SyAAF MiGs in Hama AB

I will start this post with a special thank to 'PFC Joker' whom shared this photo which I consider one of the ever greatest stills taken in Hama AB as it discloses a lot of facts here!

At the top, a SyAAF Mi-17 with serial 2972.

Inside the HAS which is located at the furthest north eastern part of the air field, a SyAAF MiG-23ML (MLD) -of the second batch with its Gray radome- housed fitted with what looks to be unguided rockets pods.

To the right hand, a SyAAF MiG-23ML (first batch) with serial 2752 looks stored in this airbase. It's known that this variant did not exist in Hama AB ever in the past, just the MF and the trainer UB. The aircraft carries 'The Factory' emblem just beside the serial under its cockpit and of course, the famous two-toned camo applied to everything has wings in 'The Factory' in the military section at Neyrab AB.

The most important part of this photo is the graveyard; it shows again one of the Ghaddafi's ex-LARAF MiG-23MS (notice the green paint overwrite the LARAF serial under flash at fin tail). It is known that this airbase NEVER used to operate this variant which was only available in Seen and She'irat ABs (before being decommissioned in Abu DhHur AB) at the time the MF and UB variants were deployed in Hama AB.
Also it disclose what I can say the first photo of a MiG-21 -it is UM here- appears almost completely with its Three-Tone camo (Ocre, Olive Green and Chocolate Brown)!! Remember the fin tail of the 2204 MiG-21bis shot down near Sabboura in 2014 HERE

Photos from SyAAF ABU DhHOUR AFB

On 9th Sep. 2015, Jaish Al-Fateh "جيش الفتح" led by Jabhat Al-Nusra "جبهة النصرة" overran Abu DhHour airbase and took control of the whole airfield. I'm not going to talk here about the operation in details as this was the fruit of more than two years of besieging the airbase with uncountable trials to penetrate the defensive lines to take over this base which a lot of towns around suffered from.
It's just important to mention the sand storm which rebels prefer to call "Gift from Heaven" which provided a cover from the SyAAF aircraft used to bombard the advanced rebels upon calls from the airbase itself.

The aircraft left in the airfield are just scraps and useless, most of them are the first generation of MiG-23MS which were delivered to SyAAF on 1974 just after the 73 war. The other MiG-21s are non airworthy anymore as the regime -and especially after downing two MiG-21bis sometime in 2012- worked to flee whatever operational out to Hama AFB.

I collected a lot of photos -with special thanks to all those allowed me to use their photos here in my blog- and watched hours of videos and came to prepare the below key-maps for the eastern and western sides of the airfield in order to understand the type/variant and location of each seen aircraft, I recommend to download them here with full resolution:
- KEY-MAP (EAST)
- KEY-MAP (WEST)

As can be seen, the aircraft inventory in this air force base is as below:

MiG-21 (5 in total):
- MF 1518
- MF 1942
- bis (unknown serial)
- UM 2369
- F-13 (unknown serial at the gate guard)

MiG-23 (17 in total)
- MS 1602
- MS 1605 (first SyAAF aircraft to be hit by ATGM at the beginning of the unrest)
- MS 1612
- MS 1619
- MS 1620
- MS (unknown serial 8 nos.)
- MF 2677
- UB 1750
- UB 1752
- UB 1795

Mi-8 (3 in total)
- T 1282
- T 2904 (knocked out when shelling the airfield by mortars)
- T (unknown serial, hit by ATGM on 8th Sep. 2014)

I will update this list in case more photos come to public: last updated 13th Sep. 2015

SyAAF 1282 (82) Mi-8, notice the rail fitted from inside the cabin back to the bottom of boom, this is for laying anti-tanks land mines

Knocked out SyAAF 2904 Mi-8 apparently by mortar hit when the rebels shelled the airfield

SyAAF MiG-21bis decommissioned inside a HAS (serial could be 2319)

SyAAF 1518 MiG-21MF

SyAAF 1942 MiG-21MF

SyAAF 2369 MiG-21UM inside one of the double HAS

There is large bone yard of MiG-23s at the western side of the airfield distributed on two groups

The western group of phased out MiG-23s is to the far west of the airfield include MS & UB Floggers

The second group is to the east of the first one and consists of MS Floggers only

The most recent aircraft phased out in this airfield is the on on the right of the photo which is the 1750 MiG-23UB

Inside a HAS the single MiG-23MF with serial 2677 decommissioned

R-60 and R-23/24 missiles are thrown beside this Flogger, they are not bombs finally and 'useless' for SyAAF in this civil war!

