft.”
According to a third senior pilot, who has clocked 4,003 hours of flying in the much maligned aircraft, it is time to set the record straight. In his words, “Don’t blame the machine. Blame the elements that the pilot has to deal with.”
MiG-21, the single-engine fighter was not going to fade away anytime soon. The IAF had plans to operate over 100 upgraded MiG-21 “Bisons” at least till 2017.
India inducted upwards of 1,200 MiGs, twothirds of them being MiG-21s, over the decades.
The MiGs constituted over 75% of its total combat fleet. Although IAF began with MiG-21s, but went on to progressively induct MiG-23s, MiG-25s MiG- 27s and in the 1980s, air defence MiG-29s. Though French and British fighters also joined the force later, the MiG saga still continues.
Today, MiG-21s make up a few squadrons of the IAF. Even now, MiG-21 is a cost-effective option.
An upgraded MiG-21 Bison costs just about Rs 40 crore. But unfortunately, its achievements have been overshadowed by negative publicity Commercial pilots, former MiG pilots and families of pilots like Flight Lt Abhijit Gadgil who have died in MiG-21 crashes have been pressing the government for years to scrap the aircraft.
According to Defense Minister A.K. Antony, IAF will begin phasing out its dreaded MiG-21 fighter jets in 2014.
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