Sainik School lmphal is a residential English medium Public School for boys, imparting Public School education with a military bias. The School was established in the war sheds near Tulihal Airport on 07 Oct 1971. The school was shifted to the present location on the Imphal-Saikul road on 05 March 1974.
In recent years, the School is home to a well maintained MiG-21U trainer aircraft, which also happens to be the first ever MiG-21 trainer inducted into the IAF. U453 is noted to have entered service in November 1965 with No.28 Squadron.
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| MiG-21U U-453 displayed on a platform at the Sainik School Imphal. The aircraft is impecably maintianed by the school. |
The aircraft appeared to have been delivered and erected to the school sometime prior to November 2009. It is maintained in a good condition and features a four tone desert camoflage scheme.
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| MiG-21U U-453 does duty as a backdrop for the annual day group photo of the school staff. |
Updated13 March 2017: Photographs contributed by Arambam Angamba Singh sheds more light on this MiG. The aircraft was ceremonially unveiled on 28th August 2009 by the GOC 57 Mtn Div, Maj Gen Shakti Gurung. The info plaque at the base of the platform sheds more light on the aircraft. As per the board, the aircraft was inducted into service on 3rd June 1965 – which is a revelation as the first MiG trainers were usually thought to have reached the squadrons only in November 1965. U453 served with the IAF for 41 years, retiring in 2006. However during its lifetime it had flown 1644 hours, which is considerably less than the 2984 hours flown by the other MiG-21 trainer we know- U660 in Hyderabad.
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Photos Courtesy: Tom Thounaojam, Arambam Angamba Singh
