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Summary: Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-3 aircraft Airplane blueprint for the Mikoyan, Gurevich, MiG-3 ... Aviation history and aircraft blueprints/plans. The Soviet State Industries began producing the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 for the Red Army Air Force in 1941. Designed by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich it had a maximum speed of 407 mph (655 km) and had a range of 510 miles (820 km). It was 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m) long with a wingspan of 33 ft 9 in (8.15 m). The aircraft was armed with three machine-guns and carried 440 lb (200 kg) of bombs. Along with the Lavochkin it helped the Soviet Union gain air supremacy on the Eastern Front during the Second World War.
Often overlooked as a supreme fighter. No other country had such a high-speed high-altitude interceptor in service, and even the Luftwaffe was taken by surprise when some of its high-altitude reconnaissance planes were lost to unseen Soviet fighters. The MiG-3 was almost perfectly suited for their designated role, but the well known events of 1941 forced pilots to engage the Mig 3 as a replacement for conventional fighters or even ground attackers. It was a forced misuse of a good high altitude interceptor with limitations in low altitude performance.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (what was WWII for Soviet people) many MiG pilots rammed German bombers after running out of ammunition - often the order was to stop bombers by any means. All were equipped with protected fuel tanks, with neutral gas filling. This somewhat cushioned other low altitude deficiencies. The Soviets built 3,322 Mig 3 variants. The aircraft was in service almost until the end of the war, thanks to exceptionally easy maintenance, reparability and part compatibility. Generally, a flying Mig 3 could be assembled in the field from two or three irreparable aircraft giving it tremendous longevity
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