Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3

The MiG-3 was conceived as a high-altitude interceptor: with the AM-35A engine it reached 640 km/h at seven kilometres, faster than any Soviet serial fighter of 1941. The firstborn of the young Mikoyan and Gurevich bureau entered production rapidly, less than a year after the first flight of the I-200 prototype. The war, however, was fought near the ground, where the heavy MiG lost its advantages. The aircraft were transferred to air-defence regiments, where their altitude performance proved valuable: MiG-3s defended the sky of Moscow against night raids. Alexander Pokryshkin scored his first victories on the MiG-3. The exhibit was assembled by restorers from fragments of three machines found on the battlefields near Vyazma, completed with newly made components.