Editing Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (section)

==Operational history==
===Soviet Union===
Deliveries of the new fighter to the [[Soviet Air Forces]] (VVS) began in June 1955, with the type being publicly unveiled on 3 July that year, when 48 MiG-19s took part in a flypast during an airshow at [[Tushino Airfield]], [[Moscow]].<ref name="WoF9p129"/>

During their service with [[Soviet Anti-Air Defense]] and in [[East Germany]], MiG-19s were involved in multiple interceptions of Western reconnaissance aircraft. The first documented encounter with a [[Lockheed U-2]] took place in the autumn of 1957. The MiG-19 pilot reported seeing the aircraft, but could not make up the {{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} difference in altitude. When [[Francis Gary Powers]]'s U-2 was shot down in the 1960 [[U-2 Crisis of 1960|incident]], one pursuing MiG-19P was also hit by the salvo of [[S-75 Dvina]] ([[NATO reporting name|NATO:]] SA-2 "Guideline") missiles, killing the pilot Sergei Safronov.<ref name="WoF9p117">Gordon ''Wings of Fame'' 1997, p. 117.</ref> In a highly controversial incident, on 1 July 1960, a MiG-19 [[1960 RB-47 shootdown incident|shot down]] an [[Boeing B-47 Stratojet|RB-47H]] (S/N 53-4281) reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the [[Arctic Circle]] with four of the crew killed and two captured by the Soviets (they were released in 1961). In another incident, on 28 January 1964, a MiG-19 [[1964 T-39 shootdown incident|shot down a T-39 Sabreliner]] which had strayed into East German airspace while on a training mission; all three crewmembers were killed.

===East Asia===

====China====
The first use and loss of a U.S. fighter to a MiG-19 (J-6) was in 1965 when a USAF [[Lockheed F-104 Starfighter]] piloted by Captain [[Philip E. Smith]] was attacked by a PLAAF aircraft over [[Hainan]] Island. His Starfighter took cannon fire which damaged a portion of his wing and missile mount. Smith gave chase and did receive missile tone on the MiG but, shortly after pressing his missile firing button, his Starfighter lost all power. He ejected and was captured. Smith was held prisoner until released on 15 March 1973, due to improving US-China relations following U.S. President [[Richard Nixon]]'s visit to China in 1972.<ref>Smith and Herz p. 29–35, 67, 68, (1992)</ref><ref>[http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/s/s106.htm "Smith, Philip Eldon."] ''pownetwork.org.'' Retrieved: 21 July 2011</ref>

==== Vietnam ====
The [[Vietnam People's Air Force]] (VPAF) began receiving the MiG-19 at the end of [[Operation Rolling Thunder]], which ended in 1968. Despite their limited numbers, MiG-19s were involved in extensive combat during Operations [[Operation Linebacker|Linebacker]] and [[Operation Linebacker II|Linebacker 2]]. The VPAF claimed seven victories over U.S. aircraft using the MiG-19, all of which were F-4 Phantom IIs.<ref name="Toperczer p. 90">Toperczer 2001, p. 90.</ref> The MiG-19 was tested by U.S. pilots in the United States in 1969 after receiving an F-6 (J-6 export model) from [[Pakistan]].{{#tag:ref|This MiG-19 is currently on display at the [[National Museum of the USAF]] in Dayton, Ohio. Courtesy of the USAF 457th ''Technical Evaluation Squadron'', [[Nellis AFB]], [[Area 51]].|group=N}}<ref>Michel III-p 188,189</ref> In addition to finding the aircraft to have a good canopy allowing good visibility for the pilot, along with three hard-hitting 30mm cannons, U.S. pilots found the MiG-19 (J-6/F-6) to be an excellent fighter, "like the MiG-17, it could easily out-turn the Phantom...and could out-accelerate the F-4 out to Mach 1.2, but was slower than the [[MiG-21]].".<ref>Michael III, p. 189</ref>  However, the MiG-19's greatest fault was its extremely short range, as one U.S. test pilot remarked, "after going in full after-burner at low altitude for five minutes, the MiG driver will be looking for a place to land!"<ref>Michel III p. 189</ref>  This, combined with the aircraft's twin engines, which were difficult to maintain, made the MiG-19 unpopular with North Vietnamese pilots.<ref>Michel III-p188,189</ref>

