The MiG-19 was the ultimate in the line of swept wing fighters designed and built by the MiCi Design Bureau, although it was not produced in the same numbers as the MiG-15 and MiG-17 nor did it remain in front line service tor an extended period. The MiG-19 *as viewed as an interim fighter de\eloped and built to meet :he threat presented by Western supersonic fighters being produced during the early 1950s.
The MiG-19 was, ir. many ways, an outstanding aircraft It was not only the first mass produced sjpersonic lighter the world, it also had a fantastic rate of climb, which was nol matched by anv other Western contemporary' design. When compared with its American contemporary, the North American F-100 Super Sabre, the first Western supersonic fighter, the MiG-19 clearly possessed advantages in rate of climb, level speed and landing characteristics.
For a short tine, the Soviet Union not only reached Western standards, it even surpassed its competitors west of the Iron Curtain. This was a truly great achievement considering the fact that the Soviet aviation industry was years behind American. British and German standards at the end of the Great Patriotic War in May of 1945...