Turkmen MiG-17FB Fresco F

[comrade harps]

Socialist Unity Aviation Collective (SUAC) MiG-17FB Fresco F
White 30, 551st Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Turkmen Socialist Republic Army Air Force, Son Bonet Aerodrome, Mallorca, Spanish Socialist Republic, 4 April 1954
Personal mount of Squadron Leader Mekan Saparow



The MiG-17FB Fresco F was a version of the MiG-17F Fresco C with an air refueling capability.  This particular example was assembled by the state owned Turkmen Aviation Company in Ashgabat and delivered in October 1953.




Turkmenistan's 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment deployed to Son Bonet Aerodrome in Spain during March 1954. Tasked with air superiority duties over the western Mediterranean, the pilots of the 55th surprised their UN opponents with their air refueling capability. Many UN losses in their area of responsibility were attributed in part to UN planners underestimating the range and endurance of the Turkmen MiGs. From their 1st combat on 5 March to 4 April the airmen of the 55th had racked up 41 kills for the loss of just 6 MiGs (and 3 pilots killed). Other Fresco F regiments appeared across the Mediterranean theatre at around the same time.






On 4 April the 55th undertook air defence missions over the Red Army landing sites in and around Algiers. Squadron Leader Mekan Saparow, flying White 30 (resplendent in its Mediterranean wrap-around camouflage) flew morning and late afternoon sorties. On the morning mission he claimed 2 USAF F-84Fs and on the matinee flight was credited with a Free French F-86F and a share in the shooting down of an RAAF Canberra B.20. The Canberra took his UN kill tally to 11. He would add another 9 UN kills by the end of his tour. A veteran of the War Against Facism, Saparow already had 4 Axis kills to his name.



Mekan Saparow would deploy twice more against the UN. In 1956 he returned as the Regiment Commander of the 55th and shot down a further 7 UN aircraft whilst flying Fluffies. He added 5 more in 1960 as Commander of the 1st Jadid Brotherhood Liberation Air Regiment. He retired after a 5 year term as the Commander of the Turkmen Air Force with the rank of Lt. General. Saparow earned many awards during his career, including Honored Pilot of Turkmenistan, Hero of the Jadid Brotherhood and Hero of Turkmenistan.