The [[North Vietnam]]ese government decided in early 1969 to strengthen its air defenses by creating a third jet fighter unit; the 925th Fighter Regiment. This unit would consist of late model MiG-17s and the newly acquired MiG-19s (nearly all of which were Shenyang J-6s from the People's Republic of China (PRC)). The regiment was established at [[Yen Bai]], and by April 1969, nine combat-rated MiG-19 pilots were posted for combat duty. While some of North Vietnam's MiG-17s and all of their MiG-21s were supplied by the Soviet Union, the MiG-19s (J-6 models) were supplied by the PRC, which seldom exceeded 54 MiG-19s in number.<ref>Toperczer 2001, p. 64.</ref>

The MiG-19 lacked mounts for air-to-air missiles but it had the one advantage over the early model F-4 Phantom II: it was armed with cannons. VPAF MiG-19s had three 30&nbsp;mm cannons which "were notable for their large muzzle flash"<ref>Michel III p. 189, 212</ref> when fired. The aircraft were loaded with 90 rounds per cannon, giving approximately six seconds of firing time. A single two second burst of 90 shells could impact a US aircraft with {{convert|81|lbs|kg|abbr=on}} of metal.<ref>Michel III, p. 189, 312</ref> This contrasted to a U.S. 20&nbsp;mm cannon such as the [[M61 Vulcan]] which would deliver {{cvt|39|lb|kg}} of metal.<ref>Michel III p. 13, 16</ref>

US sources claim that 10 VPAF MiG-19s were lost in aerial combat. On 2 June 1972 a MiG-19 was the first recorded jet fighter to be shot down in aerial combat by cannon fire at supersonic speeds,<ref>Davies #55, p. 37, 38</ref> by a USAF F-4 Phantom flown by Phil Handley. According to the VPAF, from 1965 to 1972, North Vietnamese MiG-19s shot down 13 enemy aircraft and helicopters, while five MiG-19s were lost (four shot down by enemy aircraft and one by friendly fire) and one pilot was killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.vko.ru/pictures/2006_26/42_01.jpg |title=Archived copy |website=old.vko.ru |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203010754/http://old.vko.ru/pictures/2006_26/42_01.jpg |archive-date=3 February 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Air-to-air victories====
The following are Chinese and Vietnamese air-to-air kills, confirmed by US sources; all were achieved with 30&nbsp;mm cannon shells.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+MiG-19/J-6 air combat victories, 1965-1972<ref>Hobson p. 271</ref><ref>Toperczer (#25) p. 90</ref>
|-
 ! Date
 ! MiG-19 pilot/unit
 ! Aircraft destroyed
 ! Destroyed aircraft unit/comments
 |-
 | 1965-09-20
 | Chinese pilot/s; unknown unit
 | F-104C Starfighter
 | [[USAF]] [[435th Tactical Fighter Squadron]].<ref>Hobson p. 32</ref><ref>Smith & Herz p. 8, 12, 31</ref>
 |-
 | 1967-08-21
 | Chinese pilot/s; unknown unit
 | (2) [[A-6 Intruder]]s
 | [[USN]] VA-196.<ref>Hobson p. 114</ref>
 |-
 | 1972-05-10
 | Vietnamese 925th Fighter Regiment (FR) 
 | F-4D Phantom II
 | USAF 555th TFS
 |-
 | 1972-05-10
 | Vietnamese 925th FR
 | F-4E
 | USAF 58th TFS
 |-
 | 1972-05-18
 | Vietnamese 925th FR
 | F-4D
 | USAF 421st TFS
 |-
|}

=== Middle East ===
====Egypt====
One of the first Egyptian MiG-19 units was the 15th Air Brigade, consisting of Nos 20 and 21 Squadrons, which became operational at [[RAF Fayid|Fayid]] with a forward location at Milayz in the early 1960s.{{sfn|Nicolle|Cooper|2004|p=8}}

