| title (item) | field_cer_web | field_cer_navbox | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mikojan-Gurevics MiG-19P | |||
| Mikojan-Gurevics MiG-19 |
The next variant of the MiG-19 family to enter service and see significant action during various pursuits of U-2s over the USSR was the MiG-19P: a version equipped with the RP-1 Izumrud radar in the nose, and armed with ‘only’ two NR-30 cannons installed in the wing roots. Like all MiG-19s of the late 1950s, it was painted in two layers of clear lacquer mixed with 5% and 10% aluminium powder, respectively: due to differences in the manufacture of skin panels the aircraft had quite a patchy, though ‘highly polished bare metal overall’ appearance. Two-digit ‘bort’ numbers were usually applied in the factory, before the delivery to the operational unit: those of the aircraft assigned to the V-PVO were mostly applied in light blue, with black outline. This example served with the 678th Guards Mixed Test Air Regiment, a Sary-Shagan-based element of the 60th Mixed Test Air Division, in the early 1960s. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)