Russia's Best Fighter Jet Ever Made - The Mig 21

[@jcy089]

The Mig-21 was literally a flying AK-47, easy to mass produce and able to operate in a whole range of environments, even by developing countries with barebones air forces.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

I'm pretty sure it's not literally a flying assault rifle. Perhaps figuratively.

[@robertmoore3982]

@@Edax_Royeaux as of 2020 ( i think) according to Webster’s literally is this context means figuratively. So op is correct. ( yes I hate it here too)

[@Edax_Royeaux]

@@robertmoore3982 And that means the English language has lost the ability to distinguish literal and figurative statements.

[@robertmoore3982]

@@Edax_Royeaux correct

[@chiefturion7134]

English is a great language isn't it?

[@MrStevemur]

The story of the non-exploding Sidewinder missile is one of the craziest things I’ve heard. Imagine that Chinese pilot: “I’m dead! No wait, I’m a hero bringing back priceless treasure!”

[@dannyzero692]

He’d be more like “wtf just hit me” and the Chinese crews who recovered that missile from the aircraft is probably “wtf is this shit”

[@hanno-erdmanntietz8424]

In 1967, a KGB spy, his driver and a West German air force pilot stole a more advanced Sidewinder variant from a West German air base. The missile was dismantled and its pieces were sent by mail to the USSR. The Soviets reverse-engineered this missile, too, but their version didn't enter service until 1974.

[@casettemix]

@@dannyzero692 hahaha

[@ermalkrasniqi8742]

​@@hanno-erdmanntietz8424 All Us and russian technology old and modern are German Nazi technology 😉

[@alexandrvasilev2865]

​@@hanno-erdmanntietz8424 i suppose it took several years to develop and build facilities for mass production of new tech. Like it was with B-29 and Tu-4.

[@chinuexe]

I once had two IAF MiG-21s fly above my house, banking almost at 90 degrees. Even on idle power they're so loud you'd feel like a bomb dropped next to you.

[@prasakmanitou4925]

wait for Su-27 experience😄

[@TauroChuck]

Tejas is also loud, compared to that passenger jets are silent

[@davidvasquez08]

@@prasakmanitou4925 that’ll be in about 50 years, wrong jet my bad

[@chinuexe]

@卐 Arup Ratan Mitra 卍 afterburners are loud indeed

[@Babumoshai..]

@@TauroChuck because they are built for comfort

[@alejandrocasalegno1657]

The MiG-21 at 0.13 with Pam Thuan is the real plane used to atack the B-52, the bort number is "5121"....survived the war and is in the Hanoi museum declared as "National Tresure".

[@ExAid010]

His name is "Phạm Tuân" in Vietnamese or "Pham Tuan" without the mark on the name.

[@JasonKilgore134]

bro really said "Pam Thuan" 💀💀💀💀💀

[@lastnamefirstname9043]

@@JasonKilgore134 you're lucky they got so close. According to Alejandro the entire language is just 1 long series of chings and chongs

[@funkykunx2544]

And later in life he became the first Vietnamese as well as the first Asian from Asia to go to space in 1979, tbh Phạm Tuân life was crazy.

[@HungLoo]

@@funkykunx2544 One hell of an Asian.

[@dragonstormdipro1013]

India used the MiG 21s in ground attack roles too, with excellent success. In fact, MiG 21s are widely regarded as the jet that won India the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War

[@sanurawat1651]

Yep

[@geethsan1567]

At one point India even manufactured Mig-21s on license.

[@sooryan_1018]

Apparently it was so good that even Iraq sent their pilots to be trained in India after the war

[@kv4648]

Now I see the bad side in the mig-21 being built

[@sorryi6685]

Also, Mig 21 has killed more India pilots than Enemy countries It was nicknamed Widowmaker and Flying coffin because of this.

[@quannguyenhong3981]

The Ha Noi air battle, 12 days of nightmares, for anyone who dont know, this is the last air battle has ace pilots, mostly Vietnamese pilot on mig 21, mig 17, the guy called Pham Tuan in the video has most kills, he shoot down 9 US aircrafts, included a B52, he is still alive, a great hero of Viet Nam.

[@Neb_Raska]

Bless his soul

[@williambenedictalava2634]

The Ace and his comrades who beat the bully to submission.

[@quannguyenhong3981]

@@parttimecripple yes but it's not acctually correct bcs the ARVN did not fight for the Ha Noi air battle, just US pilots.

[@FarokhBulsara4065]

he was also the very first Asian to be in space.

[@kdrapertrucker]

​@@williambenedictalava2634imagine calling an military junta that is invading it's small unarmed neighbor the victim. The mind of the leftist is truly twisted.

[@hoangnguyenviet9535]

According to pilots that shot down the B-52s, one missile is not enough to take a B-52 down right away. They had to launch 2 consecutively once got in the range and pull up immediately to avoid debris. If the B-52s got hit by one missile, they would be able to escape Vietnam's airspace and the US would not count the kill by VPAF

[@lucasokeefe7935]

Pretty cool info, thanks!

[@fordwk]

When was this? I never heard of a B-52 being shot down by a MIG. If true...was the Gunner asleep? The Gunners have RADAR and MIG are tracked by Red Crown.

[@hoangnguyenviet9535]

@@fordwk operation Linebacker at the end of 1972. So you think B-52s are superior, unkillable? They were just flying target and shooting them down was not impossible

[@omgpix]

@@hoangnguyenviet9535 re: B-52s being unkillable. No one rational thinks that, but it is a fact they were heavily escorted and the majority of B-52 combat losses were from North Vietnamese SAMs. Not many people know North Vietnam actually had one of the best air defence networks at the time and the lessons drawn from it are one of the main reasons the US and other countries invested so heavily in SEAD capabilities. It also doesn't help that Vietnam made hugely exaggerated claims about the number of B-52s shot down. When it comes to aircraft losses I'm more inclined to believe the self reported American losses simply because of the fact its hard to hide a missing multi-million dollar aircraft and missing crew, especially in a country with a free press and where the war was as heavily scrutinized as the US. Kill counts OTOH were exaggerated by both, and not always out of malice. Fog of war can be a bitch. That said I'm sure I recalled reading a story about a B-52 being downed by a Mig, I can't recall the source though.

[@hoangnguyenviet9535]

@@omgpix the 'exaggerated claim' as what you say was one of the reason why 2 missiles were needed to launch at once. Every B-52 shot but managed to escape the airspace and then fall down somewhere else was not counted as a combat kill though. And if there were no pilots caught, the number of shot down B-52s should get to 0 then

[@geeknproud321]

The Mig-21 is an enigma. So old the dinosaurs flew them, but just had the raw specs and modularity to keep it relevant way past reasonable. Like to the point where they were a threat to decades newer designs by virtue of their speed alone. A lot of planes had to develop certain tactics to handle them because they couldn't just run away. A rare problem when facing a fighter this old. When it was brand new it was probably the best fighter in the world hands down. Modern avionics(at least as modern as a Mig-21 gets) and newer weapons keep it deadly even today.

[@seventhson27]

Except for the Phantom. The F8 would handle them too.

[@СергейПересыпкин-н3й]

we would be bored in this world without you, and you without us. Sincerely, from Russia

[@russetwolf13]

Like the F-104, which stayed in service for a ridiculous amount of time despite being the very first Mach 2 fighter and notoriously hard to handle and short ranged. The Starfighter was modular, inexpensive and easy to maintain.

[@lewildknight9864]

@@СергейПересыпкин-н3й ♡

[@mihaelsvab5876]

Croatian air force still uses the Mig 21

[@moziwarthunder]

You should really keep up this format, I really like stories about real aircraft!

[@justrandompeople2157]

Yup

[@thesauce1682]

yeah rather than concept blue print aircraft

[@JokullFrosti]

why not both?

[@justrandompeople2157]

@@thesauce1682 concept, prototype, fail design, new and old plane is good, that is interesting

[@jamesjross]

Low effort crap. HE said Vietmanese at one point. These are terrible.

[@MarkB-uu5we]

As a guy who has built hundreds of plastic aircraft models (including rare and complex "Amodel" kits like the Ye-2), a self confessed military buff who loves the raw era of jet aircraft, ie: USAF Century series including the F-110A Phantom before it became the F-4. Self confessed know it all as well about The MiG history, great video from another fellow Aussie (including the Avion RAAF F-86 Sabre in your video), and this is probably my most favourite USSR aircraft of all time (loved the Flogger and Foxbat too).

[@СергейПересыпкин-н3й]

we would be bored in this world without you, and you without us. Sincerely, from Russia

[@MarkB-uu5we]

@@СергейПересыпкин-н3й Yes I agree. My eyes prevent me from making more but loved all the aircraft building.

[@theogunesekara2847]

What a magnificent Aircraft. The brilliant pilots of the NVAF were the most adept users of the MiG-21. They did amazing things with a handful of Aircraft against all odds.

[@jamesricker3997]

Even if most of the pilots were Russian "volunteers "

[@theogunesekara2847]

@James Ricker There is one Russian who reached ace status. The rest are Vietnamese. Some Vietnamese pilots even achieved this distinction while flying the obsolete MiG-17. Says a lot about their flying skills.

[@sergeantnnn4758]

@@jamesricker3997 any proof lol ?

[@IvanNguyen-ky6nn]

@@theogunesekara2847 Vietnam is negotiating to buy F16 which is a better version of Mig-21. The funny thing is F-16 was born in the Vietnam war because the US needed a plane that was similar to Mig-21. I have no doubt that Vietnamese will be good at flying F16 as well.

[@hieuphamtrung1244]

​@@sergeantnnn4758sorce: trust me bro

[@IvanCoDFan]

The airbase shown on 10:03 is the Željava airbase in Croatia, it is the largest underground airbase in Europe. Now completely destroyed and unusable since the fall of Yugoslavia. I was there last year, in total darkness deep in the mountain there is a maze of tunnels shown in the video, blast doors detonated with armed concrete hanging from explosions, side-rooms with stuff all over the place, flight records from the 80s, huge rusty machines, water tanks, fuel tanks, kerosene on the floor, and occasional bear hiding in the tunnels, really a haunting experience.

[@dariusdatcu1068]

Sound really cool, I would visit it from Romania

[@dreamhunter2973]

The Mig 21 is one of the best and feared jets of its time..... And one of the best jets ever made, relative of its time

[@deeacosta2734]

Nah

[@demcomp]

It was feared until the US got one and found it to be crap. In fact, it is just outright shit. Made to be fast.. shitty maneuverability at high speed, shitty gun control, shitty visibility... It was a shitty plane that was feared when new, then laughed at when it was reverse engineered and put to the test by US fighters. There is no Russian fighter that anyone is worried about.

[@dreamhunter2973]

@@demcomp It was way better than the initial F4 of the USAF

[@demcomp]

@@dreamhunter2973 was it now? You sure about that? The F4 was more powerful, engine wise. The problem was it was heavier, and less maneuverable, but it didn't matter anyway. The F4 still claimed 107 Mig-21 kills, while only losing 33.. so the F4 was still better.. and you don't need to worry about maneuverability when you don't have to get close enough to use your cannon. The Phantom had a much better gun, better visibility, which matters more in a dogfight.. who cares how well you can turn if you can't see where you're going... Had better gun sights, and a much better targeting computer and radar array. The MIG was fast tho... Almost as fast as the F4. F4 also had a larger load out with 9 hard points, to the Migs 5... I know the hype around the MIGs was high, but try not drinking too much of the Russian Kewl-Aid

[@chakraborty1989]

@@demcomp salty much?

[@4wardfr3ak23]

One of the most beautiful jets ever build for sure. The vid is so great and the goodbye was on point)

[@СергейПересыпкин-н3й]

we would be bored in this world without you, and you without us. Sincerely, from Russia

[@FirstnameLastname-e4u]

it really is a beautifully deadly looking fighter jet. why doesnt the US take a hint. on the other hand we have the f-35. expensive, ugly, complicated, capitalist trash. pull a few hundred f series jets out of that huge parking lot, and cancel the ridiculous f-35 program. cant even hit mach 2. max 6 missiles. if i was an enemy nation id bum rush it with 8 or 9 really cheap, really fast and really heavily armed cold war era fighters. for the price of one giant complicated turd you can have 10 real fighter jets

[@Thanatos833]

The basic platform of the mig 21 is so good that it is perhaps the only fighter aircraft that spanned 2 fighter generations, it started as a second generation fighter, but with upgrades it became a 3rd generation fighter. Via its Chinese variant, the J7, it evolved into a 4.5 generation fighter, in the form of the JF 17. In fact, the mig 21 was good enough, that it prevented more widespread induction of its successor, the Mig 23.

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

JF17 is not derived from Mig21 . JF17 < side air intakes + fuselage under carriage + straight wings

[@Thanatos833]

@@peekaboopeekaboo1165 Some sources like the "national interest" website claim that the J17 airframe was derived back in 1989 by making the changes you mentioned, to the original J-& airframe.

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

@@Thanatos833 Yeah... redesigned Mig-21 fuselage .

[@Eric_Von_Yesselstyn]

The MIG 21 was and is an overrated Pile of junk... Here's the facts, if it had half a tank or less, of fuel, it's flight characteristics went into the bin and became unstable to the point of absurdity.. Oh and also, it had onboard radar that was a FULL generation BEHIND that of what US jets had. And Finally, it would BURN OUT it's engines if it achieved it's claimed TOP SPEED for more than a split second. The MIG 21, at first concerned the West, until they found out it was GARBAGE... Then they said nothing and let the Soviets think their little BLUFF worked. It was scary against slower moving bombers, that's all it had. PRO TIP: it didn't work and the Pentagon knew it, then just laughed in secret.. It's ALL on record, on paper and well known NOW.. Declassified documents LAUGH at the MIG 21.

[@samyrrakoto3784]

Just wanted to say thanks for your videos, I'm really passionate about aviation and you're always in my bedtime playlist. The 10-20min duration is just perfect, long enough to have the distraction and thirst of knowledge and short enough to see more ! Keep it up man, thanks for the awesome work.

[@FoundAndExplained]

I want to make an hour long one but no one has time for that!!

[@justeunfan3364]

@@FoundAndExplained I would ! Clearly not on all videos, but a more developped video from time to time (for exemple on real aircrafts who saw combats or a lot of versions, like the mig 21) would be really great. On the other hand i underdtand it would mean more word for less view so it may not be suitable for you. Maybe you could do a test video ?

[@Kchandrashekaran]

I am surprised you did not mention about Indian air force. MiG21 is still in use and heavily modernised by the IAF

[@loljk1991]

Also that mig 21 has killed 170 indian pilots and 40 indian civilians so far

[@VideosfromaSailor]

Because they didnt do any proper research.

[@redman1249]

It was supposed to be retired in the 1990s. Not anything to be proud of, the MiG-21 was a top fighter in the 60s & 70s now it's obsolete. A plane, "widow maker", that has killed dozens of Indian pilots.

[@Kchandrashekaran]

@@redman1249 i said “mention”. I am not proud of it. Lol. Indians know its flaws

[@duongnhdn]

And everytime I heard that the Indian airforce loses an aircraft and pilot, surely it's a Mig21. Indian Mig21s are just fossils trying to stay relevant.

[@hrishijagadees1234]

MiG 21 is one of those rare masterpiece of engineering that just refuse to die..Like the B52 herself.

[@СергейПересыпкин-н3й]

I'm from Russia, and I really liked your review of the MIG 21. I really respect many American aircraft, including, of course, the B-52

[@СергейПересыпкин-н3й]

we would be bored in this world without you, and you without us. Sincerely, from Russia

[@mirandela777]

Mig 21 was what - 11 500 units .... how many B52 were made ? :p

[@Eric_Von_Yesselstyn]

The MIG 21 was and is an overrated Pile of junk... Here's the facts, if it had half a tank or less, of fuel, it's flight characteristics went into the bin and became unstable to the point of absurdity.. Oh and also, it had onboard radar that was a FULL generation BEHIND that of what US jets had. And Finally, it would BURN OUT it's engines if it achieved it's claimed TOP SPEED for more than a split second. The MIG 21, at first concerned the West, until they found out it was GARBAGE... Then they said nothing and let the Soviets think their little BLUFF worked. It was scary against slower moving bombers, that's all it had. PRO TIP: it didn't work and the Pentagon knew it, then just laughed in secret.. It's ALL on record, on paper and well known NOW.. Declassified documents LAUGH at the MIG 21.

[@MikoyanGurevichMiG21]

Thank you for doing my life story justice. You really got down to the important points of my long and illustrious career. How crazy that I'm still flying around today!

[@loveofmangos001]

You created this account for attention? 😬 This is just pathetic 😂

[@MaddogMD82]

Congratulations on the long and successful career. Also - are you a fish's bed, or a fish in a bed?

[@siddharthbhatt2101]

😂

[@RS-jp7fq]

In 2019, an IAF MiG-21 Bison shot down a Pakistani F-16. Both the aircraft were shot down, but the IAF Pilot survived but the Pakistani pilot didn't. While MiG-21 may be really old, it isn't yet outdated.

[@eessaumer3225]

Stop lying .no f16 was shot down and no proof was given

[@umi3017]

JL-9/FTC-2000 is still pretty much a Mig21 and still in production. And FC-1/JF-17 also start as "Super7" as a direct decedent from MIG21/J7

[@Aspir3xx]

Is this also a hint that Found & Explained would also do a video on MiG-21's main rival in Vietnam the F-4 Phantom?? As per usual this is a great and informative video!

[@sougata8332]

The Fact that a MiG 21 Bis downed a Pakistani Block50 F16 in WVR combat in 2019 speaks volumes of the design ingenuity & its capabilities. A dogfight hero of the yesteryears. Long live the Legend

[@jelly.212]

Poo 💩 propaganda

[@PJHEATERMAN]

It is impressive given the limited tech of the time. It's delta wing gave it impressive climb as it was designed as a interceptor, but as a dog fighter it bled off speed quickly in turns which made it vulnerable as we found out in Vietnam.

[@Iskelderon]

Interesting that these critters survived all the way from 50s era technology to the age of fifth generation fighter.

[@MiKeMiDNiTe-77]

When I think MiG it's usually the MiG 21 that comes to mind, vicious but yet beautiful and sleek blooded in a dozen wars and iconic.

[@swisstestpilot]

I think it speaks for the MiG-21 s design that even when Soviet/Russia stopped the production, China build new aircraft based on the MiG-21 like the F-7 or the 2-Engined Version J-8

[@oldgoat142]

This is great content. Yes, prototype aircraft are interesting, but those which flew and fought are a bit more interesting to me. Thank you btw, for this post.

[@kimbonzky]

More of this, there is so much to explore, and not just the mainstream aircrafts.

[@rolen2358]

I would like to see something about MIG 29, and F-14. Great video by the way :)

[@sovietanimator5867]

India also shot a Pakistani F-16 with a mig-21 bison

[@sovietanimator5867]

Its a recent story maby 3-4 years previously

[@thelordpercival758]

@BrandixzVA yeah but this is true

[@shymalipaik4001]

Yeah it's true.

[@gospodinkenobi9903]

Oh no, shitstorm incoming

[@jawarakf]

Only in Bollywood plot. In reality, the IAF Mig-21 & Su-30MKI were shot down by PAF JF-17 or F-16C. The best Soviet fighters are Mig-25 & Mig-31

[@tomislavb5760]

Been traveling to Croatia since 94 and every time I see the Mig-21s fly and in recent trips I always think it will be the last time I see this iconic plane. Might get one more chance this year!

[@adammilosdubovsky6607]

Mig actually wasnt lacking being F-4. It was faster, also had a radar (or at least something with a similar function), gyroscopic sight and with K-13 rockets it could easily defeat the F-4 because despite its “technological advantage” the F-4 was a flying brick without any in-mounted weapons.

[@haydenchu58]

Must be why in every f-4 vs mig 21 dogfight the phantom won. The only times migs shot down phantoms were hit and run missile attacks, phantoms had a high kill ratio against the migs and mig 21s were grounded because of it

[@gort8203]

Wow, you have bought that myth lock stock and barrel. Its easy to research that the MiG was not the faster of the two. It was also not the more maneuverable of the 2 depending on what part of the envelope you were in. Have you compared the E-M diagrams of the two planes?

[@gort8203]

@@haydenchu58 You will spoil his fantasy with such facts.

[@adammilosdubovsky6607]

⁠@@haydenchu58 problem is that these dogfights were highly In favour of F-4 due to their superior numbers. Example operation bolo: 56 F-4 vs 16 migs. Migs were more maneuverable But when you have a numerical advantage higher maneuverability is basically nonexistent. Moreover, MiG-21 as well as other Soviet fighters were designed to be used as point defense fighters-interceptors. They were supposed to fight in close cooperation with land aam and radar systems. And that is what the Vietnamese were doing. And no the versions of F-4 used in Vietnam didn't have cannons in their fuselage and cannon pods were mounted on them in later phases of the war. They were mostly armed with A-7 sparrow BVR missiles which are disappointment so high that nobody talks about them. Migs we're used how they were supposed to be used. Thanks to this the Vietnamese we're able to inflict such heavy casualties on the US.

[@Eric_Von_Yesselstyn]

The MIG 21 was and is an overrated Pile of junk... Here's the facts, if it had half a tank or less, of fuel, it's flight characteristics went into the bin and became unstable to the point of absurdity.. Oh and also, it had onboard radar that was a FULL generation BEHIND that of what US jets had. And Finally, it would BURN OUT it's engines if it achieved it's claimed TOP SPEED for more than a split second. The MIG 21, at first concerned the West, until they found out it was GARBAGE... Then they said nothing and let the Soviets think their little BLUFF worked. It was scary against slower moving bombers, that's all it had. PRO TIP: it didn't work and the Pentagon knew it, then just laughed in secret.. It's ALL on record, on paper and well known NOW.. Declassified documents LAUGH at the MIG 21.

[@PersuChogo]

I see at the end You used the footage from Zeljava airport, It could be interesting for people to hear about that.... Great work..

[@DavyRo]

This brilliant aircraft has to be the most successful fighter of the jet era. In the top 2 at the least. But to think it's still in use 60 years after it was 1st used is amazing. When you take into consideration how much military aircraft have evolved over that period.

[@irobert1226]

Romania just retired their Mig 21 fleet this june. The Romanian air force was so bound to those airplanes that they made a ceremony in the day when the last 6 of them landed at their home military base, where were modified in the early 2000s to comply with a number NATO standards. In that day, the military let civilians attend the ceremony at the airbase, one of few days when was allowed for civilians to enter the base. I watched the ceremony because I live in the city next to the airbase and I saw the last flight and landing of the last 6 Migs. Some former pilots that flew those Mig 21s gave speeches about the experience they had operating them, and also mentioning their versatility in combat and the respect that Romanian air force has to them to this day. Truly an amazing aircraft with a rich history in Romania.

[@LukeAlexander42]

Awesome video, really enjoyed your take on a more common aircraft, keen for more videos like it (and more of the regular content as well)

[@heanvisalseyhak9487]

Ak47 Mi-17 Mig21 T55 These truly show how amazing and genius the Soviet are

[@katimboallan4605]

Please the T-34 tank, PK machine gun

[@TheRobman139]

The Russians are good at two things: weapons and vodka. And if you were to ask a Russian, they’d say, “What else is there?”

[@ausbjmcd]

The odd Titan of the sky video would be pretty great 👌 The cold war era especially, it was the pinnacle of aviation development and produced so many interesting aircraft that were so easily forgotten. Similar story for some of the lesser known WWI and WWII aircraft.