In 1962, Egyptian MiG-19s saw some action in the ground-attack role during the [[North Yemen Civil War]]. The first reported air combat in the Middle East with the MiG-19 happened on 29 November 1966 when an [[Israeli Air Force]] (IAF) [[Dassault Mirage III]] shot down two Egyptian MiG-19s which were trying to intercept an Israeli reconnaissance [[Piper J-3 Cub]] in Israeli airspace. The first MiG was destroyed with a [[R.530]] radar-guided missile at a range of less than 1.6 km (one mile), marking the first aerial kill for the French-made missile. The second MiG-19 was dispatched with cannon fire.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/1966/11/30/archive/israeli-pilot-shoots-down-two-egyptian-soviet-made-mig-jets|title=Israeli Pilot Shoots Down Two Egyptian Soviet-made Mig Jets|date=November 30, 1966}}</ref>

Around 80 MiG-19s were in service with Egypt during the [[Six-Day War]] in June 1967, but more than half of them were destroyed on the ground during the opening Israeli airstrikes of [[Operation Focus]]. Israeli pilots, however, did find the MiG-19 a potentially dangerous adversary because of its performance, maneuverability, and heavy armament.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19S Farmer-D |url=https://www.skytamer.com/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-19S.html#:~:text=Israeli%20pilots%2C%20however%2C%20did%20find,defense%20tasks%20of%20Egypt's%20interior.}}</ref>

Following the war, the Egyptians reorganized their surviving MiG-19 fleet, and assigned them to the air defense of Egypt's interior. The Soviet Union did not supply Egypt with any additional MiG-19s as replacements for those destroyed in the Six-Day War, but Egypt might have received some from Syria and Iraq, so that by the end of 1968 there were more than 80 MiG-19s in service with the [[Egyptian Air Force]]. The aircraft also saw combat during the [[War of Attrition]]; in one engagement on 19 May 1969, a MiG-19 engaged two Israeli Mirages, shooting down one with cannon fire while the other escaped.{{sfn|Nicolle|Cooper|2004|p=27}}

====Iraq====
[https://www.skytamer.com/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-19S.html#:~:text=Israeli%20pilots%2C%20however%2C%20did%20find,defense%20tasks%20of%20Egypt's%20interior. Iraq obtained some MiG-19S fighters in the early 1960s],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iddon |first=Paul |title=The Iraqi Air Force: Perpetually Between East And West |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauliddon/2022/02/15/the-iraqi-air-force-perpetually-between-east-and-west/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web 
|url=http://militaryrussia.ru/blog/topic-815.html
|title=MiG-19 - FARMER
|website=Military Russia
|date=10 September 2014
|access-date=8 August 2024
|language=ru
}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=August 2024}} [https://www.skytamer.com/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-19S.html#:~:text=Israeli%20pilots%2C%20however%2C%20did%20find,defense%20tasks%20of%20Egypt's%20interior. but later sold most of them]<ref>
{{cite web 
|url=https://techno-story.ru/articles/aircrafts/580-mig19?ysclid=lzlua194td924521520
|title=MiG-19: On the path to supersonic flight
|website=Техноистория
|date=
|access-date=8 August 2024
|language=ru
}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=August 2024}} (a couple remaining in local museums), though a few remaining airframes did see some action against the Kurds in the 1960s.<ref>
{{cite web 
|url=https://airwar.ru/enc/fighter/mig19s.html?ysclid=lzlujs3gvp370052871
|title=MiG-19C
|website=Уголок неба
|date=
|access-date=8 August 2024
|language=ru
}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=August 2024}}

====Syria====
{{expand section|date=November 2020}}
The [[Syrian Air Force]] used MiG-19s in the [[North Yemen Civil War|Yemen War]].<ref name="Sunayama">{{cite book |last1=Sunayama |first1=Sonoko |title=Syria and Saudi Arabia : collaboration and conflicts in the oil era |date=2007 |publisher=Tauris Academic Studies |location=London |isbn=978-1845113025 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZANQEAAAQBAJ&dq=syria+MiG-19&pg=PA30 |access-date=27 November 2021}}</ref>

=== North Korea ===
North Korea received an unknown number of MiG-19S from the Soviet Union following the signing of a mutual assistance treaty in 1961. Thirty of these aircraft may have been sold to Iraq in 1983. At least 100 F-6s were acquired from China in 1988–89.<ref>Gordon 2003, pp. 106, 107</ref> As of April 2002, the [[Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force]] was reportedly operating about 100 [[Shenyang J-6]] and/or MiG 19s.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

{{expand section|date=November 2020}}