It all started with a now deleted “Tweet” on X.com, formerly known as Twitter, by veteran journalist Man Aman Singh Chhina. Man Aman, had posted a tweet lamenting on a MiG-21 that appeared to be stored on a resort and how he felt it was inappropriate for old aircraft to end up as roadside decorations. The tweet went “Viral” on whatsapp and a screenshot of the same is reproduced below:
The now deleted tweet by Man Aman Singh Chhina
The post seems to have caused a kerfuffle all over – the Twitterati felt that the IAF should get involved before anything undignified happened to the airframe – god forbid if it found itself as the background for a liquor bar.. or something of that sorts…
A prompt investigation into this was carried out and in the end, this turned out to be much ado about nothing..
The airframe was parked at the Dalhousie Public School at Siswan, on the Kurali Baddi Road north of Chandigarh. This school is an affiliate of the main school in Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh a few hundred kilometers to the north. The original DPS in Dalhousie was allotted a MiG-21M airframe, C-1556 , by the IAF and this was displayed on their premises appropriately.
Subsequently, the school planned a branch at Siswan and was able to procure this MiG-21 airframe from a scrap dealer and had painted the aircraft in preparation for its installation at the new location. This airframe was not an official allotment from the IAF but a private initiative taken by the school. The airframe is a “Bis” variant – while it carries no serial number, the spine on the fin is indicative.
The MiG-21 at the Dalhousie Public School, Siswan.
Turns out this was the airframe spotted by Man Aman, and due to its proximity to a local resort, was mistakenly identified as one heading to an ignominious purpose.. though the editor of this site disagrees if a MiG-21 being displayed at a Dhaba deserves such a label. Any aircraft preserved and being taken care of, regardless of its location or ownership is something to be commended …
The current identity of this airframe is not known.
