The Plane that Fell for the Greatest Trick in Air Force History

More often than not, military aircraft have notoriously short lifespans, and fighters face a particular problem as they must compete directly with the newest available models. Only a handful of fighters around the globe have been able to stand the test of time, and one of them is the MiG-21.
With NATO callsign Fishbed and known as the Blue Bandit by many American pilots who faced it in combat, the MiG-21 supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft ranks as one of the most widely produced and exported fighters in history.
An aircraft fast enough to catch up with even the most skilled American pilots and armed with missiles instead of guns, the MiG-21 was highly feared during Operation Rolling Thunder in Vietnam.
Still, despite its power, impact, and sheer production numbers, the Soviet-made design fell victim to what many consider one of the most impressive ruses in military warfare...
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Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.

[@KX36]

When I read "the greatest trick in air force history", I imagined someone painted a runway on the side of a mountain like something out of Roadrunner.

[@The_Stumbler]

"You fell for the oldest trick in the book! What a goof!"

[@ninefingerdeathgrip]

SHUT YOUR MOUTH! It's still classified.

[@steveperreira5850]

As usual, the idiot narrator Of “dark skies“ does not properly communicate what really happened in this “trick“ against the North Vietnamese Air Force by the US Air Force. What’s new. The clownish narrator does however inform us, at timestamp 3:14 that this “light weight fighter“ can carry an amazing “48,500 pounds“ of ordinance. Mind you, the maximum takeoff weight This aircraft is 20,000 pounds. Do you believe in miracles? Well I do now because dark skies produces them in almost every video packed full of idiotic misinformation And downright stupid errors.

[@reaperthemad8731]

Or somebody set up a fake prop air base a few miles from their real air base like in Blazing Saddles

[@chrisdavidson911]

@@reaperthemad8731 the Germans did that in WW2, then the Brits dropped wooden bombs on it

[@ninefingerdeathgrip]

When last MiG 21 is retired, their intake protectors can still be used as traffic cones. What a timeless design.

[@frankhassle9366]

It would make a great buttplug for Sven, my gay lover!👍

[@bigcity2085]

well put

[@carlowingfield7743]

Dunce cap for Putin .

[@MrSheckstr]

Or Watermelon juicers

[@dennischai4831]

No sell to India for use in their Brahmos missile

[@johnwalczak9202]

I was trained on MIG-21 as a ground service man. I had to learn pretty much everything about this plane. Navigation equipment was a copy of equipment from WW2 US bombers. You are mistaken - it had a 23mm auto cannon. There was no integrated testing, so it needed an army of technicians always inspecting and testing subsystems. the engine had very strict envelope of RPM - start, warmup, flight spin down. Any excursion from the envelope triggered an engine overhaul. It all boiled down to the metallurgy of the turbine blades. USSR did not have the right alloy. A nightmare to service.

[@r.guerreiro140]

May I ask you How long is it TBO?

[@user-ex4si2md6r]

Good point sir 👍...I knew a man from Finland and he was in their own Air Force and he said that the hydraulic brakes on the landing gear oleo had a bad habit of leaking oil and the Finish Air Force requested it to be fixed and the Soviet Union used them buckets 🪣 to catch the hydraulic oil when they were on the on the ground 🤣

[@RadarLuv100]

It's official, this is the only time in your life you will hear the F4 described as far more agile.

[@vimfuego8827]

The F4 was far more agile compared to the suicide missions the F105 flew. Thud Ridge must have been hell on earth, God bless the F105 brave pilots.

[@bodenplatte1360]

compared to a -105, yes it is

[@zealot777]

F-4s proved that a brick could fly with enough thrust.

[@EMJ31]

Amen to that. See the comment about Boyd, above.

[@bigcity2085]

@@zealot777 80,000 feet plus and over mach 2....but we always build "jack of all trades" and only occasionally masters of one....that are too expensive and need too much maintenance. ...and now we need a herd of F-15's....until some top secret magic shows up.

[@DavieTait]

There was another reason Operation BOLO worked , they took IFF transponders out of F105's and put them into the F4's ( they used different units that could be recognised by radio intercept systems ) which was the final bit of disinfo that convinced the NV Airforce to attack

[@mykel714]

Thanks for making that point Davie because that was the main reason the deception work. That an Robin Olds !

[@bohba13]

did they mention also using the Ewar pods from the thuds?

[@Boomkokogamez]

​@@bohba13 Yeah they had everything that F106 used

[@DohuuVi]

It didn't fool the Mig pilots. It fooled the ground radar guy who directed the Mig pilots to the targets. Russian defense doctrine.

[@somerandomnification]

3:10 "...carrying up to 48,500lbs ordinance for a single mission." I think you missed that one by at least an order of magnitude.

[@waltrohrbach2459]

noticed that one too, 24 tons! - full max. weight of a Mig21 is around 9 tons lol. Carries approx. 4000 lbs, or 1000Kg on each Wing plus the cannon

[@stephenfritz7493]

48,500 is the net weight on a semi trailer....

[@somerandomnification]

@@stephenfritz7493 That seems awfully heavy for something of that size that is supposed to fly. The wiki article lists the max takeoff weight as 22,928lb (10400kg) which seems more realistic.

[@stephenfritz7493]

@@somerandomnification i should have been clearer stating my disbelief

[@somerandomnification]

@@stephenfritz7493 And now I get it. ;)

[@TheOracle65]

As a child growing up in Europe during the latter Cold War, I was a keen plastic modeler of planes of the 60’s and 70’s. The early MiG-21F, with its clean lines and diminutive size against most US and European fighter jets, was always a favourite, as was the F-5A and Hawker Hunter for similar reasons. Great video, thanks for posting!

