Modelling > MiG GB

South Katangese MiG-15

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Some Duck with an Ultimax:
The Democratic Republic of the Congo's Southern province of Katanga had always been a hotbed of secessionist activity, breaking away in 1960. While ONUC forces and Congolese troops retake the territory in 1960, the tribal leaders were not satisfied, declaring independence for the South of the province in again in 1964. This time, the tribal leaders tried a new technique: allying themselves with the Eastern Bloc - and in particular, East Germany. In 1965, East Germany provided several shipments of armaments for the 'Spring Attack'. Included in these shipments were 14 MiG-15 fighter jets, crewed by 'advisers' from the DDR itself. Over the course of their active usage with the South Katangese People's Air Defence Volunteers, several unique and notable modifications would occur.

SKMiG7 by SomeDuckWithAnUltimax, on Flickr


The first, and most obvious, of these modifications occurred to the tails of the aircraft. Air Marshall Henri George, Commander-in-Chief of the South Katangese People's Air Defence Volunteers (SKPADV) was an avid reader of Combat Aircraft Illustrated magazine. In 1968, while reading an issue of this magazine (or more specifically, looking at the pictures, seeing as he didn't speak English), he saw a photograph of the F-104 Starfighter, and was amazed by its appearance. He shouted out, "If the Capitalist-Imperialists can build aircraft that look this good, why cannot we?"

HenriGeorge by SomeDuckWithAnUltimax, on Flickr
Henri George reading his favourite publication.


A group of mechanics passing his office heard him, and took it as an order. Within two months, every aircraft in use with the SKPADV had been modified with a T-Tail. This was a relatively easy modification for the MiG-15s (whose numbers had by this point risen to 24), but you don't want to think about how they did it to their helicopters...

CAI1968 by SomeDuckWithAnUltimax, on Flickr
The magazine in question


The second obvious modification lies in the drop tanks. The South Katangese Air Ministry was fed up with its pilots: every time they flew the planes, on exercise or on alert, they would drop the drop tanks. Eventually, the government was spending more money on drop tanks than on fuel itself. As a result of this, they welded them on and removed the detachment mechanisms.

SKMiG5 by SomeDuckWithAnUltimax, on Flickr


The final change, which is far less noticeable, was the addition of a camera/reconnaissance pod under the belly of the plane, allowing the plane to take on multiple roles (making things cheaper). This pod was dismountable from its hardpoints to avoid weighing the aircraft down when it wasn't necessary. However, these pods were eye-wateringly expensive and the government could only ever afford to buy three of the units.

SKMiG6 by SomeDuckWithAnUltimax, on Flickr


When Byakko intervened in South Katanga's Northern neighbour, Zaire, the country took the opportunity to attack profitable territory to the South. Initial gains were swift, against a disorganised and badly-trained force, but once the Byakkans moved to counter the incursion any ground taken was quickly lost, and following an incident in which the South Katangese lost three MiGs in a single day to one Byakkan Phantom, they withdraw back to behind the border to lick their wounds, and the South Katanga-Zaire conflict was effectively over.

SKMiG4 by SomeDuckWithAnUltimax, on Flickr


The ageing fighters remained in service with the armed forces of the South Katangese People's Republic until the late 1990s, when they were finally replaced by MiG-21s, purchased as surplus from Albania.

SKMiG3 by SomeDuckWithAnUltimax, on Flickr


The airframe depicted here is craft number 3 of Nombre. 1 Sqdn. South Katangese People's Air Defence Volunteers, deployed to Aerodrome du Nord, during April of 1976

SKMiGRunway by SomeDuckWithAnUltimax, on Flickr
Aeroplane 3 of 1 Sqdn on the runway in 1979.

Old Wombat:
 :smiley: :smiley:

Some Duck with an Ultimax:
This started off as the new release Zvezda kit (which is actually the 1993 Dragon kit), and was very slightly modified to create a new aircraft. I built this largely as an experiment in self-printed decals, and it proved.... unsatisfactory is probably the best word. The SKPADV markings were originally intended as squadron markings, but my roundel design didn't print properly, instead ending up with weird stripes on it. The ones I did use in the end were kind of transparent, which looks alright-ish on an aluminium MiG, but on the Mitsubishi Zero I planned to do next I'm going to have problems. I haven't put this into the completed builds section yet as I still plan to add a couple more things to it... but they may end up never happening.

apophenia:
Great stuff ... and loved the bits about non-drop tanks and used Albania MiG-21 replacements  ;D

Brian da Basher:
Wow now that's a truly magnificent MiG!

I really like those unique South Katangese markings too.

Very well done!

Brian da Basher

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