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 questionThe 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.