[@steveperreira5850]

That was the right match up, American F5E Tigershark against the MiG 21 fishbed. Americans were too stupid to produce enough light-weight fighters until forced to in the mid-1970s with the “unwanted“ light weight fighter program that was promoted by secretary of defense David Packard, of the famous Hewlett-Packard corporation. Kicking and screaming, the idiots of the US Air Force got the best fighter they ever had an ever will have, the F 16 Falcon. If ever you get the notion that the enemy Air Force is stupid, you can be sure that your own is equally if not more brain dead.

[@gageguy]

But the MIG-21 is so F ugly.

[@LEJapproach]

It was the same for me with the _Saab J-35 "Draken"_ , of which you could buy a plastic model kit in Eastern Germany(!), where I'm from. And I have to say, the Draken is still one of the coolest fighter jet designs I'm aware of!

[@WeissWhite]

@@gageguy maybe, but so effective. for me the first jet fighter ever was ugly - Me-262 Schwalbe

[@bogusmogus9551]

@@WeissWhite You are joking, right?

[@hifinsword]

From what I read, it was Robin Olds plan that convinced higher up to use his plan, not the other way around. The pilots closest to the fight are the ones that understand the best way to handle the fight, and how to take it to the enemy.

[@recoilrob324]

There was a MiG 21 doing demonstration flights at Oshkosh back in '90 and his routine on takeoff was to roll to one of the marker lights then hit the afterburner which came on with a very pronounced THUMP...and I noticed small children being knocked over by it nearby on the line. After a couple days of watching this laughing I mentioned it to the pilot...who thereafter turned to see what I was talking about...and afterwards was also enjoying seeing them go over. Of course nobody was hurt...just startled by the explosion and down they went. Fun times!

[@czinvazion816]

I was in Oshkosh this year and unfortunately I did not see a mig 21

[@jeffgaulden5879]

It flew with the f-104, that mig is still parked up there on the convention grounds

[@simonnorburn3518]

I had an acquaintance who had one in the states. Just after taking off he had to declare a fuel emergency as he had fewer than minimum safe flight fuel capacity left. Didn't really stop him though.

[@leafboye33]

@@dwightstone7483 glad I'm not the only one using Gboard

[@peterhelpme]

@@czinvazion816 tam jsem sice nebyl, ale příště to třeba dopadne 🙂

[@regionalflyer]

If I recall; not only did they fly the same route but the same speed and used the same radio callsigns.

[@robertsears8323]

Yes

[@michaelthebarbarian3380]

Yup, Col. Olds was truly an artist.

[@madaxe606]

And the same jamming pods.

[@raymondpaller6475]

Damn we are crafty!

[@jonathanstein1783]

@@madaxe606 that's correct. The jamming pods used on the F-105 were "jerry rigged" to the F-4's, and the North Vietnamese GCI controllers were completely taken in by this, the route flown, and call signs used.

[@flashbazbo3932]

The 21 is incredibly small. Saw one at the Pima Museum and it seemed way smaller than I had imagined. This explains why flying a 737 into Reno one day, we could not see a MIG 21 that passed 2 miles in front of us as we descended under him. And, he was hauling the mail at near 300 kts. Amazing aircraft.

[@nickmitsialis]

that's why the NVAF used them the way they did. Kept 'em in the weeds until they were in position to make a pass at the US strike force, then they'd afterburn at the strike package, fire their atoll heat seekers then run like heck. No room for 'initiative'. The strong point is, between it's small size and smokeless engine, by the time you COULD see it, it probably had already fired it's missiles. HOWEVER, if the migs lost the initiative, IE: ground control 'choked' and put the Migs in a position where the US fighter was not noticed, and 'less than stellar' maneuverability and the poor visibility out of the '21's cockpit made it hard to either dodge a missile or evade a 'gun pass'.

[@Ocker3]

@@nickmitsialis classic hit and run tactics, aka boom and zoom. Really useful with the right airframe against the right target.

[@nickmitsialis]

@@Ocker3 Yup; and much of this took place before really effective AWAC early warning systems got perfected (AND I don't even want to talk about how the AirForce 'Brass' decided in 1968 that 'air combat maneuvering training' was too dangerous and got 'de-emphasized', along with other absurd 'doctrinal nonsense'.

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

This is why early Soviet Warbirds are considered vintage and collectable much like a sport car. The Mig looks cool. It has classic lines for a supersonic jet fighter. You look at it and it pretty much screams badass. This is why you can find a number of them today in western museums. Along with their western competitors.

[@steveperreira5850]

Truly an amazing aircraft in reality. And here on the farcical “dark skies” channel, the Mig 21 becomes super capable, fantastic …… like crazy, like only the Russians can do! At timestamp 3:14 We are informed that this incredible “lightweight” fighter (that actually has a maximum takeoff Weight of 20,000 pounds) ….. that it can actually carry up to 48,500 pounds of weapons. Only the Russians can carry off such miracles and only in The fanciful realm of “dark skies.“ It is possible that there is a more bombastic dimwit on the Internet, but as far as I know, the narrator and producer of “dark skies“ takes the cake.

[@PattMcCrotch]

My wives Uncle flew a F4 phantom in Vietnam and downed 2 MIGs. He flew on op BOLO with Olds and was a close friend actually giving Olds his check out flight on the F4. His name was Bill Kirk of Rayville Louisiana and would go on to become a 4 star general commanding all USAF personnel in Europe during the 80s. But to us he was just Uncle Buddy.

[@randomvariable1836]

Thank you for your post my Uncle Bill aka General William E Thurman almost certainly knew your uncle as well as my dad, Maj Stephen Thurman. My Mom has told me a story about a party they went to where Colonel Olds attended. Uncle Bill was an F-105 pilot who was shot down and picked up by SAR, while my Dad was an F-102 pilot flying close support missions for the B-52s. USAF

[@drumagus2258]

a bunch of serial killers.

