MiG fighter planes: An illustrated history

Seventy years ago, on December 8, 1939, Artyom Mikoyan was appointed head of KB-1 (Design Bureau) and deputy chief designer of Plant No. 1. That day is now celebrated as the founding date of the Mikoyan Design Bureau, currently part of the Russian aircraft building corporation MiG, and the birthday of MiG planes

Mikoyan Design Bureau, one of the best known Russian design bureaus, has developed 450 combat planes since its establishment. Russia’s aircraft plants have built a total of 45,000 MiG planes, and 11,000 of them have been exported. Photo: Maintenance inspection of a MiG

In 1940, the plant’s engineers, led by Artyom Mikoyan (jointly with Mikhail Gurevich), developed a MiG-3 modification. Between 1940 and 1941, the MiG-3 was produced on a mass scale and fought in the initial stages of World War II. The Russian ace pilot Alexander Pokryshkin flew one in his first battle

Artyom Mikoyan was one of the jet aviation pioneers in the U.S.S.R. After the war ended he began developing high-speed and supersonic tactical jet fighters, many of which had long production runs and were standard equipment in the Air Force. One of them was the MiG-9

The MiG-15 and the MiG-17, which reached the speed of sound. Photo: a MiG-17 taking off

The MiG-19 (NATO reporting name Farmer) was the first mass-produced Russian supersonic fighter

The MiG-21 featured a thin triangular wing and flew at twice the speed of sound

The last aircraft developed under Mikoyan was the MiG-23 fighter, the first in the U.S.S.R. to have wing variable sweep ...

... and the MiG-25 interceptor fighter, which flew at three times the speed of sound

The 1970s saw the development of the MiG-31, an all-altitude long-range interceptor ...

... and the light multi-role MiG-29 fighter

Aviation experts agree that this fighter was the best in its class at the end of the 20th century. The MiG-29’s high maneuverability and thrust to weight ratio enable it to jump-climb upwards, while its weapons control system makes it possible to acquire targets and use weapons both at ranges beyond visual limits and in close-in fight. Photo shows: the Swifts aerobatic team in MiG-29s

A deck-based MiG-29K fighter during a demonstration flight at the 8th MAKS-2007 International Air Show in Zhukovsky, Russia

A MiG-29OVT and a MiG-29K at MAKS-2007 International Air Show

The MiG-29K all-weather multi-role ship-borne fighter bomber

A solo performance by a MiG-29 as the Swifts aerobatic team performed at MAKS-2009 International Air Show in Zhukovsky, Russia

MiG-29 fighters of the Swifts aerobatic team during a demonstration flight at MAKS-2009 International Air Show in Zhukovsky, Russia