MiG-3 Kaunas... or Minsk?

[Marcin Widomski]

Hi there
It's been a long time, but I'm back.
I think everyone knows picture of the MiG below

It's usually connected to 31 IAP, Kaunas - by Robertr Peczkowski or Massimo.

But, I have recently bought two pictures, showing the same plane. Pictures, which description on the back shows some interesting info.


In my opinion this is the same plane - the hole in the wing and missing element, cylinder on the ground as well as fore and background trees.

According to the seller the photos are from a series taken in Belorus, summer 1941.
Any ideas? Unit, location? 31 IAP in Kaunas or after retreat to Minsk(?), or just any unit from ZapOVO 9SAD retreated to Minsk?

Regards

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi Marcin,
happy to see you again on the forum.
I agree that the plane is the same, the comparison of the background is fully convincing. I have no any idea of the units based at Minsk, but I am ready to correct the text of my profile.
Thank you for posting your new photos.
Regards
Massimo

[K.Ingraham]

good catch & thanks for the contribution.

[Marcin Widomski]

Thanks a lot.
I have one more picture from the same unit and maybe airfield (road and trees in the background).

It was published maybe a year ago in an article about Barbarossa in Polish journal Technika Wojskowa Historia.

According to odb form rkka.ru no MiGs equiped unit was stationing in Minsk at the outbreak of the war. Only 9 SAD from ZapOVO (Western Military District) had MiGs in area of +/- Bialystok (nowadays Poland). I have no idea if this unit or units of 7th and 8th SAD from the neighborhooding Baltic MD were retreated to Minsk (if the description is correct).

Massimo - feel free to use the pictures (both sides )to upgrade your site.

Some comparison prepared earlier, when the pictures had not been mine yet;).

[KL]

It's usually connected to 31 IAP, Kaunas - by Robertr Peczkowski or Massimo.
According to the seller the photos are from a series taken in Belorus, summer 1941.
Any ideas? Unit, location? 31 IAP in Kaunas or after retreat to Minsk(?), or just any unit from ZapOVO 9SAD retreated to Minsk?

Hi Marcin, 

it's Kaunas, not Minsk...
two MiG-3 equipped units were based at Kaunas airfield in June 1941:  15 iap and 31 iap.

This Mig is identified as 31st iap plane:


Your Mig belonged to the 15th iap!  15th iap exchanged most of their I-153s for new Migs only few weeks earlier in the begining of June.  Old 15th iap I-153s had red "pilotka" as a unit recognition markings, like this one:


Hope this helps. 
KL 

[Marcin Widomski]

Hi KL
Thanks a lot.
I still have some doubts about 15. IAP. I don't assume that the description is correct but the MiG has rather light (not red) tail tip (as I-153 from the picture has).
But in the background of the fist picture presented by you (two-tone "8" MiG) I can see a Polikarpov with light tail tip, like "my MiG" has on the other picture(I wish my pictures showed the whole plane...).

Regards