[@victory7999]

I'm proud of him for invading a smaller, weaker country, bombing their civilians and country to the ground and (possibly) killing those two poor pilots. Sorta reminds me of a war going on right now... But anyways he probably didn't know, he was just used by US politics.

[@gsamov]

@@drumagus2258 in war its kill or be killed mate, there is no bad guy and there is no good guy.

[@michaelrunnels7660]

@@victory7999 I suggest you go back to school and learn that North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam, a separate country. The U.S. got involved when South Vietnam asked for help in not being obliterated from the face of the earth by another country. I'm sure you are glad that a high percentage of the South Vietnamese military and people were killed or put in concentration camps by the North Vietnamese regime 3 years after the U.S. left. The helicopter you speak of was taking the U.S. Ambassador and his family away 3 years after all American military personnel had left. Those South Vietnamese you see in the pictures trying to get on the chopper were all murdered that day by North Vietnamese soldiers. Keep cheering for the North Vietnamese regime, though. I'm sure you are cheering for the Russians fighting against the evil and immoral Ukrainian Nazis in the current war in Ukraine. That's just the kind of guy you are.

[@JayManty]

Correction for 10:10 - the aircraft pictured belonged to Czechoslovakia, which was never a "Soviet territory", it was arguably more autonomous than East Germany within the Eastern Bloc. To also add, Yugoslavia was never under Soviet control, it wasn't even in the Warsaw pact, and had historically bad relations with the USSR.

[@kurtwinter4422]

Eastern Bloc nations were free to do what they were told to do by Moscow

[@marcusott2973]

@@kurtwinter4422 Yugoslavia is definitely the exception there.

[@robertsears8323]

Both were communist so they are both part of the USSR. No matter what you might think.

[@simescales]

AS the matter of fact, Yugoslavia used US jets for a long time. Just until Stalin's death, they improve relations, and father that Yugoslavia bought migs 21. Many people don't know that Yugoslavian passport was visa free for more countries than US passport. Yugoslavians could go freely almost over whole world.

[@marcusott2973]

@@simescales F 86 Sabre and up gunned Sherman tanks. Stalin tried to have Tito killed multiple times.

[@DS-pk4eh]

10:12 Yugoslavia was NEVER a Soviet teritory, it was independant country not aligned to East or West. In 1948 almost went to a war vs USSR. Please add the correction in a description. For ex-Yugoslavians, it is very offensive saying things like that. Thanks for understanding.

[@Rolexor]

The book was incredible. Going from a Collegiate Hall of Famer to a WWII Ace to a Jet Acrobatist, to a Jet Squadron Commander who was the planner of this operation, Robin Olds was a Renaissance Man of the modern age. God bless him, and thank the Lord for his daughter to help bring his story to print. If you haven’t read it look it up. Great story.

[@archibaldmccutcheon5884]

J.B Stone and a few other squadron mates came up with Operation BOLO. Olds had nothing to do with planning it. He just led it.

[@alloydog613]

My mate was an MiG 21 airframe technician in the Finnish Air Force in the '80s. He once told me that when you bought a MiG 21, you got the plane and a container with enough spares to build another and it was designed to be maintained by two old ladies with a hammer and screwdriver! :'D

[@manasseskamau5327]

Do the ladies have to be old😂😂😂

[@paulpaul9914]

Used to knit flying suits & drogue chutes?

[@ryancrouse5790]

I don’t believe it was the 7th AF high-ups that planned “Bolo”. Olds wasn’t chosen to do it, he came up with and planned the entire operation.

[@HankyInTheTanky]

He was im glad I’m not the only one to notice the poor research for this

[@onionhead5780]

I built one of these migs in the 70’s when I was a kid. Along with 2 corsairs flying in formation hanging on fishing string above my bed. I think they were the only models that didn’t meet their fate with fire and lighter fluid. 😂

[@wstavis3135]

And/Or firecrackers.....

[@stankygeorge]

I used firecrackers!

[@johncmitchell4941]

Brother & I went from a Daisy Spittin' Image BB gun to fire crackers to finish off our car and plane models from/in the '60s. My MiG 21 was among the last to go and the BBs were enough.

[@MaartenHartog]

BB gun here., in 1974...

[@RolfSAMA]

Amazing how many of them still renains as landmarks/decoration. Thanks to the above, this has been the jet I'm most familiar with, including sitting inside & walking all over the wings & fuselage as a kid. Many cuts from sharp metal elements included :) this is how you fall in love with aviation I guess. Books & YT videos will never replace the smell of jet oil/fuel & the cold steel under your hands

[@simonnorburn3518]

Ah, at Old Warden, the smell of castor oil drifting from the skies above Sopwith Triplane, and a week later JP4 (Sabre) at Duxford.

[@404Jeffery]

A business based in Penrose, Auckland New Zealand has a Mig 21 on a static display on their roof. There was a guy many years ago who was trying to get a Mig 21 to flying standard also here in NZ, but too much govt and aviation red tape and it never went anywhere. I remember sitting in the cockpit of this Mig 21 and remember thinking how ugly the paint colour for the cockpit interior was 🤣🤣🤣

[@RolfSAMA]

