MiG 3
MiG 3 Black 7, Capt A. V. Shlopov
6. IAP, 6 IAK PVO The Defence of Moscow, December 1941.
The now famous Russian fighter aircraft manufacturer MiG was formed in 1939 by its two founding engineers Artyem Ivanovich Mikoyan and Mikhail Iosifovich Guryevich, the combination of their two names became the company name MiG.
Artyem Ivanovich Mikoyan was son of carpenter in Sanain (now Tumanyan), born on the 5th of August 1905. He joined Red Army and entered Frunze Military Academy. Moved to Zhukovskii VVA 30, and worked as a design engineer. Mikhail losifovich Guryevich was born into a more academic family near Kursk, on the 12th of January 1893. He studied at Kharkov University, L’Academic de L’Aeronautique (Paris) and Kharkov tech institute before working for many aircraft companies including Douglas during 1936-38 on the DC-3 programme.
Mikoyan and Guryevich formed their company in 1939 and it has grown to be one of the most famous names in aviation of all time. Mikoyan was promoted to the position of General Constructor on the 20th of December 1956 Mikoyan immobilised by a blood clot in May 1969, died on the 9th of December 1970. Guryevich retired in 1964 but lived to 1976.
The MiG 3 was developed from the MiG 1 which had evolved from their first aircraft the I-200, a design to meet the need for a high altitude interceptor. Constructed from a combination of plywood and aluminium this MiG design certainly made a very good looking aircraft but instead of being used for high altitude work it was mainly used to combat the Luftwaffe fighters during the German advance into Russia, codenamed operation Barbarossa. The MiG 3 was a match for the Messerschmitt Bf 109F in most combat situations but being heavier was not as agile.
‘Black 7’ was flown by A V Shlopov in the defence of Moscow and bares the slogan “Za Stalina!” (For Stalin!) painted on each side of the fuselage.
Scale 1:72 Wingspan 5.6″ (142 mm)
Base size 6.37″ (162 mm) square (No. 4)
Weight not including base 7 ozs (201 grams) Limited edition of 100 only
