Amid nostalgia, bonhomie, pilots bid adieu to MiG-21 with fond memories

“It was the darling of fighter pilots,” Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, the most recent Air Chief who had commanded a MiG-21 squadron to have retired, quipped on the venerable fighter jet that made its last operational flight at Chandigarh today after serving the IAF for 62 long years.

As scores of serving officers and veterans, who had been associated with the MiG-21, touched base at Chandigarh for the ceremony marking the culmination of the aircraft’s operational flying, bonhomie and nostalgia flowed in endless measure, and fond memories and old associations were revived.

ACM Dhanoa had commanded a MiG-21 squadron during the 1999 Kargil conflict and among the missions he flew was a covert sortie along the Line of Control carrying the then Chief of Air Staff, ACM AY Tipnis, to assess the battle situation.

ACM Tipnis, who served in No. 28 Squadron, the fist MiG-21 unit as a young officer and later commanded No. 23 Squadron, the last squadron to operate this aircraft, and was present at the ceremony, had said in a podcast released by the IAF that “the MiG-21 taught us how to be innovative and produce results”. He said IAF pilots used their agility with adaptability, because it was built for high altitude flying, but the IAF started using it for strike purposes which spoke tremendously for the IAF.

Group Captain Shubhansu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to have visited the International Space Station, said he had flown different versions of the MiG-21 in the earlier days of his career and had fond memories of the aircraft. Expressing nostalgia at the event, he said the MiG-21 was an important part of his aviation career and the aircraft had taught him a lot.

Among the attendees was Air Cmde Tapas Kumar Das. At 91, he was the oldest MiG-21 pilot to make it to the occasion. Having taken part in the 1971 Indo-Pak War, he termed the MiG-21 as a “beautiful toy”.

“In the early days, the aircraft did not have any guns and was armed with two air-to-air missiles. We were full of enthusiasm because of the capability of the missiles,” he added. He had commanded No. 18 Squadron and No. 47 Squadron.

“It was a lovable machine with amazing characteristics, just like a sports car with an unbelievable power to weight ratio,” said a former test pilot who was the first to evaluate locally overhauled MiG-21s. “I was fortunate to have flown it and my love for flying overcame any fear of flying,” he added.

“Though my flying with the MiG-21 was limited as compared to my peers, I can never forget the experience. I often wake up after a dream of flying the MiG 21 and it shows how embedded the aircraft is in the minds and hearts of pilots,” said Gp Capt Tarun Kumar, who also served with No. 23 Squadron. “It is an awesome machine and its last encounter against Pakistan after the Balakot airstrikes shows that it has proven its worth,” he added.

“For any pilot, every day is a different day. It is a constantly learning process,” said Air Cmde SS Tyagi (retd), who has logged 4,300 hours on the MiG 21, among the highest for any pilot on this type. For the pilots, the MiG-21 was a demanding yet reliable aircraft that rewarded skill and punished carelessness.