MiGs (Mikoyan-Gurevich) fighter planes are commonly linked to Russia.
But, Russia is not the only country that uses MiGs. In fact, other countries, such as Iraq, Bangladesh, and Germany, also have this fighter aircraft.
If you ever watched action movies, such as "Top Gun," "Air Force One," and other similar Hollywood films, you will notice that MiGs usually chase the main characters.
Since it is commonly portrayed as the aircraft counterpart of airplanes used by NATO forces and the U.S. government, it received the nickname "bad guy" aircraft.
What To Know About MiG Soviet Fighter Plane
Slash Gear reported that the first MiG model is called MiG-1. However, information about this fighter airplane is still limited.
It was upgraded as it entered the Soviet airborne arsenal back in 1941; its flight tests were successfully conducted in 1940.
The upgraded MiG-1 version (dubbed the MiG-3) was further enhanced as conflict with the German Nazis worsened during Germany's invasion of Europe.
However, the enhancements that MiG-3 received were not enough, making its performance less efficient compared to the U.S.-made P-40 and Britain's Spitfire.
MiG-3, having only one 12.7 mm gun and two 7.62 mm guns, was insufficient to keep up with the German aircraft Messerschmitt Bf 109 during WWII.
Despite its ineffectiveness, the Soviet Union still used MiGs out of necessity since the war was fought at closer distances than expected.
Although MiG-3 wasn't considered a "fantastic" fighter plane, its successors became some of the most ubiquitous aircraft models across the globe.
Flying Newer MiGs
According to Popular Mechanics, some U.S. Air Force pilots-who were under the "Constant Peg" program were able to operate MiGs secretly.
One of them is retired Air Force fighter pilot Captain Brian McCoy.
"Small airplane! Small cockpit, archaic instrument panel, high canopy rails," said McCoy in an exclusive interview.
He said that MiGs are at a disadvantage compared to U.S. fighter airplanes and jets, especially F-16s.
You can click this link to learn more about McCoy's experience with the MiG fighter aircraft.