@@404Jeffery that's one weird shade of blue, isn't it? :D

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Maybe this is why so many more kids are coming up anxious and depressed since social media platforms became so popular... The way you fall in Love with anything or just find your passion is to BE THERE... To become a part of that integral moment... You fall in Love with motorcycles when some certain machine is rumbling to life under you and your heart is pounding miles a minute to the rumble, roar, and a take-off that damn nearly yanks your helmetted head off your shoulders... You fall in Love with Aviation when there's that ONE aircraft that leaves a visceral impact upon your SOUL... Maybe it's an old jet fighter with the perfect lines and the pure AWE of seeing something that can accelerate like that over head, hear the Boom as it passes by or when it kicks on the afterburners... OR maybe it's one of the last old Super-Connie's when she rumbles out for take-off, shimmering her graceful curves in the sunlight, ripping up to full power with the flames puffing out of the engines, and a sound you'll never forget... OR maybe the first time you've ever been up close to a Chinook and felt the wind nearly put you on your ass as it picks up into the air with the archetypal chopping thump-thump-thump of the double rotors overhead... Whatever it is, you find that ONE thing that just does "it" and you're in Love... We can't figure out what's going through the hearts, minds, or souls, of the true adventurers while we sit here at our screens. It's hard to explain our own passions and the why or how we do or did any of the things we've done, because to hear them or read them explained, it doesn't seem like there's a single redeemable value to it... ANY of it. From mountaineering and freezing your ass off, fighting hypoxia, pneumonia, edema, altitude sickness, frigid winds, and sudden storms where avalanches frequently sweep everything and everyone to their deaths... to Diving into shipwrecks and caves where the slightest issue can bring your life to an agonizing close over the course of several terror filled minutes... where sharks, octopi, stingrays, and near limitless other unforeseeable monsters may just show up out of the literal blue to take you out... If you want to know why any of us do the crazy things we do, you just have to go and BE THERE to see and do it, yourself. The journey is it's own reward... It doesn't sound like it, and it often won't read like it. BUT if we only stay and dwell behind these glittery screens in awe of the things we don't have the guts to try, we're only going to continue convincing ourselves that no aspect of life "out there" is worth the bother... AND without igniting a passion, we WILL be depressed... Without finding our own integral strength to face the "hell of it all" we WILL become anxious... It's a terrible feedback loop, and at some point... It's true. "You just gotta be there." IYKYK... ;o)

[@SPak-rt2gb]

I asked an F4 Phantom pilot if he ever flew a Mig-21 and he said yes, he loved it. His words were "you just kick the tires and light the fire", that's how easy it was to fly.

[@kainhall]

The later migs would wobble through the sky at low speeds... due to increased weight . At high speed it's like it's on rails however

[@47colton]

No Russian built plane is that easy. They have quirky systems that require alot of pilot attention that distracts from actually flying the aircraft.

[@itsimbatime]

@@47colton I've spoken to a few americans and russians who both agree she was a beauty to fly only hindered by it's range

[@GuinessOriginal]

@@47colton because you’ve never flown one you have far more expertise in the matter than a pilot who has

[@halb37]

The Fishbed still had many faults: range was a problem, basically useful for point defense only. Rear visibility was worse than an F-4. Flight controls did not have hydraulic boost (manual control only like a Cessna 172) which made high speed maneuvering difficult, lack of effective search radar. Its biggest advantage was small size (hard to see) which in the modern era has been overcome by stealth.

[@jimtwombly2109]

I was flying Hillsborough on Jan 2, 1967, a C-130 ABCCC out of Danang, RVN. We orbited for about six hours with the command and control team in the back. They were inside a trailer type command post directing or at least monitoring the strikes. Because we were on a different radio frequency we were not aware what was going on. We found out when we landed because we were greeted with an exited ground crew that was parking us after the mission. The guys in back celebrated with some adult beverages on the ramp.

[@adenmitchell7633]

No you werent

[@FarFetchedFlorida]

@@adenmitchell7633 😂

[@jimtwombly2109]

@@adenmitchell7633 Aden about a month later the VC rocketed Danang and destroyed the ABCCC airplane on the ramp. Look it up.

[@jimtwombly2109]

They then moved the C-130 mission to Thailand.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@adenmitchell7633 Well, don't you just look like you're 12.

[@christophersine84]

The fact that the Phantoms didn't have guns is borderline criminal, in my opinion. Olds being the old school dog fighter he was, probably could have done a lot more had the Phantoms had guns. He makes some excellent points on his book regarding these omissions. They relied way too heavily on missiles that really weren't consistently reliable enough, and it often sounds like kills were missed because of a lack of guns. It's a prime example of letting people with zero combat experience make decisions for and about men and equipment used in real world combat is a terrible idea. Olds' book really drives home what an absolute mess the Vietnam war was. Sad, honestly

[@peterreichardt1494]

Exactly what I was waiting for. Thank you so much !❤ I was in the military from late 90s to early 2000. We had that time around 130 MIG21. For me the most beautiful and most aggressive looking fighter jet ever produced. Again Thank you so much

[@casualcadaver]

I love the design language of the Mig-21 , it makes me think of the space age and somehow strangely still looks futuristic despite being made in the 1950’s.

[@ArrowBast]

I first thought it was English Electric lightning - same front intake cone.

[@KamalJamaloff]

A real example of art deco design language

[@jackwardrop4994]

3:14 48000 lbs of ordinance ?

[@enriquekramer4590]

That is a big mistake...

[@konekillerking]

Mig-21N had a maximum Payload of 3310 lbs., and maximum takeoff weight of 18,010 lbs. Not sure where you obtain an ordnance load out of 48,500 lbs.

[@00747110815arschleck]

Noticed this as well. Maybe he meant 48 hundred, not thousand. Almost every video of him has one or more mistakes of that kind.

[@toddsmith8608]

@@00747110815arschleck ain't nobody got time to fact check these days.

[@thomaslouisklein5532]

in ounces rather than pounds, maybe?

[@thomaslouisklein5532]

@@00747110815arschleck just to be picky, but that’s still 50% too high.

[@JeepersCreepers2013]

Robin Olds was a fighter pilot's pilot. I love the story of him addressing the cadets at the Air Force Academy when he was commondant. At the end of his initial address after taking command he walked off the stage and flipped them all the bird. He was just a total bad ass who stood in front of the White House press corp and told them that the bean counters in Washington were costing us in Vietnam.

