Mystery Ex-Luftwaffe Mig-23 at SAC Museum

[gwb123]

It's always interesting to see a new aircraft added to a museum, especially if it has not yet been "restored" and it retains it's original markings.

 

So I was exited to see that the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum in Ashland, Nebraska had aquired a Mig-23 Flogger G for its inventory.  

 

As I first walked up to it, it appeared to be in a NATO dark green and black camouflage pattern, as one might expect. 

[gwb123]

But then, as I moved to the backside of the aircraft.... it instantly changed sides!

 

What the heck was this... some manner of Aggressor aircraft out of Nellis?

 

 

 

[gwb123]

The answer was found on the SAC Museum's webpage....

 

"We are very excited to receive this MiG-23. Our aircraft (#0390324630) is a Flogger G. It is one of five the National Museum United States Air Force received from the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) on 27 March 1991. The original tactical number for our aircraft was Red 338; though the West Germans put the number Black 20+15 on the side.

 

Red 338, the East German designation for our MiG-23 Flogger served with the 9th Fighter Regiment, East German Air Force. An oddity about our aircraft coming from the NMUSAF is that the tail section is not original. The PIMA Air & Space Museum requested the loan of one of the other MiG-23s in the collection but upon inspection requested that the tails be swapped with our aircraft. Our aircraft still retains the original serial number and identification. This means our aircraft has the tail of a MiG-23MLD (FLOGGER K) but the main body of a MiG-23ML (FLOGGER G)."

 

https://www.sacmuseum.org/mig-23/

 

[gwb123]

Curiously, the Pima Air Museum adds an interesting detail to the story of their Mig-23:

 

Assigned to the 655th IAP.  This aircraft is believed to have been assigned to this regiment during its deployment to Afghanistan during Soviet involvement there and remained with the unit when it moved to Pärnu Airport in Estonia.  The aircraft was retired in 1991 and sold to a group in Finland.  It was later sold to a private individual in the United States who intended to fly it.  Due to a paperwork mistake the aircraft was seized by the U.S. Government and turned over to the United States Air Force.  It was eventually delivered to the National Museum of the United States Air Force where it was displayed for several years.  In 2010 it was placed on loan to the Pima Air & Space Museum for restoration and display. 

 

 

 

pimaair.org/museum-aircraft/mig-23mld/

 

[gwb123]

Eventually the SAC Museum will completely rebuild their Mig-23, and I suspect it will be in the colors of the Soviet Air Force.  (With the tail section, they are a third of the way there!)

 

That will mean the sacrifice of the Luftwaffe markings, which I captured while they are still visible.

 

According to Google Translations, Gefechtsschiessen translates to Combat Shooting.  In the illegible part it looks like a date of '89.  It looks like it may have been against a Mig-19.

 

The other photo appears to be a squadron marking of some manner, or a competition award. The "Mig-23" stencil is from a museum inventory, and matches a set of wings also marked that way laying nearby.

 

All of this shows that when you view a museum aircraft, you may not fully know the background of what you are looking at.

 

This aircraft was much smaller than I imagined, and it was dwarfed by the RF-4C that was parked next to it. 

 

[MattS]

Great pics! I just finished reading "Red Eagles" by COL Gail Peck about the USAF squadron that operated MiG-23s in the 1980s. According to the men that flew them, they were rockets. At full throttle and wings swept (which was done manually), it would accelerate faster than anything the US operated and would continue to accelerate until it flew itself apart. Most pilots respected the performance capability and part of the training was to form up side-by-side with a F-4 or F-14, countdown, and go to max afterburner. The MiG walked away from everything. Its tiny cross-section meant it was also difficult to acquire visually. 

[Proud Kraut]

Awesome topic! Interestingly the painted insignia in the last post includes elements of the "Klassifizierungsspange Fliegeringenieurdienst" (classification clasp flight engineer service) which was worn by aircraft mechanics.

 

Edit: After some more research I found out that the blue circle around the clasp is a "Q" representing "Qualitaet" (quality). It´s a kind of award for the responsible air mechanics. The stars are for repititions. Great you have saved it!

 

 

 

[Custermen]

On 12/14/2021 at 1:45 PM, Proud Kraut said:

Interestingly the painted insignia in the last post includes elements of the "Klassifizierungsspange Fliegeringenieurdienst" (classification clasp flight engineer service) which was worn by aircraft mechanics.

I have a framed set of USSR wings that I want to sale.  The one I like the most is one that is a mechanic's wings---so I'm told.

 

See Lower Wing.