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As many as 60 MiG-19S supersonic fighters were taken on strength by the Bulgarian air arm in 1957. The type remained in service until 1977, flying with two principal regiments, the 19th IAP at Graf Ignatievo and the 21st IAP at Uzundzhovo, fielding a total of five squadrons. Later on, a handful of these were also provided to the 1/11 IAE at Gabrovnitsa, together with a dozen MiG-19Ps. This particular version suffered from an unusually high accident rate in Bulgarian service, amounting to about 45 losses per 100,000 flight hours or one loss per 2,200 flight hours.