The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 first flew in 1956 as a short-range interceptor. Over 10,000 would be built in the years which followed. used in combat by North Vietnam, India, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria. Several examples are currently flown by USAF in fighter combat training; and others are now available to civilian owners, and seen at air shows. During the Vietnam War the MiG-21 was the main adversary for the U.S. flyers in F-4 and F-105 fighters, and 85 were downed in air-to-air combat.
The museum’s aircraft is a S-107, which is the Czech built version of the MiG-21F-13, S/N 0201; and was built at the Aero plant outside of Prague, Czechoslovakia. It was delivered to the Czech Air Force on June 5, 1966, and served until early 1989. It was purchased in Hungary by a private U.S. citizen and shipped to the U.S. through Hamberg, West Germany. Along with S-107, S/N 0301, it was traded to the USAF Museum, with 0301 going to the main museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. McClellan’s MiG-21 was reassembled in 15 hours, and became the first MiG-21 to go on permanent display in the U.S. when it entered the Museum Air Park on May 25, 1989.