MiG-21 had played a stellar role during the Indo-Pak war of 1971. One MIG-21 demonstrated its powerful punch near the Kutch border by shooting down one Pakistani supersonic F-104 Starfighter in an aerial dogfight.
Three more Pakistani F-104 Starfighters bit the dust before MiG-21 jet fighters in the next few days.
It is agreed by one and all of the veteran fighter pilots that the MIG-21 is tricky to handle, highly unforgiving. But to brand it as a “flying coffin “or a “widow-maker” is unfair.