[@albeback5234]

no no no … Jesus was fighter pilot’s pilot who flipped us the bird that make us counting the beans in Vietnam

[@PaulTomblin]

I knew a guy who owned one. He said even with ferry tanks, it had a range of about 35 minutes so he’d have to declare a fuel emergency before he took off.

[@dododostenfiftyseven4096]

“I need a runway for a emergency landing” “What’s your location?” “Waiting to take off….”

[@claudiomunoz471]

This is one of the funniest aviation fact I’ve ever read

[@mikechevreaux7607]

BS

[@militavia-air-defense-aircraft]

That is 100% UL. The plane had far, far higher fight time in ferry mode than 35 min. In fact even a regular HI-Hi-HI profile with a CL drop tanks last more than 35 min.

[@majormissile5596]

The Soviet Union was exceedingly incompetent but even they would know that pushing out a fighter plane with 35 mins of fuel would be disastrous. Even if it was the case, say maybe they intended to use it solely as a propaganda tool, the fact remains that othet nations actually bought and use the MiG-21. If this story is true, the guy is either embellishing his account or something is seriously wrong with his plane.

[@OldGeezer55]

It looks like a deadly tractor. I love the plane. They did keep it simple and very fast.

[@petarvanj4343]

I flew this aircraft in 90s, it burnt a lot of oil for some reason 3rd Air Defence Wing, 45th Battalion

[@geraldmahle9833]

I was in Afghanistan '02-'03, second rotation. There were three Mig 21s parked just off Disney Dr. on Bagram Airbase and a 21 fuselage on the ground behind the mail facility. The three needed just fuel and a pilot. The Afghans had a 21 mockup outside the main gate, about 15 feet off the ground.

[@phil4986]

The first time I saw a MiG 21 in a book , I said, now that design just makes sense. It always reminded me of an old three quarter ton Dodge pickup truck. A lethal , heavy duty as hell , flying , Dodge Pickup Truck. What a design and what a jet.

[@JTA1961]

Great analogy

[@dorsk84]

My father flew on one of the many waves of Operation Bolo. Gen. Olds got 2 of his kills in my dads plane. Got pictures of Olds painting the 2nd star on the air diverter.

[@johnsublett4786]

No one appreciated the efforts of the crews who prepared the aircraft than Olds! That goes for all the other pilots as well. You should be very proud of your father.

[@davidewhite69]

The F-4s flying 105 flight paths also used 105 callsigns for the mission, and broadcast waypoint calls 'in the clear' ie not encrypted, its not known if that was picked up by the enemy but it possibly helped in the ruse

[@richardchumbley4382]

While I was in Egypt in 1981 as an advisor. The MIG21s and F4Es were to do a combined flyby and demo as a part of their fighter pilot graduation. I found it amusing that the MIG21s were grounded once the temperature hit 90F or above. Seems there wasn't enough thrust and runway to get off the ground. The F4s didn't have that problem. The day before the "graduation" flyby the MIGs came in. We watched as the lead pilot dove towards the ground, in a simulated ground attack. He pulled up at the very last minute and was "porpoising" to keep his butt out of the ground. When he passed by the one story brick "observation" building at the end of the runway the only thing you could see was the top of his vertical fin. I'm sure he cleaned his drawers after that maneuver. The graduation flyby happened the next day with a live fire demo. We, advisors, we told to be up at the Commanders office, some 2 miles away, when the demo started, as these "graduate" pilots were firing at targets on a hill. On the other side of that hill was the base bomb storage area. All that was needed was a few rounds to "skip" over the hill and there would have been fireworks galore. Fortunately nothing happened. Only one pilot managed to hit the target, a roughly 50ft circle of empty 55 gallon drums. The rest of the "graduates" shot up the runway in front of the target. Twas' an amusing time.

[@anvilsvs]

The fact that we weren't allowed to attack Mig bases was just another example of the fact that our greatest enemy was found in the oval office. We were allowed to die, but not to fight.

[@mattblank7728]

This is one fantastic jet. It has always been a favorite of mine.

[@marcblank3036]

The incident between the Indian and Pakistan Air Forces a few years back would have been worthy to mention in this informative video on the Mig 21. The Chinese versions have more of a double delta design wing. Interesting to know how much this would improve the aircraft type

[@Boomkokogamez]

Better turn rate at the cost of speed for double delta wing.

[@roshinparameswaran4817]

Yeah. A mig 21 shot down a Pakistani F16 fighting falcon. But the US newer accepted that. I don't know why the US support Pakistani army they're supporting terrorism.

[@jeremyweaver7689]

FINALLY! I have requested this plane to be detailed and now it’s happening!

[@operator1192]

Robin Olds was such a legend 🇺🇸

[@paulnelson9907]

We tied our pilots hands by having to visually identify the Migs before we could fire our missiles. Almost all our fighters at that time didn't have guns for close in fighting, and our missiles were designed for long range deployment for use against long range bombers.

[@alfredobledel9358]

Nor friend or foe identifiers I guess.

[@Ocker3]

@@alfredobledel9358 it was the rules of engagement, the US really didn't want any blue on blue incidents where returning planes with damaged IFF got shot down.

[@arthas640]

Similar story with American bombers in Korea and Vietnam, they were often kept away from actually valuable targets so their bombs dropped on a whole lot of nothing

[@stankygeorge]

The war that was not supposed to end, that is the reason everyone's hands were tied, to ensure that America never won that war!

[@arthas640]

@@stankygeorge well kind of. Vietnam and Korea were both defensive wars, the US was upholding an international agreement that the countries would be split like Germany since they both were occupied by large numbers of communists. The US, their allies, and the UN all never really planned on removing the communists in the north since that's not what they agreed to. Vietnam was a bit of a grey area on who caused the war, the south wanted to oust the communists but the north was also arming soldiers and sending them south and launching terrorist attacks. Korea was entirely caused by the communists however. Neither war was started by America and they didn't really plan on fully remove the communists, hence why they never really committed to either war fully and kept calling them "limited wars", total war even without nukes could have lead to WW3 so the Soviets and Chinese never declared war and just sent "aid" and in return the US never fully committed to strategic bombing. The US and UN achieved their goals in Korea, and they more or less left Vietnam as they found it with a weak corrupt south and an aggresive expansionist north.