[@lightspeedvictory]

I feel that your channel is more unique if you stick to paper designs and prototypes that never entered operational service, as there are plenty of KZbin channels that cover aircraft that did enter operation. Requesting videos on the following: -switchblade aircraft designs such as the FA-37 Talon from the ‘05 movie “Stealth” or the X-02 Wyvern from the Ace Combat franchise (the concept, not the actual fighters I mentioned) -Super Tomcat-21 and ASF-14 -the NATF program as a whole -early ATF proposals -Sea Apache -F-20 Tigershark -Bae SABA -Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Bomber proposal -Northrop’s proposal for what would become the F-117 Nighthawk -Interstate TDR

[@thedpointwarthunder]

Mig 21 is the goat you are 100% scientifically correct

[@Omgiamsotriggered]

My country (Croatia) still uses them😂. Only few months ago we took a batch of new 6 out of 12 rafales, before that we were and still using the mig 21 in active duty since the homeland war in 1991. When the final 6 planes arrive we will fully retire the Migs once and for all, they are from 1960s. Our airspace is small and our airforce's sole duty is to defend it, so mig was more than adequate for the mission all these new years.

[@imperial_Dragnix]

MY country india also have 40 mig 21 bison left They are called flying coffins😂. Killed 200 pilots and 40 civilians in 60 years of service😢

[@kingghidorah8106]

I'd give the edge to the MiG19, it was a better dogfighter and had better guns, but it was harder to produce because the airframe had some structures that required more complicated mechanization like the fuselage's rear.

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

True ... a As a matter of fact, the PRC maintained large fleet of Mig19 up to the 90s .

[@graceliao4355]

Another great video, now featuring the MiG 21! First knew them through the F-4s, and MiG 21 is truly an awesome fighter jet. Never though of the role Taiwanese played in that AIM-9 "delivery". History classes never mentioned any details about what happened in 1958. Came across your channel a few weeks ago and I'm now looking up your videos every night. So much invention, aircraft, and vehicles I never even heard of, and your story style brings so much joy and excitement when watching these incredible ideas.

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

Chinese actually . ROCAF vs PRC's PLAAF F&E is biased... low-key bashing.

[@mohelemadembe2630]

Big American liars french mirage f1 was the goat

[@Chris-ok4zo]

Wait, so if it wasn't for these Migs shooting down Phantoms in 'Nam, we wouldn't have the Top Gun academy, leading up to the movies? Oh my. Suddenly, I love Russia more than I used to.

[@felixfranzen7318]

There was an exercise a couple of years ago when Indian Air Force (or Navy) MIG-21s and SU-30s managed to achieve a 9-1 kill ratio against US Navy F-15s and F-18s (and that was the Super-Hornet version). Apparently the MIG-21 did all the heavy lifting.

[@andyhughes1776]

In the Vietnam War, North Vietnam had more Aces than the U.S. - 19 to 5. They flew mainly MiG-21s.

[@IvanNguyen-ky6nn]

Vietnam is negotiating to buy F16 which is a better version of Mig-21. The funny thing is F-16 was born in the Vietnam war because the US needed a plane that was similar to Mig-21. I have no doubt that Vietnamese will be good at flying F16 as well.

[@aperson336]

Yes, but that wouldn’t be surprising as the us primarily flew bombing missions on the north and the north flew air to air So I sure hope if you are flying air to air, you are going to get air to air kills

[@andyhughes1776]

@@IvanNguyen-ky6nn Funny how enemies become friends and friends become enemies.

[@andyhughes1776]

@@aperson336 Uh...ever heard of fighter escorts?

[@imperial_Dragnix]

​@@IvanNguyen-ky6nn Vietnam should buy indian Tejas aircrafts It was built on the single importance to replace India's MiG-21 bisons Even it will make india Vietnam relations more powerful Also Americans will son replace their f16 soon so it's not good to buy a outdated fighter jet 😅

[@Alphafortress]

We would love to see more Jets that didn't get cancelled in the future Your videos are amazing boss

[@christopherwang4392]

I've read various online sources such as Rosoboronexport which reported there was a modernization proposal to replace the MiG-21's Tumansky R-11 / R-13 / R-25 turbojet with a variant of the Klimov RD-33 turbofan used in the MiG-29. There is also Pakistan's cancelled Project Sabre II which proposed replacing the Chinese license-built Chengdu J-7's WP-7 / WP-13 turbojet with a modern turbofan such as the General Electric F404 or Pratt & Whitney PW1120.

[@antipoti]

Yes, by all means, this new format is very interresting, and refreshing.

[@VLADIMIR_PUTIN858]

Mig 21 was also responsible for the complete defeat of pakistani air force in 1971 war It shot down the legendary STARFIGHTER without losses

[@OzreNS1976]

I consider myself lucky, as i had the chance to see this knight of the skies live with my own eyes. It was at air show, here in Serbia, and at one moment speaker anounced that from the direction of Belgrade, MiG 21 is to bee seen just about...he came real low, i mean real low. I was able to see pilots helmet, that low. 10 m above the power lines. Speaker was delirious "he is comming at 900 km/h just bellow the sound barrier" and all that, It was like 3 or 4 frames, he is there, just a spot, there he is, here, and gone. Wushhh... Живела Србија и мајка Русија! 🇷🇸🇷🇺

[@charleschadsey5653]

I know you have done this in the past, but I would love to see more stuff about ground and naval vehicle's, or just stuff other than planes.

[@jensdevos6464]

Yeah would love to some more content like this, maybe the f4? Or the 15? Since you both mentioned them and they are both legendary aircraft

[@my1vice]

I had a chance to purchase a 21 with a spare engine for 80 grand about 25 years ago. I should have bought it.

[@cascadianrangers728]

I love a good underdog story. What an amazing aircraft. Reninds me of an older U.S muscle car; Under the right circumstances with the right pilot, a mig 21 can still humble a brand new fighter just just off the production line that on paper is superior in every way.

[@apratimpatra541]

In 1971 Indo-Pak war India extensively used Mig21 against Pakistan. India still uses a large quantity of MIG21 in 2023. MIG was probably the best interceptor during 1960 to 1970 but now it is considered as flying coffin due to excessive crash. Although it is completely obsolete in modern era still Mig has capabilities to shoot down 4th generation aircraft. In 26 February 2019 after Balakot air strike done by Indian air force , Pakistan sent several F16s into the Indian air-space for retaliation. Then one Indian MIG21 successfully shoot down one F16 which was far more superior than Mig21. Although the Pakistani side never accepted that fact to avoid embarrassment but the outer shell of the missile was found by Indian side and was shown by Indian airforce to the media for clarification, which was clearly AIM120 air to air missile which can be fired through American jets only. So Pakistan used F16 against India that day. Due to lack of spare parts it's difficult to operate Mig21 now , otherwise it's still a good interceptor.

[@StarshipEternity]

I think looking at production aircraft would be fine. There's a lot of great stuff about them not many may know. Plus it could give more time to look into aircraft that didn't make it. As for this aircraft, pretty cool to know how much of a history it has and how good a few pilots can make it a great fighter.

[@beamplays1484]

the animation get getter and better each time!

[@soleenzo893]

Great 3D, however i think you should play a few flight sims to get an idea of how Fighters really maneuver in the air, some of the movements and associated Aileron and elevator movements were completely off and unrealistic. Also i think it would have been great for you to integrate some cockpit footage from DCS, which has a beautiful Rendition of the MIG-21

[@soleenzo893]

Also, the afterburner flames don't look like that at all, they are like glowing red tubes coming out of the engines, with Mach diamonds inside, depending on altitude.

[@ashurathi9286]

MIG21 is THE GOAT. Taking down F16 twice is something that must be called feat in its own league.

[@RR__SyedAhmedHussain]

Not even the mig 21 Indian pilot ever accepted this made up story.

[@Razgrizzle27]

Great video, the mig 21 is one of a handful of jets I absolutely love from around that era. I'd have to flip a coin to decide between it and the F4. Also worth noting that I never knew the mig 29s and the su27s etc were so different in size until this video, I always assumed that most jets of this ilk were around the same size until the footage of them doing a flyby together!

[@СергейПересыпкин-н3й]

we would be bored in this world without you, and you without us. Sincerely, from Russia

[@Shakeelkhan43211]

Thumps up to u for making the video on my favorite plane ✈ Mig 21

[@waverlh]

Great overview of the 21. Thank you for the time and effort you all put into these vids!

[@СергейПересыпкин-н3й]

we would be bored in this world without you, and you without us. Sincerely, from Russia

[@ShubhamChaudhary.]

It also shot down a 4th Generation F-16 in the India vs Pakistan Dogfight on 27 February, 2019. G.O.A.T in the Real Sense and for a Reason. 🚩🕉️

[@petarjoncic2801]

Maybe you could do a video on Yugoslavia? The conflict in the 90s or one of the many aircraft projects between the 50s and the 90s? Like the J-22 Orao(Eagle) an original design based on the franco-brittish Jaguar, or the G-4 Super Galeb(Super Seagull) , a jet trainer. That could have become USAF new produced jet trainer. Or even the unfinished 4th generation fighter project, the "Novi Avion" (New plane).

[@johnosbourn4312]

The J-20 Orao is not based on the Jaguar, it is in fact an original design from the former Yugoslavia, and it closely resembles the Jaguar, but, it is a lot smaller, and was powered by two Rolls Royce Viper engines.

[@petarjoncic2801]

@@johnosbourn4312 Thanks for the information.

[@johnosbourn4312]

@@petarjoncic2801 You're welcome.

[@icun2212]

Please make a video about Boeing 727/767. I have never found any animated documentary of these airplanes, and I assume it'll be wonderful if you make one.

[@AirWolf2301]

When I was traveling via bus near the Zagreb Airport in Croatia and I have seen this bad boy take off and land 20+ times... its sooooooooo loud, I LOVE IT!!! Its without question my favorite plane because of it.

[@SILOPshuvambanerjee]

Love from India. Mig 21 often flys over my house.

[@tristancorboy8978]

would defiantly like to see more about real planes love your content

[@ilkoderez601]

I have always love the Mig-21... Thanks

[@BobPruett]

I would love to see a video about the F104 Starfighter.

[@gort8203]

If its going to like this video you don't want to see it. Almost every video about the F-104 on the internet is 99% BS so my confidence is very low.

[@payag_venture]

I really love your content. Thank you! Would love to see soon maybe about the history leading to the development of Dassault Rafale.

[@christianshields4164]

The fact that certain pilots flying the Mig 21 could go to toe to toe with modern generation fighters certainly proves Roosters quote in Top Gun Maverick “It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot”

[@akbarkumar1]

The Mig21 is a timeless aircraft. She never gets old. It's been 69 years in 2024 since she first flew. Still flying high in many airforces around the world. There will never be another fighter like you, Mig21 :)

[@quistsciencestation]

I just love the way you put the U.S-Soviet rivalries 🎉

[@ghostb9339]

Awesome video, and awesome story. Would really like to hear the whole story about Fishbed and Fishpot rivalry.

[@imperialenforcer2271]

Any MiG-21 video that doesn't talk about the Indian modified MiG-21 bison or the MiG-21-93 is incomplete. Russians and Indians have made major upgrades to the MiGs. Such as LD radar, R-73 missiles, Digital displays in the cockpit, redesigned cockpit etc.

[@Civi_ts]

What about the Mig-21 Lancer?

[@mig21bis]

i agree

[@florky_01]

fun fact: the Ye-2A was the MiG-23's prototype

[@mental_hazard6991]

Fun fact: The M4 Sherman was never shot down by the MiG-21 in air to air combat

[@alperakyuz9702]

Superior american engineering.

