Aircraft · Soviet Union · 1941-1943
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3
high-altitude fighter
Designed for high-altitude interception, the MiG-3 was fast and powerful above 5,000 metres but heavy and sluggish in the low-level dogfights that actually dominated the Eastern Front, where most air combat took place under 4,000 metres. It flew air-defence sorties over Moscow in 1941 before production was halted so its Mikulin engines could go into Il-2 attack aircraft instead.
| crew | 1 |
|---|---|
| top speed | 640 km/h |
| armament | 1x 12.7mm and 2x 7.62mm machine guns |
| produced | ~3,400 |