[@gungriffen]

Under sold Col Olds. Col Olds was a triple Ace and a legend of the time. BOLO was his plan, he designed it, and lead it.

[@larrycummings7300]

Former maintainer with 8th Fighter Wing. You are correct.

[@vampiro4236]

That's exactly what I thought when he mentioned him

[@paganarh]

Legendary plane. All aviation museums are full of those and I'm surprised each and every time how darn small those things are :)

[@toucan221]

really enjoyed this particular video, never knew so many Mig 21's were sold around the world, thanks Dark skies

[@rangerider51]

This is a good history channel. Two thumbs up 👍👍.

[@samharper242]

Just make sure you fact check before believing anything he says.

[@robbabcock_]

Great video! I've always thought the MiG-21 was a pretty cool plane.

[@steveperreira5850]

You may think this is a great video because you don’t know anything about what really happened here. It is a poorly produced video full of errors, including the stupid claim that this fighter aircraft that has a maximum take off weight And 20,000 pounds can carry 48,500 pounds of ordinance. The narrator and producer of this channel are complete idiots

[@horusfalcon]

This was an interesting episode from you. Thanks! The MiG-21 had the US Air Force and Navy in something of a tizzy when it first came out. The insights on how this mission was accomplished "made" this video for you.

[@anthonyross9276]

Love your stuff keep it up!

[@phantomf4747]

I'm no historian but I do know much about my boyhood idol, then Col. Robin Olds. Growing up on the early 70's and while my friends, teammates and classmates all had athletes, police and firemen as their heroes, Col. Olds was mine. My uncle served with him at the 8tfw "Wolfpack" as a crew chief on a different aircraft. The 7th AF DID NOT come up with the idea, nor did they task Olds with the mission. Olds subordinates Capt. John B. Stone, 1st Lt. Joseph Hicks, 1st Lt. Ralph F. Wetterhahn, and Maj. James D. Covington came up with the idea. Olds took the idea to wing command for approval. Olds then broke the wing down in to 4 strike packages, no pilot briefed until 2 days before the mission. It originally was scrubbed on 1 January due to weather but was flown the very next day. The rest is history. Rest in peace good sir. Your country can't repay you, but we will never forget you.

[@Xeno426]

1:39 Wait, hold up. The MiG-19 didn't participate in Korea, that was the MiG-15. The MiG-19, alongside the MiG-17 and 21, flew in Vietnam (though the 19 was in very small numbers compared to the other two).

[@kweinberg34]

MiG-21 is a thing of beauty, regardless of any other capabilities or failures.

[@edgarguinartlopez8341]

As child in late 70´s I do remember MIG2s breaking the sound barrier just over our heads... Some "Defense Days" Sunday mornings they pass in formation of two or three at about 1000-2000 feet (I´m guessing) at high speeds, then BOOOOMMMMM! :) I remember me with friends climbing our four building roofs to get the experience as intense as possible. To locate those little camouflaged things in the clear blue sky we need to look by a mile or so ahead of the noise location! Nice days :)

[@InterstellarTaco]

I think the Mig21, and especially the Chengdu J7E are some of the most beautiful timeless designs.

[@ubermenschen3636]

Mig21 represents Soviet aircraft design philosophy: small, light, nimble, simple, durable, ease of maintenance, and affordable.

[@JTA1961]

Like the AK 47

[@steveperreira5850]

It’s the best they can do, this is a communist nation with third rate capabilities. They cannot produce a sophisticated aircraft without stealing technology from Western free enterprise nations

[@steveperreira5850]

Furthermore, we can see what this “simple“ design philosophy eventually culminated with. Over Lebanon in 1982, when the Israelis, over the span of a couple of days, destroyed somewhere around 80 Syrian operated, Russian built Mig Aircraft without a single loss of their own, using sophisticated F16s and F15s. You can only accomplish so much with this overrated “simple“ technology. Electronics matters, I can assure you of that as an electrical engineer that has designed many electronic and electro mechanical components for military aircraft. My view of the Mig 21, A flaming cigar, tail up, nose down, Going to it’s grave, exactly where it belongs.

[@snikrepak]

@@steveperreira5850 aye, a time and place for all equipment, quantity is worse than quality, Israel proves this.

[@babayada2015]

@@snikrepak Israel wouldn't have if it was bigger

[@keiththorpe9571]

The MiG 21s (at best, a Generation 3.5 fighter with their upgrades) have not fought in a modern threat environment since Desert Storm over 30 years ago. In that conflict, they were swept from the skies by Gen 4 coalition aircraft. The 21s wouldn't survive 5 minutes in a modern air battle. They're hopelessly outmatched by today's modern fighters and IADS. They would truly earn their moniker of "The Flying Coffin".

[@matthewtaylor3351]

Excellent content. Thx for posting

[@erasmus_locke]

"Fighters have notoriously short lives" The F-15 is 50 years old...

[@lwclark]

My dad was likely one of the Air Force intelligence guys in those C130’s. The Air Force put him through Chinese language classes at Yale in ~1960.

[@hotttt28]

Robin Olds ! The best of the best !

[@bustermaw]

Very interesting , as always . Thank you .

[@ayoubfeddag9880]

I like the mig 21 fishbed such classic cold war aircraft

[@jonminer9891]

Hello, DS. The M-21 is a beautiful jet. Some aspects of its design can be found in modern delta wing fighters. Anyway, thanks for sharing! Stay healthy!

