Kraków 2022-09-05
The MiG-19 PM nb 905 fighter plane No. 65210905.
The MiG-19 PM aircraft after renovation.
In 1958, the MiG-19 PM nb 905 aircraft No. 65210905 was delivered to Poland in the last third batch of MiG-19 planes. Like the previous planes, it was delivered to Poland in crates to the Bemowo airport. At that time, the Bemowo airport was managed by the Soviets. It was the Soviets that assembled the plane and made its flight. After the flight and technical inspection by the Polish side, the plane was transferred to the Modlin airport. At the airport in Modlin, there was a training center for pilots for this type of fighter. In 1960, the MiG-19 PM nb 905 aircraft was commissioned in the 28th Fighter Aviation Regiment in Słupsk.
The MiG-19 nb 905 aircraft ended service in 1976, as did most of the other aircraft of this type. The aircraft engines, equipment and radar were removed. The engines were sold to CCCP, where they were used to propel La-17 flying targets. On May 15, 1978, the MiG-19 PM nb 905 plane was sent to the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków in Czyżyny as an empty shell. The plane spent most of the time at the open-air exhibition under the open sky.
In 2020, the museum obtained funds for the major overhaul of the MiG-19 PM nb 905 aircraft as an exhibition aircraft. The overhaul of the plane took two years. It turned out that over 42 years, the steel parts of the plane had corroded a lot. Rusty bearings in the wheels, hinges of the landing gear covers, all movable elements of the control surfaces, blockades of operational and control gusts of the airframe, and even the pilot's cockpit fairing opening system. During the renovation, damaged parts of the airframe skin were replaced. Chassis tires replaced. The cockpit glazing has been replaced. A cleaned and painted catapult seat was installed. The pilot board was cleaned and repainted. Defects in the radar antenna covers were supplemented and painted green, as in the original. Checkers were applied to the airframe according to the pattern valid until 1993. The plane was polished and painted with colorless paint. Operating inscriptions were affixed to the plane. Additional fuel tanks, which were partially crumpled, were repaired. Under the wings, four RS-2 US guided missiles are suspended on hooks. Two bullets in the school version and two former sharp bullets.
On June 29, 2022, the plane was made available to the public. The plane is on display in a tin hangar on the premises of the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman