The Forgotten Farmer
Now yesterday I talked about the Black Sheep of the MiG family, that was the MiG-23 “Flogger”. But here is a family member most people tend to forget even existed, which is a shame since it was a good aircraft.
Introduction to the MiG-19 ‘Farmer’
First introduced in 1955, the MiG-19 ‘Farmer’ was a single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft that has the title of being the world’s first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was also the first MiG to come with twin engines, as power came from 2 x Tumansky RD-9 turbojet engines. A feature which would not be seen again until the Foxbat began production. This gave it a top speed of Mach 1.35 and could have been seen as the Soviet counterpart to the American North American F-100 Super Sabre. The Super Sabre was not a good aircraft though, but the Farmer sure as hell was.
Performance in Combat Situations
Despite being designed in the early 1950s, the Farmer would prove itself against more modern western aircraft. During the Vietnam War, MiG-19s proved themselves to be more than a match for the American F-4 Phantom and F-105 Thunderchief. Aircraft that on paper, were more advanced. Though a good fighter, the North Vietnamese were not the biggest fans of the Farmer. Not because of its performance, but because it was a bit more labor-intensive to maintain when compared to the MiG-17 they already had. But it is said that the type scored up to 13 air-to-air kills during the conflict.
Service in Other Air Forces
The same could not be said for those that were used by the Egyptian Air Force, as they lost a number of them during their many fights with Israel and the IAF. Though to be fair, most were lost during the Six-Day War while still on the ground. Still, the Israelis knew better than to underestimate the Farmer in combat.
Legacy and Recognition
Now while the Farmer had a respectable and successful service life with many countries, the MiG-19 seems to be overlooked. Always forgotten in favor of the 17, 21, and even the 25 when people talk about their favorite MiGs. Hell, I didn’t even know it existed until I saw it on an episode of “Dogfights” called “Hell over Hanoi”.
But never forget that this second-gen fighter could certainly hold its own in a fight.
~NC