[@stoopingfalcon891]

I remember reading years ago that one of the Phantom pilots in Vietnam said that the hardest thing about shooting down the MiG21, was that the damn things were so hard to see, even with radar assistance.

[@cray1996]

They are fantastic to see at a air show. Saw the Romanian one at RIAT in 2019. One of the loudest aircraft and one of the most fantastic single displays to. (Next to the Eurofighters and the Ukrainian Flanker)

[@andywhite40]

I saw this display too and completely agree with you. The Fishbed is a handsome looking aircraft IMHO.

[@adenkyramud5005]

@@andywhite40 I think almost all of the soviet/Russian jets look incredibly good. Don't know what exactly it is, but they got something special in their designs...

[@tomast9034]

we had them airworthy still in 2002 . two mig 29 at afterburner start were less noisy as a single mig 21.

[@TomPrickVixen]

We had all kinds of MiG models, and a lot of them can be found on display, and museums, I even visited a few. The early models had shockingly good visibility from the cockpit, and the difference from the MiG-21bis (the final model we had) is huge. But the things i heard, and tested in simulators and videogames that the early models compared the MiG-19PM (we only retired those in 1974) only had a speed and acceleration advantage (by a lot); the climb rate was almost identical, and handling near mach 1, and at low speed goes to the MiG-19. My dad actually flew the 21 but he never liked it; he said "it was bad for the stomach!"

[@williamrooth]

Love your presentations!

[@marvwatkins7029]

A quality product build to be adaptable to give years of excellent service. And a fine video to boot. I never knew any of this. Thanks.

[@colRobinOlds]

This plane really provided a good challenge for phantom, which comes as no surprise, it was designed for air combat, phantom on the other hand was a fighter-bomber. I remember reading somewhere about phantom pilots who tried it after cold war, and how they were happy they never happened to meet it in Vietnam.

[@asherwiggin6456]

What? The F-4 was designed as an interceptor, not a fighter bomber. I’d like to see your citations

[@GM-xk1nw]

That's COPIUM chief, the north Vietnamese kicked your ass and you lost.

[@lancerevell5979]

@@asherwiggin6456 Many planes were designed for one mission, only to gain prominence in a different mission. The Phantom II made a fine bomb-truck.

[@asherwiggin6456]

@@lancerevell5979 yeah, that’s true, but it was t designed for that. In addition, every single F-4 pilot hated ground attach roles

[@danpatterson8009]

I think a few clips of the Su-9 snuck in there...

[@warlikeplate4407]

Incredible aircraft. Simplicity in numbers, like the T34 tank

[@rickmeadows686]

The plane didn’t fall for the trick, the human did.

[@valiyzf600]

We still use them in the Romanian AF and I don't think they are going away any time soon. We use them together with romanian F16's and now basically together with every NATO fighter stationed on romanian airports. Probably an amazing sight to see a MIG21 Lancer having the latest western jets as team mates. The big problem with them is maintenance and old age of the airframe, this being the reason for all crashes and pilot death.

[@user-oj4gm3si5q]

Well F16 was inspired by MiG 21.

[@watannen]

no. maintenance is second to none. Fatal crashes occured at low altitude and low speed, both of which are tricky to fly in the 21 as it barely has any wings. The 21 should not be flown at low speed such as you see yearly at BIAS, or RIAT. It loses altitude quickly in turns. That is if you can make it turn. It's just not safe. The engine is also not meant to be flown as such, as it is a turbojet, rather than a turbofan. The 21 was designed to be a close range interceptor and was very good at that. The Romanians turned it into a multirole. That is when problems started.

[@SliceofLife7777]

I remember this story from an old Discovery Wings episode on the F-4 Phantom. Nice bait on the title. The Mig 21 is a legend for sure. The cheapest way to do Mach 2 and have some firepower to boot. Designed to be mass produced, and easily maintained, it was an obvious choice for airforces around the world at the time.

[@KrGsMrNKusinagi0]

a legend for losing so many dogfights yup

[@SliceofLife7777]

Yes, but against one of my favorite 50's hot rods, the F-104, it did well. Against an F-4, it had a chance if it could achieve surprise. But yes...

[@vaclavjebavy5118]

@@SliceofLife7777 Well, the F4 had poor results against it until their pilots got better specialized training.

[@ruturajshiralkar5566]

@@KrGsMrNKusinagi0 Depends on the user. The VPAF MiG-21s performed reasonably well against the USAF F-4s and IAF MiG-21s won 9 out 10 times against PAF US-made F-104s (achieving a total kill ratio of 7:1 in just 13 days). Against Israel though, the Egyptian and Syrian MiG-21s largely failed. This was mainly due to ineffective pilot training and superior Israeli tactics.

[@paulm.k.8740]

One of the most beautifully designed jet fighters.

[@noormohamad1]

Gen Olds is a legend.

[@Gaaaaaaaaaaad]

Great video. It still flies in Croatia

[@bojandomic4287]

Yeah.

[@STB-jh7od]

During Vietnam war, US air to air missiles had a 50% failure rate, not locking on to target, rockets railing to ignite just falling off the wing, etc.

[@markrook6085]

That’s right. The heat rising off the Vietnamese jungle often “distracted” the heat seeking Sidewinders. This put the Americans at a huge disadvantage because they lacked guns….but the MiG’s did. American fighter performance during Rolling Thunder led to the founding of the Top Gun School. That, plus the addition of guns to the Phantoms, prevented an aerial wipeout.

[@snikrepak]

American ingenuity at its finest "they won't need guns! We have these missles that can seek!" Little did he know, he fucked up.

[@mr.joshuah1412]

This is great!

[@doogleticker5183]

When I was a kid (13-14 years old), I built a model MIG 21 and did the same for lots of other birds. But I must admit that MIG 21 was my favorite. It and the Starfighter were simply so cool...futuristic...Besides growing up in constant fear of Armageddon, technology and the future gave me hope, above all when I understood MAD doctrine. But all that aside, the MIG 21 remains one of my favorite aircraft of all time.

