Time proved to be the enemy of the MiG-3. The sleek, long-nosed fighter was just entering service with the VVS when Germany invaded Russia. Consequently, the aircraft's potential and problem areas were just starting to be explored. Likewise, MiG-3 pilots had barely begun training on their new warbird and suitable tactics had yet to be worked out. Laboring under such handicaps, MiG-3 pilots did the best they could against their combat-experienced Luftwaffe counterparts. Surviving Russian pilots perservered and the MiG-3 went on to be a mainstay of VVS fighter ops in the 1941-43 period. Dmitriy Khazanov and Aleksander Medved detail those VVS and naval MiG-3 pilots who made ace in this 2012 Osprey release, #102 in their 'Aircraft of the Aces' series.
As documented in MIG-3 ACES OF WORLD WAR 2, the Mikoyan and Gurevich fighter went into combat with many strikes against it. The main problem facing MiG-3 units was that the aircraft had been designed for high altitude combat yet found itself fighting at low and medium altitudes. Consequently, the MiG-3 lacked the maneuverability to defeat Luftwffe Bf 109s. When committed to combat, various shortcomings in the design also surfaced, resulting in many MiG-3 units being decimated or totally wiped out in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa. Nevertheless, pilots like Suprun, Lipilin, Bashkirov, Orlov, Dmitriyev and Pokryshkin not only scored kills but also worked on overcoming the aircraft's shortcomings and devised effective air-to-air tactics. Stalin halted MiG-3 production in October 1941 but it remained in VVS and naval service until early 1944. In all, over 50 Russian MiG-3 pilots claimed five or more kills.
Khazanov and Medved do a commendable job of chronicling the troubled career of the MiG-3. Though the text sometimes gets a bit dry with details of equipment failures and loss reports, it does contain a fair amount of combat reports and reminiscences. To their credit, the authors try and match Russian claims against known German losses. The book is illustrated with many, new-to-me photographs and eight pages of nicely-done color side-profiles by Andrey Yurgenson.
In summary, MIG-3 ACES OF WORLD WAR 2 is a well-researched, fairminded account of the combat career of the MiG-3 and the intrepid pilots who flew it. Recommended.
*****
4,250 Helpful Votes!