I tried a lot trying to read the serial of this MiG-23MS but did not come to an accurate conclusion, I just think it can read 1600

One of the most interesting photos here is for the 1620 MiG-23MS with its Sapphir PR-21 radar exposed

The 1750 MiG-23UB

Stunning bird's eye shot for the first group of phased out Floggers, the closest one is the 1620 MiG-23MS while the one next to it is the 1752 MiG-23UB

R-60 Air-to-Air missiles inside the HAS houses the 2677 MiG-23MF

R-23/24 Air-to-Air missiles also

Photos from SyAAF TABQA AFB (Part V)

 
The updated and most comprehensive post about Tabqa AFB is ready now to be shared with our audiences!
Before you start scrolling down, it would be highly recommended to download the KEYMAP of this airbase in order to understand the location of the seen airframes in the footages of videos and photos appeared so far.
 
I would specially thank our friend Peter Weinert for his to-bone contribution to realize the final KEYMAP which enabled us relatively locate each seen aircraft as precise as possible, in addition to providing me some valuable photos for serials never seen before! Thanks again Pit, thanks Tom Cooper as well!
 
Accordingly, we could survey the following airframes:

MiG-21bis 
- 2217

MiG-21MF
- 460
- 471
- 1543
- 1568
- 1569
- 3 unknown serial

MiG-21M
- 1810

MiG-21UM
- 545
- 560
- 571
- 2357
- 2360
- 2 unknown serial

MiG-21 (Unknown Variant)
- 1915
- 8 unknown serial

That in addition to one MiG-15UTI and few scrapped MiG-21's in the bone yard to the east part of the airfield.
 

 
A new photo for the 2360 MiG-21UM.
 

 
Good shot for the 2357 MiG-21UM.

 
The same 2357 MiG-21UM here as well.

 
This shot is taken over the furthest western double HAS in this airbase showing the 571 serialed MiG-21UM.

 
Closer shot at this trainer.

 
The camera man is standing over the same HAS but looking this time north east to reveal the only photo for the 545 MiG-21UM.

 
At the bottom of this double HAS, a scrapped rear fuselage of a MiG-21 carrying the serial which hardly may read 1915.

 
We counted 6 MiG-21M/MF's been towed out after 2012 -three left with unknown serials- as they cannot be located over any electronic map so far...

 
A great shot shows the profile of the 1568 MiG-21MF.

 
The famous 460 MiG-21MF...

The only MiG-21bis left in this AFB with serial 2217.
 

MiG-21 can be seen through the HAS #6 at the eastern side of the base.
 

 
R-3 Air-to-Air missiles left inside a HAS as well.

Photos of SyAAF MiG-21s - Updated IV

More and more for-the-first-time-to-be-seen photos of Syrian MiG-21 are collected and posted hereunder...Enjoy!



SyAAF MiG-21 (unknown variant) at the gate guard of Kweres AFB

SyAAF MiG-21FL at the main road entrance to Kweres AFB

The same MiG-21FL at the main road entrance to Kweres AFB

SyAAF MiG-21MF with serial 1523 in Dhab'a AFB as photographed by rebels

What remains from the SyAAF MiG-21MF with serial 1554 in Dhab'a AFB
as photographed after the retake of the airbase by Syrian Army



SyAAF MiG-21MF with serial 1598 (in the front) at the back another two MiG-21MF's
one of them carries the serial 1571 in Deir EzZour AFB



Side photo for the SyAAF 1571 MiG-21MF and the tail of the 1598 MiG-21MF
at Deir EzZour AFB

Stunning shot for the only left example of a SyAAF MiG-21PFM (a special variant
known as SPS) in display at a roundabout in Aleppo city

 

The same PFM can be seen here at the background



Cockpits of SyAAF Aircraft - Part I

The first part of photos taken in cockpits of SyAAF aircraft of various types.

Of course, the invasion of Tabqa AFB by ISIS has revealed some valuable shots inside MiG-21 types.

Cockpit of the 2217 MiG-21bis

 

Cockpit of the 1543 MiG-21MF

 

Cockpit of the 1543 MiG-21MF

 

Cockpit of the 1543 MiG-21MF (extracted from a Video)

 

Cockpit of the 1543 MiG-21MF (extracted from a Video)

 

Cockpit of a SyAAF Flamingo basic trainer

 

Cockpit of a SyAAF MFI-17 Mushshak basic trainer