[@furioustoco2824]

Some of the background music used sounds like it could be fantastic ambience. Would it be possible if the track titles were included in the description?

[@DrLexus]

Sounds like hotline Miami music

[@alex3261]

Slovakia and Yugoslavia were not former soviet territories.

[@rubensandri740]

Fantastic video and plane , cheers from Uruguay , thanks .

[@haloguy628]

Why did the VAF eagerly fly into the trap? You don't mention the most important element that allowed this disastrous situation for the VAF. The EC-130 that monitored Vietnamese ground controller's frequency was not a secret. The VAF controllers communicated with the VAF pilots in the open so all communications were monitored routinely by USAF EW planes. The VAF was also using Soviet supplied EW equipment and knew that F-105 was using particular type of jamming pod that it carried on one of the under wing weapon station and could ID F-105. So the trap worked because Col. Olds with discussions with his mechanics and electronic equipment support shop devised a plan to illegally modify the F-105D (Thud) electronic jammer pod, that was not compatible with F4, to F4 and hence make the VAF think that another raid of Thuds was coming. Instead what was waiting for the VAF Mig-21's were swarm of F4 that promptly cleaned the clock of the VAF. The modification of the F4 to accept the F-105 pod was illegal because all modifications must go through first the bureaucratical proccess to be approved and then through actual process of modification and testing in a test squadron. This takes a long time and that's why Col. Olds, who was a very successful WWII, Korea and Vietnam war pilot and a little bit cowboy, just made decision to do the modification in the field and see if it would work. It was a resounding success and hence the USAF leadership really did not have any avenue to punish Olds and instad he received praise and his reputation as a legend grew more.

[@regularpetrolhead]

In Czech Republic is even famous band named Mig21

[@MattnessLP]

I always love to watch your videos while I have War Thunder on, so I can check out the planes, their armaments and even test-fly some of them immediately. I already learned so much about my current WW2 British and US planes I am flying most of the time, and am now enjoying entering the Cold War era and the American and Soviet planes that dominated the skies over Korea, Vietnam and other proxy war zones.

[@grimlockago-go7784]

Got a picture of myself standing on the wing of one of these outside of Baghram. Wasn't a whole lot left of it, but it was easily recognizable. much smaller than expected

[@jaymiller6009]

Stringfellow Hawke and Airwolf took out most of the Mig 21's between 1984 and 1987.

[@mth469]

As recently as 2023, a Mig-21 Bison shot down an F-16A !

[@labeedimrankhan9205]

And as proof Indian air force showed F 16 blown missile which downed an Indian jet, what a joke

[@chrislom5288]

Great stuff

[@khomsahmurdiyana5574]

glad that dark5 use subtitle in video like old times

[@jolemaire6629]

it's probably the most shotdown jetfighter in history

[@rodb9492]

At circa 3:10... 48500lbs - that is around 20 tons of armaments. I think the actual figure is somewhat closer to 4800lbs - around 2.5 tons. Other than that, a very interesting doccie.

[@Replika2000]

You know this is a high quality work when the dude says (near the end) that Yugoslavia was a former Soviet territory.

[@MrEd-qg8td]

One of my all time favorite jets

[@TimRuffle]

3:10 Did I mishear or was that 48,500Lb of weapons? That's over 20 tons! Seems unlikely.

[@boleslawciesielski6199]

Yeah, no way. Maybe he meant 4850 lbs? Max takeoff weight is about 10 tons.

[@TheGravitywerks]

Major Gregory Boyington and the Black Sheep were first used such a ruse in the Pacific Theater of WW2..on a smaller scale...all due respect to Col. Olds. Thanks for the video.

[@etele1256]

Amazing!

[@patrickw2585]

Great channel

[@keithlivingstone2525]

A weapon load of 48000lbs seems very unlikely given a Lancaster could carry only 10000lbs and a B2 Spirit 40000lbs.

[@brianjones7660]

This channel isn’t exactly Accuracy R Us, a lot of similar facepalm moments are here….😧

[@dreadgod81]

@@brianjones7660 This channel f**ks up a LOT. Their researchers find great videos, but they have very little reading comprehension and no common sense.

[@alexandermonro6768]

A (slightly modified) Lancaster could carry the 22,000lb Grand Slam earthquake bomb. Normal service load was typically around 12,000lbs.

[@damirsirotic052]

I've been watching and listening to them every day for my whole life, Tumanski's thunder is unmistakable. When our NATO partners come for exercises with F-16, EF or Rafale, they sound so quiet next to the Mig's. The airport has a dual civil-military purpose, but we hardly notice the passenger planes (we've gotten used to it), but when the Mig's take off, the whole city stops and looks at the sky. When they take off towards the south, they make a left turn and fly low over the city. Unfortunately, it won't be for long, because in a few years the Rafale will arrive as a replacement. In addition to the air base, which is located one kilometer north of the city center, one kilometer to the east, there is also a repair facility where (in the past, not anymore) every Monday and Tuesday, engines were tested "on the table" with afterburners, they would start around seven in the morning and drive them for a couple hours. What a wake up call. BTW, can anyone guess what city I live in?

[@markurbanelli1025]

Bratislava?

[@zgfarmbros6071]

Velika Gorica 🙂 but take off can also be heard in Novi Zagreb, it's really loud. I witnessed a few low fly bys of Mig 21, it's really special experience, you can feel it in bones. One time they were flying in formation of three jets, above Jarun lake, with deployed air brakes and afterburners, as they were approaching, they were completely quiet, they were just leaving a lots of black smoke behind them, but once they flew by, deafening noise followed enchanded with sound reflection from lake's surface, really crazy experience. I will really missed them once Rafales replace them, it's really a special plane.