[@colter0045]

Loved it on Gunship III Vietnam, I would linger near my base at low altitude daring the F-4's and F-5's into a down and dirty dogfight. Or they would try fly over then I'd have a pop with my heatseekers then I'd dive for the deck to avoid Sparrows. Awesome plane 👍

[@mrunaltondre6051]

a mig 21 bison was able to take down a f16 during a confrontation between india and pakistan

[@mrunaltondre6051]

@@xSwaghettiYolonesEx none

[@pratiksamantaray10]

@@xSwaghettiYolonesEx 2019 mig 21 operated by Abhinandan took down f16. Check before commenting

[@chiraggowda4928]

It's very much confirmed that this happened in 2019 when IAF showed proof of radar signature of F16 disappearing after a missile was fired from mig21. But Pakistan's fake news unit was successful enough to convince western media that this did not happen, so they still use the word "allegedly".

[@chiraggowda4928]

@@xSwaghettiYolonesEx 1 of the missiles was found to be exploded

[@chiraggowda4928]

@@xSwaghettiYolonesEx 1) Both planes landed in Pakistan's territory which Pakistan an advantage to control the narrative. 2) IAF did not capture any pilot because again both planes crashed in Pakistani territory. Pakistan first reported that 2 planes have crashed and 3 pilots are in their custody, later they changed that only 1 plane has crashed and 1 pilot is captured. You can check this yourself. 3) Pakistan has something called ISPR which is specifically tasked to spread the narrative as approved by the military, I have to agree they do their job very well. They did not fool every other country they just controlled the narrative on day 1. They managed to get the Reuters to report that the US conducted an audit of F16s and they did not find any planes missing, but the Pentagon immediately replied that they have not done any audit and it's a fake news. 4) It's not that unbelievable if you think the IAF was using mig21 to do exactly that - high speed interception. Yes I am Indian and I have spent a lot of time looking at many analysis from different countries, if you have a better analysis feel free to change my mind.

[@angelsgarden6887]

Fun fact : the mig 21 had a nickname balalaika which is a musical instrument. The instrument's shape resembles the wings of the mig 21

[@legoguy8740]

A video on the F-22 Raptor would be great

[@caelum2185]

Ah the Balloon Killer

[@sardarbootasingh2708]

The USSR-Russia has a great tradition in the manufacture of weapons. As a brother nation to India they always supplied India with solid and reliable weapons. The MIG-21 was one of the best aircraft of its period.

[@LT.KiraHertling1701]

Great video.

[@loodwich]

Yes, it is interesting to know about all the planes.

[@swisstestpilot]

It would be cool if you can do a video about the Fighter projects from Switzerland: F+W N-20.02 Arbalete and N-20.10 Aiguillon or the FFA P-16 (Sometimes called "Father of the Learjet") or the ALR Piranha.. Also Pilatus Aircraft had a few interesting Projects and Prototypes SB-1. Pilatus SB-2 Pelican, SB-5 Super pelican. Pilatus P-1, Pilatus P-4, Pilatus P-5, Pilatus PC-8D Twinporter .

[@top_loser]

That 'Do svidanya!' at the end sounds very cool)

[@Jollyroger84103]

Small pronunciation nitpick. It's Vietnamese (Viet-Nam-Ease) not Vietmanese (Viet-Ma-Knees). Just thought that was funny, but love the content. Keep it up! Second pronunciation nitpick while I'm here: "Nguyen" is pronounced like (Nu-win) not (Nugun).

[@VMRDY]

I though Nguyen is pronounced New-N.

[@AaronShenghao]

I won’t call Soviets as the East, given majority of Russians are in Europe… Without the MiG 21, the Chinese probably wouldn’t have the know-how to design several fighter jet today. During the Vietnam war, Chinese-Soviet relations soured. Soviets were in need to capital and offered China MiG-21 and production licenses. Chinese of course was skeptical why Soviets offered a brand new fighter but still paid the price. And of course there was a catch, the knock-down-kit of MiG-21 and blueprints sent over didn’t match, some dimensions are wrong on the drawings, even parts missing. So the Chinese went up and intercepted several MiG-21 destined to Vietnam mid-air, took them apart and study those. With prior experience of J-5 (MiG-17) and J-6 (MiG-19), the Chinese was able to reverse engineer the necessary parts to produce J-7 (which is going to be retired in 2023 from Chinese service). And China never did business with MiG again.

[@YouKingofTube]

SU-27 better! Su-27 project was originally developed as a potential killer of the F-15 and F-16 pair after they were delivered to the US military.

[@tomwithatophat6457]

It's subjective

[@YouKingofTube]

@@tomwithatophat6457 Not without reason! My grandfather worked in the Sukhoi design bureau, and the Su-27 project was originally developed as a potential killer of the F-15 and F-16 pair after they were delivered to the US military.

[@mjdoombreed]

I'll watch any and all videos you release, excellent work all around.

[@shrikanthvhshri8350]

The Slayer of F-16 ... At last he retired by hunting F-16 leaving behind his legacy " The Slayer " "The Falcon Slayer" patch of IAF Mig 21 squadron

[@mulla_impotent]

I unsubscribed the channel

[@arslanraza4142]

IAF till this date provided no evidence btw the claim is coming from the same air force that lost its sukhoi a superior platfrom and the mig not only that they also shot down their own chopper i wouldnt put much weight in that claim of IAF... PAF bombed your targets in broad daylight and left unchallenged

[@mulla_impotent]

@@arslanraza4142 a typical madarsachap

[@shrikanthvhshri8350]

@@arslanraza4142 😅... Who ? those beggers bombed us ... sorry mate we did that.. Kid just read the history ... by the way you barking on behalf of those Radical Islamic Terrorists, Any how we did it our fleet Data is clear ... we don't give medal for making wealth of billions & no war like Pak generals ...

[@xandervk2371]

MIG-21s couldn't even hold against vastly outnumbered F-4s which was the best Israel had in the Yom Kippur war.

[@eastafrika728]

It looks light and agile. I don't think the Russians struggled to keep up with the U2 spy plane or air to air rocket technology, because in 1960 they shot down a U2 spy plane with a surface to air missile way ahead of it's time.

[@xandervk2371]

The first of the two missiles they fired got an unfortunate fighter pilot who struggled to keep up with the U-2.

[@harshalpal8564]

Indian MiG-21 brought down a Pakistani F-16 in 2019. Let that sink in.

[@jamesbelcher9374]

Another fantastic video, have you ever heard of the Coandă-1910, A Romanian/French plane built in 1910 and believed to be the first Turbo-Jet aircraft, predating the first jet plane by almost 30 years and only 7 years after the first wright brothers flight.

[@matevasas2625]

Yes it is proven to be fake

[@theScottishKoala]

Slight correction: the Tumansky R25 engine didn’t equip the MiG-21 until 1972, on the MiG-21bis Also, MiG-21s lost pretty well every dogfight against F-4s that they got into. They were not manoeuvrable aircraft, and most of them didn’t have guns either!

[@MikoyanGurevichMiG21]

Holy Mikoyan, it's the man himself!

[@TheRobman139]

The MiG-21 had a combination of great strengths and glaring weaknesses. It had an excellent initial turn rate. No 3rd generation Western fighter could match the MiG-21’s turn performance at the merge. But after that first turn the MiG-21 would “poop out”. A late model F-4 with leading edge slats could outmaneuver the MiG-21 if the former could stay out of the MiG’s WEZ on that first turn. The MiG-21 also had a relatively small RCS for a non-stealth fighter, and was hard to acquire visually, especially from a head-on aspect. This allowed skilled MiG-21 pilots to achieve the element of surprise by being able to see the other guy before the other guy saw them; that is an important advantage in air combat, especially during the heyday of the MiG-21’s service when radars and associated weapons were not as effective nor reliable as they are today. The MiG-21 was also rugged and easy to maintain. It could operate in spartan conditions and was not dependent on a highly developed maintenance infrastructure. But it was also plagued with very short range and limited endurance. American pilots who fought them over Vietnam said that they never encountered MiG-21s more than 100 miles from their own bases. I’ve read testimony from Czech pilots who flew them during the Cold War; they said most training flights did not exceed 30 minutes, and the longest they were ever airborne on a single flight was 45 minutes. While the MiG-21 may have been relatively easy to maintain, they were NOT easy to fly. They had very poor cockpit visibility, were particularly tricky to land - especially at night or in adverse weather - and were not that difficult to “depart” with. They had a fast roll rate that often got novice pilots in a lot of trouble. Also when used for ground attack, they were very unforgiving about pushing the parameters for pulling out of a dive on a strafing run, for example. The 23mm cannon had short range; there was only a two second window to fire with a good chance of hitting the target. Fire a second or two too early, and the rounds would fall short; wait a second too late, and you can’t pull up in time. The Czech pilot’s testimony I read said they lost more planes and pilots to strafing run training than to any other cause. In the hands of a skilled pilot, within its very limited range, and under WVR conditions, it was probably the best dogfighter of its generation. With the support of a comprehensive GCI network - the way it was originally intended to be used - it was a decent point defense interceptor. It was also not a bad tactical reconnaissance platform, either. But besides those applications, it wasn’t good for much else; it was not a very flexible or versatile aircraft. Still it stands out as one of the most historically important fighter aircraft in history…and pretty cool looking besides. When I was a teenager during the 1970s here in the US, I built a beautiful 1/32 scale model of one, and daydreamed that if I could have any fighter jet of my own to just zoom around in as my own private plane, that it would have to be a MiG-21. The most technologically interesting thing about the MiG-21 to me, is that it’s tailed delta configuration was really very innovative and ahead of its time. I can’t document this, but I strongly suspect that the designers of the F-16 used the MiG-21’s configuration as a starting point in designing the former; one might say that aerodynamically, the MiG-21 was the granddaddy of the F-16, the latter being a highly refined version of the former, aerodynamically speaking.

[@rohitsaswadkar3182]

He forgot to tell that INDIA had biggest fleet of MIG 21 as greater than 900 (840 made in India) aircrafts and still 60 aircrafts in service. We had 270 su 30, 200 jaguar, 100 MIG 29, 50 Mirage, 36 rafale, 20 Tejas. Also our MIG 21 shoot down Pakistan's F16 in 2019🇮🇳. It's correct that Vietnam war is big but after that Bangladesh liberation war is the biggest and INDIA and Indian air force MIG 21s has role in it to make a new country named Bangladesh. We just cutted Pakistan in half, and now if Pakistan again strikes war or terrorist attack against India in future then it will be a quote that there was a country named Pakistan. Don't mess with us🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳.

[@Blitzfalcon6858]

A made up F-16 kill that is 😂

[@rohitsaswadkar3182]

@@Blitzfalcon6858 you forgot all wars started by Pakistan those ended by INDIA (1947, 1965,1971,1999 wars). Don't forget Pakistan's 85000 armed POW are arrested by INDIA. And balakot airstrike is cherry on the cake🍰. Want any cake? Don't forget Pakistan's radars are failed to detect our brahmos strike in Pakistan last year. Pakistan is country having always katora in hand for begging, INDIA is a country getting world leader in all sectors.

[@pacus123]

@@Blitzfalcon6858 No, the F16 was shot down.

[@Blitzfalcon6858]

@@pacus123 Simple stories of it being shot down in Indian media, outside of that there exists no evidence the back the story In this day and age every crash can easily be tracked using satellite imagery. Hence the claim of F-16 being shot down is as non credible as the Pakistani claim of a Indian Su-30 being shot down. The only casualties that day were an Indian Mig-21 and Indian helicopter shot down by friendly air defense

[@Pinicle_of_evolution]

@@Blitzfalcon6858 first the PAF said they didn't use any F16s then got proven wrong then claiming no F16s were shot down. PAF have no credibility while IAF have always backed thier claims. Your F16 got shot down by an ancient plane and PAF is lying as always

[@T20K11]

This reminds me of the india and Pakistan war in 2019, where Pakistan shot down 2 Indian fighters without any losses. If I remember correctly, one was mig-21 and the other su-30. Brilliant stuff